# Sock-hunting is stupid **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 3, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134 "2008-02-03T21:00:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/121 "2008-02-05T06:27:37Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > To be fair, the “Not true” likely applies to the “Mods have access to info that personally identifies us.” I don’t believe they do either, and in that sense, Tuba’s statement is accurate. Then why didn’t she cut it off after the bolded part of the following quote, which is the exact same snip that **TubaDiva** quoted and responded to with “Not true.”? > [@istara](#): > > **As for emailing a mod: they know our REAL names from our subscription/credit card details.** They are people too. And they have been known to majorly cross the line - in terms of offline actions - in the past. So I have to say I wouldn’t trust them any more than the average anonymous member. Instead, she left the part about the mods having been known to majorly cross the line in the past. If she didn’t intend to deceive newer Dopers by doing that, what _was_ her intent? To demonstrate a laziness in quoting that would (presumably) cast some positive light on Dope mods? Why would she have quoted that section and responded to it with “Not true.”? By doing that, she expressly and cavalierly denied that SDMB mods in general, and she in particular, had ever “majorly crossed the line”. That’s a flat out lie. It’s simply a fabrication. That **samclem** ’s only defense was to scream about how awful I am says a lot about the strength of his argument, FTR. (I would respond directly to his post, but I’d break out laughing, and that wouldn’t be very nice.) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/122 "2008-02-05T06:54:04Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] Instead, she left the part about the mods having been known to majorly cross the line in the past. [/QUOTE] **Hostile** , far be it from me to defend mods (who are more than capable of defending themselves), but shut the fuck up. Which mods are known to “majorly” have crossed the line in the past? Are mods occasionally ass-twats? Meh, not my fight. Do they know my real life name? Doubtful and who gives a shit. They can come to my house, sleep on my couch and eat all my popcorn and I really don’t give a shit unless there actually was some precedence of malfeasance which there simply isn’t. What’s your agenda? Got some friends you’re trying to impress, Gospodin Quixote? ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/123 "2008-02-05T07:10:42Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Which mods are known to “majorly” have crossed the line in the past? **TubaDiva** , the mod who specifically responded to the accusation by saying “Not true”. > [@levdrakon](#): > > What’s your agenda? Got some friends you’re trying to impress, Gospodin Quixote? Do you have any idea what you’re talking about? If I gave a shit what they thought of me or had any desire to impress them, I would have driven my car into the Pacific by now. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/124 "2008-02-05T07:29:17Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] **TubaDiva** , the mod who specifically responded to the accusation by saying “Not true”. [/quote] One administrator, one time. That ain’t “majorly.” > [@](#): > > Do you have any idea what you’re talking about? If I gave a shit what they thought of me or had any desire to impress them, I would have driven my car into the Pacific by now. Obviously you’re not trying to impress them, but do you know you’re not impressing me and most likely anyone else? You’ve got a gripe with **Tuba**. Why? Drive your car into the Pacific? Please, don’t pollute my favorite ocean. Try therapy. You _are_ taking this board too seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/125 "2008-02-05T07:48:23Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > One administrator, one time. That ain’t “majorly.” The way I read it, “majorly” referred to the severity of the known example(s?), not the frequency of same. YMMV, apparently. > [@levdrakon](#): > > Obviously you’re not trying to impress them, but do you know you’re not impressing me and most likely anyone else? Why are you so attached to the idea that I’m trying to impress someone? Hey Sherlock, since you’re such a world-class detective, why don’t you go find the people I expected to impress? Why give up after only one try, like you just did? > [@levdrakon](#): > > You’ve got a gripe with Tuba. Actually, I don’t. What is it about some people, assuming that whenever I say anything critical about anyone, I must have some unnamed gripe with that person? Since you’re playing Sherlock again, why don’t you go find some evidence that I hold a persistent grudge against **Tuba** in particular, as you claim? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/126 "2008-02-05T07:55:07Z")
Using my amazing detectivity powers I conclude that if you don’t have a gripe with **Tuba** then your statement “mods having been known to majorly cross the line in the past” is um, how we say, without ground? Do not put your car in my Pacific, buster! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![berff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@berff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/berff)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/127 "2008-02-05T09:55:58Z")
[QUOTE=Wheezley Blighter] As a guest, I know that I have no “right” to question or comment on the behaviors of the SDMB community, but I’ll say this- it strikes me as one of the most unfriendly places for n00bs, guests or contrary opinions/thoughts/ideas I’ve seen on the interwebs. Flame away, I’m impervious to it. [/QUOTE] Agreed. Although I’m actually a member, I do not plan to be renew my membership when it expires next month. Of course, I strongly doubt anyone will care (or notice since I rarely post anyway). Maybe this board just needs better (or more strict) moderation? ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/128 "2008-02-05T11:21:33Z")
**HD** , enough kiddo. I’ve had my disagreements as well. She’s a nice enough lady who babysits the messageboard. If you’d like to keep complaining, then go ahead. Bitching about bitching only sounds like more bitching. Holy crap! I’m a philosopher! ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/129 "2008-02-05T12:43:29Z")
So Fatgail is tiny ham aka jar , I just knew it! SOmething about her posts were so familiar, remember when she and BBJ used to go at it? those were the days… ---
**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 5, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/130 "2008-02-05T14:16:10Z")
And _I’m_ the one with a problem with forgiving and forgetting? You had a chance to vote with your feet at the time, **Hostile Dialect**. Maybe it’s time to think about getting over it. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/131 "2008-02-05T15:04:19Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] You had a chance to vote with your feet at the time, **Hostile Dialect**. Maybe it’s time to think about getting over it. [/QUOTE] I (eventually) decided to stay. But there **was** a vigilante betrayal. And a whitewash. In staying, I accepted that there was and that whilst I was unhappy with how it played out, these generally superbly-moderated boards moved on. I didn’t agree to accept that it never happened, nor that my opinion of this place has changed. ---
**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 5, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/132 "2008-02-05T17:26:56Z")
Yes, it happened, and a lot of people did leave over it. How long should we continue bringing it up? As I posted earlier, I think there was a bad moderator decision regarding a name change, but I stayed, and at some point I’ll stop bringing that up, too. Maybe I’ll take my own advice and stop now. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/133 "2008-02-05T23:46:46Z")
[QUOTE=hawthorne] I (eventually) decided to stay. But there **was** a vigilante betrayal. And a whitewash. In staying, I accepted that there was and that whilst I was unhappy with how it played out, these generally superbly-moderated boards moved on. I didn’t agree to accept that it never happened, nor that my opinion of this place has changed. [/QUOTE] This is my stance, along with that of other people. I wasn’t happy with the knowledge that people in charge of this board can and will make use of personal information they can figure out. In the aftermath of that particular incident, someone (I think it was **Dex**?) made it clear that they felt any information we give them is fair game for them to use, and I felt very uncomfortable about that. But I decided to stay partly because of the wealth of information that is here, and partly because any personal information I gave them was already theirs, and would not magically vanish off their database if I declined to re-subscribe. That said … I am a person of many names but in places like this I think it is best to stick to one. If I ask an embarrassing question, I do that knowing that this is the freakin’ internet and it’s out in the open for the world to see. If people don’t like me because of what I say or how I say it … well, I guess that sucks but welcome to Social Interaction 101. Peoples’ opinions of individuals _can_ change, and I think they have. Nobody’s personality is static; I am a far different person now, as a grad student with a girlfriend of three years and living in an apartment full of computers, than I was when I joined (as an undergrad in a cramped student slum in Orange County). Sometimes there are people who ignore changes in others, and when they see Poster A talking about (insert J. Random Current Interest here) all they see is (Controversial Interest From Five Years Ago). I think this is the motivation behind more than one sock, including the one that probably prompted this thread. I mean, you can try to ignore people who are stuck in the past but it’s more than sticks and stones when it interferes with the discussions you’re trying to have in the present. But the rules are the rules, and people who post here know them. The decision has been made that you cannot just wipe everything clean with the board’s blessing – you have to stand behind everything you have said. Even if you wouldn’t say it now, you can’t gloss over the fact that you said it then. You can only say “I have changed.” And even then … it only works if you’ve actually changed. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/134 "2008-02-06T06:22:46Z")
Sweet shit, let’s get something straight: Tuba was a fucking jackass but she didn’t betray any confidences whatsoever. What she impetuously did was definitely in bad form but it wasn’t even remotely an abuse of her position or leadership. Any member of the boards could have done the same thing. SM brought it on himself with his own stupidity. It’s simply that fucking simple, retards. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/135 "2008-02-06T07:31:52Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I conclude that if you don’t have a gripe with Tuba then your statement “mods having been known to majorly cross the line in the past” is um, how we say, without ground? That wasn’t my statement, dumbass. Why don’t you come back when you’ve finished 6th grade reading comprehension? Maybe we can have a more productive conversation. If you do really well, I’ll give you some candy. > [@featherlou](#): > > You had a chance to vote with your feet at the time, Hostile Dialect. Maybe it’s time to think about getting over it. Who’s not getting over it? _I’m_ not one of the many insisting on some kind of grudge match. I’m also not the one who brought up the incident in the first place. In fact, it looks like I’m the only one here who _doesn’t_ have a grudge against **Tuba** ; when an entire message board sees fit to accuse me of having that grudge, based on zero reasonable evidence, the only rational conclusion is that most/all of them are projecting. All I did in this thread was call **Tuba** on a blatant lie. Of course, if she had stepped in a reasonable amount of time after the fact and said “Hey, sorry, I didn’t mean to deny that”, or even “Dude, get a fucking grip, it was a damn misquote”, I would have shrugged and walked away. Her cautious avoidance of the whole thing speaks volumes. Of course, I never intended for my response to **Tuba** ’s egregious lie to explode into the galactic space opera some of you are taking it as, and I’m sure **Tuba** never wanted that either; but by avoiding the issue entirely (would it have been so difficult to at least offer an excuse here?), she has singlehandedly caused that explosion. For that, yes, I must admit that I’m beginning to grow a little irritated at her. However, this shall pass, as have all other momentary disappointments or irritations I have suffered at the hands of Dopers; most of these folks, I couldn’t remember when or why we quabbled. It shall soon be the same with **Tuba** , especially if she _at least_ shows enough respect to pop in here with a decent excuse for her historical revision. FTR, deciding to stay on a board where an egregious breach of privacy has occurred and at the time it seems pretty clear that it wouldn’t happen again, is pretty different from accepting a revisionist policy of denial with shrugged shoulders. (Not to mention that I’m not about to walk out on one of my favorite sites over some pedo’s sob story, but that’s beside the point.) I’m not saying that it’s your (or anyone else’s) duty to hold **Tuba** ’s feet in the fire: I’m just genuinely puzzled as to why mods would blatantly deny known facts about this board’s past, if not with the intent to deceive. I, for one, have generally been willing to admit my failings and at least attempt some reasonable standard of contrition when it was called for. I don’t understand why a mod or admin, who is generally asked to demonstrate a higher standard of behavior, would fail to do the same. Another FTR, since this thread is straying back to the point (the whole **jarbabyj** / **fatgail** thing): anyone who can’t weather out the storm of Internet grudges and build a decent reputation for themselves doesn’t have thick enough skin for a semi-anonymous message board like the Dope. I mean, really. My own popularity has waxed and waned at different poitns in time for different reasons, and there have been times when I honestly believed that a majority of Dopers might have hated me. Did I whine and bitch about it? No, I realized that you can’t please everyone, and I tried to make changes in my online persona where appropriate. **jarbabyj** got bitched out in a couple of Pit threads and now she can’t take the heat? Boo fucking hoo. That’s the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/136 "2008-02-06T07:49:03Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I did. Weren’t you? I am still trying to access \*\*Liberal’\*\*s response, it was rather strong. Oh well. [/QUOTE] Your “I think this one might just be either about you or in your mind.” probably offended him in particular. I don’t know if you wanted to be accusatory but it wouldn’t be hard to read it that way. [QUOTE=CarnalK] Sweet shit, let’s get something straight: Tuba was a fucking jackass but she didn’t betray any confidences whatsoever. What she impetuously did was definitely in bad form but it wasn’t even remotely an abuse of her position or leadership. Any member of the boards could have done the same thing. SM brought it on himself with his own stupidity. It’s simply that fucking simple, retards. [/QUOTE] How did she get the poster’s name? I don’t remember exactly, but I thought she somehow got that info through the board in a way that only admins can. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/137 "2008-02-06T08:04:27Z")
Holy crap, I was going to respond to good ol’ **CarneyK’s** post, but then thought, “You know what, this issue has been discussed enough, let’s let this thing die.” Then **fetus** comes around and launches off with whatever the hell that was. To be honest, if you’d like to know, I really don’t have any grudge for what Tuba did. Sure it was wrong, but it did actually make me all warm and fuzzy inside. It was like “awwww, she’s trying to protect her flock”. Baa motherfucker, baa. [QUOTE=Talon Karrde] Your “I think this one might just be either about you or in your mind.” probably offended him in particular. I don’t know if you wanted to be accusatory but it wouldn’t be hard to read it that way. [/QUOTE] Yes, thank you for noticing. I was tremendously offended. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/138 "2008-02-06T08:08:26Z")
> [@Hostile](#): > > when an entire message board sees fit to accuse me of having that grudge, based on zero reasonable evidence, the only rational conclusion is that most/all of them are projecting. What’s the rational conclusion when some goofball thinks the entire message board is out to get him? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/139 "2008-02-06T08:10:32Z")
[QUOTE=Talon Karrde] How did she get the poster’s name? I don’t remember exactly, but I thought she somehow got that info through the board in a way that only admins can. [/QUOTE] It’s part of his user info/email. I defy you to go to his user page and NOT be able to figure out his real name. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/140 "2008-02-06T08:21:48Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > What’s the rational conclusion when some goofball thinks the entire message board is out to get him? I’m not sure whether it’s a good or bad thing that you have no concept of hyperbole. On the one hand, it makes your arguments in the Pit funnier (more “laugh-at” than “laugh-with”, though). OTOH, it makes your website as boring as it is mean-spirited. Decisions, decisions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134.md?page=8)