# Moderation gone mad: Miller **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 29, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910 "2015-09-29T02:48:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/101 "2015-10-01T16:11:42Z")
Wait. Am I supposed to give you a warning for claiming that YOU are lying? Nope. Not gonna do it. The rabbit hole’s too deep for me. Although, to back up Colibri…I ain’t buying Tibby’s protestations that it isn’t about Bo, either. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/102 "2015-10-01T16:15:12Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Yes. > > People who are contending that the analogy had nothing at all to do with **Bo** are ignoring the fact that **Tibby** referred to throwing the head in a quarry. In any case, I think the argument that the analogy was unrelated to **Bo’s** actions is absurd. I disagree. But what I find absurd is the notion that referencing his stupid Quarry schtick is wishing violence to another poster. It seems to me like you’re ignoring the very meme that he has been creating. So, the popcorn line was clearly a joke. But so was this. Gotta say, **Miller** got this one wrong. I agreed with his last moderation that was questioned, but this one is laughable. ::shrug:: ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/103 "2015-10-01T16:28:38Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Unless you are saying that I am lying about what I meant. And if you are saying that then just give me my warning now to save us both time … No, I don’t think you are lying, just that you are using a very narrow interpretation as to whether the analogy is related or not. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/104 "2015-10-01T16:28:38Z")
Off topic, but who else misses Twixster? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/105 "2015-10-01T16:28:40Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Wait. > > Am I supposed to give you a warning for claiming that YOU are lying? > > Nope. Not gonna do it. The rabbit hole’s too deep for me. > > Although, to back up Colibri…I ain’t buying Tibby’s protestations that it isn’t about Bo, either. No, for my what my reaction will be if he does. It would be … language inappropriate for this forum. So if he says he believes I am lying, just consider the most inappropriate things said, give me the warning, and save me the effort of typing them out, okay? I’m all about efficiency. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/106 "2015-10-01T16:34:38Z")
Yes I see the response that got cross posted as I was typing and doing other things at the same time. And agree with the shrug that follows. It’s done, it does not matter, time to move along. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/107 "2015-10-01T16:34:52Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/108 "2015-10-01T17:08:40Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Yes. > > People who are contending that the analogy had nothing at all to do with **Bo** are ignoring the fact that **Tibby** referred to throwing the head in a quarry. In any case, I think the argument that the analogy was unrelated to **Bo’s** actions is absurd. Well, to say that it’s unrelated would be absurd, because it involves the action that **Bo** appears to be advocating, and that advocation is what the pit thread is about. But the prohibition in the pit, as far as I can tell, is against proposing or describing violence against a member of the board. In this case, they’re pretty clearly describing committing violence against a hypothetical person, then joining in with the activity that appears to be advocated by **Bo** to the casual observer. I generally agree with the moderators’ decisions, and **Miller** ’s job is harder than most. They’re the sheriff of a particularly rough part of town. But in this case, I think that the warning is due to a misinterpretation of the poster’s intent, and possibly combined with the moderator being fatigued by the whole thread for a multitude of reasons. If I had a vote, it’d be to erase the warning. I know I don’t have an actual vote, but that’s how I feel. So it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/109 "2015-10-01T17:50:02Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > Yes, but a note does not negate the fact that he called me stupid. And his reply to the note was “ok”, not even an apology. I didn’t call you stupid; I said you were _playing_ stupid. Regardless, **Miller** thought it was worth a note, which I acknowledged to indicate that I had read and understood it. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/110 "2015-10-01T18:05:41Z")
The rule is “Do not post threats or state or imply that any individual or group is deserving of harm.” It isn’t just other posters on the board that are off limits. Technically threatening to lop off the head of a hypothetical person in a movie theater could be against the rules even without any possible connection to another poster. But even with that, this post was obviously an analogy to the quarry guy, and even at that there were two mod notes first, then a warning against another poster, then finally this warning. Pro tip: when a mod starts giving out warnings in a thread, that is not the best time to test various interpretations of the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/111 "2015-10-01T18:24:52Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > **H&R** , > > Proving that for both humor and reading comprehension, YMMV. (I believe you are the one [who thinks](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18726692&postcount=446) my asking, in this forum, for an explanation of why green fonts were across the line when an automated tic was not, and agreeing with the logic presented once it was explained, was my going “to the mods to force him to change” … what?) > > What this action and the responses to it demonstrate is how much what people are primed or expect to see causes them to perceive that _which is not there_! This is sort of like those threads in which posters expound on how an artist meant this or that in some work of art or literature or cinema and the artist comes in and says “uh no, not all … this meant this, not that, you are completely wrong” and the poster still says that their interpretation is the correct view and that the artist is wrong. Well you know … minus the talent and the art! 🙂 > > My post was not a direct analogy to **SB** … it was trying to get at the claim that would define all Pit threads, all complaints about behaviors, as bullying, in a more general sense. **Tibby** ’s post was not about **SB** ; it was a goofy riff on several absurdities in that thread. And for the little it is worth **Tibby** ’s one-off absurdist surrealist riffs in general make me smile (definitely _not_ laugh out loud :)) But some reading read each with their own baggage and thus perceived that which was not there. Like the viewer sure they know more about what the movie went than the director they are clinging to their interpretations come hell or high water and will censor the fuck out of the movie based on their faulty interpretation. > > Fine. If only the author can know what they really meant by their words, and people only see what they expect to see, then you can’t know what **Tibby** meant. Only **Tibby** can know that. According to your analysis, you’re interpreting **Tibby** ’s “joke” in the same way anyone else would, through your own filter of what you expect to see. But as far as artistic stories go, cool story, bro. I’m curious about what your intent was in starting that ATMB thread, considering there was one done previously and linked in the OP of the Pit thread, if it wasn’t to have a rule declared by virtue of consistency with the green font rule, that would force **Bo** to change his behavior. Since you had already expressed annoyance with Bo’s catchphrase, it doesn’t seem likely that you were trying to get the green font rule lifted for consistency. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/112 "2015-10-01T18:33:40Z")
Okay, couple of things. **DSeid** , I don’t think you’re lying about your intentions in writing that post. However, I also think you and I have very different ideas about how analogies work. Saying that what you wrote is an analogy to **Snowboarder** ’s situation isn’t a matter of intent or interpretation, it’s an objective description of the rhetorical device you employed. That said, I’d rather not dig too deep into the subject of what analogies are and how they work, because your intent isn’t really germane to this thread. You aren’t the guy who pulled a warning, after all. **Tibby** , I _do_ think you’re lying when you describe your intentions behind your posts. In fact, up until about post 71 in this thread, I’d mostly written you off as a troll. When you get a warning, and your response is a couple paragraphs about your cock, that doesn’t signal to me that you’re a poster who’s particularly concerned with his reputation on the board, or moderator actions taken against him. Your posts since then have swung me away from “troll” and back towards “colossally tone deaf,” but I’m still about 50/50 on the subject. As far as the rule about threatening other posters go, the standard has never been, “Is it realistic?” The rule, as written, also prohibits things like, “I hope you get cancer,” which isn’t really something you can even inflict on another person. I generally do not moderate “threats” that are clearly absurd - there was one post in that thread that was something like, “Quarries throw stones at **Bo** ,” that I didn’t specifically moderate for that reason. Of course, the standard for “absurd” is, itself, pretty squidgy, but cutting off people’s heads is a thing that actually happens. While it may be absurd to take that as a literal threat from **Tibby** , the action itself is not absurd. “Joke” threats I sometimes let slide, but only if its occurring between two people who are both clearly on the same page, or in the context of a non-acrimonious discussion. Saying, “Get a rope!” after a particularly bad pun, for example, is probably not going to get moderated. A joke threat that’s made between two posters who are already at loggerheads, on the other hand, is probably going to be handled differently. **Crazyhorse** , I’m not sure where you got that quote from. The rule in the BBQ Pit is, “[Do not threaten harm or wish death on another poster.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=507985)” You can wish all the cancer you want on Kim Kardashian, and not get into any trouble over it, at least in my forum. Cafe Society might use a different standard. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/113 "2015-10-01T18:34:44Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > I’m curious about what your intent was in starting that ATMB thread, considering there was one done previously and linked in the OP of the Pit thread, if it wasn’t to have a rule declared by virtue of consistency with the green font rule, that would force **Bo** to change his behavior. Since you had already expressed annoyance with Bo’s catchphrase, it doesn’t seem likely that you were trying to get the green font rule lifted for consistency. [Moderating] There are already enough issues going on in this thread. Let’s not further confuse the issue by bringing in wholly unrelated issues from other ATMB threads, please. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/114 "2015-10-01T18:50:52Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > **Heffalump and Roo** , I think you’re over-analyzing the situation. More specifically, you’ve over-analyzed it to the point of believing I over-analyzed the Pit thread before posting my jokes. I didn’t. I saw an opportunity for a quick joke and I took it. Period. OK. I was just trying to find a way to harmonize the conflicting comments you’ve made in this thread. I saw your post as satire with a social commentary. Satire has a person being satirized. At this point, you’ve now said it wasn’t about **Bo** or **DSeid**. If the joke was satire, who was the person being satirized? If the joke was not satire, what was supposed to be funny about the joke? ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/115 "2015-10-01T19:01:45Z")
That is what I call a “gotcha” moment. And it will not matter at all. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/116 "2015-10-01T19:05:01Z")
Well, after these last few threads, I’m convinced **Miller** needs an assistant, and maybe a secretary. I don’t know about the assistant, but I think **Heffalump and Roo** would make a great secretary. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/117 "2015-10-01T19:30:06Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > **Crazyhorse** , I’m not sure where you got that quote from. The rule in the BBQ Pit is, “[Do not threaten harm or wish death on another poster.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=507985)” You can wish all the cancer you want on Kim Kardashian, and not get into any trouble over it, at least in my forum. Cafe Society might use a different standard. I got it from the [SDMB registration agreement](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=650726). ---
**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:** [October 1, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/118 "2015-10-01T19:35:28Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > I got it from the [SDMB registration agreement](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=650726). Ah, of course. I was looking for it in the ATMB stickies. Anyway, in situations like this, the specific forum rule overrides the general board rule. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/119 "2015-10-01T20:25:13Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > If the joke was satire, who was the person being satirized? Maybe the joke wasn’t satire. > [@](#): > > If the joke was not satire, what was supposed to be funny about the joke? There are more classes of jokes than just satire. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910/120 "2015-10-01T20:38:53Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > \ > I saw your post as satire with a social commentary. Satire has a person being satirized. At this point, you’ve now said it wasn’t about **Bo** or **DSeid**. If the joke was satire, who was the person being satirized? > > If the joke was not satire, what was supposed to be funny about the joke? Absurd satire, in the vein of Gary Larson’s, _The Far Side_ (though admittedly not as clever). Did you read my 4-panel “cartoon” layout I described earlier? You probably didn’t find it funny, but I did, and I was hoping others would find it funny, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-gone-mad-miller/732910.md?page=7)