# Nice try, Fotheringay-Phipps. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 20, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086 "2009-05-20T16:20:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/21 "2009-05-20T19:50:28Z")
Are you leaving so soon? Why you’ve only just arrived! Maybe next time … ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/22 "2009-05-20T19:56:24Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > So no need to worry your pretty little heads about that type of stuff. I strenuously deny my head is the least bit attractive. I demand the cites that’ve led you to this ludicrous opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/23 "2009-05-20T19:59:27Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > Do Not Feed the Trolls > 0…?.. > |\ /.…/.…/.…No. Is it just me, or does this look more like “Do not feed the cat”? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/24 "2009-05-20T20:24:22Z")
I thought it was a man with elephantitis of the nuts throwing a canteloupe at a broken saw-horse. Or maybe it’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/25 "2009-05-20T20:25:36Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Is it just me, or does this look more like “Do not feed the cat”? Patient taking the Rorschach test: Doc: What do you see? Patient: Two people screwing Doc: and this one? Patient: A guy masturbating Doc: try another one Patient: A woman giving a blowjob Doc: you seem to be obsessed with sex Patient: Me?! You are the one showing me the dirty pics! ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/26 "2009-05-20T20:30:58Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > It might be worth being familiar with the difference between “such-and-such type evidence needs to be discounted for Reason X” and “anything that doesn’t agree with me doesn’t count”. People who can’t grasp this distinction might have problems with any discussion of issues, since a position generally involves a weighing of conflicting evidence, and people’s opinions tend to correlate with the evidence that they find more compelling. > > Of course, some people don’t really have a problem with the methodology (even if they understand it altogether) but with the conclusion. When they see a conclusion they strongly dislike it’s time to whip out specious arguments they don’t apply elsewhere, or to [themselves](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11082474&postcount=172). Jeez, you sound like a dick. No one’s impressed with your prose. If you want to have a discussion, speak English. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/27 "2009-05-20T20:32:46Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > No, in that thread you consistently said whatever anyone cited that didn’t disagree with you didn’t count. He does that a lot, doesn’t he? I wish I could live in my own little world where the only legitimate source for anything is myself. See also: [more fun pitting F-P, wherein we decide that he is not a troll, just a moron](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=517337). ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/28 "2009-05-20T20:36:00Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > No one’s impressed with your prose. OK, try this: Some can’t follow logical rules, They just weren’t blessed with the tools, It’s a sad part of life, But there’s bound to be strife, When contending with these sorts of fools. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/29 "2009-05-20T21:01:13Z")
I have to admit that I only skimmed the thread linked in this OP (my first thought when it originally popped up was ‘gods…ANOTHER freaking torture thread!’), but it seemed that, while the subject was controversial the OP was fairly well written and generally rant free. The only thing I remember specifically that seemed odd was (IIRC) a sort of side discussion about witchcraft. What, specifically, was the problem? What were the lies mentioned in this OP? What were the instances of trolling? I don’t want to slog through yet another torture thread…could someone give some details? They were sadly lacking in this OP. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/30 "2009-05-20T21:04:07Z")
The OP wasn’t too terribly bad. It was the rest of the thread that was the problem. Among other things, he invented reasons to invalidate the reams of evidence that people presented saying that torture really doesn’t work very well at all for the purposes of getting information. Then he insisted that we accept the accounts of sociopaths as gospel truth. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/31 "2009-05-20T21:08:20Z")
Ah…well, I didn’t get that far into it. I didn’t want to get involved in yet another torture thread…especially since in the last thread I participated in on this subject I ended up playing devils advocate even though personally I find torture distasteful in the extreme. Anyway, carry on…sorry to interrupt. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/32 "2009-05-20T21:14:48Z")
Actually if you’re looking for an example of lies, you need look no further than Captain Carrot’s most recent post. Not only did I not insist that anyone accept the opinion of sociopaths or anyone else, but I noted in the OP that I thought it was a matter of opinion with no conclusive proof on either side, and repeatedly made clear that I did not think the evidence was conclusive (in response to others whose integrity and/or reading comprehension was on par with Captain Carrot’s). Re the “invented reasons”, if you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with the OP, since I noted these reasons there. Essentially I made various points in the OP which many people consistently ignored and pretended that they were bringing something new to the table when their arguments and cites had already been addressed. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/33 "2009-05-20T21:21:26Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Is it just me, or does this look more like “Do not feed the cat”? That would be the second time that I know of, someone has questioned the sig. The first time someone said they thought trolls were bipedal. So I had to dig up some video game pictures of mostly quadripedal trolls. Shall I link you to the thread? 😛 Does anyone else know of a better way to draw a troll that fits in the four lines alotted for the signature? The message it conveys still applies though damn it! ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/34 "2009-05-20T21:29:14Z")
Interestingly, the quadripedal-vs.-bipedal troll discussion happened in the other (or, probably more accurately, another) F-P pitting. _ **Coincidence?!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/35 "2009-05-20T21:35:41Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Interestingly, the quadripedal-vs.-bipedal troll discussion happened in the other (or, probably more accurately, another) F-P pitting. > > _ **Coincidence?!** _ So it [was](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=517337)! Good catch. Posts nine, 17, and 22 are the most important posts of the thread. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/36 "2009-05-20T21:43:57Z")
\*\*Covered\_In\_Bees!, \*\*personally I was partial to every time I got to call Fotheringay a fucking retard. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/37 "2009-05-20T21:49:02Z")
Well, not that I’m defending the subject of the pitting, but the only person in this thread who’s posting has failed to impress me is the person who started the thread. If that’s the sum total of his/her ability to reason, or expostulate, I’m not surprised that he/she was frustrated by the linked thread, which involved a fair amount of rational thought processes. As for the prose of the pitted person, there’s nothing particularly ornate about his vocabulary. If the post complained of by **Onomatopoeia** is beyond comprehension, may I suggest you go back to high school and acquire some added understanding of the English language? :dubious: Now me, I can ponitificate with the best of them in the most abstruse fashion. But, then, I’ve been an attorney. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/38 "2009-05-20T21:57:47Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Well, not that I’m defending the subject of the pitting, but the only person in this thread who’s posting has failed to impress me is the person who started the thread. If that’s the sum total of his/her ability to reason, or expostulate, I’m not surprised that he/she was frustrated by the linked thread, which involved a fair amount of rational thought processes. It’s not. I was simply exasperated at **FP** for trying to rewrite what can’t be edited. Oh, and I’m a guy. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/39 "2009-05-20T21:58:44Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Well, not that I’m defending the subject of the pitting, but the only person in this thread who’s posting has failed to impress me is the person who started the thread. If that’s the sum total of his/her ability to reason, or expostulate, I’m not surprised that he/she was frustrated by the linked thread, which involved a fair amount of rational thought processes. DS, you pulled this over in my F-P pit, too, and then (shock!) failed to respond [when I did your homework for you](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11136578&postcount=48). Get a new song–you’re the fratboy who just played “Livin’ on a Prayer” on the jukebox for the 50th time tonight. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086/40 "2009-05-21T02:12:45Z")
First of all, the two aren’t linked, I’ve not even said the same thing in the two threads. Not that I’d expect you to figure that out. 😉 Second of all, I didn’t respond to your laundry list of things said in the other post because it wasn’t responsive to what I had said, though it was at least an attempt to make clear what you were unhappy about. But that’s ok, because the general tenor of your posts makes it quite clear who does the cogent thinking, and who just gets exasperated and upset because others don’t want to agree. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-try-fotheringay-phipps/497086.md?page=3)