# Letter To The Dope **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 14, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286 "2017-07-14T22:14:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/41 "2017-07-15T01:04:35Z")
> [@](#): > > So: a little help? Anything entertaining in this? not so far ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/42 "2017-07-15T01:09:41Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Reply to the dope: You must struggle with coping issues if this particular board bothered you so much. You are not a balanced, well-functioning adult in real life. You impose your petty offenses on those around you and can only hold meaningful relationships with people who conform to your Catholic sensibilities. > > Or [something like that](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20331329&postcount=144). _snerk_ > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Several months (years? maybe.) ago, I came to the conclusion that if **stringbean** ever posted something factual and worth reading, it would be posted elsewhere, by someone with whom interaction would NOT strike me as being an unpleasant chore with a paltry reward. So I put him on my ignore list, and have since read his output only through the quotes of other people. > > That said, I haven’t read a good flounce post here in a dog’s age. I gather from the context of the responses that this OP has the potential to be one. So: a little help? Anything entertaining in this? > > TIA. It’s quite a whiny little rant. Here you go. > [@Stringbean](#): > > Dopers, > > After serious consideration, I have decided to end my time here with the Straight Dope. I may loiter now and then, but other than that I think it is time for me to move on. > > When I first found the SDMB, I was amazed at the topics being discussed and the quality of discourse. I felt like there was something to learn in every thread from someone with true insight on the matter being discussed. I grew a lot from these discussions, as the exposure to such a broad range of perspectives will tend to do for someone who is still maturing intellectually. > > The past couple years, I have been in-and-out of the forum as the general devolvement into tribal politics (exacerbated by the election of Trump) seems to leave little room for any discussion on pure intellectual grounds. But I have also noticed something far more odious. The board has become increasingly insular and incapable of entertaining viewpoints that run contrary to the general consensus. This is a leftwing discussion board, and I am center-right. I voted for Obama in ’08, Romney in ’12, and Hillary in ’16. I am not the alt-right. I vote my conscience and deliberate seriously on the views that I hold and the beliefs that I espouse. I like debating with people who hold views different than mine. I actively sought such debate on this board for several years because I felt that, despite our disagreements, we could discuss in good faith and learn a little more about the way others view the world. > > I no longer feel that such good faith exists, at least among those who more regularly frequent the Dope. What I see now are the roaming morality militias comprised of a handful of posters who feel compelled to enforce the correct group-think, and once they have decided you are the enemy, the very notion of honest debate is rendered incomprehensible. As though my disagreement could only be the result of hatred and bigotry. And they are not hesitant to label me with these pejoratives. > > It is a great shame that the forum I once considered the paragon of intellectual discourse has entrenched itself into a bubble where outside thought is seen as threatening. It is not easy voicing conservative viewpoints on this board, given the simple demographics. But I used to relish the challenge and look forward to the counter-arguments that such bright people could throw at me. Now, frankly, I no longer see the point. I don’t think the regulars here have any interest in hearing conservative views nor in rebutting them honestly. If we encounter an impasse, they see fit to ascribe ulterior motives to me and the inevitable “asshole” or “bigot” or “troll” epithets spew forth. > > I hope this trend of increasingly polarized discourse comes to an end. It started with Obama and has hit its full furor in the “fake news” age of Trump. Maybe it was just a dream that couldn’t last. Actually - fuck that - you guys fell for it and let it happen to your board. To your own detriment. If you truly believe everyone who disagrees with you is just an alt-right troll, you need to recalibrate your perspective, or else this board will lose all vestiges of openness and fully devolve into the echo chamber I sincerely fear it is headed toward. > > My final words: thank you. I still have hope for a return to the golden age. For us as Dopers, and for us as a society. > > Sincerely, > Stringbean ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/43 "2017-07-15T01:14:15Z")
Hey, what happened to that DrFidelius guy who used to post here every once in a while? Too soon? ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/44 "2017-07-15T01:16:27Z")
Why not just stop posting and save all of us a lot of time with the boring “farewell letter”. No one cares. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/45 "2017-07-15T01:20:50Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Why not just stop posting and save all of us a lot of time with the boring “farewell letter”. No one cares. I care. I care very deeply about everything. Rumors that I am indifferent, cold, and shallow, while being utterly true, are also completely correct. But I still care. Heaps and heaps. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/46 "2017-07-15T01:27:26Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > When I first found the SDMB, I was amazed at the topics being discussed and the quality of discourse. I think you’ll find that its till head and shoulders above the rest. Its gone a little crazy since Trump got elected but everyone else has gotten even crazier. The bigger problem is the pop-up ads. > [@](#): > > I felt like there was something to learn in every thread from someone with true insight on the matter being discussed. I grew a lot from these discussions, as the exposure to such a broad range of perspectives will tend to do for someone who is still maturing intellectually. Is it possible that the reduced rate of learning is also partly because you have also become less receptive and you have gotten tired of drinking from a fire hose? A lot of the stuff we talk about these days is less “what is good policy” and more “what is social justice” you may not be ready for that discussion or give a shit. > [@](#): > > This is a leftwing discussion board, and I am center-right… Have you ever popped into a right wing discussion board? I’ll take left wing arrogance over right wing hatred almost any day. This board is like salusa secundus for conservatives, I have run into some of the most thoughtful moderates and conservatives on this board, most of the dim witted ones with poor impulse control and short attention spans leave or get banned. There is significantly less selective pressure on liberal posters. Pretty much any liberal idiot can do pretty well here just by plagiarizing Rachel Maddow and Salon, no original thought necessary. That’s not to say there aren’t any highly insightful liberals on the board but they are diluted by liberal idiots and I say this even though I frequently agree with them. But whenever I am tempted to leave, I see what else is out there and aside from some board with very narrow interests, it is nuclear wasteland. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/47 "2017-07-15T05:59:56Z")
I would suggest that you study and try to adopt **Bricker’s** approach if you truly want intellectual discussion with the opposition, whether in an effort to test your own opinions, gain a new perspective, or learn something you might not have known before. Although he can get flustered occasionally and bite back with an insult or two, **Bricker** largely ignores the posters who just want to insult him and instead spends most of his time debating with those posters whose points he feels he can overcome or deflate through the use of logic, or who can cause him either to see the error in his own point of view or that he has made a factual mistake. To his credit, **Bricker** has little qualm about admitting or acknowledging it when either he is shown to be wrong or to have changed his mind on an issue. You have to realize that on this board and to most of its posters anyone who is even slightly conservative in their leanings is ipso-facto an asshole. It will profit you little to respond to those posters. You won’t change their minds, and given that they are largely playing to a crowd of supporters, you won’t gain any points even by demonstrating that you’re right or they’re wrong. So again, I think **Bricker** has the correct approach for someone like you who is apparently seeking primarily to stretch yourself intellectually and morally rather than to win over the opposition. Just engage with those who seem to be trying to engage you in meaningful debate or discussion, or whose points you feel you can deflate or show to be factually in error, and ignore for the most part those who want to call you names or insult your intelligence or your morals. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/48 "2017-07-15T06:17:18Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Dopers, > > After serious consideration, I have decided to end my time here with the Straight Dope. I may loiter now and then, but other than that I think it is time for me to move on. snip… > [@](#): > > It is a great shame that the forum I once considered the paragon of intellectual discourse… > > But I used to relish the challenge and look forward to the counter-arguments that such bright people could throw at me… > > My final words: thank you. I still have hope for a return to the golden age. F us as Dopers, and for us as a society. > > Sincerely, > Stringbean This is a joke thread, right? Like seriously, _ **Stringbean** _ relishing intellectual discourse, and a return to the Dope’s golden age? Funniest fucking thing I’ve heard today. Onya **Stringbean** , you’re a real comedian mate. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/49 "2017-07-15T06:44:12Z")
To the guy who thinks women should tolerate sexism because other women have it worse: BUH BYE! Oh, the drama! ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/50 "2017-07-15T07:31:58Z")
Man, when did Green Bean\* get all, “Fuck Y’all Dickbags!!!” and “Suck my hairy toenails you koala eating snail massagers!!!”? I thought she was much nicer and cooler than that. \*psyche. I know Green Being isn’t Total Dickbag. I’s just playing around. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/51 "2017-07-15T08:42:54Z")
I may need some assistance here. Did the OP just present the classic definition of [entropy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy_(disambiguation))? If so, we are all doomed. Doomed I say! DOOMED!!! There again, I could be wrong. Any help? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/52 "2017-07-15T11:37:42Z")
I don’t get it. If a poster doesn’t want to be called an asshole, stay out of the fucking Pit. Er, it also helps if one makes an effort to not behave like a fucking asshole. It’s really that simple. Asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/53 "2017-07-15T11:56:28Z")
The problem is that Stringbean is physically incapable of the latter. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/54 "2017-07-15T12:28:41Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > As a non-american here is what I don’t get, why do conservatives feel they have to defend Trump? > > Is conservatism a belief you have or is it a team you belong to? The latter, and likewise for the other team. The level of American political debate no longer reaches the level of beliefs, let alone ideas. It’s pretty much operating at a level of discourse normally encountered in the lower primary grades during recess. “Oh yeah well this is you. OOka OOka Ooh! Take that!” ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/55 "2017-07-15T12:58:34Z")
Those of us with political opinions can only dream of being as enlightened and centrist as you guys. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/56 "2017-07-15T13:06:09Z")
I’m sorry to see you go, and I wish you well. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/57 "2017-07-15T13:09:21Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > Those of us with political opinions can only dream of being as enlightened and centrist as you guys. ☹ Do you only exist to express disappointment in people? I looked at your most recent posts and there appears to be a lot of that. If you have nothing to actually add to any conversations but that, please let me know and I’ll add you to my ignore list. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/58 "2017-07-15T13:13:31Z")
You must have read back about five posts and decided that was it. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/59 "2017-07-15T13:15:55Z")
He’s the first poster I ever put on ignore, not because I disagreed with his viewpoints, but because he seemed like a mean-spirited person. Oh, and he used the phrase ‘‘beta cucks’’ with a straight face. As a progressive moderate myself, I see a handful of posters who are aggressively anti-conservative giving the impression that we all are. I experienced the same phenomenon when I first came to these boards and was under the impression that most of the posters are misogynists like **stringbean**. But no, they are just a handful making the rest of us look bad. Now we have one less to contend with. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286/60 "2017-07-15T13:20:55Z")
There are assholes of all types. I’m sure I’m an asshole sometimes. I hope everyone calls me out on it when I act like one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letter-to-the-dope/791286.md?page=4)