# Me whining about moderation again. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 20, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284 "2018-07-20T17:46:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/21 "2018-07-21T02:11:46Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > So, the new sonic screwdriver for Doctor Who has been released, and instead of a linear mechanical looking device they decide for the first time to add curves to it to make it resemble a “lady’s razor”. [I make a thread with a title implying that,](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=859041) and give clarifying links after Snowboarder Bo complains. Chronos closes it. > > I’ll admit I could have been more diplomatic in my dismissive response, but I’ll still assert that there wasn’t one damned thing wrong with my subject line. You buried the lede on this one. The problem in that thread was clearly what you call your “dismissive response”. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/22 "2018-07-21T19:48:34Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > That new sonic looks nothing like a “lady” product, unless that lady is the Queen Xenomorph. You’ve never seen a BOB (Battery-Operated Boyfriend, aka vibrator)? Because that was the very first thing that went through my dirty little brain when I saw this Sonic. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/23 "2018-07-22T09:39:26Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > You’ve never seen a BOB (Battery-Operated Boyfriend, aka vibrator)? Because that was the very first thing that went through my dirty little brain when I saw this Sonic. I’ve seen vibrators, the only sex toys that sonic looks like are the weird cyborg penis ones like the Fleshlight cyborg dildo. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/24 "2018-07-22T10:48:25Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’ll admit I could have been more diplomatic in my dismissive response, but I’ll still assert that there wasn’t one damned thing wrong with my subject line. Uh, there was plenty wrong with it to anyone who isn’t a Dr. Who fan. And I suspect, lots of fans didn’t catch your obscure reference either. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/25 "2018-07-22T11:59:09Z")
Of course there was something wrong with your thread title. It was referring to a new love interest for a video game hedgehog, when that’s not at all related to what the thread was about. “Sonic screwdriver” is a Doctor Who reference. Just the word “sonic” is not. As for the “obvious reference you were making”, this thread is the first you’ve made that reference: Your original OP just asked what the hell was going on with it, without saying anything about what you thought, and your “explanatory” links just made it look like you thought any item used by a woman ought to have “Lady” appended to its name. Now, if the thread title had been the only problem, I would have just pointed out the problem, asked you for a suggestion to change it to, and then changed the title. But when your response to another Doper pointing out the problem was to tell them “tough shit”, well… ---
**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:** [July 22, 2018, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/26 "2018-07-22T12:19:09Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’ve seen vibrators, the only sex toys that sonic looks like are the weird cyborg penis ones like the Fleshlight cyborg dildo. I wasn’t convinced, but I saw someone post a picture of it side-by-side with the Mini Rabbit, and with the exception of the rabbit itself, the curves are pretty dang similar. Not the color or texture. But still, a person can be forgiven for noticing the similarity. Picture spoilered in an abundance of caution: [picture](https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/37632217_1981634881889415_9145987923160596480_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=53a6c14880031f5b5a5f1fa3f0ae6a06&oe=5BD12284) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/27 "2018-07-22T17:29:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Now, if the thread title had been the only problem, I would have just pointed out the problem, asked you for a suggestion to change it to, and then changed the title. But when your response to another Doper pointing out the problem was to tell them “tough shit”, well… Yes, I’ll admit to that–I could have chosen a less abrupt way to say “I don’t care that you don’t like my title.” But the basic sentiment would have stood. I realize that I have no “right” to absolute say in how threads are presented, but I really would rather take my ball and go home (as in have a thread locked) than deal with what I did and do think to be very petty nitpicking over it. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/28 "2018-07-22T17:49:51Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I wasn’t convinced, but I saw someone post a picture of it side-by-side with the Mini Rabbit, and with the exception of the rabbit itself, the curves are pretty dang similar. Not the color or texture. But still, a person can be forgiven for noticing the similarity. > > Picture spoilered in an abundance of caution: > > [picture](https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/37632217_1981634881889415_9145987923160596480_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=53a6c14880031f5b5a5f1fa3f0ae6a06&oe=5BD12284) Except that they are backwards to each other, that is, the part of the vibrator that is inserted is being compared to the handle on the sonic screwdriver. ---
**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:** [July 22, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/29 "2018-07-22T18:18:05Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Except that they are backwards to each other, that is, the part of the vibrator that is inserted is being compared to the handle on the sonic screwdriver. Fair enough. I’ve never used a sonic screwdriver before. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/30 "2018-07-22T19:02:49Z")
Do you see the problem with the title? It looks like you are sneering at the fact that they made the sonic screwdriver a “Lady Tool” to go with the “Lady Doctor” and that your scornful reaction to the former is an outgrowth of your disdain for the latter. When offered the opportunity to clarify what you meant, you got aggressive. Do you see how at that point, most women would bow out of the discussion because it sounds like it’s just going to be ranting about how girls and girly things are a blight on nerd culture? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/31 "2018-07-22T21:23:06Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Do you see the problem with the title? It looks like you are sneering at the fact that they made the sonic screwdriver a “Lady Tool” to go with the “Lady Doctor” Um, yeah, that was pretty much the point of the title. I was mocking the radical change of the design to make it slim and curvy like a “lady’s razor.” That is pretty much why I’m digging in abot the thread title–to change it would be akin to retitling a certain incredibly popular Pit thread as “Please Discuss The Trump Administration.” To remove my mockery of the redesign is to remove the heart and soul of the thread. It isn’t a “gee, this design is different” thread, it is a “gee, this design is horrible and pandering to the worst ‘products for females’ design conventions” thread. Yes, I’m sneering that they redesigned it to be a “lady tool”, just as I would sneer if they made the TARDIS pink or if they made the new companion a talking pony. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/32 "2018-07-22T21:51:40Z")
Right, but do you also feel like having a lady doctor is something to mock? Does this, to you, seem like an extension of the terrible “pandering” if deciding to have a female doctor at all? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/33 "2018-07-22T22:05:14Z")
There’s an actual rule on this board that thread titles are supposed to be descriptive. That means they serve a practical, informative purpose. They’re not there to be an expression of your beat poetry instincts. So if this title tended to mislead some significant proportion of readers about it’s content, it makes complete sense for a mid to fix it. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > No, given the choice between a mod retitle and closing, I prefer closing. Closing is annoying. Retitling would be actively offensive. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I realize that I have no “right” to absolute say in how threads are presented, but I really would rather take my ball and go home (as in have a thread locked) than deal with what I did and do think to be very petty nitpicking over it. As someone who has his work edited every day … I would recommend that you get over yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/34 "2018-07-23T01:49:18Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Right, but do you also feel like having a lady doctor is something to mock? Does this, to you, seem like an extension of the terrible “pandering” if deciding to have a female doctor at all? No, but I think that the new screwdriver looks like something that would have been photoshopped up at Return of Kings to mock the concept of a female doctor. I don’t think the design is pandering–I think the design is _condescending_. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/35 "2018-07-23T02:09:59Z")
Then why were you so unwilling to clarify your point? The thread comes across as anti-girls in nerd-shit. It comes across as assuming a male audience that is sympathetic to the idea that girly shit is annoying. It wasn’t completely clear that’s how you meant it, but your aggressive non-response seemed to confirm it. That’s the kind of thread that drives women off the Dope. ---
**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 23, 2018, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/36 "2018-07-23T02:20:55Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Yes, I’ll admit to that–I could have chosen a less abrupt way to say “I don’t care that you don’t like my title.” But the basic sentiment would have stood. > I realize that I have no “right” to absolute say in how threads are presented, but I really would rather take my ball and go home (as in have a thread locked) than deal with what I did and do think to be very petty nitpicking over it. Mission accomplished in that case. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Um, yeah, that was pretty much the point of the title. I was mocking the radical change of the design to make it slim and curvy like a “lady’s razor.” That is pretty much why I’m digging in abot the thread title–to change it would be akin to retitling a certain incredibly popular Pit thread as “Please Discuss The Trump Administration.” To remove my mockery of the redesign is to remove the heart and soul of the thread. It isn’t a “gee, this design is different” thread, it is a **“gee, this design is horrible and pandering to the worst ‘products for females’ design conventions” thread. Yes, I’m sneering that they redesigned it to be a “lady tool”, just as I would sneer if they made the TARDIS pink or if they made the new companion a talking pony.** This would have been a worthy discussion. Why didn’t you lead with it? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2018, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/37 "2018-07-23T03:14:49Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > No, but I think that the new screwdriver looks like something that would have been photoshopped up at Return of Kings to mock the concept of a female doctor. I don’t think the design is pandering–I think the design is _condescending_. 1. If they were being condescending, maybe there’d be a more straightforward route than redesigning a classic MacGuffin to look like a bit of HR Giger artwork? Like, y’know, pink? 2. Maybe it’s worth waiting to see how the show actually handles it, instead of getting swept up in the current of misogynistic nerd-rage that’s pouring through social media at the moment? 3. Maybe if you want to know what’s condescending to women, check in with some women, instead of telling women what’s condescending? 4. You say “the reason I didn’t make those design points in the thread itself was because I wanted to see other opinions before they were effected by mine,” and also “To remove my mockery of the redesign is to remove the heart and soul of the thread.” Little bit of a mixed message there, Darren. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/38 "2018-07-23T03:54:30Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > 1. You say “the reason I didn’t make those design points in the thread itself was because I wanted to see other opinions before they were effected by mine,” and also “To remove my mockery of the redesign is to remove the heart and soul of the thread.” Little bit of a mixed message there, Darren. I’ll cop to that–I made the post about 30 seconds after seeing the photos on Gizmodo, not after formulating a detailed game plan. If I had planned longer, I probably would have chosen the Pit as more appropriate. (Where I’m starting a thread now.) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/39 "2018-07-23T05:08:52Z")
Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there!! Hilarious! One subject = 3 whining threads! ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284/40 "2018-07-23T08:38:46Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > One subject = 3 whining threads! When angler Joe told the story of how he threw the rod once and caught three fish, do you think people exclaimed ‘prolific!’? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-whining-about-moderation-again/818284.md?page=3)