# Please rescind this warning **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 24, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466 "2011-09-24T16:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/41 "2011-09-25T13:37:54Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > It’s so nice for everyone to come and fight for **Merijeek** , who either didn’t care or took this up privately via PMs. Was everyone afraid **Merijeek** could not handle him/herself? Maybe **Merijeek** did _not_ especially care. A straight up kind of poster without a long history of being a jerk … what does an unwarranted warning _mean_ in that context? That he can’t suddenly start being a jerk and collect a whole bunch more else he might eventually be be suspended or banned? That there is now something in his permanent record? Oh my. Nah. But quality control of our moderation is a worthwhile process - the watched are who watches the watchers. And it is good to see that our moderaters are secure enough to admit the times that they are in error and to correct those mistakes. (FWIW, I tend to think those errors are few.) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/42 "2011-09-25T13:44:57Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Nah. But quality control of our moderation is a worthwhile process - the watched are who watches the watchers. And it is good to see that our moderaters are secure enough to admit the times that they are in error and to correct those mistakes. (FWIW, I tend to think those errors are few.) Grudgingly, it should be noted. That was a pretty non-apology apology. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/43 "2011-09-25T15:45:47Z")
Warning rescinded. You’re welcome, and don’t let it happen again! ---
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/44 "2011-09-25T16:17:47Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > And it is good to see that our moderaters are secure enough to admit the times that they are in error and to correct those mistakes. (FWIW, I tend to think those errors are few.) But there was no apology, and she never admitted she made an error. The comment, “Fine, it’s rescinded” comes off as snotty and condescending, IMO. If she’d admitted she made a mistake in issuing the warning, it would have been better. A quick “Whoops, sorry, I didn’t get the reference” would have been much better. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/45 "2011-09-25T16:25:13Z")
Meh. Error corrected. No more required than that. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/46 "2011-09-25T16:50:13Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > As a matter of course maybe posters should consider that not everyone is going to be aware of every pop culture reference when posting a statement that on it’s face looks insulting. > [@Crazyhorse](#): > > But I agree there would be no reason to think the post wasn’t an insult without getting the reference and the original response was perfectly understandable. Exactly. Posters bear responsibility for what they post. When posting something that could be perceived as insulting, it’s up to the poster to make it clear that it’s a joke, or a reference to a song lyric. There was no such indication in the post in question. > [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > As a general rule, if a mod sees something that seems out of left field in a Cafe Society thread, perhaps they should google the phrase to make sure it isn’t a reference to the movie/song/book being discussed. > [@akennett](#): > > That’s not much of a defense for someone modding in Cafe Society. It’s an unreasonable expectation for a moderator to google every potentially insulting post, just to verify that it might possibly be a song lyric or movie quote. This is true in Cafe Society as well as in other forums. Just because _you_ happen to be familiar with a quote, doesn’t mean that a moderator, or other posters, will be. It’s not a job requirement for CS to be familiar with every possible TV show, movie, or song lyric. And just because an insult happens to be a quote doesn’t absolve it from being an insult. Otherwise you could post just about any insult you want and when called on it claim you were quoting _The Sopranos_ or _Deadwood_. In this case, it was appropriate to rescind the warning because the quote was from the show that was the subject of the thread. It shouldn’t be taken as a precedent that warnings will always be rescinded just because an insult is a quote. It’s up to _you_ to make clear it’s not intended as an insult. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/47 "2011-09-25T17:06:33Z")
One way to indicate that you are quoting some TV show or song is to put the quote in italics. That’s what I usually try to do. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/48 "2011-09-25T17:09:35Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Grudgingly, it should be noted. That was a pretty non-apology apology. While I don’t think an apology was _essential_ here, she did what was required of her. Being conciliatory is always more endearing than being blunt, and an apology would have been a nice gesture, but that is not **twickster** ’s style. She did her job efficiently. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/49 "2011-09-25T17:58:45Z")
> [@YoSaffBridge](#): > > But there was no apology, and she never admitted she made an error. The comment, “Fine, it’s rescinded” comes off as snotty and condescending, IMO. If she’d admitted she made a mistake in issuing the warning, it would have been better. A quick “Whoops, sorry, I didn’t get the reference” would have been much better. She didn’t make an error. The fault was the poster’s for not making his intent clear. By the letter of the law, the post was an insult, and qualified for a warning. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/50 "2011-09-25T18:13:23Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Fine, I’ll rescind. > > And whoever guessed that I don’t google offensive comments to make sure they’re clever meta commentary and not insults is correct. > > **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator Begrudging, hostile apology accepted. > [@Colibri](#): > > Exactly. Posters bear responsibility for what they post. When posting something that could be perceived as insulting, it’s up to the poster to make it clear that it’s a joke, or a reference to a song lyric. There was no such indication in the post in question. Other than being a reference to profanity in South Park in a thread about profanity in South Park, there was no reason to believe the post may have had anything to do with profane language used in South Park. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/51 "2011-09-25T18:33:01Z")
Even someone who is familiar with South Park hasn’t necessarily memorized everything about it. A message board is a conversation by hundreds of strangers who are limited to written communication. I think some degree of awareness if the likelihood of misunderstanding is appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/52 "2011-09-25T18:34:03Z")
Nitpick: it’s not profanity. It’s obscenity. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/53 "2011-09-25T18:34:32Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Begrudging, hostile apology accepted. > > Other than being a reference to profanity in South Park in a thread about profanity in South Park, there was no reason to believe the post may have had anything to do with profane language used in South Park. Why should she apologize? It wasn’t really a ‘reference’ to profanity in South Park, it was just a direct repetition of some profanity from South Park with no reference or attribution. How would anyone have realized that if they don’t watch the show? I wouldn’t have known and I have watched quite a few SP episodes in my time but as far as I can remember I haven’t seen any of the movies and only have some vague recollection of this song now that it has come up here, some 12 years after it was aired. In this case I think it was a nice gesture for \*\*twixter \*\*to rethink the warning after understanding what it was that the OP was trying, very clumsily, to do with that reference. It was the right thing to do but there was no reason to expect her to recognize the reference or act any differently initially. The OP just wrote the words with no attribution, no indication it was a quote, not even a smiley or italics, and an unfortunate typo made the quote even more insulting. (not that Southpark would have been above saying ‘shit’ instead of ‘shut’ in that context). Finally, the OP was replying to a quoted post about something to do with battered women. Put it all together you have, apparently, a poster coming out of left field and calling someone an uncle fucker for posting something about shows about battered women. That’s how I would have taken it if I had read the thread before seeing the ATMB posts. And it wouldn’t have occurred to me to try Googling for that particular insult just in case it might have beenfrom a South Park episode. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/54 "2011-09-25T18:39:13Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > She didn’t make an error. The fault was the poster’s for not making his intent clear. By the letter of the law, the post was an insult, and qualified for a warning. Yet in context even someone like me, who has seen maybe two or three South Park episodes, would have at least suspected that it was a reference that I was not getting. She made an error. It was an understandable error, a no big deal error (again, why should a poster who is not generally a jerk worry about a warning?), one could have been prevented by the poster spelling out the fact it was an allusion for those too dense to figure it out, and was one easily corrected by rescinding the warning, but to dig in here and claim that no error was made is, frankly, disappointing if not pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/55 "2011-09-25T18:45:12Z")
I see no reason to blame the mods. Blame Canada, instead. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/56 "2011-09-25T18:53:37Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Yet in context even someone like me, who has seen maybe two or three South Park episodes, would have at least suspected that it was a reference that I was not getting. > > She made an error. It was an understandable error, a no big deal error (again, why should a poster who is not generally a jerk worry about a warning?), one could have been prevented by the poster spelling out the fact it was an allusion for those too dense to figure it out, and was one easily corrected by rescinding the warning, but to dig in here and claim that no error was made is, frankly, disappointing if not pathetic. This is an adult site; we expect posters to take responsibility for what they post. The responsibility is on the poster to make sure their post is not perceived as an insult. That’s easy enough, with a simple attribution, quotation marks, or smiley. The post as it stood was a rules violation. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/57 "2011-09-25T19:11:54Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The post as it stood was a rules violation. So you’re saying it shouldn’t be rescinded? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/58 "2011-09-25T19:13:49Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > So you’re saying it shouldn’t be rescinded? No. After an explanation, and given the context, rescinding it was appropriate. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/59 "2011-09-25T19:16:58Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > So you’re saying it shouldn’t be rescinded? The operating phrase in that post being “as it stood”. That is, without the context that this ATMB thread has given it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466/60 "2011-09-25T19:28:36Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The operating phrase in that post being “as it stood”. That is, without the context that this ATMB thread has given it. Correct. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-rescind-this-warning/597466.md?page=4)