Phew boy, I really don’t know if the flak will be heavy for even posting this.
Basically, there’s a thread going on in ATMB discussing Diogenes the Cynic’s recent banning. Everyone there is offering up opinions, and some of it is bordering on insults, and at least one moderator (CK Dexter Haven) has mentioned that it’s getting out of line.
I can sympathize with that postion. Rules are rules after all.
So, unless I am breaking a rule here that I didn’t know about (feel free to un-ignorant me), I’m posting a poll wherein you can declare your opinion on a more specific question that will hopefully contain less insults, but still allow you to air your opinion.
Basically, do you feel that the SDMB will be better off without Diogenes the Cynic and his posting style?
Please leave comments about why you feel this way without devolving into a flame-the-banned-guy brouhaha.
I think the board is impacted quite heavily by no longer having a 50,000 + post count member no longer here.
But as I said in the ATMB thread; That man had more warnings and more people attempting to explain what he was doing wrong and help him not do those things anymore than anyone deserves. The fact that he could not control himself and change his behavior speaks volumes about the man regardless of his level of knowledge about anything. I have zero sympathy for a man who was given every chance in the world and then some to modify his behavior, yet chose not to.
Well I’m really more interested in seeing the impact to the board. But thanks for making me aware of that obvious rule there…guess it whooshed me.
Dio made up a considerable portion of many discussions, everybody knows him, and now he’s just GONE.
I mean really…when posters die, or are unable to post for a non-banning reason, or come back after a long long absence there’s always some mention of it, and usually a major discussion. But you can’t poll in ATMB, and I kinda think the opinions expressed in the ATMB thread warranted a more specific way of measuring them. A lot of people were talking about the way his posts impacted the quality of a given thread, for better or worse, and he was one of few posters to do what he did as often as he did, and now it isn’t gonna happen anymore…
I dunno…I’m sure this’ll either drop off the first page soon enough, whether by locking or lack of interest if that’s the case. So meh.
I don’t. Which is to say, I’ve been here long enough to understand that no single poster, no matter how prolific, opinionated or distinctive in style makes or breaks this board.
Over the years there have been thousands of people who’ve contributed here. People come and go. The board continues. It’s the nature of things.
His banning will not “break” the board. But it’s sure causing an uproar amongst more than a few posters…and the opinions they are a-flying. This here’s an opinion catching net.
Of course SDMB will move on. But sometimes, when driving down the road, you look to the other passengers in the car and say “Man that was one heck of a pothole!”. Discussion occasionally ensues. Yes, the road is mostly smooth. And yes, there were other potholes. But some of them are right under the wheel you’re sitting over, and you really feel them. The car doesn’t fall apart. But it does go “thud”. And another PITA (pun fully intended) fades away into the distance behind you.
I tried to stay out of the type of threads he was active in. There are subjects I won’t let let a bunch of allegations on the net change my mind, and I am not so impressed with my self as to feel my brilliance will change anybody else’s mind.
Note, moderators are faliable human beings giving time to a tough job. Even if Solomon ever existed, he is unavailable.
I found him a bit of a jerk, and threads on many topics were prone to derail just to discuss Dio’s unique mouth frothing insanity on that subject. On the other hand, he had so much good knowledge, especially about history, language, and the Bible. I’ll definitely miss that. I’d say in the end it’s a wash, it’ll be better because there will be no more risk of threads becoming Dio’s Corner, but at the same time, I’m sad to see his insight go.
Dio was a bit of an ass. This is true for most everyone who gets banned.
However, he was part of the entertainment. You are all just kind of monkeys in a zoo, here for my entertainment. If we ban all the crazy and offensive people I am less entertained and that is a bad thing. So bascially none of the poll options, but I am sorry to see him go.
The man couldn’t argue in good faith if his life depended on it. The last few pittings of him had several long term / well respected dopers giving excellent descriptions of the “Dio Show” and his BS behavior.
And besides his BS “logic”, he really took things way to far over the “jerk” line a bit too often IMO. The last one I recall a few months ago was classic. Some poor lady had become pregant and the guy dropped her. Then she had a miscarriage. So, she was asking about stuff like legal/financial responsibility of the run away daddy.
Well, Dio jumps in and says something to the effect of “well, you shouldn’t have got pregnant by a guy that woud leave you” :rolleyes:
