There is a difference between a “conservative poster” (see: John Mace, Sam Stone, etc) who makes good arguments, backs up their points to the best of their ability, etc., and generally represents their side of the political divide well, and a “Stephe96” who simply picks up the nearest piece of GOP-branded feces and slings it into the nearest thread.
To be honest, I thought the same thing as BMax, especially after his refusal to own up to any position he actually believes in.
Wow. Just wow. “Liberal” poster* calls arch-conservative Stephe a troll. Mod reprimands “liberal” poster. This is evidence of liberal bias on part of the mods.
I swear, some days I think elucidator is right about cognitive dissonance.
*I have no idea what Bmax’s political views are in general, but in this particular thread they seem not to be pro-conservative.
Well, that is too fucking bad. So the mod said, “It is possible this person is very stubborn and not a troll after all” in a not very polite way. A mod is not required to be moderate, but to make sure that the rules don’t get out of hand.
Actually, I realized that just after I posted. I owe you an apology. And I even agree that it’s in poor taste for TVeblen to call Stephe an idiot whilst acting in an official capacity.
No, I will not excuse you. I replied to a hell of a lot more posts on that thread. Not only that, but they had a wide variety of complaints, while your thread simply repeated the fact that:
Well, I agree that you replied more than I did. And I formally retract my claim that this board is a liberals club. And I admit that I stormed off from that thread you linked to in a metaphorical huff because it seemed to me that little was being accomplished.
Let me rephrase and restate my main point: I think it is unacceptable that a Moderator would insult another poster while exercising their duties as a moderator. I don’t care if that poster has many failings that have been demonstrated on the board. That is not the time nor the place.
You don’t have to agree (and I doubt you do), but that is how I feel.
That’s not the point, Scott. If TVeblen wants to call Steffe an idiot in the Pit, that’s just fine. What’s not fine is calling Steffe an idiot whilst speaking in an official capacity. That’s no longer one poster calling another an idiot, but rather a poster speaking on behalf of The Straight Dope calling another an idiot. Probably no rules against it, but it’s in poor taste. Moderation should have an air of impartiality. Even if moderators in person are biased as all hell, they should strive to keep that bias out of official pronouncements in the interests of fostering the sort of atmosphere desired on the SDMB, even in the Pit.
I have to agree with this 100 percent. Official mod pronouncements aren’t the place to take potshots. If there isn’t a rule against it, I’d support making one.
I can not seem to find it either. However, I have found this thread which seems to have come to the same conclusion. Mods will occasionally swear, when closing a thread. Big hairy deal. (Although the thread is way too long for me to tell.)
Now, I suppose he could have said, “It is possible she is not a troll, but instead simply single minded.” However, such modification of one’s normal behavior seems to have no point and asks for behavior modification, something I think we have no right to expect, mod or not.