# Moderator Question re: General Questions Forum **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 3, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807 "2003-12-03T22:38:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/1 "2003-12-03T22:38:15Z")
Hello all! Is there any prohibition against creating a signature for use in GQ that says the following? [ul]“ **The General Questions Forum** is the place for **factual answers** , not opinions. The [Moderators](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=149223) request members’ cooperation in keeping General Questions the best place on the Internet for finding information.”[/ul]When I see some apocryphal crap that I can debunk, I would like to post my reply, plus that kind of signature. What do you say? Humbly yours, Mr. B ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/2 "2003-12-03T23:22:21Z")
Let’s run that by our GQ mods. your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/3 "2003-12-04T02:36:22Z")
Very well. Thanks in advance… just reckoned the signature was a whole lot more diplomatic than some of the common alternatives. While we’re waiting, have you ever considered the trumpet? FYI: we’re wicked with the blowgun and can swim great lengths underwater. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/4 "2003-12-04T08:33:27Z")
A personal question? Sure, I considered the trumpet. I considered it for about 2 years. I was probably the worst trumpet player on the planet. It was a blessing to the world at large when I slid down to the bottom of the band and took up the tuba. your humble TubaDiva (who plays a bunch of other stuff too . . . and still owns a flugelhorn) ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/5 "2003-12-04T13:31:29Z")
Ahhhh. A flugelhorn. Wonderfully mellow. Trumpet player here, but as far as I’m concerned, us brass players are all-for-one-and-one-for-all. The sound of an all brass group, whether a brass quintet or a full fledged drum and bugle corps, is the nicest sound there is. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/6 "2003-12-04T22:22:36Z")
Nothing against trumpet players, of course, but skill with one brass instrument does not translate to skill with another. The lips are completely different when the whole thing is allowed to vibrate, compared to only a small portion in the middle vibrating, and the one time I took a stab at a trumpet I just about ripped my vocal cords out from the tones being so much higher than I was used to. Trombone/baritone I found much easier, although I would never get the knack of finding the right positions on the slide. I’m also a tubist, in case you didn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/7 "2003-12-04T22:33:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m also a tubist, in case you didn’t know. No, I didn’t know. My esteem for you has risen even further. (smile) I wonder if it’s easier to go from a small bore to a large bore brass instrument, than the other way around. I’ve picked up baritones and had virtually no problems generating passable tone quality. Though I confess that the larger mouthpiece felt cavernous. For me, the embouchure necessary to play the baritone was different, but not a huge transition. My point is maybe it’s easier to widen the lip vibration to a larger bore mouthpiece, than to reduce the lip vibration to the center for a smaller bore. (Side note: wow, talk about a hijack…) ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/8 "2003-12-04T22:42:35Z")
**Algernon** : I think it _is_ easier to go from smaller bore to larger; my attempts at the French Horn sounded like seals mating. Or being slaughtered. I can’t really remember clearly because it was just too painful. Jumping to the larger mouthpiece/airflow was actually a relief for me. Besides, there’s no _Miles Davis Inferiority Complex_ with the Sousaphone. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/9 "2003-12-04T22:59:27Z")
> [@](#): > > …my attempts at the French Horn sounded like seals mating. Or being slaughtered. This made me laugh. If it makes you feel any better, I believe it’s a rare individual who can play a French Horn and _not_ have it sound like seals mating. Unless I try to play that damned horn with a trumpet mouthpiece, I can’t center a tone for the life of me. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/10 "2003-12-05T01:26:01Z")
What’s the range of a tuba? … about three yards, if you’ve got a strong arm. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/11 "2003-12-05T04:38:57Z")
Let’s all support all the tuba-Christmases that are shortly to occur out there. **Dex.** I’d look over my shoulder for the near future. When enraged, Jenny probably could sling that sucker nigh-on-to Chicago. I think it’s in the admin physical that they have to be able to do something like that. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/12 "2003-12-05T07:22:39Z")
Oh, that’s an old joke. There’s another one, too, but it’s too crude to repeat here, though it’s the one tuba joke everybody knows, apparently. Not to further hijack this thread into tuba madness, but yes, technically it’s much easier to go from small bore to larger; in fact, if you play several instruments and are practicing them serially, that’s the way to do it; trying it the other way around can be very frustrating. NYC Tuba Christmas is this coming Sunday. I had hoped to be there, but couldn’t, not this time, dammit. It’s the 30th Anniversary of that first time tubists stood on the Rockefeller Center skating rink ice and played together and I hate to miss it. Those of you that can attend, either as players or spectators, please go, it’s most meaningful and quite a spectacle. Atlanta TubaChristmas is Friday, December 12 at the CNN Center. Hope to see you there. I’m not hard to spot, I’m the one with the tuba. 🙂 your humble TubaDiva Unless, of course, I take a double-bell euphonium instead. ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/13 "2003-12-05T17:22:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TubaDiva \* > \*\*… > Unless, of course, I take a double-bell euphonium instead. \*\* And once again, the Upper Slokavian Yiddish Hunting Horn is shut out of its rightfull place in the festivities. Its a real tragedy, I tells ya… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/14 "2003-12-06T05:07:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. B \* > > Is there any prohibition against creating a signature for use in GQ that says the following? > > [ul]“ **The General Questions Forum** is the place for **factual answers** , not opinions. The [Moderators](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=149223) request members’ cooperation > in keeping General Questions the best place on the Internet for finding information.”[/ul]When I see some apocryphal crap that I can debunk, I would like to post my reply, plus that kind of signature. > > What do you say? I’m not comfortable with that as a sig. Sometimes incorrect information is posted in GQ; as long as the poster doesn’t make it a habit I don’t see this as a problem. Usually errors are corrected. If you see a post that is just too outrageous, we prefer you use the Report This Post function rather than try to speak for us. **DrMatrix** - GQ Moderator ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/15 "2003-12-06T05:44:04Z")
Thank you! [ul]EXIT SCENE The set is half-lit, on the edge of town. **Algernon** , off camera, chirps The Theme From The Green Hornet. **Mr. B** , in dark green suit, matching hat and shiny green leather mask, stands, right arm on the open door, left foot on the running board of Black Beauty. He gazes off into the darkness, the city spread at the horizon. The distant metropolis glows, bluely. Quietly, as if to the wind, **Mr. B** speaks. “Kato, when the authorities wield tubas and humor, there’s just no place here for us.” He steps into the black Chrysler Imperial and closes the door. Pull back to tail lights, framed against the city, red against blue. The engine revs and the car drives off into the night. ROLL CREDITS[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/16 "2003-12-06T14:39:14Z")
The Straight Dope’s All Tuba Marching Band and Glee Society has just admitted the first non-tuba instrument, we got a bagpipe player. Now searching the internet for sonatas for tubas and bagpipe. Old one, eh? I take that as a challenge. What’s the difference between a tuba and an onion? – Nobody cries if you chop up a tuba. Why did the chicken cross the road? – To escape the tuba recital What is “perfect pitch”? – When you lob a tuba into the dumpster without hitting the rim What do you call a tuba player with half a brain? – Gifted What do you say to a tuba player in a three piece suit? – “Will the defendant please rise…” What did the tuba player get on his IQ test? – Drool What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians? – A drummer. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/17 "2003-12-07T21:04:50Z")
[Related thread, inspired by the hijack](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=227856). And also on the hijack, Bozeman’s TubaChristmas was yesterday at the annual Christmas Stroll. Much smaller than last year (four bass tubae and eight euphonia), and they sounded a bit short on practice, as well. But I’ll always stop to listen to tuba music, anyway. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/18 "2003-12-09T13:13:36Z")
I play guitar, dammit! And I stang alone against the brass-oppression I see here in this thread! Rise, my six-stringed brethren! Rise! Let no one bring you down for being a popular instrument! Remember! We get the chicks! ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/19 "2003-12-10T06:48:49Z")
Not exactly on-topic, just one of my favorite musical instrument jokes: What’s the difference between a chainsaw and a banjo? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807/20 "2003-12-10T06:49:58Z")
The chainsaw has a dynamic range. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderator-question-re-general-questions-forum/216807.md?page=2)