# Mhendo's suspension **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 28, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142 "2012-09-28T15:18:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [September 28, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/41 "2012-09-28T17:34:53Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > Bolding and italics mine. Both warnings are NOT Czarcasm’s fault! :eek:😕**[CITE](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15511094#post15511094)**! I do not think threadshitting is acceptable at any time, whether or not **[the person](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=666003)** being verbally crapped on is doing things the way others would if they were in the person’s shoes! Edit: And please note, that is from a week ago, and the moderator (_not_ Twickster) who gave the warning ALSO got cussed out via PM. I didn’t say the posts were Czarcasm’s fault. But mhendo’s posts are a result of Czarcasm’s posts. Therefore, when talking about the latter, it’s relevant and useful to discuss the former. And if we could pit mods, maybe they’d see a reduction in nasty pms. Me, I say, if you can’t handle a fuck you, don’t be a mod but then I’ve always advocated for having a sense of proportion about things. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/42 "2012-09-28T17:37:42Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I didn’t say the posts were Czarcasm’s fault. But mhendo’s posts are a result of Czarcasm’s posts. Therefore, when talking about the latter, it’s relevant and useful to discuss the former. > > And if we could pit mods, maybe they’d see a reduction in nasty pms. Me, I say, if you can’t handle a fuck you, don’t be a mod but then I’ve always advocated for having a sense of proportion about things. Go read my cite please! **Czarcasm** was NOT the subject of **Mhendo** ’s ire in the first warning he got, after which he abused **Marley23** in PMs. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/43 "2012-09-28T17:37:55Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > He was warned twice in a week though! Go look at the announcement yourself? The first warning was warrented, and it wasn’t given by **twickster**. BOTH moderators got abusive PMs from **Mhendo** as well. Edit: You are all focusing on **czarcasm** , and your dislike of his junior modding, and not seeing the rest of the events that more heavily contributed to this suspension. Why not start up a topic to discuss the junior modding? 🙂 And? I said if he was being over the top abusive to a mod I had no problem with action being taken. That doesn’t make the warning less stupid. Neither does a previous bad act. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/44 "2012-09-28T17:40:00Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Then he should’ve thought of a better way to disagree with the warning. No matter how “not surprising” the reaction was, it was completely inappropriate. If you repeatedly curse out the staff, your posting here is going to be curtailed. I don’t think that’s unexpected or unreasonable. Why? I’ve never seen a respectful objection to one of twick’s Warnings for Something Not Against the Rules get any traction. Of course people are going to get pissed off when you show them rules-set A and then enforce secret rules-set B. Even more so when, every time we point out the contradiction, the answer boils down to ‘Tough.’ ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/45 "2012-09-28T17:40:50Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > And? I said if he was being over the top abusive to a mod I had no problem with action being taken. That doesn’t make the warning less stupid. Neither does a previous bad act. True, but to focus ONLY on the latest while ignoring the rest…? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/46 "2012-09-28T17:42:57Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Why? I’ve never seen a respectful objection to one of twick’s Warnings for Something Not Against the Rules get any traction. Of course people are going to get pissed off when you show them rules-set A and then enforce secret rules-set B. Even more so when, every time we point out the contradiction, the answer boils down to ‘Tough.’ There are ways to make a person’s ears burn (or their eyes smolder, as the case may be with the written word) that DO NOT involve profanity! I think many of us here on the board are capable of that. Intelligent, witty, erudite even. So, do so? ---
**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:** [September 28, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/47 "2012-09-28T17:43:54Z")
Because the op is about the latest. That’s why it says Twickster in the OP and not Marley. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/48 "2012-09-28T17:44:15Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > There are ways to make a person’s ears burn (or their eyes smolder, as the case may be with the written word) that DO NOT involve profanity! I think many of us here on the board are capable of that. Intelligent, witty, erudite even. So, do so? Do they involve excess use of punctuation? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/49 "2012-09-28T17:44:45Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Sticks and stones, ya know? By that reasoning we shouldn’t moderate anything, though. It doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny on a message board. > [@](#): > > Don’t read them, block them For both practical and technical reasons, that’s not an option for us. > [@](#): > > But suspending someone for something they said in private? If we’re going by sticks and stones, why does it matter if it’s private or public? The main rule here is “don’t be a jerk,” and abusing the staff isn’t any less jerkish if it’s done in private. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Me, I say, if you can’t handle a fuck you, don’t be a mod but then I’ve always advocated for having a sense of proportion about things. That’s not a sense of proportion, it’s making excuses for being a jerk. No surprise here, but I don’t think volunteering to moderate a message board implies consent for people to be abusive and nasty. For disagreement and criticism of how you go about your business? Sure. For plain old abuse? No. That’s ass-backward. I realize the horse is probably long out of the barn on this one, but I think if you’re moderating then perhaps people should realize you’re also a member of the message board who is devoting some extra time to trying to keep it a good place to hang out, and perhaps for that reason you should get a little extra benefit of the doubt. Not “you should be able to tolerate people cursing you out every time they’re unhappy- you asked for it.” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/50 "2012-09-28T17:44:46Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > True, but to focus ONLY on the latest while ignoring the rest…? 😕 Because the bad actions of a poster will only effect him and his ability to post. The wrongheaded actions of a mod can effect all the rest of us and our ability to post. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/51 "2012-09-28T17:46:31Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > There are ways to make a person’s ears burn (or their eyes smolder, as the case may be with the written word) that DO NOT involve profanity! I think many of us here on the board are capable of that. Intelligent, witty, erudite even. So, do so? We’ve also had many many threads where posters explain in great detail how people who get offended over fuck are unenlightened and schoolmarmish. I’m not saying the two groups are the same and people are being hypocritical but I am saying there is a dichotomy in acceptable behavior where at certain times we’re told, “who could possibly get upset about swearing?” and other times “How could you possibly think that was appropriate!” ---
**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:** [September 28, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/52 "2012-09-28T17:48:18Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > {B}ut I think if you’re moderating then perhaps people should realize you’re also a member of the message board who is devoting some extra time to trying to keep it a good place to hang out, and perhaps for that reason you should get a little extra benefit of the doubt. Not “you should be able to tolerate people cursing you out every time they’re unhappy- you asked for it.” I am out of benefit of the doubt for twickster and her continued presence on the moderating staff has undermined my faith in the integrity of the entire admin community. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/53 "2012-09-28T17:48:56Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > There are ways to make a person’s ears burn (or their eyes smolder, as the case may be with the written word) that DO NOT involve profanity! I think many of us here on the board are capable of that. Intelligent, witty, erudite even. So, do so? Are you seriously suggesting he should have just run a find and replace on the word ‘fuck’ with the word ‘screw’ - thereby removing the profanity - and that would have spared him his suspension - or at least, in your eyes, meant he didn’t deserve it? Profanity is totally arbitrary. It shouldn’t be a factor. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/54 "2012-09-28T17:49:58Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > By that reasoning we shouldn’t moderate anything, though. It doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny on a message board. > > For both practical and technical reasons, that’s not an option for us. > > If we’re going by sticks and stones, why does it matter if it’s private or public? The main rule here is “don’t be a jerk,” and abusing the staff isn’t any less jerkish if it’s done in private. > > That’s not a sense of proportion, it’s making excuses for being a jerk. No surprise here, but I don’t think volunteering to moderate a message board implies consent for people to be abusive and nasty. For disagreement and criticism of how you go about your business? Sure. For plain old abuse? No. That’s ass-backward. I realize the horse is probably long out of the barn on this one, but I think if you’re moderating then perhaps people should realize you’re also a member of the message board who is devoting some extra time to trying to keep it a good place to hang out, and perhaps for that reason you should get a little extra benefit of the doubt. Not “you should be able to tolerate people cursing you out every time they’re unhappy- you asked for it.” For the record and not that it means anything to anyone else, I agree with all of this. A volunteer mod should hear and answer to criticism. They should not have to put up with abuse. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/55 "2012-09-28T17:53:22Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > And if we could pit mods, maybe they’d see a reduction in nasty pms. Me, I say, if you can’t handle a fuck you, don’t be a mod but then I’ve always advocated for having a sense of proportion about things. However, you still can’t say “Fuck you” in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/56 "2012-09-28T17:55:59Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Because the bad actions of a poster will only effect him and his ability to post. The wrongheaded actions of a mod can effect all the rest of us and our ability to post. The seperate the rest and put it into another topic? My point is it seems your complaints are less about the suspension, and more about a lack of equilibrium you’ve noticed lately regarding some moderator actions, correct? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/57 "2012-09-28T17:59:32Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > The seperate the rest and put it into another topic? My point is it seems your complaints are less about the suspension, and more about a lack of equilibrium you’ve noticed lately regarding some moderator actions, correct? I think I was very clear from my first post in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/58 "2012-09-28T18:12:19Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Are you seriously suggesting he should have just run a find and replace on the word ‘fuck’ with the word ‘screw’ - thereby removing the profanity - and that would have spared him his suspension - or at least, in your eyes, meant he didn’t deserve it? > > Profanity is totally arbitrary. It shouldn’t be a factor. I’m not sure how you got that slant there. No. I’m saying you can tell the person off quite well without sending abusive PMs. Telling them what you think of their decision in detail, and why it was wrong, while not being abusive. Telling ANYONE “fuck you” or “screw you” right off the bat while protesting something they did isn’t productive, whether it is in private or not. The person isn’t going to hear you, they will tune you out. It is better to calm down and state the reasons for your objections when you are at least in enough control of yourself not to be abusive while doing so. Are you really surprised that a person (whether they have any kind of power or not) decided not to accept that kind of treatment? Why should they have to ignore it? Finally, as I said before upthread, I think the suspension will at least help **Mhendo** calm down. (Or I hope so. It isn’t usual for him to act like that, I hope things are going well for him.) By all means, use this as a jump point to raise objections for **czarcasm** ’s junior modding, and what you see as arbitrary moderator action/favoritism. But I personally think those have less to do with **Mhendo** ’s suspension, and more to do with people finally deciding now was a good time to speak up. So speak up then? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/59 "2012-09-28T18:18:23Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > I’m not going to weigh in on the suspension, but will anything ever be done about **Czarcasm** ’s incessant junior modding? I see people get warned for calling him out over it, yet I’ve never seen anyone in power disparaging him for attempting to still do a job he no longer holds. This isn’t acceptable for the peanut gallery in general, so why is it okay for a former moderator? Just curious. This. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/60 "2012-09-28T18:20:53Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > We’ve also had many many threads where posters explain in great detail how people who get offended over fuck are unenlightened and schoolmarmish. I’m not saying the two groups are the same and people are being hypocritical but I am saying there is a dichotomy in acceptable behavior where at certain times we’re told, “who could possibly get upset about swearing?” and other times “How could you possibly think that was appropriate!” I can cuss with the best of them, but there is a time and a place for everything. When protesting the decision of someone in authority directly, is not the time to say things like “fuck you”. Society is full of dichotomy, as are **[people](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmD7Voi7RjU)**, your point? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142.md?page=4)