# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/61 "2012-09-28T18:22:20Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > 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. The problem is certain mods (and former mods) do not hear and answer to criticism. By failing to do that they lose any moral high ground, and entitlement to better treatment than other posters. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/62 "2012-09-28T18:35:47Z")
God help me for posting in ATMB, but I would view a PM’d “fuck you” the same way I’d view shoving a referee: no matter how wrong the ref’s call was, you just don’t do it; it crosses a very bright line. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/63 "2012-09-28T18:40:08Z")
I didnt’ realize we’d hired the [Replacement Refs](http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/replacement-refs/1418894) to moderate the board. (link to SNL spoof video from last night.) ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/64 "2012-09-28T18:44:32Z")
> [@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.” \*\*\* My Bolding \*\*\* This is a public message board. While we’re all bound by the rules posted you know where, it very much smacks of Russian Revisionist History to punish a poster for private communications. We all see something, we can debate the legitimacy of a punitive action ( here ) or unload foulmouthed anger towards the punitive action ( in the Pit ). When told that it all happened behind closed doors, democracy and communication is replaced with " who do you people think you are to question the punitive action?? We are telling you it occurred. It occurred. We are angry. We have reacted. That is all. " Not really how The Straight Dope Message Board functions, leastways till recently. In fact, as a '99er I am comfortable saying that IMHO, it’s not how SDMB has ever functioned. Until recently. Sad, that. And, a point of clarification: What happens to a Doper who is re-instated after, say, a one month’s suspension who offers to clear things up by sharing all PM’s in question with any other Doper who wishes to see them? I wouldn’t mind reading the PM’s in question, but of course would mind it very much if it would wind up costing me my membership here. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/65 "2012-09-28T18:56:01Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > While we’re all bound by the rules posted you know where, it very much smacks of Russian Revisionist History to punish a poster for private communications. Yes, there are eerie parallels to the time Yezhov was executed and purged from the historical record for sending a “fuck you” PM to Stalin, and… wait, what? ---
**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, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/66 "2012-09-28T18:56:12Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > While we’re all bound by the rules posted you know where, it very much smacks of Russian Revisionist History to punish a poster for private communications. This is a nice upgrade from the Peron comparison last week. 😉 > [@](#): > > What happens to a Doper who is re-instated after, say, a one month’s suspension who offers to clear things up by sharing all PM’s in question with any other Doper who wishes to see them? What a poster does with his private message conversations is his business. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/67 "2012-09-28T18:58:48Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > This is a public message board. While we’re all bound by the rules posted you know where, it very much smacks of Russian Revisionist History to punish a poster for private communications. I don’t see how. He was punished for repeatedly abusing the staff. What does it matter whether it happens in public or private? ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/68 "2012-09-28T20:01:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This is a nice upgrade from the Peron comparison last week. 😉 Glad to be of service, Comrade ! 🙂 > [@](#): > > What a poster does with his private message conversations is his business. Thank you for this official policy clarification. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/69 "2012-09-28T20:13:28Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I don’t see how. He was punished for repeatedly abusing the staff. What does it matter whether it happens in public or private? Frankly, if he was punished for “abusing” the staff the way he was punished for “breaking the rules” then it’s a big deal. Mods demonstrate their judgment by modding in public. I have seen good judgment and I have seen lousy judgment. How do I know which judgment is at play when it was a private interaction? ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/70 "2012-09-28T20:15:32Z")
You can be a raging racist on the SDMB and promote views that people should be enslaved for their ethnic background, but calling someone “condescending and self righteous” is beyond the pale? Is this site run by gentlemen stormfronters or something? ---
**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, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/71 "2012-09-28T20:16:23Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Frankly, if he was punished for “abusing” the staff the way he was punished for “breaking the rules” then it’s a big deal. > > Mods demonstrate their judgment by modding in public. I have seen good judgment and I have seen lousy judgment. How do I know which judgment is at play when it was a private interaction? :eek: You think it’s gotten bad enough that the mods might fib about something like that? ☹ I have seen such things at other boards… ---
**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:** [September 28, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/72 "2012-09-28T20:21:24Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > When told that it all happened behind closed doors, democracy and communication is replaced with " who do you people think you are to question the punitive action?? Since when has the Straight Dope ever been a democracy? ---
**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, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/73 "2012-09-28T20:23:32Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > You can be a raging racist on the SDMB and promote views that people should be enslaved for their ethnic background, but calling someone “condescending and self righteous” is beyond the pale? Is this site run by gentlemen stormfronters or something? You’ve been here for three-plus years and I assume you’re more familiar with the rules than this comment indicates. It works like this: you can argue for pretty much any point of view no matter how transparently wrong or dumb it is. You can’t insult other people unless you’re posting in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/74 "2012-09-28T20:24:21Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > :eek: You think it’s gotten bad enough that the mods might fib about something like that? ☹ I have seen such things at other boards… Fib? I don’t know. Have incredibly bad judgment? Possibly. I have seen calls made by the moderation team here that were absolutely laughable in their incompetence, and furthered by a culture of defensiveness and hide-the-ball explanations. People have my trust until they do something to lose it. At that point, they need to earn it back if they want to have it again. Let’s just say that the team here has not earned it back. This is not to impugn all of the moderators. I think many of them get most of the calls right. There are exceptions, though, and their continued presence either on the team or as accepted accessories to the team make the whole team less than squeaky clean. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/75 "2012-09-28T20:25:27Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > You’ve been here for three-plus years and I assume you’re more familiar with the rules than this comment indicates. It works like this: you can argue for pretty much any point of view no matter how transparently wrong or dumb it is. You can’t insult other people unless you’re posting in the Pit. You do not consider “You should be enslaved” an insult? ---
**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, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/76 "2012-09-28T20:35:17Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > You do not consider “You should be enslaved” an insult? Before we go too far down the rabbit hole, has anybody ever _actually_ said this? We’ve had a few racist posters over the years, but in the three or four years I’ve been moderating GD I have never seen anyone espouse slavery or anything close to it. If I saw someone making a pro-slavery argument I would probably consider it trolling. Speaking more broadly: you can say negative or insulting things about a group of people, yes. If you’re insulting people on racial or ethnic lines you’re likely to get moderated for hate speech. > [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > :eek: You think it’s gotten bad enough that the mods might fib about something like that? I think she’s discussing the principle. If I’m convinced there’s a reason to post the PMs, then I’ll do so. But for now I won’t because I don’t want to hear from someone else later on that they don’t want to discuss some issue with the staff because “you posted **mhendo** ’s private messages!” ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/77 "2012-09-28T20:43:43Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Since when has the Straight Dope ever been a democracy? Good point. We should vote on whether to make the Dope a democracy or not.\* And if we do make it a democracy then I vote for Marley and Miller as co-Kings. \*[McBain]That’s the joke.[/McBain] ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/78 "2012-09-28T20:43:57Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I think she’s discussing the principle. If I’m convinced there’s a reason to post the PMs, then I’ll do so. But for now I won’t because I don’t want to hear from someone else later on that they don’t want to discuss some issue with the staff because “you posted mhendo’s private messages!” [/QUOTE] I think it would be a wise decision NOT to post them. Please. Either people trust what you are saying in broad terms about the PMs you received or they don’t, and IMHO nothing good can be gained by you posting private messages to you guys in a public forum. Just my two cents worth, and cheap at triple the price!! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/79 "2012-09-28T20:47:44Z")
I, for one, would like to post my unequivocal support for the moderators in the **mhendo** situations. I totally agree the threadshitting call in **TokyoBayer** ’s post. I totally agree with \*\*Twickster \*_for calling out **mhendo** for his personal attack on **Czarcasm** in the Diamonds thread. It was a personal attack in ATMB, and it was also a hijack of the thread, to boot (and that wasn’t called_). I totally agree **mhendo** was violating the rules even more with his response post in that thread. I totally agree that the mods shouldn’t have to take abuse for their actions as mods, even in PMs. Kudos all around for the moderators and the moderation. I guess the only\*\* grounds I could see for discussion is whether **Czarcasm** ’s response of “Pot” stepped over the line to personal insult as well. He’s essentially saying “you are, too”. * * * - I guess that makes my support not completely unequivocal? \*\* And that, too? ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142/80 "2012-09-28T21:00:24Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I, for one, would like to post my unequivocal support for the moderators in the **mhendo** situations. I haven’t read all the relevant threads, but generally agree. I’m kind of amazed by the people who don’t see it that way. I’ll even go further and say that **Czarcasm** ’s “Pot” did not rise to the level of an insult. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mhendos-suspension/636142.md?page=5)