# Larry Mudd; Explain...
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [January 13, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864 "2006-01-13T20:08:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/21 "2006-01-14T02:26:22Z")
> [@Giraffe](#):
>
> Every once in a while, we have to kill them and erase all your memories of the poster in question.
>
> Lucky for us, none of you read the fine print when you sign up.
So _that’s_ what that flashy thingy is we were issued?
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/22 "2006-01-14T02:28:07Z")
I made the same type of comment to **Idle Thoughts** in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=352921) thread. Lest anyone believe this is a case of the newbie throwing his weight around, from the same thread:
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#):
>
> As a guideline, no poster should have more than two or three active threads per forum. This doesn’t mean that posters cannot or should not post more than three times per forum, just that if you see that two of your threads in a forum are still active, you shouldn’t start another one. Nobody’s thoughts and opinions are THAT interesting. Unless, of course, you happen to be Cecil Adams. If there are already some threads of a similar nature (game playing, jokes, whatever) then don’t start yet another thread at the moment. If you feel that it’s a really interesting idea or game or whatever, write it up and put it in your files, and when the other threads have died and been forgotten for a while, then you can post another thread on the subject.
>
> So far, this is a guideline. It might become a rule later on.
I must admit, as both a moderator and a poster, I hate seeing valuable front page real estate taken up by the same few people, _most especially_ people who contribute little or nothing to threads started by posters who are not them.
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### Author:  [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/23 "2006-01-14T02:35:01Z")
> [@samclem](#):
>
> So _that’s_ what that flashy thingy is we were issued?
We kept telling you how it works and then you’d go and flash yourself with it and we have to start all over. Finally, we just replaced yours with a laser pointer.
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/24 "2006-01-14T02:51:31Z")
> [@The Flying Dutchman](#):
>
> Well if the community sustains his threads at the top[ ten, what is your problem? And considering your post has been qualified as “moderation”, do we need one more rule here? I swear you moderators need to step back and reassess your role here. Not really complaining, but we are all human and I detect trends of the inevitable bureaucratic millstone that has been the bane of many organizations. Lets applaud freedom for all as much as possible, rather than additional top down restrictions on the membership to conform to arbitrary protocols.
**Dutchman** , I don’t think it should be a rule. It should be, and is, a guideline that can be altered as appropriate, as needed.
If you start five threads aimed at five different subjects in five minutes, it might raise eyebrows, but I doubt anyone would say anything about it to you. That’s not your habit. What I saw was **bubastis** complaining about someone making a comment about a pattern that I perceived as well. I made a judgement that the OP was getting carried away, and decided to step out of my forum and say something about it.
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### Author:  [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/25 "2006-01-14T03:13:01Z")
> [@Giraffe](#):
>
> We kept telling you how it works and then you’d go and flash yourself with it and we have to start all over. Finally, we just replaced yours with a laser pointer.
Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to present The Straight Dope Message Board. Read it again for the first time. 🙂
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/26 "2006-01-14T03:50:37Z")
> [@Frank](#):
>
> **Dutchman** , I don’t think it should be a rule. It should be, and is, a guideline that can be altered as appropriate, as needed.
>
> If you start five threads aimed at five different subjects in five minutes, it might raise eyebrows, but I doubt anyone would say anything about it to you. That’s not your habit. What I saw was **bubastis** complaining about someone making a comment about a pattern that I perceived as well. I made a judgement that the OP was getting carried away, and decided to step out of my forum and say something about it.
You also rescued a bunch of us posters from dancing around the words Troll and Jerk. I think your actions and Giraffe’s appreciated.
Jim
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### Author:  [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/27 "2006-01-14T03:58:23Z")
I’d say the annoyance is not so much that userX’s name is everywhere, it’s the fact that someone may start up a thread which is automatically bumped back into oblivion because userX started up 3 more threads after them. It’s like trying to talk over a guy with a really annoying voice - nobody notices your voice over his.
And yeah, it’s not like **bubastis** ’s multiple threads are incredibly interesting. Starting up one really mundane thread once in awhile? Sure, everyone does. But a crop of 'em in a few days? Come on, you need to get out and _do_ something.
And **bubastis** , pitting **Larry Mudd**? He’s never said anything I even found remotely offensive - his tiny remark to you had all the impact of a collision with a feather. In fact, he’s pretty pleasant to have around. This is a lame-o pitting.
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/28 "2006-01-14T04:08:59Z")
Thanks, **AFG** , but I don’t think this a pitting so much as a pretty reasonable request for explanation.
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### Author:  [@lonesome\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lonesome_loser)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/29 "2006-01-14T04:34:14Z")
He’s allowed three threads??
Wow.
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### Author:  [@lonesome\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lonesome_loser)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/30 "2006-01-14T04:36:37Z")
I count the days till the one I’m allowed drops off.
Why the difference?
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### Author:  [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/31 "2006-01-14T04:55:47Z")
> [@Giraffe](#):
>
> We kept telling you how it works and then you’d go and flash yourself with it and we have to start all over. Finally, we just replaced yours with a laser pointer.
You’re my new idol. _goes to put a giraffe in the Shrine of Heroes_
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/32 "2006-01-14T05:00:35Z")
Quote:
Originally Posted by Giraffe
We kept telling you how it works and then you’d go and flash yourself with it and we have to start all over. Finally, we just replaced yours with a laser pointer
> [@Kat](#):
>
> You’re my new idol. _goes to put a giraffe in the Shrine of Heroes_
He’s _NOTHING_ without my straight lines. 🙂
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### Author:  [@JimSox5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimSox5)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/33 "2006-01-14T05:25:33Z")
Pssh, **Giraffe** was my hero as soon as he hit on, what, a 13 year old? 14 year old?
Hold on, that didn’t come out right. . .
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### Author:  [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/34 "2006-01-14T07:28:40Z")
> [@Giraffe](#):
>
> Every once in a while, we have to kill them and erase all your memories of the poster in question.
I don’t know **bubstasis** from Adam, but what you said sounds happy 🙂
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### Author:  [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/35 "2006-01-14T07:51:36Z")
> [@Giraffe](#):
>
> Every once in a while, we have to kill them and erase all your memories of the poster in question.
>
> .
That reminds me of the old Steve Martin joke where he said remember when the end of the world happened, and they only told the smart people so the really stupid ones wouldn’t…
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### Author:  [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/36 "2006-01-14T07:54:38Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#):
>
> A less smart-assed answer would probably be polite, so here goes:
>
> You start a lot of threads. Some of them are interesting. Some of them… aren’t.
>
> “Bubastis offends Japan,” for example – sounds like an international incident. Actually, you just made a joke that didn’t go over well with some random people.
>
> “Don’t my food around,” as well – you didn’t like that your fish came with sauce, or the way it was conveyed to your plate. The only thing to talk about there is how you’ve blown a non-event up into something to rant about.
>
> “OMG, I sat next to a really fat person.” …and on, and on. (Being a smartass, I repeated my comment in there before I noticed this thread.)
>
> If you can take a bit of criticism, I invite you to imagine what the boards would be like if every member had such a low threshold for determining if some random experience of their day was likely to be fodder for an interesting discussion here. We would have hundreds and hundreds of threads inspired by entirely unremarkable events _every day_, and it would be very hard to find the interesting topics. We have a _huge_ membership.
>
> Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not criticizing you as a poster in general – some of the threads that you’ve started have proven to be quiet interesting and enjoyable.
I’d like to pop in to say that \*\*Larry Mudd \*\*has earned my respect here. Don’t get me wrong, I like to lurk in the Pit, appeasing my wenchy side by seeing jerks get their ass handed to them, or even a spectacular meltdown… but it’s nice to see civil, reasoned discussion in this forum. (By the way, I’m not one of the super-sensitive offenderatti who longs for a kinder, gentler Pit)
While I do agree with Larry’s and fellow Dopers’ assessment of our friend **bubastis** , I’m glad to see his OP was not a proverbial shove to the chest.
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### Author:  [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/37 "2006-01-14T16:12:15Z")
> [@Frank](#):
>
> **Dutchman** , I don’t think it should be a rule. It should be, and is, a guideline that can be altered as appropriate, as needed.
>
> If you start five threads aimed at five different subjects in five minutes, it might raise eyebrows, but I doubt anyone would say anything about it to you. That’s not your habit. What I saw was **bubastis** complaining about someone making a comment about a pattern that I perceived as well. I made a judgement that the OP was getting carried away, and decided to step out of my forum and say something about it.
I concur. I just over reacted.
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### Author:  [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/38 "2006-01-14T16:29:59Z")
> [@Giraffe](#):
>
> Yeah. If a poster seems to be getting a little thread-happy, we’ll sometimes step in and say something. Most of the time, it’s just misplaced exuberance and nothing more needs to be done. Every once in a while, we have to kill them and erase all your memories of the poster in question.
>
> Lucky for us, none of you read the fine print when you sign up.
Oh yea, I remember. There was that one guy from last year who …
who …
…
Um, what was I talking about? 😕
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### Author:  [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/39 "2006-01-14T17:46:59Z")
> [@samclem](#):
>
> He’s _NOTHING_ without my straight lines. 🙂
You set 'em up, I knock 'em down. In exchange, I’ll be happy to help out if you ever need a second for good cop/bad cop. I can play either one. Or both!
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### Author:  [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-mudd-explain/339864/40 "2006-01-14T17:50:19Z")
> [@lonesome loser](#):
>
> I count the days till the one I’m allowed drops off.
> Why the difference?
I don’t remember where you were told to limit yourself to one, or by whom, but assuming it’s been a few months since then, I’m guessing you’re OK to start relaxing the restriction. Don’t go nuts, but if you occasionally have two on the front page at one time you should be fine.
We don’t really want _anybody_ constantly having 2-3 threads on the front page, but occasionally is fine. Like **Frank** said, it’s a guideline, not a rule.
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