# Lissener finally comes clean as to what he really is. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 11, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678 "2006-12-11T13:51:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/41 "2006-12-11T22:59:05Z")
[QUOTE=brossa] A documentary about rule or government based on ideology or theory? Like _Triumph of the Will_ ? [/QUOTE] **Ideocracy** was a movie that came out this past summer, made by the guy who made **Office Space**. It was set something like 500 years in the future (too far in the future, in my opinion) and a guy, an average, everyday shlub (played by Luke Wilson), who is cryogenically frozen in present day, wakes up in that future to find that the population has been so dumbed-down by reality shows, Jackass-type shows, hostility to education and general apathy (and sports, if I remember correctly though I could be wrong) that he, of all people, is now the smartest guy in the country. It was mildly funny, with several amusing moments, but it scored some pretty damned good points about how people are just getting dumber and dumber and dumber. Huh, I could have sworn it was a documentary. This thread would seem to prove it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/42 "2006-12-11T23:11:39Z")
So you’ve proven lissener is a troll? Start a webpage. Maybe James Randi’ll give you a million bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/43 "2006-12-11T23:14:20Z")
[QUOTE=Equipoise] This thread would seem to prove it. [/QUOTE] I take it you don’t believe that **lissener** essentially admitted to trolling in that other thread. I must ask why not? No smartass remarks; I’m asking honestly here. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/44 "2006-12-11T23:23:15Z")
[QUOTE=The King of Soup] Oh, piffle. The admittedly rude, thread-crashing **lissener** named no one specifically, and the OP not even in a general sense, as he hadn’t entered the thread to that point. So of course this has to end up as another Pit thread, because just one leaves insufficient room for the egos involved. **Airman** , the fact that you _could_ be baited by a nonsensical verbal brickbat like that is more than enough evidence that…well, that your reflexes are a bit too highly attuned to certain esoteric stimuli. _Lots_ of our many prolific and cherished posters have a propensity for picking and prolonging fights now and then. **Lissener** ’s effort shouldn’t be criticized because it’s trollish, it should be criticized because it’s gibberish. Apparently he intended to say “sports is not important enough to warrant HDTV technology,” or something like that, and mucked it up. The double use of “retarded” is merely an intensifier, and doesn’t rehabilitate the fact that “oxymoronic” doesn’t _have_ a meaning that can sensibly be inserted into his sentence: there’s nothing about a broadcast technology that inherently contradicts the broadcast content. So far as I can tell, “ludicrosity” is his own invention, so I won’t presume to offer a definition for it. **lissener** ’s first post was a tad rude (certainly no more than average for the pit), poorly expressed, and if it’s meaning was intended to be something like “it’s stupid for bars to invest in HDTV to broadcast sports anyway – they’re not worth the expense and trouble,” it was on the edge but IMO _not quite_ off-topic. I doubt that a search would find a whole lot of **lissener** posts contradicting this viewpoint, so sincerity probably isn’t an issue. The “dance, monkey” follow-up (in my view) isn’t so much a confession of trollery as it is an incredibly impolite diagnosis of your inability to ignore a rudely-expressed opinion on what he thinks is a hot topic for you: I can’t remember, **Airman** – _do_ you care at all about sports? In short, **Doors** , it was wrong of **lissener** to call you a monkey (at least it gets no points from me for either content or style), but, anyhow, quit dancing. [/QUOTE] Wait, so “You are all retarded” is merely an intensifier? Personally, I think **lissener** tried to say something like “it’s stupid for bars to invest in HDTV to broadcast sports anyway,” but that would be a viewpoint he would have to defend, so he tossed in a layer of assholish condescension so that he could just dismiss his critics when they took the bait. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/45 "2006-12-11T23:24:55Z")
Actually, I must apologize for that. I was drunk, and it just struck me as ludicrous that someone would care about the resolution of the logo on a football player’s helmet, when people still listen to games on the radio. It seemed bizarro-world to me, very much “People unclear on the concept.” So in my cups I pointed and laughed. And then when Doors responded it just cracked me up that he took me seriously enough to respond. Honestly, it was not worthy of a response, Doors. So, while I won’t be joining Mel Gibson in rehab, I \*will \*try not to post drunk anymore. At least, not AS drunk. (I still do NOT get it, though, the whole $9,000 just to watch a football game thing.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/46 "2006-12-11T23:31:42Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Actually, I must apologize for that. [/QUOTE] Y’know, you and I have butted heads a few times before. But, I gotta say that’s a class act, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/47 "2006-12-11T23:32:35Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] (I still do NOT get it, though, the whole $9,000 just to watch a football game thing.) [/QUOTE] That’s okay, you don’t have to. I don’t get the national obsession with _Survivor_, _Lost_, and _Deal or No Deal_, so I stay out of the threads in which they are discussed. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/48 "2006-12-12T00:14:08Z")
Actually, it’s porn in hi-def that is the retarded ludicrosity. Sometimes a little pixelation is a good thing. Too much resolution leads to unwanted observations such as: “Hmm, I can still see scarring from that recent Herpes outbreak” or: “That pimple’s about ready to pop” or: “No. That’s not a razor bump, that’s ingrown.” or: “She should have taken one more swipe with the toilet paper before coming on set.” or: “Guess who had corn last night.” So **Lissener** may have a point considering the mixed blessing that is Hi-def. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/49 "2006-12-12T00:18:40Z")
> [@](#): > > “Guess who had corn last night.” What the _hell_ kind of porn are you watching where this would even be an issue? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/50 "2006-12-12T00:34:21Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] (I still do NOT get it, though, the whole $9,000 just to watch a football game thing.) [/QUOTE] It’s not just football. It’s hockey and baseball, too. 🆒 Of all sports, hockey sees the greatest improvement in following the game in hi-def. Oh, and my daughter gets to oggle Johnny Depp (I love reminding her that he is the same age as I am), and the two boys from Harry Potter (the blond and the redhead) in hi-def. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/51 "2006-12-12T00:42:56Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] (I still do NOT get it, though, the whole $9,000 just to watch a football game thing.) [/QUOTE] I don’t get the appeal of spectator sports at any price-point, but even I can see a big difference between watching sports on a regular broadcast, and watching them on HD. From my limited exposure (I have a lot of friends who are sports fans, including one who played semi-pro football) HD makes it a lot easier to follow the action, particulaly in games that use a small ball, like golf or hockey. As boring as golf is to watch, it does help a bit to be able to actually see the ball go all the way down the fairway, instead of just vanishing when the guy swings at it. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/52 "2006-12-12T00:46:09Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] Oh, and my daughter gets to oggle Johnny Depp (I love reminding her that he is the same age as I am), and the two boys from Harry Potter (the blond and the redhead) in hi-def. [/QUOTE] Believe it or not, the blonde is a girl. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/53 "2006-12-12T00:49:11Z")
FWIW, my second post in that thread was not a “confession of trollery.” First of all, don’t you think I’ve been around long enough to know that that would be suicide? Please. I haven’t read this thread in its entirety, but King of Soup captured pretty exactly what was going through my mind at the time. My “monkey” remark was because I was so astonished that Doors would actually react in such a way to such a throwaway insult. I was saying, “Oh, yeah, I guess Doors can be relied upon to overreact in situations like this.” It was not my specific intention to elicit such a reaction. Although, of course, I expected argument; I knew I was entering the discussion with an unpopular opinion, and in a pit-specific manner. I was surprised, and amused, by Doors reaction; if I’d been trolling, I’d have expected it. And as pointed out, I’ve said more than once on this board that I don’t “get” sports, and I certainly don’t get the whole sports on HDTV thing–in fact I feel pretty sure I’ve expressed this exact opinion before, though not I think in a pit thread. (And, also FWIW, I used the word “oxymoronic” intentionally, to suggest the extreme conceptual incongruity that “sports” and “HDTV” hold in my mind. Also to insert the word “moronic” into the conversation in a brilliant bit of Joycean wit.) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/54 "2006-12-12T00:54:39Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] I don’t get the appeal of spectator sports at any price-point, but even I can see a big difference between watching sports on a regular broadcast, and watching them on HD. From my limited exposure (I have a lot of friends who are sports fans, including one who played semi-pro football) HD makes it a lot easier to follow the action, particulaly in games that use a small ball, like golf or hockey. As boring as golf is to watch, it does help a bit to be able to actually see the ball go all the way down the fairway, instead of just vanishing when the guy swings at it. [/QUOTE] This all may be true; I’ll never know. I have a pathological hatred of organized sports (here’s some troll food I know I’ll always regret sharing: my dad played pro football and was a wifebeater and child abuser, so I grew up with a conditioned aversion), and to put sports on HDTV seems like about the same thing as making Hell that much hotter. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/55 "2006-12-12T01:10:36Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Actually, I must apologize for that. I was drunk, and it just struck me as ludicrous that someone would care about the resolution of the logo on a football player’s helmet, when people still listen to games on the radio. It seemed bizarro-world to me, very much “People unclear on the concept.” So in my cups I pointed and laughed. And then when Doors responded it just cracked me up that he took me seriously enough to respond. Honestly, it was not worthy of a response, Doors. So, while I won’t be joining Mel Gibson in rehab, I \*will \*try not to post drunk anymore. At least, not AS drunk. (I still do NOT get it, though, the whole $9,000 just to watch a football game thing.) [/QUOTE] Something is strange in the doper world, \*\*lissener \*\* apologized. I believe this is a fairly historic day. Congrats to \*\*lissener \*\* for apologizing and to **Airman Doors, USAF** for receiving the rarest of doper things. 😉 Jim (I started following this early and had nothing to add, I am surprised with the way it turned out) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/56 "2006-12-12T01:23:17Z")
[QUOTE=Scylla] Actually, it’s porn in hi-def that is the retarded ludicrosity. Sometimes a little pixelation is a good thing. Too much resolution leads to unwanted observations such as: “Hmm, I can still see scarring from that recent Herpes outbreak” \ [/QUOTE] This reminds me of when we went to see “The Matrix” in IMAX - Lawrence Fishburne’s face does not benefit from being four stories tall. He had skin with a disturbing Muppet-like texture. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/57 "2006-12-12T02:16:54Z")
[QUOTE=yBeayf] What the _hell_ kind of porn are you watching where this would even be an issue? [/QUOTE] I’m just saying that if the resolution is high enough to discern the composition of dingleberries than you probably needed to soften the contrast. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/58 "2006-12-12T02:31:56Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Believe it or not, the blonde is a girl. [/QUOTE] Draco Malfoy is played by a woman? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/59 "2006-12-12T02:48:04Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] It’s not just football. It’s hockey and baseball, too. 🆒 Of all sports, hockey sees the greatest improvement in following the game in hi-def. Oh, and my daughter gets to oggle Johnny Depp (I love reminding her that he is the same age as I am), and the two boys from Harry Potter (the blond and the redhead) in hi-def. [/QUOTE] Johnny Depp is playing hockey now? For who, the Penguins? ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678/60 "2006-12-12T03:03:44Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] I take it you don’t believe that **lissener** essentially admitted to trolling in that other thread. I must ask why not? No smartass remarks; I’m asking honestly here. [/QUOTE] I just saw that lissener posted an explanation. I hadn’t even talked to him when I posted earlier, but it’s exactly the way I read it in the original thread: > [@](#): > > lissener: My “monkey” remark was because I was so astonished that Doors would actually react in such a way to such a throwaway insult. I was saying, “Oh, yeah, I guess Doors can be relied upon to overreact in situations like this.” It was not my specific intention to elicit such a reaction. It seemed clear to me. Obviously it wasn’t to Doors or some other people in this thread, but of course lissener doesn’t even get a chance to explain himself before he’s tried, judged, and sentenced to scorn and derision. It just seemed like such a stupid piddly thing to Pit someone over, even more than the last stupid piddly thing someone pitted lissener for. It’s becoming a regular thing here: someone takes umbridge at something lissener says, Pits him for it, then there’s an immediate pile-on of people who cannot WAIT to express how much they can’t stand lissener. And someone ALWAYS brings up Showgirls as if it says something about him (btw fuck you folks…lissener AND CERVAISE are right, you’re wrong). The pile-ons are by turn amusing and disgusting. Last time I was disgusted. This time I was amused. lissener can be maddening at times, but some of you people are just silly in your reactions to him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-finally-comes-clean-as-to-what-he-really-is/383678.md?page=4)