# Moderation in the Minnesota shooting thread **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 28, 2026, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111 "2026-01-28T04:18:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/21 "2026-01-29T20:33:17Z")
First, I recognize that the Minnesota ICE thread has become a real challenge for the moderators. I’m generally in favor of the mods taking a series of posts which become a hijack (though maybe an interesting one), and calving those posts off into a separate thread. Doing so with one single post is odd to me, especially when that post is spun off by a moderator into a new thread, and in a way in which that new post/thread now looks like the poster intentionally started it. I don’t think that _that_ is fair. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/22 "2026-01-29T20:35:19Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > If he thinks he’s doing me a favor, why say no when I ask him to delete it? Because as he explained to you, we don’t delete posts. Don’t post things you don’t want to exist. Our rules are that we don’t delete posts. Spinning it off was his only option, irrespective of your feelings about being a thread starter. Unless you wanted a warning instead. You _did_ hijack the thread, and that’s what we’re tasked with moderating. You ignored all the mod notes in the thread to not do that. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/23 "2026-01-29T20:35:23Z")
I saw _lots_ of mod notes about hijacks. Whether the contributors _to_ that thread were getting worse on the issue or the moderators _for_ that thread were getting sensitive _to_ that issue … we had ample notice. It was time to err to the conservative regarding staying on-topic. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/24 "2026-01-29T20:36:37Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > I saw _lots_ of mod notes about hijacks. As did I. I still believe that spinning off one post, and not making it extremely clear in the new thread that that is what the mods have done, is bad form. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/25 "2026-01-29T20:37:58Z")
I’m going to say one last thing and walk away for a while. You’re correct, that “No” post was too abrupt and I apologize and think I explained my reasoning much better with the next post. But you must know we don’t delete posts. You had to have seen all the please don’t hijack notes. I feel like your response to my not warning you is a bit much. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/26 "2026-01-29T20:39:37Z")
Do you see other viable options than hiding the post and declaring it off-topic? In all sincerity, given the rules, the ethos, and any Discourse-implied constraints, what other mod options exist in such situations? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/27 "2026-01-29T20:40:56Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Do you see other viable options than hiding the post and declaring it off-topic? Yes: the mods should have put a note at the top of that new thread, and/or in the title, stating that it was spun off from the ICE thread. I am _not_ arguing that it wasn’t a hijack. The way that the spin-off was done, made it appear that SenorBeef had intentionally created a new thread on his own. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/28 "2026-01-29T20:42:09Z")
Sometimes we overlook doing things that may seem obvious in hindsight, but in the moment, we’re just trying to deal with the situation at hand. I’m sure such a title would have been added had it been requested. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/29 "2026-01-29T20:42:34Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Yes: the mods should have put a note at the top of that new thread, and/or in the title, stating that it was spun off from the ICE thread. It is there, that is a system function thankfully. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/30 "2026-01-29T20:43:06Z")
We could also just _close_ the spin-off thread, since the OP didn’t intend it to be a it’s own thing. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/31 "2026-01-29T20:45:15Z")
I suppose, but it had already garnered several responses even as discussion carried on here. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/32 "2026-01-29T20:45:24Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@SenorBeef](#): > > Okay, no more being polite. Come the fuck on. [This is just fucking stupid](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-signs-of-the-great-sickness-of-our-society-is-that-news-and-current-event-comedians-are-more-honest-and-more-real-about-what-s-going-on-than-any-sort-of-news-station-or-anyone-else-is-in-the-mainstream-public-discourse/1027162/4) > > If you think the post is off topic, hide it or delete it. Making me an unwitting and unwilling thread starter for a thread that I do not want to create is fucking absurd. This isn’t the Pit. You have a perfectly valid point, but dial it back, please. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/33 "2026-01-29T20:47:53Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > It is there, that is a system function thankfully. I may well have missed it, but I don’t see a distinction drawn between a mod having spun off the post and the poster having spun off the post. I can understand somebody valuing that distinction. > [@Miller](#): > > We could also just _close_ the spin-off thread, since the OP didn’t intend it to be a it’s own thing. Which, to me, also seems a viable option, though I also noted that the thread got traction right out of the box. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/34 "2026-01-29T20:48:32Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > It is there, that is a system function thankfully. Where is it? I’m not immediately seeing it. This is what I see when I open that thread: [![](https://i.imgur.com/8lFmeFx.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/8lFmeFx.jpeg) As far as I can tell, there’s nothing there that tells me it was spun off from another thread. Down at the very bottom of that first post, there is this: [![](https://i.imgur.com/72isOTf.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/72isOTf.jpeg) …but my understanding is that that just signifies that the post links to other threads. Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/35 "2026-01-29T20:50:29Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > You should not force people to be a thread-starter if they don’t want to be. This has happened to me once or twice. (In my defense, as best as I recall they came from posts in the Pit, where there are fewer hijack rules.) At first I was confused, then upset, then I realized it was okay because… 1. The OP of the new thread is an actual post I made, with nothing altered. This is something I voluntarily contributed of my own free will to the board, and it isn’t misrepresenting anything, because it is what I posted. 2. There isn’t that much of a difference between people replying to me in a new thread or replying to me in the old thread. Either way it’s a discussion about the things I posted. So no harm done. It is a bit weird after the fact to have a thread or two that “I created” that I didn’t actually create, but I don’t think it reflects poorly on me, and I have no lingering resentment. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/36 "2026-01-29T20:50:29Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Maybe it wasn’t a punitive measure when he started it, but it became a punitive measure when he refused to delete it and realized that I didn’t want it to exist. From the standpoint of an outside observer, what I see is that you made a good, informative post. It just didn’t belong in the original thread where you made it, so it was moved to its own thread. I can’t quite understand why you’re so keen to have it deleted. You seem really overwrought about nothing. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/37 "2026-01-29T20:51:19Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I suppose, but it had already garnered several responses even as discussion carried on here. That doesn’t really stop us from closing it. If one of the participants really wants to follow up on the topic, they can open their own thread that they’re the OP of. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/38 "2026-01-29T20:51:20Z")
I have added a note to the top of the spun-off thread explaining what happened. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/39 "2026-01-29T20:52:06Z")
I’m going to say I don’t think there was any ideal way to moderate the post, and going to agree with my fellow P&E mods that we’ve given a huge amount of slack to posters in the thread considering that the three of us posting in thread have each, on multiple occasions noted the thread about hijacks. We’ve pretty much tried all the pleasant options, and we’re getting into the “Well that doesn’t seem to be working” realization. I think @What_Exit was trying for a best solution - moving it out while preserving @SenorBeef’s points. I’m also pretty sure that most posters (and SenorBeef is free to disagree, of course!) would be happier with a spinoff than a hidden post plus a justified warning. Again the second leans into certain streams of thought that we’re silencing people or perspectives. The solution, sure, may frustrate you SB, but I think it was a good faith effort at keeping your opinions visible while stopping the further hijack of the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111/40 "2026-01-29T20:52:10Z")
Ok, let’s try that, then. I’ll lock the spin-off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-minnesota-shooting-thread/1027111.md?page=3)