# Moderator Actions! Come one come All! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 6, 2001, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334 "2001-02-06T10:27:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/1 "2001-02-06T10:27:08Z")
I sense a disturbance in the force. It seems that over the last month or so the Moderator Bashing has stepped into overdrive. My interpretation is that with the increase of people on the boards= more threads = more “pointless” threads = more closed threads = more annoyed posters = more pit threads. Here is a novel suggestion. Take it to e-mail. If a moderator closes a thread, and dosen’t give a copper fastened reason as to why the thread is closed, send them an e-mail. Please think twice before steaming into the pit, all guns blazing to start a thread that is just going to corrode into a pissing match. When that happens, the participants don’t realise they are just pissing against the wind. OR, heres a noveler (is noveler a word?) suggestion. Instead of opening a new thread, ask your question in this thread. Here is a central point for people to ask a moderator (if they have REALLY to) why a thread was closed and for them to get a reply. If a sniping match develops I will be forced to lay the smackdown on the participants. (now there’s a threat for you ;)) IF a moderator feels that this thread is inappropriate, please feel free to close it down. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/2 "2001-02-06T10:50:01Z")
If the Mods close it, someone will just come behind you and complain about it! ---
**Author:** ![Krispy\_Original](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ec9cab/32.png) [@Krispy\_Original](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krispy_Original)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/3 "2001-02-06T10:58:24Z")
Well…I was kinda disapointed that the Morse Code Pit thread got closed before more people could get a chance to comment on my witty telepathy-related post… …does that count as a belly-acher? ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/4 "2001-02-06T11:03:43Z")
I was just amused to follow the link in that thread and see Coldfire say > [@](#): > > I don’t know how to use these quote-thingies as well as the classic > [@](#): > > There goes my possible carreer as a Pit-Veteran everybody fears… not that I ever posted there in the first place. Lovely pan ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/5 "2001-02-06T11:22:21Z")
Actually, I think I can one-up Twist’ems proposal: Use a litmus test. If an asshole like me isn’t protesting something, it’s probably not something to pop a testicle (or labia, if you’re one of them girlie-types) over. ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/6 "2001-02-06T12:43:45Z")
Krispy said: > [@](#): > > Well…I was kinda disapointed that the Morse Code Pit thread got closed before more people could get a chance to comment on my witty telepathy-related post… Actually, they did. They just used telepathy to do it… ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/7 "2001-02-06T13:06:47Z")
I sincerely believe that close to 100% of all user-to-user and user-to-moderator problems incurred on this board would be solved more expeditiously through the use of e-mail. Tension breeds tension. If I start a thread because I am pissed off at a moderator, there will be a dozen people supporting me and a dozen people slamming me. I can’t see what this solves, exactly. What such a public outcry - usually over relatively meaningless issues - usually does is foster more and more tension. I realize that to many this place (especially the Pit) is an escape from reality. I realize there are people who will say things in this forum that they might not be inclined to say in real life, because the conseqences here aren’t nearly as dire. But it just seems to me that for a message board devoted to fighting ignorance, we sure do seem to have a lot of senseless bickering. There, my cliched two cents. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/8 "2001-02-06T13:29:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > **I sincerely believe that close to 100% of all user-to-user and user-to-moderator problems incurred on this board would be solved more expeditiously through the use of e-mail.** I’ve never understood this idea. Why is taking things to E-Mail supposedly better than airing them out in the open? ---
**Author:** ![SterlingNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@SterlingNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SterlingNorth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/9 "2001-02-06T13:33:04Z")
I’d like to place a bid of $100 for **Lynn Bodoni**. **\<\\>** [sub]Yeah? … “Moderator Auctions! Come one come All!” … What are you talking about? … No, I thought _Action_ sucked. Hated Jay Mohr. … What do you mean “Moderator _Actions_!”[/sub] **D’OH!** ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/10 "2001-02-06T13:37:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CnoteChris \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > > **I sincerely believe that close to 100% of all user-to-user and user-to-moderator problems incurred on this board would be solved more expeditiously through the use of e-mail.** > > I’ve never understood this idea. Why is taking things to E-Mail supposedly better than airing them out in the open? > > \*\* Well, I certainly won’t speak for other people, but as for me, I’m here to learn and to be entertained. Bitching in public serves neither purpose for me. I am not entertained by one poster calling another every name in the book, however creatively. And of course, I’m not exactly learning anything, either, except that man is at times a base, callous being. But I knew that already, anyway. After all, many of those ranting issues do not directly affect other people unless the issues are aired here, where all can see. Since they don’t necessarily affect other people, and don’t educate, and don’t entertain (when it’s easygoing teasing, sure, but not the incredible nastiness), then the arguing is at once pointless. And as a side note, I think in conjunction with the minor uproar over the alleged wasting of bandwidth that if you eliminated most of these pointless arguments, the board would run more efficiently, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/11 "2001-02-06T14:08:45Z")
**Don’t make me close this thread, Twisty!** Excellent suggestion, BTW. The taking it to e-mail part, that is. Esprix did so when I closed one of his threads a few weeks ago. Of course, by the time I replied to his polite e-mail, someone _else_ had posted about it in the Pit already (albeit in an existing thread). That might actually be another suggestion. Don’t complain in the Pit about closed threads by other posters. In **Opal** ’s case, there was no way she was personally offended. It would have been better to ask a polite question in ATMB than a not-so-polite one in the Pit, in that case. Thusly: **ATMB** : I noticed Coldfire closed \'s thread in MPSIMS. Why was this? - _Poster Name_ **The Pit** : Coldfire, you cum sucking goat squicker, why the fuck did you close my completely harmless MPSIMS thread?? HUH??? - _Poster Name_ See the difference? Ah, life is so easy if you think 5 seconds before hitting “Submit”. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/12 "2001-02-06T14:22:40Z")
Why not have one thread for “pissing and moaning”. reduced bandwith usage, and a general wellbeing overall. I think I’ll send my CV to the UN. Get a nice job in Botswana or something. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/13 "2001-02-06T14:37:40Z")
Well, there’s an entire _forum_ for Bitchin’ and-a Moanin’. What more do you want, dude? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/14 "2001-02-06T14:42:14Z")
a Straight Dope mug please. ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/15 "2001-02-06T14:53:06Z")
I’d actually quite like a whole Straight Dope tableware set, if that’s OK. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/16 "2001-02-06T15:00:20Z")
**This** can’t be a Pit thread! Where’s the sniping? Where are the slings and arrows? Where are the dagger-filled eyes, struggling for angry purchase? Holy moley! It’s turned into a Tupperware party! Sign me up for the SDMB colander! ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/17 "2001-02-06T15:16:59Z")
If I might make a suggestion, I think the moderators and administrators might want to give some thought into making the guidelines more specific. This applies to both guidelines about what to post where, and message board behaviour. I believe there is alot of ambiguity in the desriptions of these terms, which lends itself to alot of confusion by the posters, and to subjective and inconsistent interpretation and enforcement by the moderators. If it were possible to spell these guidelines out more clearly, it might go a long way towards lessening the amount of discord. Just a suggestion. Also, this should not be interpreted as a complaint about any specific moderator action. ---
**Author:** ![Freedom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Freedom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freedom)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/18 "2001-02-06T15:26:55Z")
Hey!!! Pass one of those Straight Dope Coffee mugs over this way. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/19 "2001-02-06T16:54:05Z")
Dan, the pit is pretty tame compared to what it used to be… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334/20 "2001-02-06T17:31:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TwistofFate \* > **is noveler a word?** Conventional usage would say that “more novel” is **correcter** , but the beauty part of English, versus, say, French, is that there is no committee judging each new word being added to the language. In other words, ANYBODY can make up new words, once he gets out of school and away from English teachers. Screw clarity! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-actions-come-one-come-all/53334.md?page=2)