# Jerk is warnable now? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 8, 2009, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717 "2009-03-08T06:50:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/1 "2009-03-08T06:50:26Z")
> [@Ed, I think your efforts to improve the Dope have been a failure so far.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-i-think-your-efforts-to-improve-the-dope-have-been-a-failure-so-far/488210/136): > > This is ATMB, **Tuckerfan** , so please keep the insults out of it. Jerk is warnable now? R.I.P. SDMB Some folks just don’t get it. You’re one of them. Ed tries to make as nice as he can, and you have to ruin it. Well played. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/2 "2009-03-08T07:07:36Z")
I see, so to avoid “ruining it” means that we’re supposed to set aside the basic and easy-to-understand rules of ATMB–which means we’d be engaging in inconsistent moderation. No, thanks. Insults have never been allowed in ATMB, not even if someone really, really means it, and I’d expect anyone who’s been here as long as **Tuckerfan** or you to know that. You’re welcome to keep discussing this, but please open a new thread to do so. No sense in this one getting hijacked. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/3 "2009-03-08T07:09:52Z")
> [@Ed, I think your efforts to improve the Dope have been a failure so far.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-i-think-your-efforts-to-improve-the-dope-have-been-a-failure-so-far/488210/136): > > This is ATMB, **Tuckerfan** , so please keep the insults out of it. **Skip** , you’re shitting me, right? “Jerk” merits an official warning? What would have happened if I’d have gone with my _original_ desire to write “You guys make Pete Puma look intelligent.”? I didn’t bother with that, since I figured Ed [wouldn’t get the reference.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=280593) Would I have been banned? Because, I’ve got to tell you, _this_ gets my dander up. _The_ issue here, is Ed’s attempt at emasculating the boards. Now you’re saying that this place is so damned nannyish that the **mild** statement of “jerk” is out of line? WTF? Should I have gone to the Pit? With “jerk”? For Og’s sake, man, _you can call someone a “jerk” in a freakin’ G-rated movie!_ If I’d have written a Pit thread and the strongest insult I’d hurled against another poster (or whomever) was “jerk” it’d have been moved to MPSIMS, and given the climate of the place _these_ days, a warning would have been tossed out telling me to **not** put such a pissant thread in the Pit again. Dude, _get a grip._ Or get bent. I don’t care. It seems pretty clear that **all** you guys want is for people to tell you how great you are, even when you fuck up. Sorry, but if you get to wield the ban hammers for us breaking the rules, the _least_ you can do is tolerate us calling you “jerks” every once in a while in ATMB. Requiring us to call you “dead bronto felchers” in the Pit is _reasonable_, saying we can’t use the word “jerk” in ATMB is **not**. Been nice knowing you. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/4 "2009-03-08T07:22:14Z")
**OH BULLSHIT.** Skip, I don’t give a rat’s ass who the fuck you think you are, you do not fucking use your mod access to make it look like I started a thread I did not fucking start. That’s bullshit. If I want to ATMB you, since I am no longer allowed to pit your incompetent power-crazy ass, I am more than capable of doing it myself. And while I’m at it, I’ll point out that we have a 1k+ post thread in this very forum calling Ed an asshole and worse. But you, oh mighty wielder of the ban hammer, are now passing out warnings for the intolerable crime of calling a collective…not any individual, the self-image destroying “Jerk”. Kiss my ass. And then go change your tampon and pop a midol before you ban me. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/5 "2009-03-08T07:28:14Z")
Yes, “jerk” is a mild insult when compared to some, but we still don’t allow it outside the Pit when directed against other posters. (You can also call someone an “asshole” in a G-rated movie, but I don’t think we’ll be allowing that one, either.) The rule is “no insults”, so unless you’re asking us to allow some insults but not others–and thereby creating an unclear, hard-to-follow rule–I’m not sure what else you should expect. > [@Tuckerfan](#): > > It seems pretty clear that all you guys want is for people to tell you how great you are, even when you fuck up. I’m not sure where you’re getting that idea. It’s perfectly possible to criticize a mod decision without resorting to insults, and that’s all we’re asking you to do. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/6 "2009-03-08T07:34:45Z")
I really don’t get the outrage. As far as I can recall, you could never call someone a jerk in this forum and not be pulled up on it. The mildness of the insult is totally irrelevant, it’s still an insult. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/7 "2009-03-08T07:35:45Z")
**Skip** , In case you missed it in your modly wrath, \*\*Tuckerfan \*\*did not call any individual a jerk. Here’s what he said: - Originally Posted by Tuckerfan View Post Time after time, however, we were patted on our heads, told we didn’t know what we were talking about, and you jerks did whatever it was that you wanted.\* That’s collective, not individual. You fucked up. Bad. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/8 "2009-03-08T07:36:30Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > **OH BULLSHIT.** > > Skip, I don’t give a rat’s ass who the fuck you think you are, you do not fucking use your mod access to make it look like I started a thread I did not fucking start. That’s bullshit. If I want to ATMB you, since I am no longer allowed to pit your incompetent power-crazy ass, I am more than capable of doing it myself. When threads have been hijacked in the past–as that one would have–we have moved the hijack into a new thread. There’s nothing inappropriate about that, and it helps keep the original on-track. I should have immediately posted a note in this thread letting everyone know what I had done, but I got sidetracked in answering **Tuckerfan** ’s post. (I did, however, leave a note in the other thread.) > [@](#): > > And while I’m at it, I’ll point out that we have a 1k+ post thread in this very forum calling Ed an asshole and worse. But you, oh mighty wielder of the ban hammer, are now passing out warnings for the intolerable crime of calling a collective…not any individual, the self-image destroying “Jerk”. Group insults are not appropriate when the person you’re addressing is part of the group. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/9 "2009-03-08T07:39:36Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#): > > When threads have been hijacked in the past–as that one would have–we have moved the hijack into a new thread. There’s nothing inappropriate about that, and it helps keep the original on-track. I honestly don’t recall having seen this happen before. Would you be able to link to a few for me? > [@](#): > > Group insults are not appropriate when the person you’re addressing is part of the group. Really? The Republican, Democrat, and Christian members of the board (who are left) will be happy to hear that. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/10 "2009-03-08T07:48:06Z")
I think I have a solution. We need to have a forum where people – in whatever capacity – can be flamed. Hm. ‘Flamed’. Maybe it could be called The Fire Pit or The Hibachi or The Komodo Cooker or maybe something barbecue-related. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/11 "2009-03-08T07:49:20Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > I honestly don’t recall having seen this happen before. Would you be able to link to a few for me? Probably not because a) it doesn’t happen that often, and b) I wouldn’t immediately know which keyword to search for. > [@](#): > > Really? The Republican, Democrat, and Christian members of the board (who are left) will be happy to hear that. You may want to ask a GD mod how they handle insults aimed at those large groups, since that’s the forum where those discussions tend to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/12 "2009-03-08T07:53:55Z")
**Skip** , not sure why I’m even trying to communicate with you, but could you explain how Tuckerfan gets warned for what he did, yet I was considerably harsher, and so far, no sanctions have been applied? ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/13 "2009-03-08T08:01:08Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#): > > Probably not because a) it doesn’t happen that often, and b) I wouldn’t immediately know which keyword to search for. Somehow, I didn’t think you would. Protip: when you say “this is the way we’ve always done it!” and then can’t show that you’ve always done it that way, your credibility is reduced. > [@](#): > > You may want to ask a GD mod how they handle insults aimed at those large groups, since that’s the forum where those discussions tend to happen. If you want people to understand what you mean, you need to learn to communicate more clearly. This is doubly important when you have some sort of authority. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/14 "2009-03-08T08:01:18Z")
I tend to let other mods act on any insults aimed at me. Not that insults greatly bother me, but I don’t think it hurts to let someone else who isn’t part of the back-and-forth comment on the insults. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/15 "2009-03-08T08:04:27Z")
**Oakminster.** Man, I can’t believe you started a thread just for this. And picked such a dull title, too. Your actions have really affected my opinion of you. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/16 "2009-03-08T08:06:42Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#): > > I tend to let other mods act on any insults aimed at me. Not that insults greatly bother me, but I don’t think it hurts to let someone else who isn’t part of the back-and-forth comment on the insults. You may as well sell tickets for a drawing. I’m sure there’s no shortage of mods that would just love give me my first official warning. Or ban me. Whatever. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/17 "2009-03-08T08:10:38Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > Somehow, I didn’t think you would. Protip: when you say “this is the way we’ve always done it!” and then can’t show that you’ve always done it that way, your credibility is reduced. I didn’t say we had always done it, or that we’ve done it a lot; I’m saying that it has been done and I don’t have any links on hand. We don’t keep a list of every small moderating action we’ve ever done, so it’s not surpising that nothing specific comes to mind. But I’m also not going to stress about a moderating action that is perfectly reasonable to do. > [@](#): > > If you want people to understand what you mean, you need to learn to communicate more clearly. This is doubly important when you have some sort of authority. Good thing that my comment was perfectly clear, then. You want to make finer and finer distinctions, but the hypotheticals you offered don’t apply to the threads in the forums I moderate–which is why I pointed you to the people who do deal with those issues. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/18 "2009-03-08T08:18:23Z")
> [@ntucker](#): > > **Oakminster.** Man, I can’t believe you started a thread just for this. And picked such a dull title, too. Your actions have really affected my opinion of you. Yeah, my title would have been better, and if I wanted to start a thread about it, I’d have had a better OP, too. Either the way I calmly laid out my position in the thread I started about **Marley23** , or something along the lines of my “Ed, You’re a Snuggly Puppy” pit thread. Instead, Skip makes up rules again, and I respond to that. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/19 "2009-03-08T08:19:16Z")
By the way, for anyone who’s confused about how this thread started (since, as **Oakminster** has rightly pointed out, he’s didn’t start the thread and couldn’t have known a link was needed), here’s [the jumping point](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10915720#post10915720). ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717/20 "2009-03-08T08:19:56Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Instead, Skip makes up rules again, and I respond to that. Which rule would that be? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerk-is-warnable-now/488717.md?page=2)