# Recent SDMB peeves, major and minor **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 21, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671 "2005-12-21T19:37:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/21 "2005-12-21T22:45:26Z")
My pet peeve is when a poster makes a post which can be mis-understood. Someone jumps on it and says “SO you hate democracy eh?” or whatever. So Poster A then writes “No, that’s not what I said, and that’s not what I meant”- whereupon Poster B has to spend about a dozen posts proving that indeed, Poster A did say “xxx” and that proves Poster A does hate democracy. One of the reasons I’d like a edit feature, which the current Administration is dead set against. That’s Ok, it’s their board. But for fucks sake- once a poster has said “No, that’s not what I said, and that’s not what I meant”, then hijacking the entire thread and spending a dozen posts trying to PROVE that Poster A really said & meant that he hates democracy isn’t getting anyone anywhere. Look, these posts are basicly emails, and thus without intonations, facial expressions and the like- they are very liable to mis-interpretation. So, once someone has said “No, that’s not what I said, and that’s not what I meant”- DROP IT! Second Pet peeve is “whooshes”. In _some_ forums (GD, GQ) I think they are a form of Trolling, and IMHO “being a jerk”. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/22 "2005-12-21T22:49:31Z")
So . . . I guess your contribution to this thread would be “use of the word ‘meme’ in accordance its current popular definition”? Seriously, suggest another way for me to communicate “a non fact repeated frequently enough that it comes to be presumed to be an actual fact”; “an idea whose only support of factuality is that it gets repeated a lot.” Seriously Daniel. What word would you use to communicate that? And I’m seriously bewildered by the venom with which you react to my use of that word, my subsequent attempt to explain my understanding of its definition. I’m open to considering the possibility that I misunderstand that word, but so far you’ve only convince me that your mother was attacked by a meme when she was pregnant with your or something; your level of invective over my possible misuse of the word is disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/23 "2005-12-21T23:01:44Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > So . . . I guess your contribution to this thread would be “use of the word ‘meme’ in accordance its current popular definition”? Hmm. I can find no documentation of that. But that’s been my understanding of the way I’ve seen the word uses; a non-truth being giving currency by simple repitition. Maybe I should just call it a Bushism . . . Anyway, the definitions I’ve found online offer no extra connotation of non-truth; only that it’s an idea that gets passed around within a culture. Like a rumor, only without necessarily the connotation of non-truth. But “rumor” doesn’t work in the context I’m trying to describe. Maybe I’ll just say “viral factoid” from now on. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/24 "2005-12-21T23:06:46Z")
First of all, I’d like to point out that I was going to click on the ad for “End Procrastination Now,” but then I decided I’d get to it later. Bad-dum-dum! Hot-cha! Second, I think bitching about what goes on in movie theaters is perfectly acceptable. So there. I’m saying this mostly because at the movies last night there was a guy whose cel phone rang, then he answered it and proceeded to have a conversation right there in the theater. Then later it rang again and he did the exact same thing. Some people are just born idiots and no matter how hard they try, they’ll never sink any lower because they’ve already hit bottom. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/25 "2005-12-21T23:06:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > My pet peeve is when a poster makes a post which can be mis-understood. Someone jumps on it and says “SO you hate democracy eh?” or whatever. So Poster A then writes “No, that’s not what I said, and that’s not what I meant”- whereupon Poster B has to spend about a dozen posts proving that indeed, Poster A did say “xxx” and that proves Poster A does hate democracy. One of the reasons I’d like a edit feature, which the current Administration is dead set against. That’s Ok, it’s their board. But for fucks sake- once a poster has said “No, that’s not what I said, and that’s not what I meant”, then hijacking the entire thread and spending a dozen posts trying to PROVE that Poster A really said & meant that he hates democracy isn’t getting anyone anywhere. Look, these posts are basicly emails, and thus without intonations, facial expressions and the like- they are very liable to mis-interpretation. So, once someone has said “No, that’s not what I said, and that’s not what I meant”- DROP IT! > > Second Pet peeve is “whooshes”. In _some_ forums (GD, GQ) I think they are a form of Trolling, and IMHO “being a jerk”. Yeah, that’s on my personal list of godwins, a thread becoming a quagmire of "that’s not what I said"s. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/26 "2005-12-21T23:36:48Z")
I have recently made the plea that if you are going to post a link, especially to a news article, give us an idea as to why we would find it interesting enough to click on it. I too had cow-orker. I would love to see less “The dems are stupid because…” and “the republicans are…” etc. I would prefer we talk about issues. The “you don’t have to read this thread/post” arguement could be circular. After all, you didn’t have to read \*my \*post. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/27 "2005-12-21T23:37:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Second Pet peeve is “whooshes”. In _some_ forums (GD, GQ) I think they are a form of Trolling, and IMHO “being a jerk”. So you want an irony-free Dope? Good luck with that. Oh, and by the way I was being sarcastic. Seriously, could you flesh out why whooshes bother you? What’s wrong with a pinch of deception in conversation for a good purpose? ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/28 "2005-12-22T00:41:39Z")
Where the hell did “meh” come from and can everyone please stop using it? Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/29 "2005-12-22T00:50:04Z")
What’s with the Airing of Grievances on Wednesday? Couldn’t it wait until Friday, after the Festivus Dinner, and before the Feats of Strength? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/30 "2005-12-22T01:04:28Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Where the hell did “meh” come from and can everyone please stop using it? Thanks in advance. (1) It came from **The Simpsons** and (2) No, because it came from **The Simpsons** ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/31 "2005-12-22T01:22:32Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > In my state, you get ten to twelve if you’re caught orking a cow. > > Daniel I don’t know about the hills of North Carolina, but out here there is no need for such a law. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/32 "2005-12-22T01:24:08Z")
> [@Agent Foxtrot](#): > > (1) People using the word “Og” in place of “God.” If, for religious reasons, you can’t write the name “God” (if you’re Jewish, for instance), then use the widely-accepted “G-D.” The joke was funny the first few thousand times, and like the “1920’s Style Death Ray,” it’s getting very tired, very fast. I know there are many people on the board I admire who use the “Og” joke, so please don’t take it personally – I’m making a blanket statement here. If I use Og, which is almost never, it isn’t really a joke. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/33 "2005-12-22T01:31:06Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I have recently made the plea that if you are going to post a link, especially to a news article, give us an idea as to why we would find it interesting enough to click on it. Yeah, THIS is fucking annoying as hell. “Because I said to” is not a very compelling reason to click on a link, you horrible, unfeeling, unthinking self-absorbed ninnies! P.S. I also hate people who double post. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/34 "2005-12-22T01:43:24Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > So . . . I guess your contribution to this thread would be “use of the word ‘meme’ in accordance its current popular definition”? > > Seriously, suggest another way for me to communicate “a non fact repeated frequently enough that it comes to be presumed to be an actual fact”; “an idea whose only support of factuality is that it gets repeated a lot.” That may be your (mis)understanding of “meme,” but that isn’t what a meme is. My pet peeve is the use of “d&r.” Dunno why it irritates the hell out of me but it does. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/35 "2005-12-22T02:08:09Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > (3) Finally, in [this thread about King Kong](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=350511), someone complained about a scene seeming unrealistic and implausible, and someone else said “the movie’s about a 25-foot **monkey** , and you’re complaining about it being implausible?” Bolding mine. He’s an _ape_. I freaking hate that. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Dr.Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Love)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/36 "2005-12-22T02:39:31Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > That may be your (mis)understanding of “meme,” but that isn’t what a meme is. While that might not be the technically correct definition of _meme_, **lissener** uses the term in the [same](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6886630&highlight=meme#post6886630) [derogatory](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6904152&highlight=meme#post6904152) [way](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6899477&highlight=meme#post6899477) that most others do (no offense meant to any of the linked posters). This usage is apparently even popular in academia: Simon Conway Morris uses this definition in his rant against memes (and neo-Darwinism in general) in the last chapter of [Life’s Solution](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521603250/qid=1135217501/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1879332-9665654?n=507846&s=books&v=glance). In a way, it’s kind of funny. Memes were meant to provide a bottom-up explanation (removing the necessity for any intelligent designer of sorts) for human culture and thought. Somewhere along the line, there appeared the thought that meme -\> bottom up -\> unthinking -\> stupid/sheep-like. In the end, the main result of Dawkin’s efforts was to give new life to the old creationist retort: “maybe _you_ came from monkeys.” 🙂 To stay somewhat on the topic of the thread, I’m not particularly enamored with the constant re-use of once funny typos. “Cow-orker” fits in here, as does “fucko off”. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/37 "2005-12-22T02:41:12Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > (2) On a much more minor note, I have to say I’m getting a bit sick of [movie-theater-bashing](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=350584). Maybe I’m just very very lucky, but I go to movies fairly often (well, once a month or so), and I very very rarely have bad experiences with cell phones, loud talkers, etc. So (a) I can’t help but think you’re exaggerating, and (b) it’s been said already. If you had a new and different unpleasant movie experience (which, in fairness, the one in that thread basically was), call it a new and different unpleasant movie experience, don’t present it as the umpteenth piece of evidence for that glorious and agreed-upon truth, which all right minded people are in complete accord with, that moviegoing is a horribly unpleasant experience. If it is for you, then STOP GOING. That’s a perfectly valid choice. (OK, I admit that this was a fairly weak rant, because it’s not like moviegoing DOESN’T sometimes suck…) I’ll grant that this was more of a “new and different unpleasant movie experience.” However, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate title at the time, and using a title like “I had a new and different unpleasant movie experience!” sounds stupid. 😛 And no, I was not exaggerating. As for simply not going, it’s my wife who insists on seeing movies in the theater. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/38 "2005-12-22T02:47:27Z")
It irritates me when people complain about not getting warned about a pdf file. “I had no idea it was a pdf file, even though when my mouse was over the link, the display had pdf on the end. You should have warned me!” ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/39 "2005-12-22T02:59:28Z")
**Frank** , you’re talking about me. Please see [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=314607) for my thorough explanation of why I feel it’s only polite to warn people that you’re linking to a PDF. I feel I pretty much stated my piece as cogently as possible in that thread, so I’m not going to rehash it here. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671/40 "2005-12-22T03:22:41Z")
Okay, I’ll pile on. The Yakov Smirnoff imitations just aren’t funny. You know, “In Soviet Russia…” Ugh. Dopers generally are quite witty so there’s no need to drop that in a thread when a original, snarky response would garner respect and admiration for those for miles around… (waits patiently for the obligatory “In Soviet Russia” comment) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-sdmb-peeves-major-and-minor/336671.md?page=3)