# Seriously, twickster? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 17, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711 "2011-02-17T16:23:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/61 "2011-02-19T00:55:35Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > However, **devilsknew** is also perfectly justified in asking his question. To most Americans (I don’t know if dk is American or not, frankly) there is a wide space held under the phrase ‘sexual assault’ that goes from groping and touching to hand under pants and other very aggressive and violent behaviors. However, ‘rape’ as a word is generally reserved for penetrative sexual violence. By using the phrase ‘sexual assault’ in the stories the reporters in question, while possibly having little choice, are opening a **new** series of questions about what TYPE of sexual assault took place. Had the stories used ‘rape’ the reader (and the public) would know what happened. But to use ‘sexual assault’ the follow up questions are inevitable and should be expected. Hell, haven’t there been some discussion about TSA “sexually assaulting” passengers during screening. I also read a news story some time ago about a reporter at a border in the Middle East. The article was graaphic saying that while her partner was skinned alive she was gang-raped. No euphamisms, but the brutal truth about what was done to her. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/62 "2011-02-19T01:35:49Z")
> [@Silver\_Fire](#): > > Cookie! > > I’m still waiting for the words “class act” to make an appearance. Silver Fire, I’ve always honestly thought you were a class act. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/63 "2011-02-19T01:43:52Z")
> [@Beadalin](#): > > A Slate article asks and answers the same question devilsknew raised. There was nothing out of line about it. > > [CBS correspondent Lara Logan was a victim of sexual assault. Is that the same as rape?](http://www.slate.com/id/2285492/) Is that the right article? The Slate article I read was talking about the legal difference between sexual assault and rape. I though the kerfluffle arose because devilsknew asked (paraphrasing) “what exactly happened to that newscaster? Was there penetration?” I don’t know if devilsknew meant it that way, and I’m going to assume not (I haven’t read the whole thread, maybe the answer is in there), but that question seems more crass to me than what the Slate article was discussing. The Slate article is not trying to determine exactly how much the newscaster was violated. ETA: I agree that rape (penetration) is worse than unwanted groping, and some people might mistakenly use the wrong word when describing an act of molestation, but trying to figure out to what extent a person was injured or penetrated or whatever could seem a little creepy (not directed at devilsnew, just giving my general impression.) ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/64 "2011-02-19T01:58:10Z")
Yes, that’s the article I intended. I guess we just have different readings of devilsknew’s tone. I think the line of questioning was seeking to understand the obviously deliberately-used term “sexual assault.” It’s hard topic to read about and not get emotionally invested, so I get how sensitive this is. I just don’t think he being creepy. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/65 "2011-02-19T02:24:49Z")
The relevant portion of the exchange is contained in post #31. He was clearly asking a question about terminology, and whether the failure to use the term “rape” indicated something other than penetrative rape. Which is a legitimate question, and not limited to this specific incident. I haven’t seen a news report use the word “rape” in a long time, even when the term clearly fits. By generalizing the term used (albeit for the laudable purpose of protecting the victim’s privacy), they leave a lot of uncertainty as to the severity of an attack. I submit that those of you who find it “creepy” are filling in your own squiggles on the inkblot, where none exist. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/66 "2011-02-19T03:34:27Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > \ > > And kudos to **twickster** for apologizing as appropriate. Ideally she’d stop doing things that required apologizing. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/67 "2011-02-19T03:56:28Z")
We’ve _all_ done stuff requiring apologizing, okay? The folks who keep us “in line” (or try to), are people just like us - prone to mistakes. **Twicks** said “sorry” and that should be enough. It it isn’t, then _why_ isn’t it? Is it about the _number_ of times “sorry” is said? If so, then I wouldn’t have a son. She apologized. Time to move on, y’all! 🙂 Thanks Quasi ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/68 "2011-02-19T04:02:58Z")
Am I mistaken or is this the second time that there has been a problem with Twickster’s moderation in a sexual assault thread? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/69 "2011-02-19T04:03:30Z")
As I tell my own children on a regular basis, “Sorry is nice, but what’s nicer is not having to say you’re sorry in the first place.” ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/70 "2011-02-19T04:05:42Z")
I do like **twickster** as a poster, and I’m sure she’s lovely as a person, but she has proven time and again that she’s unable to be objective and keep her personal opinions out of her moderating decisions. Sometimes you’re just not cut out for a certain job- doesn’t mean anything about you as a person. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/71 "2011-02-19T04:16:42Z")
Okay, here we go: **WHAT** criteria are used when offering a mod/admin position here? Human/Super-Human/Alien… ? Can they be voted out? I do not _know_ this stuff, so I have to ask. Q ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/72 "2011-02-19T04:28:55Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > We’ve _all_ done stuff requiring apologizing, okay? > > The folks who keep us “in line” (or try to), are people just like us - prone to mistakes. > > **Twicks** said “sorry” and that should be enough. > > It it isn’t, then _why_ isn’t it? > > Is it about the _number_ of times “sorry” is said? > > If so, then I wouldn’t have a son. > > She apologized. > > Time to move on, y’all! 🙂 > > Thanks > > Quasi Yeah, I agree with **Quasi** , here. **Larry Borgia** apologized and it was acknowledged without anyone jumping down his throat. Let’s afford **Twicks** the same courtesy. She owned up to being rude and apologized, and I believe she was sincere. Apology acknowledged. We’re all human. Nobody’s perfect. As they say on Vulcan, “We need not speak of it anymore.” ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/73 "2011-02-19T05:28:09Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Silver Fire, I’ve always honestly thought you were a class act. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/74 "2011-02-19T07:01:07Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > We’ve _all_ done stuff requiring apologizing, okay? > > The folks who keep us “in line” (or try to), are people just like us - prone to mistakes. > > **Twicks** said “sorry” and that should be enough. > > It it isn’t, then _why_ isn’t it? > > Is it about the _number_ of times “sorry” is said? > > If so, then I wouldn’t have a son. > > She apologized. > > Time to move on, y’all! 🙂 > > Thanks > > Quasi I have no problem with the idea that mods are human and they make mistakes, too, but you can’t keep making the same mistake over and over and keep on apologizing for it before someone, sooner or later, is going to expect you to start learning from your mistakes and correcting the behaviour. As a famous Scottish guy once said, “Sorry doesn’t make my shirt any drier.” ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/75 "2011-02-20T01:37:43Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > My apologies for not posting earlier – I am completely swamped at work right now, and though I saw this thread when it was started, I decided not to post immediately after reading the “worst mod ever” comment. > > What I was responding in the Cafe Society thread to was my reading of the post in question as “okay, so was she like, raped, raped? or is this one of those slap on the ass legality things?” My reaction was, in fact, “what the fuck is wrong with you?” > > I should not, however, have _said_ “what the fuck is wrong with you.” > > I apologize to **devilsknew** for inappropriate language, and I apologize to everyone in that thread for not keeping my opinion of what he said separate from my actions as a moderator. > > And with that, as is my wont, I’m done commenting on the matter. > > **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator No apology really necessary, I was not offended, and I can understand some degree of sensitivity about the whole thing. But what I am offended by is the suggestion in this thread and the assumption in the other thread that I asked out of prurient interest, or that it was “masturbation fodder”- That is highly insulting and as far away from the truth as possible. I was simply trying to understand the scope of the implications based on the sparse amount of information that the aricle provided and understand the language. Was it legalese?Journalistic language? A combination of both beating around the bush? I admit I was curious, but I was curious about the terminology and the hows and whys… and ultimately the truth of what happened to this poor lady and how it reflects on Egypt and Egyptians as a culture? I mean, I didn’t want to believe the implications of the terminology and I could hardly imagine it, because mob rape is so far outside of my experience and understanding, that I was suffering from some cognitive dissonance and denial and perhaps a bit of naivete. I was really hoping that the worst wasn’t true for this lady’s sake and the reputation of a whole people (Egyptians), and the far reaching implications of this atrocity in today’s political climate. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/76 "2011-02-20T05:47:50Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > And yet you apparently don’t understand what it means. > > As **Miller** quite clearly points out, **Claude Remains** clearly and unequivocally broke three rules in a single thread. Whatever you think about **twickster** ’s moderating in this case, **Miller** ’s was unexceptionable, IMO. I don’t see any difference between what **Miller** said and my summary of the situation. Just because the board has rules doesn’t mean they’re not bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/77 "2011-02-20T06:14:30Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > **Miller** pretty much threatens a poster with banning for thinking badly about a mod, so watch out all of you. Point out where that happened. [Millers post.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13479900&postcount=8) > [@](#): > > Okay, three things: > > 1. Telling other posters to suck one or more dicks, regardless of their container, is a violation of the Pit language rules. > > 2. Pitting a moderator for a ruling is, likewise, against the rules - complaints about moderation go in ATMB. > > 3. Cussing at a moderator for actions undertaken in their capacity as a moderator is - wait for it - against the rules. > > Claude, given your history here, there is no way in hell you didn’t know this already. So I’m making this an official warning, as well as notice that your posting rights are under review. > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > I don’t see any difference between what **Miller** said and my summary of the situation. **Just because the board has rules doesn’t mean they’re not bullshit.** Have you not grown up past the age of four? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/78 "2011-02-20T08:08:34Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Yeah, I agree with **Quasi** , here. **Larry Borgia** apologized and it was acknowledged without anyone jumping down his throat. Let’s afford **Twicks** the same courtesy. She owned up to being rude and apologized, and I believe she was sincere. Apology acknowledged. We’re all human. Nobody’s perfect. As they say on Vulcan, “We need not speak of it anymore.” **Larry** doesn’t have a habit of doing stuff like this. When your apologies are often followed by you making the same mistake again, people have a tendency to stop believing your sincerity. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/79 "2011-02-20T10:17:42Z")
Fine. She apologized. That’s the end of it as far as I’m concerned. I haven’t paid attention if she’s done this before, nor am I interested in keeping score. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711/80 "2011-02-20T10:53:28Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > **Larry** doesn’t have a habit of doing stuff like this. When your apologies are often followed by you making the same mistake again, people have a tendency to stop believing your sincerity. **BigT** , my dear friend, how many times have I asked for forgiveness, and how many times has it been granted? I am, _in no way_ placing myself in **Twick’s** situation, being that she and so many others of you can run rings around me, intelligence-wise. I’m just telling y’all that it doesn’t matter about the mistakes. What does matter is do we realize we’ve made one, and **Twicks** did. Simple as that, and she apologized. Is she gonna fuck up again? Yeah! Maybe! But so will I and so will you. And that’s how we get through life: fuck up and correct, fuck up and correct, fuck up and correct. I love this place, and I love the folks who run it. In closing, let me ask y’all something: Would a person in real time even _bother_ with this? Thanks Quasi [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-twickster/571711.md?page=5)