What’s really weird is that its basically a message board about another message board! How long until that board spawns a third message board, devoted to making fun of the people who post on the un-named board? In the future I envision, we’ll all have moved recursively down that chain till we each are the only members of our own personal boards, and post snark about what used to happen on the board one node above us, of which we and one or two other people are the only members.
It’s a bit of a Orwellian solution, but it makes sense the mods don’t want to have to deal with a bunch of stuff that happens on the no-name board, then gets brought over here.
It’s like a pyramid scheme except without money. I wonder if there are profits to be made here?
How about if you get banned here, the prorated remains of your membership fee gets put in a pot, to be divvied up among the members in good standing at year’s end. If you get banned from that other board, you have to cough up $15, half of which goes into their pot, and half into ours! So on and so on.
The removed thread was pretty innocuous and there was nothing specific in it that we fierce jackbooted types were trying to hide.
Unfortunately, It was started by a sockpuppet who had attempted to stir up trouble in other threads. As is our custom in the case of sockpuppets, particularly those with low post counts, we erased all signs of its presence–which included removing that thread, for which it was the OP. (Individual posts are removed individually, but when the sock is the OP, it tears up the thread to remove just the first post.)*
The substance of the answers remains unchanged: DevNull was banned for admitting on another board that he was trolling here in a thread in which posters to that board were encouraged to come here and raise hell. Exy was banned for trying to lock out another user by logging in as that poster, using a bad password, until the security locked him out.
No one in the removed thread is under suspicion or taint (aside from the OP).
On a limited number of case-by-case decisions, when a thread started by a sock has evolved into a very interesting or fun discussion despite the presence of ther sock, we have made an attempt to restore threads that have been removed, while eliminating the sock’s OP. It is a bit of work and the board is sufficiently ephemeral that we do not make it a habit.
Since discussions that cross boards often degenerate into major pissing contests, we do not feel that discussions of the place–and particularly links to those threads in which truly nasty remarks are made about posters–are conducive to good order.
At different times, the successive boards that criticized this one have presented excellent (nasty) humor, very nasty libel, and utterly stupid speculation on the SDMB. Currently, it is mostly lame insults hurled at posters, here, with a lot of (lame) in jokes generally expressed in text message format. It is pretty boring.
I really was just curious; I didn’t think the timing was much of a coincidence. No connection had been made over at TPTSNBN so your concern that I was trying to trick you into mentioning it is pretty bizarre.
Anyways, I just assumed TubaDiva disappeared the thread because she got all paranoid about giving away how they had caught Excalibre. Maybe she hopes some other idiots will play the same (apparently harmless) stunt so she can catch them, too.
Yes, TubaDiva does love tricking people into misbehavior so she can catch them in the act, if for no other reason than to give the staff an opportunity to cackle wildly and twirl our handlebar mustaches. But we don’t need to trick people into logging on as other users – Tuba just got a big package in the mail labeled ACME which should do the job nicely.
Well, I guess it might sound a little silly, but I can’t think of another reason. I think I saw the whole thread and nothing seemed amiss other than TubaDiva uncharacteristically spilling the beans so forthrightly.
I have been here for over seven years now, and I have yet to see a Pit thread griping about the moderators that was simply “disappeared” because it was griping about the moderators.
I think you can put away the tinfoil hat now…
The mods have always occasionally “circled the wagons” when people gripe about them; it’s just human nature.
And just as often, I’ve seen mods disagreeing with each other about moderation matters, locked threads being re-opened, and all manner of crazily logical and even-tempered “fairness” stuf going on.
Still the best place on the Internet, which is why I’m still here.
Even that is an understatement. It reads like a collection of pathetic, whining losers who not only lack the cojones to confront people in real life, but can’t even confront people directly on a message board. I looked at that place a couple times, and it sickened me. Seriously, if your self-esteem is so low, and you have so much of yourself invested in your on-line persona, that you get pleasure from making catty remarks about people on another message board, you’ve got some serious self-examining to do. And I’m sure I just opened myself up for a huge nerd-pile over there, but I honestly do not care.
So what does this amount to, 4 out of 10 stars?
I just discovered that site. It is a bit of a MST3K experience. No one comment is of any value, but the whole thing is somewhat amusing. Or at least on a first encounter. I am not sure about its long term appeal.
I am giving them 6 1/2 stars out of 10.
I can imagine that the individuals that often get attacked over there will score them much lower. Alas, there doesn’t seem to be a way to do a vanity search, so I can close my eyes and pretend they are not talking about me.
To your face? How is someone calling you a dickhead or whatever under a nearly anonymous handle that much different than without a handle? I’ve seen this argument on the 'net for years and never agreed.
The difference isn’t the anonymity. The difference is that one is done where the recipient isn’t expected to see it. If you insult someone “to their face” (meaning, directly to that person so that he or she will know about it), it gives that person a chance to respond.
Sorry, I don’t follow you. There’s another message board, where people go to flame people behind their backs. Like, let’s say you posted something here on SDMB. Somebody might, on the other message board which we apparently aren’t allowed to name or link to, “Look what Haj wrote on SDMB - he’s sure an asshole” or whatever, and then they’d all have a chuckle and feel oh-so-superior to you because they can rag on you without you even knowing it. Insulting someone here on SDMB is one thing, but don’t you think there’s a certain pathetic passive-aggressiveness to starting another forum just to gossip about people behind their backs?
Oops - On preview, I see that Richard Parker already answered the question. Thanks.
