https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21534975&postcount=41
This gets only a note? Can I trust that if I get upset with another poster, I can say “fuck you” to them and only get a note? Nothing on my permanent record?
This is terribly inconsistent to say the least.
Perhaps it would be best to make every effort to not say fuck you to someone outside of the pit and avoid the uncertainty entirely.
What is the point of this thread? You can’t be asking for clarification of the rules - saying “fuck you” outside the pit is clearly not allowed, as stated by the mod. It has been established in countless threads that a note versus a warning is a subjective call based on myriad factors. Do we really need another thread to say, yup, it’s subjective, deal with it?
a) In the context of the thread I don’t blame said poster for the comment. I would have gone with more of a suggestion of asexual reproduction but I can’t say I wouldn’t explode either.
b) I would expect to get fully “modded” for said explosion. In other words I think it may be a little light just to get hit with a note. Again, if it had been me, I wouldn’t be surprised at an official and maybe a time-out as well.
hands OP his monocle
OP of that thread obviously considered the subject to be serious, and was genuinely concerned. Your own “Who gives a shit?” was not modded, so you got that going for you.
The subjectivity should not be based upon political opinions. We had posters get warned for disagreeing with transexuality, which was never against the rules, but to say “fuck you” to another poster has always and clearly been against the rules.
To note that instead of giving a warning simply because, as posters here have conceded, that the moderator agreed with the sentiment of the “fuck you” continues to show the liberal bias of the board.
What, in your mind, mitigated the use of that term so that only a note should have been given?
Why do you bother?
Interesting question. As an experiment, why not say it to a few of us now and see what happens?
Could we do that in ATMB when it comes to a mod?
It’s quite obvious. They said “fuck you,” which is a Warnable offense, but the mods didn’t Warn them. The OP clearly believes this is unfair and improper moderation, and is thus protesting it in the correct forum for doing so.
I would ask you what the point of the hostility is. It’s not going to change his mind and convince him that the moderation is okay. From personal experience, it will only lead the OP to think they are correct, otherwise you would give an actual counterargument.
Welcome to the real virtual world. They deal with offenses according to how they feel about you. There is a lot of leeway and “discretion.”
Now for my counterargument:
The Note implicitly gives the reason: the mod understands that the topic is extremely personal, and that the poster in question wasn’t just trying to get around the rules. It is quite likely the poster has themselves been bullied before, so it is understandable that they might have a reaction and attack someone who appears to be defending them.
As such, the mod gave them slack. Not because they agree, but because they have empathy. The poster in question likely doesn’t have any Warnings, either. If the poster had repeatedly done this, they likely would have been given a courtesy suspension, to help them cool off. It’s the same concept.
If you deliberately went out to say “Fuck you” because of this, you would definitely be Warned. It would not have been a spur of the moment issue because of emotional trauma you had experienced in your past. It would just be an attempt to take advantage of the rules.
And such is against the rules here and has always been. If you try to find a loophole to get out of being punished, you will wind up punished for trying to find a loophole.
No, the law doesn’t work this way. But this isn’t a court of law. And many of us don’t approve of loopholes.
I’m not looking to say “fuck you” to any poster. But this has been one of those clear rules for a long time. The subjectivity discussed above usually only arises in one of those ambiguous scenarios where a mod is looking at the “don’t be a jerk” rule or something amorphous.
But, I would argue that anytime someone says “fuck you” it is done in an emotional way. However, it is a clear rules violation and a pretty serious one. I don’t think I have ever seen it only mod noted previously no matter the circumstance.
Further, I’m not sure how you can say that this reaction came from “emotional trauma.” The poster that received the insult was making an argument that kids today use the term “fag” not as a homosexual insult, but a more generic one. I have no idea whether that is right or wrong, but I’m not sure how responding with “fuck you” comes from emotion when debating the modern meaning of a term.
IOW, anyone could use your explanation to justify any particular use of “fuck you” to be mitigated to a note instead of a warning.
The only counterargument necessary is “it’s subjective.” The OP feels this subjectivity is solely for “political reasons,” and you will not convince him otherwise with the standard five paragraphs of explanation.
I’m also amused that being against homophobia is a “political” stance in the OP’s mind.
I don’t think you have been paying attention. I’m pretty sure you can find many instances of this happening.
Bullshit. Show me where I said that.
Leaffan’s “fuck you” was in response to his perception of homophobia around the meaning of “fag.” In your critique of the moderation of this statement, you mention “political opinions.”
Do you disagree with the reason Leaffan made this comment, or is your above quote about political opinions completely unrelated to this thread that you started?
I only gave it a mod note instead of a warning because it was something that appeared to be said in the heat of the moment, and I am not aware of the user in question having a consistent problem with this type of infraction.
Under other circumstances, saying “Fuck you” could easily result in a warning, especially if the user in question has a consistent problem attacking other users outside of the Pit.
It was a judgement call. We try to be consistent, but another mod might not have seen it the same way and might have issued a warning.
If a mod note is sufficient to prevent Leaffan from saying “Fuck you” to another poster outside of the Pit, then I consider my job done. If it happens again, it will definitely escalate to a warning. There is no law that requires us to go straight to a warning in all circumstances.
How you managed to contort this into some sort of liberal bias thing is beyond me.
Seems to be pretty straightforward to me. The clear implication of your second quote is that it is a liberal position to be outraged by homophobia.