# Marley23, A minute of your time please. (mild) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 27, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415 "2008-08-27T13:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/61 "2008-08-28T14:29:52Z")
[QUOTE=SkipMagic] Confessions aren’t a special case; they have to fit within the rules just like any other post on the board. Yours was over-the-top and jerkish; that it was in a confession thread doesn’t give it any more protection than if someone had come in there and said, “I confess that I think **John Doe** is an ass.” That confession may be what the poster honestly believes, but it still violates the rules. [/QUOTE] There was a big old Pit thread waay back when **Der Trihs** wished death on all the American forces in Iraq. The mods concluded that he broke no rules, _even though we have members who are in that group_. Why is this any different? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/62 "2008-08-28T14:39:57Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] There was a big old Pit thread waay back when **Der Trihs** wished death on all the American forces in Iraq. The mods concluded that he broke no rules, _even though we have members who are in that group_. Why is this any different? [/QUOTE] I may be asking for trouble by explaining a decision I wasn’t involved in, but for one thing, that was in the Pit, and for another, he didn’t say he’d like to kill them himself, while **Acid Lamp** did. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/63 "2008-08-28T14:56:00Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I may be asking for trouble by explaining a decision I wasn’t involved in, but for one thing, that was in the Pit, and for another, he didn’t say he’d like to kill them himself, while **Acid Lamp** did. [/QUOTE] The \*discussion \*was in the Pit. He \*said \*it in GD. And wishing death in the Pit is against the rules anyway. I see little or no difference at all in the two. He said that he wanted every American serviceman to die. You said that wishing death was absolutely jerkish and deserved an official warning. As far as I know, wanting to do it oneself has never been at issue. At most, it compounds what is already against the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/64 "2008-08-28T15:15:37Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] And wishing death in the Pit is against the rules anyway. [/quote] [No, it’s not.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=365973) Wishing death on _other posters_ is against the rules, and the Pit rules do address this scenario. > [@Giraffe](#): > > Do not threaten another poster with physical harm, or wish for their demise. This includes hypothetical statements like “it would make me happy if someone ran you over” or “I hope you say that to [someone prone to stabbing people] and they stab you”. > > This does not include statements about non-posters or groups which happen to include posters (e.g. lawyers, redheads, Democrats, Republicans, SUV-owners, etc.) You can wish death on them all you want. There is not a rule against wishing death on anyone at all. I did not warn **Acid Lamp** for wishing death on evangelical Christians. I warned him for saying he would like to murder them himself, and for doing so in an MPSIMS thread. > [@](#): > > I see little or no difference at all in the two. He said that he wanted every American serviceman to die. You said that wishing death was absolutely jerkish and deserved an official warning. It’s not the biggest difference in the world, but I do see a line between “fuck off and die, Republicans” and “I’d kill a club full of gays if I had the chance.” Both might be obnoxious but I see different degrees of vileness. > [@](#): > > As far as I know, wanting to do it oneself has never been at issue. The rules indicate that it’s an issue the mods have considered in the past. I can’t speak to why **Der Trihs** was or was not warned, but even in GD that statement might be within the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/65 "2008-08-28T22:58:48Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] [No, it’s not.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=365973) Wishing death on _other posters_ is against the rules, and the Pit rules do address this scenario. [/QUOTE] That’s what I meant, obviously. Geez. And since other posters are American serviceman that’s exactly what he did. > [@](#): > > There is not a rule against wishing death on anyone at all. I did not warn **Acid Lamp** for wishing death on evangelical Christians. I warned him for saying he would like to murder them himself, and for doing so in an MPSIMS thread. This is what you said. \* “While criticizing, mocking and otherwise haranguing groups of people is allowed on this board, wishing death on them and saying you would like to commit mass murder yourself is absolutely jerkish. This is an official warning not to do this again.”\* Tell me again that he wasn’t warned for wishing death on someone. > [@](#): > > The rules indicate that it’s an issue the mods have considered in the past. I can’t speak to why **Der Trihs** was or was not warned, but even in GD that statement might be within the rules. Then what **Acid Lamp** said was within the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/66 "2008-08-28T23:58:48Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Tell me again that he wasn’t warned for wishing death on someone. [/QUOTE] He wasn’t. From what you quoted: “wishing death on them and saying you would like to commit mass murder yourself is absolutely jerkish.” As I’ve said before, while I deplore folks wishing death on members of other nation’s militaries, doing so is an inescapable aspect of arguing in favor of any military action at all, unless you’re advocating on behalf of a military equipped with tasers and nets. If anything, wishing death on military members deserves an exception from the rule in order to allow people to advocate military actions. Our society accepts war in a way that it doesn’t accept gassing roomfuls of civilians, and until that changes, there’s no reason why the board shouldn’t likewise treat them differently. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/67 "2008-08-29T00:06:01Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] He wasn’t. From what you quoted: “wishing death on them and saying you would like to commit mass murder yourself is absolutely jerkish.” As I’ve said before, while I deplore folks wishing death on members of other nation’s militaries, doing so is an inescapable aspect of arguing in favor of any military action at all, unless you’re advocating on behalf of a military equipped with tasers and nets. If anything, wishing death on military members deserves an exception from the rule in order to allow people to advocate military actions. Our society accepts war in a way that it doesn’t accept gassing roomfuls of civilians, and until that changes, there’s no reason why the board shouldn’t likewise treat them differently. Daniel [/QUOTE] Read what comes right before the part you underlined. And, as far as saying he would \*like \*to do it, he also said he _wouldn’t._ Death is not the only outcome of a military action. And wishing that all servicemen be killed, including non-combat troops, is not a necessary element of supporting a military action. That’s simply absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/68 "2008-08-29T00:17:54Z")
[QUOTE=Acid Lamp] Whatever you like, I’m sure. The simple fact is I often have thoughts of a sociopathic nature. Recognizing this, and understanding that it is unacceptable,(thought logically I find our collective values to be extremely arbitrary) I feel bad about making that leap; and my nonchalance about the issue. So I posted it in a confessions thread and felt better. [/QUOTE] Probably the seminal thread about how to handle your impulses to confess to sociopathic thoughts was the gone but not forgotten, **dalovindj’s** [Warning: No Evil in The Pit!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=199399). Basically it talks about how having these thoughts is normal to a certain extent, but expressing them in public is generally a bad idea. Lots of big words and heavy concepts in this. For a pit thread it was very erudite, and we get a fair number of erudite threads in the pit. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/69 "2008-08-29T11:54:52Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Tell me again that he wasn’t warned for wishing death on someone. [/quote] He wasn’t warned for wishing death on someone. I’m sorry you don’t understand use of the modifier “and,” but I commend you on becoming a prolific poster despite what sounds like a major comprehension failure. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/70 "2008-09-03T22:29:06Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > He wasn’t warned for wishing death on someone. Uh, yeah, he was. > [@](#): > > I’m sorry you don’t understand use of the modifier “and,” Actually, I do. Lets try a few experiments. “Bob and Joe went to the movies.” Did Bob go to the movies? “He was found guilty of robbery and arson.” Was he found guilty of robbery? Sticks and stones may break my bones …" Will sticks break my bones? > [@](#): > > but I commend you on becoming a prolific poster despite what sounds like a major comprehension failure. Speaking of sticks, Dude! That stung! I haven’t been so insulted since Stephanie Dunham called me a boogerhead back in the third grade. There was no need for you to bring out the big guns. Ouch! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/71 "2008-09-04T01:23:03Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Uh, yeah, he was. If you know why I warned him and I don’t, why the fuck are you arguing with me? It sounds like I should be the one wasting your time with dumb questions that demonstrate my inability to understand a sentence with two clauses. “ **Acid Lamp** was warned for saying he’d like to kill people.” Still difficult? He was not warned twice, so it should be obvious that one phrase was modifying the other. ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/72 "2008-09-04T12:21:17Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m sorry you don’t understand use of the modifier “and,” > [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Actually, I do. Actually, no, you don’t. At least, not in this specific case. Look at the sentence more carefully: “While criticizing, mocking and otherwise haranguing groups of people is allowed on this board, wishing death on them and saying you would like to commit mass murder yourself **is** absolutely jerkish.” Emphasis added. This conjugation is extremely important. “Is” jerkish, you see? Singular. Meaning that all of that subject is expressing 1 (one) idea. The whole thing together, not two things separate. Your own attempts at language “experiments” just show that you don’t understand the specific function of “and” in that sentence. A better example would be: “Walking outside and wanking off is incredibly dumb”. Wanking off isn’t dumb. It’s a lot of fun, actually. And walking outside is fine, too. But combine the two together into 1 (one) basic action, and you get something that’ll get you arrested. Compare to the plural: “Walking outside and wanking off are incredibly dumb.” _Bzzzzzz!_ That’s just wrong. You can see that, right? It just doesn’t make sense. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/73 "2008-09-04T14:45:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If you know why I warned him and I don’t, why the fuck are you arguing with me? Because you’re wrong? Because you’re a weasel? Because you’re stubborn? Got me. > [@](#): > > “ **Acid Lamp** was warned for saying he’d like to kill people.” Why didn’t you simply say that, then? Why include the phrase about “wishing death” at all? Is it possible to want to kill someone and \*not \*want them to be dead? [QUOTE=Kendall Jackson] “Is” jerkish, you see? Singular. Meaning that all of that subject is expressing 1 (one) idea. The whole thing together, not two things separate. Your own attempts at language “experiments” just show that you don’t understand the specific function of “and” in that sentence. A better example would be: “Walking outside and wanking off is incredibly dumb”. Wanking off isn’t dumb. It’s a lot of fun, actually. And walking outside is fine, too. But combine the two together into 1 (one) basic action, and you get something that’ll get you arrested. [/QUOTE] See above. Of course it is possible to walk outside without wanking off. Now please explain how it is possible to want to kill someone and not want them dead. And consider the fact that “walking outside” is not against the rules, while “wishing death” is. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/74 "2008-09-04T15:07:47Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Because you’re wrong? No, I’m still confident I was right. > [@](#): > > Because you’re a weasel? Weasling implies changing what you’ve said, while I’ve been repeating myself despite your lack of comprehension, which is now morphing into an effort to parse words without paying attention to the overall meaning. The meaning hasn’t changed a bit, and from the beginning it was pretty fucking clear. > [@](#): > > Why didn’t you simply say that, then? I provided a little more detail about the situation. I didn’t think it’d set you off on a quest to make up shades of meaning, but some people don’t have anything better to do and I’m glad I could help you while away some time. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/75 "2008-09-04T17:45:08Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] “wishing death on them and saying you would like to commit mass murder yourself is absolutely jerkish” “He wasn’t warned for wishing death on someone. I’m sorry you don’t understand use of the modifier ‘and,’ but I commend you on becoming a prolific poster despite what sounds like a major comprehension failure.” [/QUOTE] I see, it has to be both then. So, it would be okay if I say I would like to commit mass murder myself, so long as I don’t wish death on someone? Okay, how about I don’t want a black person to die, but I would still like to kill them all myself. Acceptable? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/76 "2008-09-04T17:46:16Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I see, it has to be both then. So, it would be okay if I say I would like to commit mass murder myself, so long as I don’t wish death on someone? Okay, how about I don’t want a black person to die, but I would still like to kill them all myself. Acceptable? Does anyone with two brain cells to rub together have a question? ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/77 "2008-09-04T19:29:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Does anyone with two brain cells to rub together have a question? Yes. Regretting becoming a mod yet? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/78 "2008-09-04T19:43:45Z")
> [@rayh](#): > > Yes. Regretting becoming a mod yet? Ha! No. But I’m regretting my habit of trying to explain everything. 😛 ---
**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:** [September 5, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/79 "2008-09-05T03:00:00Z")
You know, **Marley** …we frequently disagree, but I would put you up there with **Miller** among the opposition posters here that I view as being the most intellectually honest (by and large. I do think you’re blowing it somewhat regarding **AL** and **DT**. I, too, have wondered if you aren’t beginning to wonder why the hell you became a mod. But I am glad (for the most part :D) that you have. I also wonder what new manner of fresh hell you guys are going to be in for once the board starts drawing participants from the population in general. It’ll be an interesting time. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415/80 "2008-09-05T03:16:22Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > You know, **Marley** …we frequently disagree, but I would put you up there with **Miller** among the opposition posters here that I view as being the most intellectually honest (by and large. I do think you’re blowing it somewhat regarding **AL** and **DT**. I, too, have wondered if you aren’t beginning to wonder why the hell you became a mod. But I am glad (for the most part :D) that you have. Much appreciated. I really am enjoying what I’m doing. I think I’ve gotten to know a lot of posters better, and certainly the other mods. Not that I needed an excuse to spend more time here, but now I have one. It wouldn’t kill me to get out of some of these arguments after I made my case instead of repeating myself, but so it goes. > [@](#): > > I also wonder what new manner of fresh hell you guys are going to be in for once the board starts drawing participants from the population in general. I’m really looking forward to it, much as I don’t know what’ll happen. I tend to think of the earliest days of the board as sort of a Wild West period, and I wasn’t around for a lot of that. If I’ve wondered how I would measure up to that, I may get to find out how. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-a-minute-of-your-time-please-mild/461415.md?page=5)