Maybe I should avoid such threads. In that case I let my emotions get the best of me because I perceived the OP’s humor and need for same when Debbie Downer entered dressed in a black hooded cloak with how dare we yada yada. I did not revisit that thread so as to not confuse OP any further.
I’m human. Kill me.
Thank you for the clarification. Not the best metaphor, admittedly, but I’ve wandered into a culture with it’s own form of ebonics.
So, then, I guess I need to know the definitions of “jerkish” and “threadshitting” so as to understand those are not personal attacks–those words I mean.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Maybe you find my expectations of objectivity and intelligence bothersome.
I don’t come here to seek sympathy. I come here to point out that perhaps you suck as a mod.
Why are you obsessed with me? The other mods don’t seem to be.
I think the fact that in the other thread it’s twickster, one of the less popular mods if number of ATMB threads is anything to go by, that everyone else is lining up behind is rather telling. If there’s an overwhelming consensus that twickster did right, it’s probably true.
Nobody’s obsessed with you, cynyc. You’re not allowed to insult people outside of the Pit, and when you tell someone they need to see a shrink because they asked a question you find stupid, that’s insulting. We are allowed to use terms like “jerkish” and “threadshitting” because those words describe particular types of rules violations. You may not like those terms, but they are accurate descriptions of your behavior in that thread. My suggestion is that you focus on that instead of complaining about the terms or about the moderators. The moderating staff agrees with what twickster wrote in this thread. You can take it as a friendly warning or a stern one, but either way, you’re going to be out of here shortly if you don’t follow those rules.
If those are your expectations, they weren’t evident in the posts you were warned for.
What are you talking about? Your warnings have come from two different mods, twickster and Idle Thoughts. As Marley says, twickster’s post was based on discussion among the moderating staff. It’s not just her personal opinion.
You happen to have made the posts for which you were warned in MPSIMS and IMHO, and were warned by mods from those forums. If you had made them in GQ, Paulie Walnuts would already be on his way over to have a talk with you.
Just sayin’…
[quote=“cynyc, post:23, topic:623325”]
Maybe you find my expectations of objectivity and intelligence bothersome.
[QUOTE]
Nailed it.
Go play in another sandbox.
OK, threadshitting is easy: it’s when a post in a thread doesn’t really address the topic except to deride it, so in a thread about writing queries in Microsoft Access, a comment “Windoze sucks - get a Mac!” would be threadshitting.
‘Jerkish’ is not clearly defined, and I believe it’s this way on purpose - because the more clearly one defines jerkish behaviour, the easier it becomes for jerks to find new ways of being jerkish that don’t quite offend the letter of the law, whilst violating the spirit of it. In essence, “Don’t be a jerk” just means “Don’t be contemptibly stupid”, and the Moderators make a value judgment on that, case by case.
Edited to add: …and I don’t really believe it’s a problem that this is left as fuzzy definition, since the overwhelming majority of members here manage to quite capably remain within this not-so-clearly-defined booundary.
OK. Threadshitting I got.
Jerk is subjective.
And if 6 people of “the millions” pile on and yell “yes a jerk!” that is scientific empirical evidence that I’m a jerk.
Further irony. I just came back from finally reading “Who is Cecil Adams?” He is a jerk. His answer to that question sounds precisely like something I would write. I think we’d get on famously.
Have a good week. I will try not to threadshit even if the thread is shit.
Cheers!
Yes. It could not usefully be otherwise. Rules don’t interpret themselves.
No, because the purpose is not to demonstrate whether or not a person is a jerk by publishing a paper on the subject, but rather, to maintain civil decorum in the community.
It would make much more sense to be complaining about the unclear boundary if the post you were called on was anywhere near borderline. It’s really not.
What? Are you suggesting that you’re the victim of a witch hunt?
(and if so, do I need to point out that the individual in that sketch did in fact indeed turn out to be a witch?)
The only thing we’re interested in here is whether you’re following the board rules, not what anybody could empirically prove about you as a person.
The jerk thing actually piles on top of the threadshitting. There are places where you would be able to be that forceful in your rhetoric, but not when it’s about a tragic situation like dying of a terminal illness.
That’s the best I can do in explaining here–I know it’s jerkish, but it’s hard to articulate why.
My suggestion to you is what I did for a while: try being overly nice in your responses. Go nowhere near being jerkish. Also, watch for how others respond, and keep your responses in kind. You may or may not get a feel for what is considered jerkish around here.
(I do know that I already knew the entire time that what you posted would be seen as jerkish, though.)
This is something that a lot of noobs get wrong. They come here thinking this is a democracy - it’s not. I agree with you, often Unca Ceec is a jerk. But it’s his sandbox - he sets the rules. The rules are ~ regardless of whether he’s a jerk or not, nobody else can be. You were. You broke the rules. Echoing what others have said, if we are agreeing with Twix… well, there’s no question you were in the wrong.
For what it’s worth, I like having you here (mind you I don’t agree with you very much but you are entertaining). So Straighten Up and Fly Right!
You are not being martyred. You fucked up twice, by doing the same exact thing. There is no defense for your actions. You deserved the warnings you were issued. If you do it again, you’re banned. If you want to stay here, stop insulting other posters outside of the Pit. You can attack the post, but not the poster.
If you’re looking for a rough guide to the various forums here, then:
MPSIMS is largely a fluffy bunny forum. You can get a little snarky, and disagree with an OP, but you have to be pretty gentle.
IMHO, CS, and Game Room are pretty similar. Disagreement can be expressed in somewhat sharper terms, moderate snark is allowed, but still no personal insults.
GD is fairly rough and tumble. You are generally free to attack posts with vigor, and imply that arguments presented are stupid with heavy sarcasm, snark, and pretty much unveiled contempt…but again you can’t personally insult anyone.
4.5) ATMB can get pretty heated, not quite to GD levels, but close. There are not supposed to be any personal insults, but some do slip through from time to time.
I don’t read the Comments on Cecil’s Columns, Barnhouse, or Marketplace forums enough to have much of a feel for them, but I suspect they’re comparable to the IMHO/CS/Game Room level of enforcement.
That is also where you are most likely to get internet herpes. You’ve been warned.
Oh the irony.
The rules of the board also don’t apply to Cecil’s columns anyway because they are not Straight Dope posts, although his style does inform the tone here in a general way. If you start your own column and a message board to go with it, you can make the rules for that board. 
