# Mods upgrading insults then issuing warnings.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-upgrading-insults-then-issuing-warnings/644308>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [December 17, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-upgrading-insults-then-issuing-warnings/644308 "2012-12-17T15:01:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 6

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**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-upgrading-insults-then-issuing-warnings/644308/101 "2012-12-20T15:57:50Z")

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> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> Would one be allowed to tell another poster:  
> Go insult yourself (since I’m not allowed to do that for you).  
> ?

I suspect that would be moderated for being a personal remark rather than a comment on the topic. Acceptable in the Pit, but not elsewhere.

> [@Malacandra](#):
>
> It’s just whether “Get bent” equals “Get fucked”,

Well now you use that dreaded word, _equals_. “Get bent” _equals_ “Get fucked” in the same way that “Gosh darn you” _equals_ “God damn you” or “shut the front door” _equals_ “shut the fuck up”. They are expressions that are corrupted from the original to be used to express the sentiment in a somewhat more socially acceptable manner. Ergo, they are _milder_ forms of the insult. Just like “get bent” is a _milder form_ of the insult “get fucked”.

> [@](#):
>
> and if so, why “Go fuck a cactus” isn’t on a par with “Go fuck yourself”.

First off, that was in the Pit, where insults are allowed, except for certain _specific_ insults. Second, that phrase is not one of the specific phrases, and the mods have agreed they are moderating that specific list tightly not loosely. And third, the topic of the thread was about fucking a cactus, so it was on topic and humorous in context, not out of the blue.

Jeezus fuck, it’s like people can’t understand that two situations might not be equivalent.

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-upgrading-insults-then-issuing-warnings/644308/102 "2012-12-20T16:21:18Z")

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Shouldn’t that be: Jesus fuck a cactus?

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