# Question about "political jabs" MPSIMS **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 20, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-political-jabs-mpsims/956376 "2021-12-20T18:34:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-political-jabs-mpsims/956376/1 "2021-12-20T18:34:19Z")
> [@What was the dumbest thing you heard this year?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-dumbest-thing-you-heard-this-year/956297/11): > > All the lies spread about how the vaccine would make you magnetic, grow horns, kill you, etc. Here is what I original posted _All the fucking lies spread by social media, faux news and conservative talk radio about how the vaccine would make you magnetic, grow horns, kill you, etc._ But I edited it. Would that have been a “political jab”? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-political-jabs-mpsims/956376/2 "2021-12-20T20:14:37Z")
Seems to me that your question is moot. AFAIK, political jabs are perfectly OK in MPSIMS as long as they’re kept out of “breaking news” threads. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-political-jabs-mpsims/956376/3 "2021-12-21T00:03:24Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > AFAIK, political jabs are perfectly OK in MPSIMS as long as they’re kept out of “breaking news” threads. Clearly the “exception that proves the rule” sort of thing. The rule against political jabs in MPSIMS explicitly states it’s just for breaking news threads, as you say. > [@No political/religious jabs in breaking news threads in MPSIMS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-political-religious-jabs-in-breaking-news-threads-in-mpsims/740558): > > This is not a new rule but rather codifies the existing informal guidelines. MPSIMS threads are often started to call attention to breaking news stories. Many posters value these threads because they offer new information and multiple cites about the event in one place. Often the information is rapidly changing and these threads can move fast. One of the advantages of the SDMB is that with many posters from around the world we often have a poster local to the situation or even involved who can … ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-political-jabs-mpsims/956376/4 "2022-01-03T17:39:05Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@Skywatcher](#): > > > > AFAIK, political jabs are perfectly OK in MPSIMS as long as they’re kept out of “breaking news” threads. > > Clearly the “exception that proves the rule” sort of thing. The rule against political jabs in MPSIMS explicitly states it’s just for breaking news threads, as you say. > > [No political/religious jabs in breaking news threads in MPSIMS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-political-religious-jabs-in-breaking-news-threads-in-mpsims/740558) I was in on the discussions at the time. Ed wrote up the rule clearer than I could ever have. The rule about hijacking a thread stands in MPSIMS but due to the nature of the forum it is a bit more relax. Threads tend to meander a bit and that’s sometimes ok. It became a problem in threads that we decided to call breaking news. If some fast breaking story happened where posters wanted to know what is going on at the moment many got hopelessly hijacked before a mod could even read it. The example that immediately pops into mind is a mass shooting. Posters should be able to have a thread where the facts are discussed, links to new information is given and possibly accounts from posters that are local. It shouldn’t have to become a gun control debate. Those debates can be had in a different thread. It would certainly be allowed to make a post linking to the related debate. Mass shootings are the first thing that pops into my head but many breaking news items are attached to hot button issues. So in most MPSIMS threads a political jab would be fine. If something becomes a hijack on any thread report it. In threads that are factual discussions about breaking news the rule will be strictly enforced