# Okay, who ratted out Lochdale? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 12, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409 "2005-01-12T17:31:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/21 "2005-01-12T21:32:11Z")
Another advantage the reports have is that way people can’t go around saying, “Well, you let So And So do this, but you banned What’s His Face for doing the same thing-you play favorites!” All the staff has to say is, “Well, then, why didn’t you report it when So And So did this?” Because mods don’t always see everything. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/22 "2005-01-12T21:32:42Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > **Eonwe** , I think that **Trunk** ’s post (the one that got you all up in arms) is in the same vein as The post that started this little debate. > > I infer this from his previous post, which pretty much said just that, and **Who\_Me?**'s “itchy report-finger-and-proud-of-it” retort. > > I know, I know! I’ll report **Trunk!**** Truuuuuuuuunk**! I’m telllllllllllllling!!! > That’s the behavior he’s tweaking- overly-sensitive, no-humor reactionism. > Kind of… like yours. So, should I be taking you seriously, or is this a joke? Or maybe you just didn’t get my subtle humor; can’t you take a joke? First of all, I think I understand the level of humor intended in those posts. Yes, they were couched in humor, but he was basically saying, “people who report posts are tools.” Regardless of his words, it’s ridiculous, IMO, to be pissed at anyone here for reporting anything. I could report your post right now, and I would be completely ignored, or probably told to stop wasting mods’ time with baseless complaints. If, though, there was a post that might be deserving of extra notice by a mod, _nothing but good_ for the community can happen by having it be reported. If **Trunk** wants to come in and scream that people who report other people are poopyheads, he’s more than welcome, but I have little patience for someone who has shown repeatedly that he just enjoys calling people names. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/23 "2005-01-12T21:40:51Z")
Maybe I’m going in the wrong direction, then. I got the vibe as “Overzealous reporters who are proud of their zeal are tools,” a vibe with which I agree. I did not mean to and would not support a contention of “The guy who reported that ‘Help me decide how to kill my mother-in-law’ post is a tool.” Maybe that clarifies my position. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/24 "2005-01-13T10:10:39Z")
I call in posts sometimes - not often, and not because I’m a “tattle-tale”, but because the ones I call I think lower the tone of the place - I’m not giving specific examples, since a couple of them were quite recent, but one resulted in a locked thread and a subsequent pitting {not by me}, and the other was deleted entirely, without any demur from anyone: I suspect that in both cases I wasn’t the only one to take offence. I’ve spent some time on other boards, and the SDMB in comparison is a model of decency and restraint - we have to be self-policing, though, if we want these boards to retain their character: as the Mods have often pointed out, they don’t have time to read every post in every thread. Excellent job as they do, it’s our responsibility to try and keep the place “clean”. Lest this post come across as “holier-than-thou”, I’ve had a couple of posts called on me when I first started here, probably entirely deservedly. You live and learn - I learnt that dumb throwaway ethnic slurs were verboten in GQ, and moved on from that: unless posters, particularly newer ones, don’t get wised up that way, they {we} won’t learn what does and doesn’t go around here. I read the thread in which **Lochdale** got called, and I think **Dex** made the right call: OK, it was intended as a joke, and most people probably read it that way, but the same response in the next Cafe Society thread he posts in could be taken entirely differently. If you’re reading this, **Lochdale** , it isn’t a criticism of you: like I said, we live and learn - I hopefully did, and you will too. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/25 "2005-01-13T16:13:01Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > Maybe I’m going in the wrong direction, then. > I got the vibe as “Overzealous reporters who are proud of their zeal are tools,” a vibe with which I agree. > I did not mean to and would not support a contention of “The guy who reported that ‘Help me decide how to kill my mother-in-law’ post is a tool.” > > Maybe that clarifies my position. Fair enough. And, I apologize for possibly being snarky back to you. I was kind of put off by **Trunk** , and was maybe quick to jump on support of his position. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/26 "2005-01-13T16:23:31Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > Maybe I’m going in the wrong direction, then. > I got the vibe as “Overzealous reporters who are proud of their zeal are tools,” a vibe with which I agree. > \ > Maybe that clarifies my position. But the person in question, (the person who reported Lochdale) hasn’t posted here. So how do you know that they are overzealous and/or proud? How would you define an _overzealous_ reporter? Is that someone who reports a post that you would not report. The thing about this thread that bugs me, is that some people seem to be saying that reporting a post that they would not report make you uncool or a crybaby. Personally I think that sort of name-calling and, yes, peer pressure is unsuited to this community. I think if someone was abusing the “report this post” feature and was reporting tons of posts that were in fact, fine, the mods would deal with them. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/27 "2005-01-13T16:39:01Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > We’re all adults (or at least not kindergarteners) here. We’re not trying to get out of being caught breaking the rules by the mods who are just trying to spoil our fun with silly rules. The rules generally are integral to the tone of the board, and all of us have a vested interest in maintaining that tone. If you’re going to fucking piss on the toilet paper in plain sight here, you bet it’s going to get reported. And rightfully so. > [@Case Sensitive](#): > > I’ve spent some time on other boards, and the SDMB in comparison is a model of decency and restraint - we have to be self-policing, though, if we want these boards to retain their character: as the Mods have often pointed out, they don’t have time to read every post in every thread. Excellent job as they do, it’s our responsibility to try and keep the place “clean”. I’m glad to see these posts - now instead of trying to phrase my thoughts originally and thoughtfully, I can simply say “Me, too.” I’ve been reined in by the mods a couple of times. In both cases, it was for the betterment of the SDMB. I hold no grudge against anyone who may have reported me. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/28 "2005-01-13T16:52:25Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Perhaps the phrase, “grow the fuck up” is appropriate. > > We’re all adults (or at least not kindergarteners) here. We’re not trying to get out of being caught breaking the rules by the mods who are just trying to spoil our fun with silly rules. The rules generally are integral to the tone of the board, and all of us have a vested interest in maintaining that tone. If you’re going to fucking piss on the toilet paper in plain sight here, you bet it’s going to get reported. And rightfully so. Yeah, well, then an adult should be able to handle a throw-away personal barb in a discussion about heavy metal bands and realize that the entire SDMB isn’t going to come crashing down around him beause there was a technical violation of a “sticky”. The rules here, the _existence of_ the “report this post” feature, the paid sbuscription, and the existing tone are plenty enough to keep this place “policed” without a troop of Cindy Bradys running around with their ninnies in a twist because I thought it would be funny to tell a guy he should wash down prescription pain-killers with alcohol (advice I stand by, by the way). > [@](#): > > You sound like a guy who’s pissed at the police officer who pulled him over for doing 60 in a 35. You sound like a guy who would listen to Howard Stern all morning every day and call the FCC because you heard him say “boob” at 10:13 AM on a Thursday morning, when (GASP!) CHILDREN COULD BE LISTENING. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/29 "2005-01-13T16:51:47Z")
My comments in that vein were directed as a clarification towards Eonwe re: my defense of Trunk’s mocking use of “tattle-tale” and what I perceived as her overreaction thereto. Trunk was (as I saw it) mocking a poster whose reaction seemed to be “I’ll report what I like because it’s my right and obligation” as a tattle-tale. And personally, I agree. I think that a mildly out-of-line utterance is easily corrected by social pressure or the poor reaction it would elicit. I also believe that a blatantly out-of-line post should be reported. So I found Trunk’s reaction funny and said so. Eonwe and I had a miscommunication over it, which we cleared up. Does that help? ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/30 "2005-01-13T17:25:03Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > The rules here, the _existence of_ the “report this post” feature, the paid sbuscription, and the existing tone are plenty enough to keep this place “policed” without a troop of Cindy Bradys running around with their ninnies in a twist because I thought it would be funny to tell a guy he should wash down prescription pain-killers with alcohol (advice I stand by, by the way). > > You sound like a guy who would listen to Howard Stern all morning every day and call the FCC because you heard him say “boob” at 10:13 AM on a Thursday morning, when (GASP!) CHILDREN COULD BE LISTENING. Yawn. Dude, you are a fucking idiot. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/31 "2005-01-13T17:56:31Z")
I report a post once every couple of weeks or so. Don’t feel sorry at all. Given that Mods have repeatedly said that’s the way to handle people who are trolling, etc., I don’t see why I should. I assume that if the mods think I or anyone else is being a pain in the ass, they can drop an email telling someone to stop being thin-skinned. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409/32 "2005-01-13T19:20:42Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Yeah, well, then an adult should be able to handle a throw-away personal barb in a discussion about heavy metal bands and realize that the entire SDMB isn’t going to come crashing down around him beause there was a technical violation of a “sticky”. > > The rules here, the _existence of_ the “report this post” feature, the paid sbuscription, and the existing tone are plenty enough to keep this place “policed” without a troop of Cindy Bradys running around with their ninnies in a twist because I thought it would be funny to tell a guy he should wash down prescription pain-killers with alcohol (advice I stand by, by the way). > > You sound like a guy who would listen to Howard Stern all morning every day and call the FCC because you heard him say “boob” at 10:13 AM on a Thursday morning, when (GASP!) CHILDREN COULD BE LISTENING. Heh. I admit to being sensitive to Howard Stern’s, um, particular sensibilities. But, I just don’t tune into the station that broadcasts him in the mornings on my way into work. Here’s the difference, though: The mods have said they don’t have time to police everything here. The mods have asked for posters, instead of taking it upon themselves to correct other posters, to use the ‘report’ function, and then let the mods take care of things if it is deemed important. Frankly, I have much more patience for those who are adamant about other posters following the rules than I do for those who think commiting minor infractions is no big deal. And, honestly, I think if most people here felt differently then the tone of the boards would change, and for the worse. With regards to the offending post in question, I probably wouldn’t have reported it, though I would have thought, ‘ooh, that dude’s skirting the edge.’ Someone else obviously felt it deserved looking at. BFD. If telling people they suck is against CS rules, then that’s the way it is. _That_ is the tone of the boards. A CS in which people were allowed to throw minor insults at other posters would be a _different_ CS. We could debate about whether or not that CS would be better or worse, and that would be a potentially interesting debate. But the contention that somehow changing/pushing the rules doesn’t matter is just plain silly. And, in all honesty, the ‘everyone who complains is just a pansy’ attitude you seem to have is exactly the reason why those rules are there and are enforced. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-who-ratted-out-lochdale/284409.md?page=1)