# Marley23, get in here! **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 22, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224 "2009-12-22T19:03:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/21 "2009-12-22T20:10:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It’s _mano a mano_. Man, do I feel silly now. Consider ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/22 "2009-12-22T20:16:27Z")
Fair enough. Full marks to you for chivalry, I suppose. Personally, I’m astonished that the thread has gotten up to three pages already (or at all). I’ll be candid. I lasted through about six of the OP’s posts before I decided I had better things to do with my internets time. As to the Dope’s characteristic detailed countering of the off-beat idea, well, not everything is really worth the effort. I’m pretty sure that if **Jack Dean Tyler** were to come back with another pitch for the Tug-Ahoy, he wouldn’t get the deluxe treatment, either. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/23 "2009-12-22T20:19:31Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Nor does “Your argument sucks”. > > Explain to the OP and interested onlookers “Why it sucks” and don’t assume everyone has the same knowledge of history and any other factors involved, that you have. > > Remember that old “fighting ignorance” rally cry? Some things are just too stupid to merit a reasoned response. There is little qualitative difference between that OP and the Troofers, the Moon Hoaxers, or the Birthers. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/24 "2009-12-22T20:25:37Z")
He’s _getting_ a reasoned response. At least during the first two pages. He isn’t responding to any of it, but nobody expected that he would. But come on - it is (as you mention) like debating someone who is convinced that Obama was born in Kenya. Once you point out that his birth certificate says otherwise, as does his birth announcement, what is there left to say when the other side persists? IRL you shrug your shoulders and walk away. On the SDMB, we show off how clever we can be in our responses. It’s not fish in a barrel, nor a sitting duck, on the SDMB - it’s the latest thing in bazooka target practice. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/25 "2009-12-22T20:45:56Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > On the SDMB, we show off how clever we can be in our responses. In that case, “Ya, boo. Your argument is teh rubbish” is setting a very low standard. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/26 "2009-12-22T21:15:20Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > In that case, “Ya, boo. Your argument is teh rubbish” is setting a very low standard. If I had gone for style points and said something like “Your theory is madder than Mad Jack McMad, the winner of this year’s Mr. Madman competition,” wouldn’t that have been _more_ insulting? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/27 "2009-12-22T21:17:00Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > On the SDMB, we show off how clever we can be in our responses. 😃 Regards, ElvisL1ves ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/28 "2009-12-22T21:23:25Z")
What I want to know is why Marley couldn’t have been bothered to answer it there. A simple, “Attacking the post, not the poster, etc. etc. and if you have any further comments, you may start a thread in ATMB.” wouldn’t have been out of line in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/29 "2009-12-22T21:29:05Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If I had gone for style points and said something like “Your theory is madder than Mad Jack McMad, the winner of this year’s Mr. Madman competition,” wouldn’t that have been _more_ insulting? Possibly, but that would have had the merit of being funny, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/30 "2009-12-22T22:15:06Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > So, lead by example and attack the post in a manner befitting how you would like to see GD functioning. > > “Your argument is garbage” is surely not the sort of comment you want from a moderator in GD, is it? > > If he is so disinterested that he can’t offer a more substantial rebuttal, he should have kept his nose out. > > If he’d said "Your argument is garbage and here is why… ", I’d have had nothing to complain about, and when I mentioned it, he should have replied, “I know, it was bad form.”, but instead he had to go shining up his boots and donning them. I went back and counted, and **Marley23** had made 7 posts giving reasons why the hypothesis was not valid and asking for evidence before the post you object to. If you want even the most specious and unevidenced of arguments to be treated with the utmost respect, even after their proponents give absurd justifications, you can watch the MSM those who pushback at nutcases are rare and precious. GD is better than that. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/31 "2009-12-22T22:16:19Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > What I want to know is why Marley couldn’t have been bothered to answer it there. A simple, “Attacking the post, not the poster, etc. etc. and if you have any further comments, you may start a thread in ATMB.” wouldn’t have been out of line in my opinion. You’ve been here over 4 years and you think a response there would have ended with one post? Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/32 "2009-12-22T22:26:31Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > You’ve been here over 4 years and you think a response there would have ended with one post? Interesting. Well why wouldn’t it? Are you trying to suggest I cannot take a hint? Or am averse to reason in some way? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/33 "2009-12-22T22:59:58Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > What I want to know is why Marley couldn’t have been bothered to answer it there. A simple, “Attacking the post, not the poster, etc. etc. and if you have any further comments, you may start a thread in ATMB.” wouldn’t have been out of line in my opinion. I could have. My experience is that the discussion usually doesn’t end there. **Egmond Codfried** and **ivan astikov** had both asked about my choice of words and I didn’t want the thread to go off-topic, so I thought it was better to skip to the ‘take it to ATMB’ step. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/34 "2009-12-22T23:02:10Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > So, lead by example and attack the post in a manner befitting how you would like to see GD functioning. > > “Your argument is garbage” is surely not the sort of comment you want from a moderator in GD, is it? > > If he is so disinterested that he can’t offer a more substantial rebuttal, he should have kept his nose out. > > If he’d said "Your argument is garbage and here is why… ", I’d have had nothing to complain about, and when I mentioned it, he should have replied, “I know, it was bad form.”, but instead he had to go shining up his boots and donning them. Um, moderators don’t always need to be wearing the moderator hat when posting in threads. Marley’s response didn’t break any rules and frankly his comment is spot on. This is a silly thread. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/35 "2009-12-22T23:13:48Z")
> [@tacoloco](#): > > Um, moderators don’t always need to be wearing the moderator hat when posting in threads. Marley’s response didn’t break any rules and frankly his comment is spot on. > > This is a silly thread. No it isn’t. I got the acknowledgement that Marley could have handled things differently and that his “Your argument is garbage” comment wasn’t quite his best work, regardless of whether he was wearing his mod hat, or not. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/36 "2009-12-22T23:25:21Z")
> [@a number of SDMB denizens](#): > > mano a mano You keep using those words. I do not think it means what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/37 "2009-12-22T23:32:48Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > You keep using those words. I do not think it means what you think it means. Hand to hand, but not in a shaking hands kind of way, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/38 "2009-12-22T23:33:12Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > No it isn’t. I got the acknowledgement that Marley could have handled things differently and that his “Your argument is garbage” comment wasn’t quite his best work, regardless of whether he was wearing his mod hat, or not. OMG Marley didn’t live up to some arbitrary standard in your mind. This thread is garbage. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/39 "2009-12-22T23:39:41Z")
> [@tacoloco](#): > > OMG Marley didn’t live up to some arbitrary standard in your mind. > > This thread is garbage. > > 😃 You just want me to pit you too. I’m sorry, but all my ire has been expended on Marley23. 😛 ---
**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 22, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224/40 "2009-12-22T23:50:51Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Nor does “Your argument sucks”. > > Explain to the OP and interested onlookers “Why it sucks” and don’t assume everyone has the same knowledge of history and any other factors involved, that you have. > > Remember that old “fighting ignorance” rally cry? Do you really think anyone needed an explanation of why that guys argument sucked? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marley23-get-in-here/522224.md?page=3)