# Scott Plaid, Stand Up or Shut Up **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 2, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794 "2005-07-02T03:22:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 52
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1021 "2005-07-15T16:03:31Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > Problem with you’re saying that you haven’t actually watched my posting from over my shoulder. Had you done so, in person, you would have noticed that I posted one heck of a lot less in GD and browsed many past threads. True, I posted to this thread a lot too. However, that is the thing about tabbed browsing. It makes such things much easier to do. In fact, at this very moment, I am looking though past threads, in between my typing this. You might benefit from focusing your entire concentration on one thread at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1022 "2005-07-15T16:05:00Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > You might benefit from focusing your entire concentration on one thread at a time. _We_ certainly would. ---
**Author:** ![VegemiteMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/df788c/32.png) [@VegemiteMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VegemiteMoose)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1023 "2005-07-15T16:09:52Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > That is a very good suggestion. Since I am not brain dead, I have done so in the past, as a matter of fact. However, my schedule yesterday did not permit me to visit a library. However, the bookstore was near my daily commute, so I went there. Well I hope you can forgive me for thinking that I might need to point out something bleedingly obvious to you. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1024 "2005-07-15T16:14:44Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > I gain free entertainment. Some of these past threads are quite dry. ::shrug: Searching for a word that describes posting nonsense for the pleasure of seeing other people suffer… > [@](#): > > Since I am not brain dead, I have done so in the past, as a matter of fact. Really? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1025 "2005-07-15T16:20:53Z")
> [@VegemiteMoose](#): > > **Scott** , next time you want to research something, I suggest going to a \*\*library \*\*instead of a book store. Good idea. And perhaps pick a book that isn’t the equivalent of “History For Dummies”, which may actually exist, for all I know. > [@Scott Plaid](#): > > “The act caused the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans.” I took a look at “Don’t Know Much About History” a few minutes ago. The portion you attempted to quote reads as follows(it is part of a day-by-day chronology of WWII, written in that annoying, newscaster-style present tense): “A presidential order requires all aliens to register with the government. This is the beginning of a plan to move Japanese-Americans into internment camps in the belief that they might aid the enemy.” Kenneth C. Davis, "Don’t Know Much About History, p. 374. There were 4 other mentions of Japanese internment in the index; none of them comes even this close to your paraphrase. Scott, here are a few things you might want to notice about this excerpt. It does not mention the Smith Act or any other law. It talks about a presidential order. It does not say the the order caused the internment. The excerpt is not internally consistent: it talks about registering aliens and interning Japanese-Americans, which generally is used to refer to American citizens of Japanese ancestry. In the bookstore I usually go to, books like this are surrounded by much meatier history books. Did you look through a bunch of them before you finally found something in this rather superficial book that could possibly be interpreted as associating the registering of aliens with the internment of citizens? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1026 "2005-07-15T16:34:13Z")
> [@Tim Staab](#): > > Did you look through a bunch of them before you finally found something in this rather superficial book that could possibly be interpreted as associating the registering of aliens with the internment of citizens? For the ∞th time, I agree with the opinions of many dopers that I was incorrect to have said that. I did not, however, look for a book that could even buttress my position in the least. Instead, I looked for one that went into the mechanics of the interment. I went to the bookstore. I asked the clerk for books about the internment, only to be told they would have to be special ordered. She went on to suggest I browse. I looked through the indexes of several WWII books, chosen at random, only to find nothing. Then, I looked for general history books, flipped to the indexes of several, and found what little I could. By that time, I had to get to work. No more time for research. When you asked me what book I read, it in, I tried to recall the title, and that seemed to have been it. Perhaps that wasn’t it. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1027 "2005-07-15T16:36:59Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > By the way, I was thinking about going to Gettysdope. I was thinking about what I should do so that people could realize that I am who I say I am. After all, I don’t look like a drooling idiot. Should I wear my Johns Hopkins Homewood campus I.D, or should I wear something in Blackwatch plaid? You could just put on the T-shirt that reads “ALWAYS RIGHT”. 😃 Actually, for some strange reason… probably because of the username… I mentally picture you wearing a tartan kilt. (But **never** on a windy day… ::shudder:: ) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1028 "2005-07-15T16:37:54Z")
> [@Duke of Rat](#): > > Searching for a word that describes posting nonsense for the pleasure of seeing other people suffer… So what _was_ decided in that **Giraffe** thread about the word? When last I saw it, it still seemed rather open. I guess I could go look… ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1029 "2005-07-15T16:49:24Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > Should I wear my Johns Hopkins Homewood campus I.D… **Scott** , are you or were you a student at Hopkins? Or do you work there? IIRC, there are four libraries on the Homewood campus. Good ones. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1030 "2005-07-15T16:51:59Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > No grasp? 😕 What do you call the following? > > > [@Scott](#): > > > > However, as I read more and more posts, I see more lurkers who I have no idea of the personal views of, and so, I am forced to consider that there might be something to what people are saying. So, I will now post less, and review my viewpoint. Judging by the _ **one hundred and sixteen times** _ you’ve already posted to this thread alone, I call it exactly what it is: unmitigated bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1031 "2005-07-15T16:54:01Z")
> [@Tim Staab](#): > > **Scott** , are you or were you a student at Hopkins? Or do you work there? IIRC, there are four libraries on the Homewood campus. Good ones. I known. However, while my staff id card doubles as a library card, and I have in fact took out books from it, it is the summer. I am currently working at a different job, and am not able to get to campus this week. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1032 "2005-07-15T16:55:33Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > Judging by the _ **one hundred and sixteen times** _ you’ve already posted to this thread alone, I call it exactly what it is: unmitigated bullshit. Please elaborate. Are you saying that the fact that people say I am wrong is bullshit? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1033 "2005-07-15T17:02:39Z")
Oh, I get it. You mean that my claims of self improvement is bullshit. Well, I have posted to this thread, since it is free entertainment. However, I have started only one thread in GD since this began. What is more, it is quite tame. What do you call that, besides self improvement? ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1034 "2005-07-15T17:05:40Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > Please elaborate. Are you saying that the fact that people say I am wrong is bullshit? 🙂 Make that **one hundred and seventeen** with the last one coming \inside a minute\ from prior comment. And no, to no one’s surprise – least of all my own – that’s not what I am saying at all. Perhaps you should take your own advice and read the posts you’re responding to until you get some faint glimmer of comprehension about what it is they are trying to tell you. In this particular incidence all you’ve done is prove me right. Think about it. Not to worry, I won’t be holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1035 "2005-07-15T17:12:50Z")
_::::sigh::::_ **One hundred and eighteen**. You’ve managed to respond _to yourself_ prior to my own reply. If that’s not the well known condition, _postitis diarrhea major_, I don’t know what is. QED. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1036 "2005-07-15T17:16:06Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > Problem with you’re saying that you haven’t actually watched my posting from over my shoulder. No, all we have to go on is the results of your posting style. Based on no more than that, we have now spent about twenty-one pages mentioning, with varying degrees of subtlety, that those results are sub-optimal. > [@Scott Plaid](#): > > Well, it doesn’t have, or require a cite, but how about my post [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=325041&page=2) ? Does that bring about the end of the world? No? How about [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6057515)? I am quite sure I can find many other examples. Most will not have cites within the posts, but they were readable, and understood by others. I had to read this about three times, but I think I have the gist of it. What I think you are saying is that you have posted in such a way as to avoid misunderstanding on a few occasions. The trouble being that your second example in particular is not well chosen. You posted as follows: > [@Scott Plaid](#): > > am one of those that believes that just because the general populace defines a word incorrectly, that does not mean they are correct to do so. I know that idea has been covered in other threads, but just for the record, I believe that guns mean (hand)guns, and a hunting rifle means a hunting rifle. Now the trouble is that this is wrong on pretty much every level. Language is a social contract, and if you choose to use words in non-standard ways, you are wrong pretty much by definition and the rest of the world is right. And it nearly guarantees that you will be misunderstood. Did you notice that **UncleBeer** mentioned exactly this to you in his subsequent post? > [@](#): > > The problem that arises through a loose definition of terms is amply shown in this thread. Tightly used, and universally defined terminology, however, is the preferable, and really only, means of preventing misunderstandings. And simple misunderstandings such as these, especially where the topic is already emotionally charged, can quickly spiral a discussion out of control. Furthermore, gun rights advocates (rightly or wrongly) overwhelmingly believe that gun-control folks very often do not possess basic firearm knowledge; what we then see isn’t so much ignorance but a totally different set of definitions being used. And that was three months ago, and you are still displaying the same set of problems. Hence this thread. So if you post shit that doesn’t make any sense (to anyone else), it gets tiresome to have you repeatedly declare victory, and then to trumpet your triumphs in subsequent threads. First, you didn’t make any sense, so it is impossible for anyone else to tell what the fuck you were talking about. Second, when you do finally post something understandable, you have the unfortunate habit of being wrong. Witness the Japanese internment camp example. Third, you have the annoying habit of following up your "explanations’ with further examples of the kind of slop-ass thinking and posting that made the explanation necessary in the first place. To wit, your last sentence in the second linked post: > [@](#): > > I do not believe that a ban on (hand)guns would be the same thing as Prohibition. Now, maybe by “ban”, you mean “waiting period before purchase”, or “minor restriction of an unspecific type”, or even “untying the shoe laces of people who fall asleep on the bus”. There isn’t any way to tell. So, interpreting the sentence in accordance with common rules of language, we translate it from **Scott** -speak into English, we get 'banning guns is different from prohibiting them." Which is stupid. “Ban” and “prohibition” are synonyms. Now maybe, if I read over your post a few more times, I could tease out some meaning that is not nearly as ridiculous. But, the times I tried with other posts, we wound up finding that even after all the effort, you were still wrong. So, why should we give a fuck? I realize that you are young. But you are also stubborn, and therefore it is harder for you than for most to learn the Prime Lesson of the SDMB. Most new members pick this up in the first few weeks, and either deal with it, or move on to greener pastures. The Prime Lesson is: > [@](#): > > On the SDMB, the chances are always at least three to one that someone else in the thread knows more about it than you do. I can’t remember who said it, but some one said that Dopers are used to being the smartest one in the room. I would add that long-term Dopers are the ones who have stopped assuming that it is still true when they post on the Dope. And I second the advice of those who recommend that you concentrate on one post, or one thread, at a time. There is usually more there than you are allotting yourself time to find out. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![VegemiteMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/df788c/32.png) [@VegemiteMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VegemiteMoose)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1037 "2005-07-15T17:16:07Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > _::::sigh::::_ > > **One hundred and eighteen**. > > You’ve managed to respond _to yourself_ prior to my own reply. If that’s not the well known condition, _postitis diarrhea major_, I don’t know what is. > > QED. I blame tabbed browsing. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1038 "2005-07-15T17:24:31Z")
> [@VegemiteMoose](#): > > I blame tabbed browsing. :rolleyes: Didn’t Hitler once say something like that? Sorry **VM** , but this thread has gone on _far_ too long without any mention of Hitler. **Duke of Rat** deserves partial credit for the word ‘nazi’ in post #859, but [Godwin’s law](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law) is very specific about a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler, not just ‘a nazi’. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1039 "2005-07-15T17:28:56Z")
This thread is dangerously close to becoming a forum unto itself. ---
**Author:** ![VegemiteMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/df788c/32.png) [@VegemiteMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VegemiteMoose)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794/1040 "2005-07-15T17:31:37Z")
Oh man, thank you **Squink**. That made me literally laugh out loud. You made my day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794.md?page=51) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-plaid-stand-up-or-shut-up/310794.md?page=53)