# Samclem WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 18, 2007, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430 "2007-01-18T07:23:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/1 "2007-01-18T07:23:17Z")
OK over here in GQ there is a question about the depth of the average [vagina.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=404339) . After 8 responses I post a light hearted [reply](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8159849&postcount=10) Then **Rysdad** quotes my post and riffs on it a [bit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8159936&postcount=11) Then in the very next post **Samclem** shows up and posts a [warning](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8159979&postcount=12) . Scuse me but WTF? Since when is a light hearted reply not allowed in GQ? Espically if several posts had addressed the OP. Just how long would the 1920’s death ray thread have been without light hearted replys? I think **Wolfian** nailed it > [@](#): > > Are you new at this or something? Have you read the articles upon which this message board is founded? A Straight Dope without snark is like alcohol free beer. > > It was a quick zing at a wide target. You can’t give people on this board straight lines like that. Bosda either ignored the line or laughed it off. I reccommend you do the same. I am not intent on breaking the rules, but I enjoy a laugh as much as the next guy. Can I buy a vowel here? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/2 "2007-01-18T07:37:11Z")
I don’t think it was just you, there were several joke posts in the thread. I totally agree with the “WTF” sentiment, as GQ wouldn’t be nearly as fun without the jokes - and topics of an inherently sexual nature are **of course** going to garner more of them. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/3 "2007-01-18T08:14:52Z")
Every once in a while, it seems the mods have an attack of decorum, or something. I dunno, maybe their Moms are visiting. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/4 "2007-01-18T08:17:09Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] I dunno, maybe their Moms are visiting. [/QUOTE] _snicker_ ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/5 "2007-01-18T12:57:41Z")
Eh, that’s no surprise. **Samclem** has a history of being an unprovoked asshole and acting rashly in closing threads or admonishing posters. [Samclem, fuck you and your fucking attitude](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=386445&highlight=Samclem) [Come on samclem, be reasonable](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=369632&highlight=Samclem) [SamClem, I think you made a booboo](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=366411&highlight=Samclem) [Eat me, Samclem](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=358225&highlight=Samclem) [Jokes not allowed in GQ? Q for samclem and other mods](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=349075&highlight=Samclem) [Samclem – why so pissy about the teeth whitening thread?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=325450&highlight=Samclem) [Please keep your bias out of your moderation, Samclem](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=318124&highlight=Samclem) [All Right, SamClem, I WILL take it to the pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=294300&highlight=Samclem) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/6 "2007-01-18T13:08:17Z")
**Rick**. It certainly wasn’t directed at you. Sorry about the juxtaposition. The first two responses to the OP were jokes. While later posts included some relevant info, I felt the jokes would overwhelm and/or hijack the thread even more. Instead of singling out any one poster, I decided to make it a general warning. Just my call. I quite often post joke comments in GQ, and I think it’s a good thing in general. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/7 "2007-01-18T13:36:22Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] **Rick**. It certainly wasn’t directed at you. Sorry about the juxtaposition. The first two responses to the OP were jokes. While later posts included some relevant info, I felt the jokes would overwhelm and/or hijack the thread even more. Instead of singling out any one poster, I decided to make it a general warning. Just my call. I quite often post joke comments in GQ, and I think it’s a good thing in general. [/QUOTE] So what your saying is (and, please, correct me if I’m wrong), there’s a line somewhere, and we’re not supposed to cross it, but we don’t really have any idea where that line is and there’s nothing saying it’s in the same place from one day to the next? ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/8 "2007-01-18T14:14:12Z")
[QUOTE=Turek] So what your saying is (and, please, correct me if I’m wrong), there’s a line somewhere, and we’re not supposed to cross it, but we don’t really have any idea where that line is and there’s nothing saying it’s in the same place from one day to the next? [/QUOTE] Yep. My advice to **samclem** …drop the warning more subtly. Don’t necessarily need to put up the orange cones and the red flashing lights every time. “Hey guys, lets try to keep this thread on track.” Or “Anybody have any legitimate cites?” Both would work fine in that case. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/9 "2007-01-18T14:33:09Z")
[QUOTE=Uncommon Sense] Yep. My advice to **samclem** …drop the warning more subtly. Don’t necessarily need to put up the orange cones and the red flashing lights every time. “Hey guys, lets try to keep this thread on track.” Or “Anybody have any legitimate cites?” Both would work fine in that case. [/QUOTE] Considering the subject matter, I’m not sure those would work in this particular case. I think **samclem** ought to have a sticky in GQ titled, “Calm down, I’m not yelling at you,” with this answer. It seems like every other month a GQ jokejack gets out of hand and has to be shut down, and one of the participants starts a pit thread. It should also include a complete list of titles of all the threads like this, so if you want to start one anyway, you can come up with something original. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/10 "2007-01-18T14:33:34Z")
OK, hold up a minute. 3333 feet = 63 miles? WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/11 "2007-01-18T14:58:56Z")
[QUOTE=Turek] So what your saying is (and, please, correct me if I’m wrong), there’s a line somewhere, and we’re not supposed to cross it, but we don’t really have any idea where that line is and there’s nothing saying it’s in the same place from one day to the next? [/QUOTE] Yes, the Board is kind of like real life that way. Given that the Warning was not addressed to any single poster, it shouldn’t affect any poster’s actual record with the administration. ( **samclem** can correct me if I’m wrong.) It would only come into play if the hijacks continued. Possibly the word “Warning” was a little strong, but I can see the rationale for an admonition, since that thread had the potential for the jokes to completely overwhelm any actual factual information that might have been contributed. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/12 "2007-01-18T17:24:54Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] OK, hold up a minute. 3333 feet = 63 miles? WTF? [/QUOTE] :smack: I left out a couple of 3s. 4,000,000 / 12 =333,333.33 333,333 / 5,280 =63.13 Right answer in the end, wrong number of 3s in the middle. ::: Grumble::: Leave it to a doper to notice a math error. **Samclem** Thanks for the clarification. I’m not upset over this, I was just genuinely puzzled. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/13 "2007-01-18T18:03:34Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] :smack: I left out a couple of 3s. [/QUOTE] Ah. I was wondering if that was the new math. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/14 "2007-01-18T18:37:31Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] OK, hold up a minute. 3333 feet = 63 miles? WTF? [/QUOTE] Very big feet. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/15 "2007-01-18T19:05:44Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] Possibly the word “Warning” was a little strong, but I can see the rationale for an admonition, since that thread had the potential for the jokes to completely overwhelm any actual factual information that might have been contributed. [/QUOTE] I agree that it was a little strong, seeing has how “warning” has a meaning when used it an official capacity. I’d prefer something like, “hey, folks, let’s keep the signal-to-noise ratio a little higher, please.” ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/16 "2007-01-18T19:13:41Z")
Come on people, it is January, **skip** and **samclem** are just trying to get an early lead in the mod-pitting stakes. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/17 "2007-01-18T20:17:47Z")
Actually, I agree with the GQ Mods on this, and in fact they don’t go far enough, IMHO. Too many “joke” replies before we get the OP’s question completely and finally answered. Once the question is really, truely answered, then fine, let your inner Carrot Top out. (Yes, Carrot top is not funny, just annoying: which is exactly why I used him as an example) ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/18 "2007-01-18T21:14:12Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] I think **Wolfian** nailed it > [@Wolfian](#): > > It was a quick zing at a wide target. [/QUOTE] Given the topic of the linked OP, this seems to be an unfortunate choice of words, unless of course, you were pitting **Wolfian** also. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/19 "2007-01-18T21:27:46Z")
> [@](#): > > So what your saying is (and, please, correct me if I’m wrong), there’s a line somewhere, and we’re not supposed to cross it, but we don’t really have any idea where that line is and there’s nothing saying it’s in the same place from one day to the next? Yes and no. We’ve always resisted trying to draft up a “law code” that would define exactly what’s OK and what’s not. Such a document would run to hundreds of pages, no one wants to draw it up and no one wants to read it, and it still wouldn’t cover some situations. So, the answer is that most of our moderation and rulings are “situational.” The joke about the one-legged man and the parrot might be appropriate and humourous in the thread about talking birds, but gross and offensive in the thread about disabilities. And, of course, moderators can’t read everything. So, a similar offense that wasn’t reported might go completely unnoticed. It’s an inconsistency that we’re sort of stuck with, kind of like the cops can’t stop every speeding car. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430/20 "2007-01-18T21:51:00Z")
Never mind all that. What about the one-legged man and the parrot? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-wtf/388430.md?page=2)