# Mods, can't you tell Snowboarder Bo to shut up? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 14, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483 "2012-01-14T05:02:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/201 "2012-01-16T06:36:45Z")
Who killed the donkey? ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/202 "2012-01-16T06:50:46Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I say here, in ATMB-appropriate language, pretty much what i said in the Pit thread: > > You keep saying that you use it in context, yet what you apparently fail to recognize is that context is a _shared_ component of communication. To use something in context requires that the context and the usage be understood by, if not all, at least a majority of your audience. If something is truly being used in context, people don’t look at your comment and scratch their heads, wondering what the hell those words are doing there. > > Saying to yourself “I’m going to let this set of words stand arbitrarily for that other set of words” is NOT “context,” no matter how many times you link to the obscure reference that motivated your iconoclastic usage. > > I’ve already said in this thread that i don’t think this is something that needs to be curtailed by the moderators. You shouldn’t be banned from using it; i don’t think the mods should even suggest that you don’t use it. If you want to use it all the time, i couldn’t care less; it’s very easy to skip past content-free posts on this message board. Just realize that plenty of people see it as little more than the equivalent of “Look at me!,” and that it causes people to think of you as little more than an attention seeker. > > Nor am i arguing that you shouldn’t piss people off. I’ve pissed people off on this message board before, and will do it again. There are times when i do it accidentally, and times when i do it intentionally. But if i’m going to piss people off, i try to reserve it for occasions when it actually means something to me, in terms of a particular argument or position that i want to take. I try not to spend my “pissing people off” capital on stupid, nonsensical bullshit that adds nothing to the discussion and that alienates people who might otherwise be interested in having conversations with me. Post enough content-free posts, and people will being to assume that all your posts are content-free. > > But you do what you want. You’ve made it pretty clear that you don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks about this issue anyway. Very well put, indeed. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/203 "2012-01-16T08:11:17Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > And neither is **Snowboarder Bo**. Did I say he was? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/204 "2012-01-16T12:39:53Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > The difference is that most of those occurred organically, as a bunch of people picked up on something they found funny or interesting. I don’t remember a single case where one person spent dozens of posts inserting a catchphrase that almost no-one else knew about. To support this, I can think of a half dozen or so losers who tried desperately to create board memes and they’ve never, ever, EVER succeeded. Board memes happen\* organically. Tossing a random phrase into a conversation that you decided would be your code for another phrase is just gonna piss people off. And it _is_ random to an outside viewer. Even if a noob doesn’t know who Opal is, a noob will soon learn that she’s always number 3 in a list (or correctly, #3 in a list that would otherwise only have 2 items). Same with every other successful board meme. The quarry thing? No way to figure out that is supposed to mean “LOL”. Take this particular example: > [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Once he absorbed the lifeforce of Gene Siskel Highlander style he became unstoppable. Sadly there were, side effects. > [@Bo](#): > > Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there! > > I’d say it was Sneak Previews, since it gave him national exposure at a time when it was difficult to get (mid-70s), at least for a film critic. Ddamn near every television set in the country got PBS back then, so he and Gene Siskel were known not just by people in Chicago, where they lived and worked, but by people in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, etc. And since they were known all over the country, it was possible for Hollywood PR types to include quoted parts of their reviews in advertising campaigns, since it was a “real” name that people could relate to, if not actually read their reviews. There is no indication whatsoever to imply that this means “LOL”. \*Whether you want them to or not. Often, I’d wish that they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/205 "2012-01-16T14:31:15Z")
I’m having a hard time believing that the anger over this phrase isn’t some colossal woosh. Sure, the guy uses some odd phrase in an odd manner. Big deal. Why the hell does anyone even care? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/206 "2012-01-16T14:41:22Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > I’m having a hard time believing that the anger over this phrase isn’t some colossal woosh. Sure, the guy uses some odd phrase in an odd manner. Big deal. Why the hell does anyone even care? Just guessing, but it probably has to do with… > [@](#): > > RO – “Recreational Outrage” describes when a poster expresses righteous indignation and gets highly worked up (outraged) over some issue, typically some news occurrence that is completely irrelevant to the person’s own life and has no effect on that poster personally. The poster derives (recreational) satisfaction from expressing outrage and moral indignation, frequently including a sense of moral superiority, thus differentiating Recreational Outrage from other forms of outrage. …which can be found among [Beginner’s Guide to Glossary of Terms on Straight Dope Message Boards](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=320298) that was linked to upthread. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/207 "2012-01-16T14:50:42Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > To support this, I can think of a half dozen or so losers who tried desperately to create board memes and they’ve never, ever, EVER succeeded. > > Board memes happen\* organically. Tossing a random phrase into a conversation that you decided would be your code for another phrase is just gonna piss people off. Already been addressed, in [post#191](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14672470&postcount=191). I’ll repost it for you: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I already mentioned this in the Pit thread ([post #204](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14669813&postcount=204)), but the exact way you describe it is what happened. > > After the story was told in the Autocorrect thread, several people found it funny and re-used the phrase in that thread. I read that thread, and carried it over to other threads. I can’t see where it makes a difference that I did most of the initial posting of it in other threads vs. several people posting it in other threads; everything starts somewhere. And then, with the Pitting and this thread, even more people posted it or a variation of some kind, just like people do with “burning your dog” or “1920s-style death ray” or “penis ensues”, etc. > [@Fenris](#): > > And it _is_ random to an outside viewer. Even if a noob doesn’t know who Opal is, a noob will soon learn that she’s always number 3 in a list (or correctly, #3 in a list that would otherwise only have 2 items). Same with every other successful board meme. Already been addressed, in [post#181](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14672136&postcount=181). Here, I’ll repost that for you as well: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > This is a ridiculous argument. If it were true, then there really wouldn’t be a need for that guide I linked to in my last post, would there? > > Before you counter that the majority understands those in-jokes, let me point out that at one time, the majority did not. They had to be created at some time, and people got to know them by seeing them and asking “what the hell are those words doing there?” > > Others then had to link to the obscure reference that produced the joke or otherwise explain it. That’s how ignorance is fought, after all: by spreading knowledge. > [@\[QUOTE=Fenris](#): > > The quarry thing? No way to figure out that is supposed to mean “LOL”. Take this particular example: > There is no indication whatsoever to imply that this means “LOL”. I disagree, but I admit that the way you chopped it all up and presented it as two completely separate posts sure does help you try and make your case more than the unedited quote does. I note that you also removed the links from both quotes, making it harder for people to find them and see for themselves [what was actually posted](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14661085&postcount=10): > [@How did Roger Ebert become the premier film reviewer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-roger-ebert-become-the-premier-film-reviewer/609312/10): > > > [@How did Roger Ebert become the premier film reviewer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-roger-ebert-become-the-premier-film-reviewer/609312/6): > > > > Once he absorbed the lifeforce of Gene Siskel Highlander style he became unstoppable. Sadly there were, side effects. 😉 > > Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there! > > I’d say it was Sneak Previews, since it gave him national exposure at a time when it was difficult to get (mid-70s), at least for a film critic. Ddamn near every television set in the country got PBS back then, so he and Gene Siskel were known not just by people in Chicago, where they lived and worked, but by people in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, etc. And since they were known all over the country, it was possible for Hollywood PR types to include quoted parts of their reviews in advertising campaigns, since it was a “real” name that people could relate to, if not actually read their reviews. It’s obvious that **fiddlesticks** was making a joke; if the words themselves don’t strike you as a joke, the wink smiley (that you removed when you quoted that post) is a sure tip-off. My “Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there!” immediately follows the joke. Clearly it has something to do with the quote from **fiddlesticks**. So there’s the context. Whether or not there’s any way to discern, from that exchange alone, that the phrase means “LOL” is immaterial; there’s no way for anyone to know what “I burning your dog” or “Hi, Opal!” means just from context either. The fact that it has to be explained or sought out really doesn’t matter. The vast majority of “in” jokes have to be explained. Did _that_ really need to be explained? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/208 "2012-01-16T15:00:15Z")
Let’s go get sushi and not pay. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/209 "2012-01-16T15:08:32Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Let’s go get sushi and not pay. The life of a repo man is always intense. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/210 "2012-01-16T15:48:48Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I disagree, but I admit that the way you chopped it all up and presented it as two completely separate posts sure does help you try and make your case more than the unedited quote does. I sure hope you are kidding, if not you must be the most pedantic person on Earth. The “cut-up” quote was almost identical in presentation to the original format and there wasn’t even a subtle difference in meaning. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/211 "2012-01-16T15:57:39Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I disagree, but I admit that the way you chopped it all up and presented it as two completely separate posts sure does help you try and make your case more than the unedited quote does. Now you’re just getting desperate. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/212 "2012-01-16T16:11:33Z")
When are we going to get to see the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs, with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of… wait a second… 😕 Oops… Wrong thread. :smack: Sorry about that. Carry on. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/213 "2012-01-16T16:17:31Z")
This is the third stupidest thread I’ve seen on these boards. > [@Absolute](#): > > The title of my thread was not intended as whining, it was a serious question: Why have the mods not done something about Snowboarder Bo’s behavior? Because nobody is going to moderate your whiny little feelings. > [@Gyrate](#): > > Let’s go get sushi and not pay. I like the way you think, kiddo. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/214 "2012-01-16T16:24:27Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > This is the third stupidest thread I’ve seen on these boards. You’re not trying hard enough to remember. Stupid, yes, but not even in the top 10. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/215 "2012-01-16T16:25:42Z")
It seems like every time annoyance is expressed about something someone does on this board, it’s automatically, “Oh, why are you so\* angry\*?? Wow, this is really getting nasty!! My god, such vitriol!!1” I don’t see anyone here that’s actually mad about what\*\* Bo\*\* is doing, only annoyed. It’s a perfectly valid complaint, and a perfectly valid way of registering the complaint is to open a thread in ATMB. Some people really need to calm down, and it’s not the complainers. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/216 "2012-01-16T16:27:09Z")
Is it annoying and silly? Yes. Is it easily ignorable? Can it easily be scrolled past if one doesn’t ignore it? Yes and yes. Does it actually derail threads? No. Is there any real reason that the mods should do anything about it? No. Should Snowboarder still cut it out, because it’s silly and annoying? Yep, but that’s his call. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/217 "2012-01-16T16:27:48Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > You’re not trying hard enough to remember. Stupid, yes, but not even in the top 10. Hey, now there’s an idea for a really fun thread! Please start it. It could easily supplement the one I started on “The Truly Great Threads at SDMB” (or words to that effect). ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/218 "2012-01-16T16:35:28Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Hey, now there’s an idea for a really fun thread! Please start it. Someone else will have to do so. It is against my philosophy to start threads on a MB. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/219 "2012-01-16T17:07:33Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > Someone else will have to do so. It is against my philosophy to start threads on a MB. Understandable. I have to hold off for fear that it would look like I’d be mocking my own jewel. That “Great Threads” thing is one of my best efforts, if I do say so myself. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483/220 "2012-01-16T17:23:16Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Some people really need to calm down, and it’s not the complainers. Actually, it is, because the complainers are those who have advocated for **Snowboarder Bo** to be punished, despite his demonstrably having done nothing outside the rules of the SDMB. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-cant-you-tell-snowboarder-bo-to-shut-up/609483.md?page=12)