# Ok, I'll do it (Twickster thread closing thread closed) **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 15, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963 "2012-05-15T03:49:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/121 "2012-05-17T14:08:18Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > One of the reasons I think that allowing mods to be Pitted would be good is that then the admin could institute a policy of replying to all ATMB threads within a reasonable timeframe. That way the mods don’t have to come in and address every person that just has a rant to make about a mod decision or whatever (those would go in the Pit) but actual legit concerns would be addressed in a timely fashion. (And preferably a professional, mature, and respectful fashion, but I know I’m shooting for the moon here.) > > Just a thought. I like this. The rule would be “Pit the mods all you want, but don’t expect a substantive answer unless you open an ATMB thread”. Even if the substantive answer was nothing more than “we have thought it over, and Mod X’s behavior did not rise to any level of concern. We are therefore locking this thread - go bitch about it in the Pit.” But I don’t think the mods want to be Pitted, mostly (to be fair) because they can’t respond to Pitters with their mod hats on, and if they respond as posters, it misses the point of Pitting moderation. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/122 "2012-05-17T14:12:12Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > Speculation like that is why they don’t want to reply. I doubt this very seriously. Speculation like that occurs because they didn’t reply. [sup]FTR, I don’t agree with JoeyP either.[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/123 "2012-05-17T16:01:57Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Since everyone disagrees with me… I think you’re spot on with the first half. I think she used “twat” on purpose and then later, when there were outcries, figured it would be funny to give herself the little slap. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/124 "2012-05-17T16:25:19Z")
> [@donkeyoatey](#): > > I think you’re spot on with the first half. I think she used “twat” on purpose and then later, when there were outcries, figured it would be funny to give herself the little slap. I’m going to take it a step further and suggest that the other mods were part of the original twat conspiracy. If Internal Affairs wasn’t so corrupt, there might be some justice in this case. We need a mod like Serpico. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/125 "2012-05-17T18:55:48Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I like this. The rule would be “Pit the mods all you want, but don’t expect a substantive answer unless you open an ATMB thread”. I could get in front of this statement. > [@](#): > > But I don’t think the mods want to be Pitted, mostly (to be fair) because they can’t respond to Pitters with their mod hats on, and if they respond as posters, it misses the point of Pitting moderation. I don’t think the mods want to be Pitted, because I don’t think most people want to be Pitted. And I think that if we could Pit mods for moderator action, many of them wouldn’t bother to read or respond. But that doesn’t really have anything to do with the reason for the rule. At one time, all complaints about moderation were put in the Pit. That way, there was no way to have a constructive criticism, because someone else would turn it into a slam. But the inverse is not working, either, where _no_ complaints about the moderation go in the Pit. It just makes the pile ons and bitch fests happen in ATMB, where people have to struggle to stay within the language constraints. This is why I have advocated the suggestion above. Also consider, it would be one thing if the board didn’t have the Pit at all, so that kind of conversation was just not allowed on the board. Then a rule that you can’t bitch and flame about moderation would fit within the overall board rule, no bitching and flaming. But we have a forum specifically for bitching and flaming. Yet, we by fiat exclude one topic from that forum, moderation on this board. That doesn’t make sense. A much more sensible policy is to allow bitching and flaming about board moderation in the bitching and flaming forum, but not expect it to do anything but allow people to vent. Any topics expecting the staff to actually consider them belong in ATMB, and play by ATMB rules. Then any pile-ons or whine-fests in ATMB could be moderated as well, rather than allowed to slide on the grounds that “people just need to vent”, and thus the staff just lets threads go on and on without actually responding. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/126 "2012-05-17T18:58:46Z")
I just have to say: “lob a couple of twats at people” is easily the funniest thing I’ve read all day. If nothing else, thanks for that, **Joey P**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/127 "2012-05-17T19:27:06Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > I doubt this very seriously. Speculation like that occurs because they didn’t reply. I really meant speculation after they replied. Doing that doesn’t make them want to reply in the future. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/128 "2012-05-17T19:43:14Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > But the inverse is not working, either, where _no_ complaints about the moderation go in the Pit. It just makes the pile ons and bitch fests happen in ATMB, where people have to struggle to stay within the language constraints. Not only that, but it’s not working because, on many occasions, the moderators and administrators don’t even make substantive responses to the ATMB threads. Either they ignore them altogether (sometimes jumping in late to say something like, “We can’t be online 24 hours a day, you know!”), or they manage to completely miss the point of the complaint. Sure, some ATMB threads have received reasonably prompt and relevant responses, but far too many hang out in the breeze for days without being addressed in any useful way. When **Ed** decided that all complaints about the board would have to go in ATMB, i think that it became incumbent upon the mods and admins to address those complaints in a reasonably prompt and professional manner. No-one expects them to respond promptly and professionally to a BBQ Pit flame-fest, but if there’s a place specifically designated for complaints, and that place requires those complaints to be couched in reasonable terms, then there should also be a commitment from the mods and admins to address them in a timely and reasonable manner. That’s why i think that **Shodan** ’s idea would work quite well. If you want to vent about moderators, go to the Pit and rant away, but don’t expect a timely or rational response; if you want to make a genuine complaint, do it in ATMB, but make sure you’re civil about it. In all of this, i actually think that some of the worst moderation on this board has been right here, in ATMB. Because, as quite a few people have noted, plenty of people push things too far here without being told (on an individual basis) to pull their heads in and follow the rules. And it now appears as if this is actually a moderating strategy, whereby ATMB threads are deliberately allowed to degenerate to a point where the mods feel justified in simply closing them. If the mods and admins would actually moderate this forum like they’re supposed to, then maybe the threads dealing with moderator issues would be more productive. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/129 "2012-05-17T21:16:43Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > In all of this, i actually think that some of the worst moderation on this board has been right here, in ATMB. Because, as quite a few people have noted, plenty of people push things too far here without being told (on an individual basis) to pull their heads in and follow the rules. And it now appears as if this is actually a moderating strategy, whereby ATMB threads are deliberately allowed to degenerate to a point where the mods feel justified in simply closing them. If the mods and admins would actually moderate this forum like they’re supposed to, then maybe the threads dealing with moderator issues would be more productive. Please allow me to rephrase, slightly. _In all of this, i actually think that some of the worst moderation on this board has been right here, in ATMB. Because, as quite a few people have noted, plenty of people push things too far here without being told (on an individual basis) to pull their heads in and follow the rules. And it now appears as if this is actually a moderating strategy, whereby ATMB threads are deliberately allowed to degenerate to a point where the mods feel justified in simply closing them. If the mods and admins would actually moderate this forum like they’re supposed to,_ and actually respond to concerns with meaningful responses_then maybe the threads dealing with moderator issues would be more productive_ ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/130 "2012-05-17T22:37:47Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > That’s why i think that **Shodan** ’s idea would work quite well. If you want to vent about moderators, go to the Pit and rant away, but don’t expect a timely or rational response; if you want to make a genuine complaint, do it in ATMB, but make sure you’re civil about it. **Shodan’s** idea? [Hmph!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15067223&postcount=55) And I’ll throw in a [couple](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15066019&postcount=27) [hmph’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15073251&postcount=120) on \*\*MsWhatsit’s \*\*behalf, as well. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/131 "2012-05-17T22:57:39Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > **Shodan’s** idea? [Hmph!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15067223&postcount=55) And I’ll throw in a [couple](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15066019&postcount=27) [hmph’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15073251&postcount=120) on \*\*MsWhatsit’s \*\*behalf, as well. Sorry. That’s just the first time i noticed it, i guess. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/132 "2012-05-17T23:49:45Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > I really meant speculation after they replied. Doing that doesn’t make them want to reply in the future. An African swallow maybe but not a European swallow. That’s my point. 🙂 [sup]In otherwords: Oh yes, I agree there.[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/133 "2012-05-18T15:43:12Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > **Shodan’s** idea? [Hmph!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15067223&postcount=55) And I’ll throw in a [couple](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15066019&postcount=27) [hmph’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15073251&postcount=120) on \*\*MsWhatsit’s \*\*behalf, as well. It’s not like that was the first time it has been suggested. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15063733&postcount=182](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15063733&postcount=182) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/134 "2012-05-18T19:00:42Z")
I hope it didn’t sound like I wanted to take credit for anyone else’s idea. I did quote **Ms. Whatsit**. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/135 "2012-05-18T23:33:10Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > It’s not like that was the first time it has been suggested. > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15063733&postcount=182](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15063733&postcount=182) I was mostly kidding, guess I should have used the appropriate smiley. But yeah, I wasn’t suggesting it was my unique and original idea (obviously, since I linked to **MsWhatsit** briefly mentioning it first), just that calling it **Shodan’s** idea, after he was the third person to bring it up in this thread, was mildly off-putting. Anyway, I do think this would be an excellent way to deter the frequent ATMB trainwrecks, where the purported “mod bashers” and the purported “mod brown-nosers” regularly square off, with the mods largely sitting it out and apparently hoping the flames will burn themselves out when people get bored with throwing the repetitive snark at each other. Or, if things really flame up, the thread gets locked and another related thread almost invariably gets started, leading to multiple trainwrecks sprinkled about ATMB. Just shunt all that bullshit over to the Pit, and leave ATMB for reasonable discourse regarding the board’s administration. What would be the harm in just trying it as a provisional experiment? It would be a simple matter to declare it a failure and revert back to the current state of affairs. **I encourage the admins/mods to discuss this amongst themselves and take a vote on it. I think everybody can agree that there’s some room for improvement with how grievances are both aired and handled.** ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/136 "2012-05-18T23:35:35Z")
I would just like to say that I am satisfied with the amount of credit that has been given me in this thread for my not-particularly-original idea. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/137 "2012-05-19T12:47:05Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Not only that, but it’s not working because, on many occasions, the moderators and administrators don’t even make substantive responses to the ATMB threads. Amen brother! If a Mod can be both a Mod and an aggressive poster then he should surely be Pittable. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/138 "2012-05-19T14:01:49Z")
They are, as posters. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/139 "2012-05-20T13:02:51Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > They are, as posters. … as if the line was so precise. ---
**Author:** ![Myrnalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Myrnalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrnalene)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963/140 "2012-05-20T14:02:08Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > They are, as posters. Well, ok. I was mod noted for expressing my displeasure at something twickster said in [this post.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15070242&postcount=7) Specifically, “Flaming someone with mental health issues isn’t exactly classy behavior, either.” Now, I have a problem with that statement for a couple of different reasons, but let’s leave that aside. The part that is relevant to this thread is that she \*wasn’t \* enforcing board policy when she said that. There is clearly no rule that you can’t flame posters just because they are depressed or whatever else (you can’t do elsewhere but in the Pit, obviously). It’s also not part of her moderating job to comment on what is or is not “classy behavior”. _ **That was her own shitty, ableist opinion** _ but since she included it in her Mod note, suddenly it’s a moderator action and I got my knuckles rapped for criticizing it. Miller told me to take it here but I didn’t bother, because it would clearly be pissing in the wind. We have three threads to prove that twickster doesn’t give a two fucks about what anyone thinks about her job performance, and that board management doesn’t give a fuck about _making_ her give a fuck. And my problem, again, wasn’t with her performance per se, but her snitty little aside that was clearly an expression of her own personal opinion as a poster, not a mod. As long as mods dance back and forth across that line, they are free from criticism of any kind. You can’t complain in the Pit, and if you complain here, nothing happens. The system blows. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-ill-do-it-twickster-thread-closing-thread-closed/621963.md?page=8)