# Protesting a warning **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 28, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062 "2021-11-28T15:29:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/41 "2021-12-02T17:59:06Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The rules there–and here–don’t say, “No insults unless they’re true.” As for this, it’s not an insult if it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/42 "2021-12-02T18:05:04Z")
WTF? Yes, it can be. If someone is morbidly obese and I call them a fat pig, it’s still an insult. Even if I just call them fat. If someone is stupider than average, calling them a moron is still an insult. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/43 "2021-12-02T18:07:24Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Even if I just call them fat. Nope. As a morbidly obese person, I’ve used that example in real life. It’s _impolite_ to call me fat, but not _insulting_. The “pig” part is different, as that’s a comparison to an animal widely considered dirty, and is deliberately insulting, and (obviously) not factual. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/44 "2021-12-02T18:10:19Z")
Just because you aren’t insulted doesn’t mean it’s not an insult. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/45 "2021-12-02T18:10:48Z")
Let me just say, the staff disagrees with you and now you know better. Please avoid insults outside of the pit in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/46 "2021-12-02T18:11:03Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Just because you aren’t insulted doesn’t mean it’s not an insult. Correct, that it’s a fact means it’s not an insult. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/47 "2021-12-02T18:12:32Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Let me just say, the staff disagrees with you and now you know better. > Please avoid insults outside of the pit in the future. Can you make in clear in the rules that telling the truth is prohibited if it upsets someone? Or, if it already is, point me to where it’s stated. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/48 "2021-12-02T18:13:18Z")
No need, you’re the only one that seems to have a problem with this. * * * Also, as you were speculating about another poster, hard to claim what you’re claiming. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/49 "2021-12-02T18:15:04Z")
Ha ha, no I’m not, I linked a few posts ago to a thread where **Martin Hyde** says exactly the same thing I did. But I guess facts don’t matter to the staff here any more than they do to most of the posters. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/50 "2021-12-02T18:16:29Z")
a) don’t insult other posters b) This is not a truth, it is an opinion or conjecture. > [@Arbery Shooting in Georgia and Citizen's Arrest \[& similar shootings\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arbery-shooting-in-georgia-and-citizens-arrest-similar-shootings/853815/483): > > No, you just don’t have a _system_ of morality, you have a bunch of unexamined responses to things you find unpleasant. You are why we need laws, and why it’s so vital to apply them correctly despite the fact that it gives you a sad. c) you got one warning, learn from it and move on. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/51 "2021-12-02T18:16:45Z")
Martin accused another poster of having an “emotional problem”, which is a personal attack. The warning was deserved. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/52 "2021-12-02T18:24:48Z")
nm, wrong thread ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/53 "2021-12-02T18:28:14Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Correct, that it’s a fact means it’s not an insult. By that logic, calling me a “faggot” isn’t an insult. I am, after all, a man who is sexually attracted to other men, so that’s just a statement of fact. It’s also amusing to consider how, if we adopted your approach to insults, we would moderate someone calling another poster “stupid.” Do you really want the staff here deciding whether or not it’s okay to call you an idiot, based on how much we agree with whatever position you’re currently advocating? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/54 "2021-12-02T18:41:05Z")
Nope, “faggot” is a slur. “Stupid” is a value judgement. Calling someone “gay” or “queer”, or “ignorant” should be fine if they’re true. And I say this as someone who’s queer, and certainly ignorant about many things. I don’t accept that “emotional” is a slur, “fat” is a slur, and so on - I think they are descriptors that can be used if they are true. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/55 "2021-12-02T18:42:28Z")
“Emotional” isn’t a value judgement? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/56 "2021-12-02T18:46:44Z")
No, it’s an observation that someone is making their judgements based on emotion rather than reason. In the threads that spawned the warnings mentioned in this thread, me and **Martin Hyde** observed that people who clearly stated that they had emotional reasons for what they thought should happen at trials, or what the law should be, and commented on it. That I think they are wronf for being emotional about it is a value judgement, but believing and saying that someone is wrong isn’t against the rules here - in fact, it’s necessary for a discussion forum. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/57 "2021-12-02T18:47:46Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > No, it’s an observation that someone is making their judgements based on emotion rather than reason. Then calling someone “stupid” is merely making an observation that someone’s ability to think critically about issues is impaired. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/58 "2021-12-02T18:48:48Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Calling someone “gay” or “queer” […] should be fine if they’re true I wonder if this is a generational thing. But to **Miller** ’s point, you could mod “stupid” as a pejorative when used as one. > **The use of** racial epithets, **pejoratives** , slurs, and other similar items **is forbidden**. Hate speech as a whole, however, can be defined broadly or narrowly depending on the context of any individual thread. The definition of context is entirely at the discretion of the moderation staff. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/59 "2021-12-02T18:49:21Z")
I’d disagree, I don’t actually think that’s what “stupid” means. But if that is how you define it, it should be fine to use here. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062/60 "2021-12-02T18:50:11Z")
This is an overriding rule spelled out for GD and P&E: > [@New Rules for Politics and Elections – January 2020](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rules-for-politics-and-elections-january-2020/845727/1): > > **Attack the post, not the poster.** We’re here for fun, not harming others. Personalizing posts is usually a bad idea. Comment on the content of the commentary and not on the person making it. So don’t attack the poster. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-a-warning/955062.md?page=4)