I received a PM with a pretty simple, but abusive message contained, with no context or anything.
I replied asking for an explaination but so far have received no response. Is there anything i can do about this?
You should post it so we can all decide.
(Or forward it to a mod/admin along with your OP…)
Please do not publish this PM on the board – send it to us.
Send it to me.
Wait—I thought the board had decided that PMs were no longer to be private. Did something change?
Let me guess, two words?
Not at all, we’d just prefer not to air this sort of thing on the board.
I don’t think anything is gained by making it public. If it’s concerning send it to the staff, let us investigate.
Okay. Almost sounds like there’s some benefit to keeping PMs kinda…what’s the word…private. 
and
Both of those posts, when made by someone with the word Administrator under her name, serve as little more than directives. It sounds like an order.
And yet we spent a multi-page thread not long ago coming to the conclusion that Private Messages need not be kept private, and that if the recipient chooses to share them with the Boards, then that is his or her right.
In that very thread you yourself said:
And yet now you are asking the OP not to make it public, and are putting the Board’s administrative weight behind a request to keep it private. I think that’s completely inappropriate.
All you need to say in response to the OP is something like this:
Why make a point of effectively prohibiting, in this case, something that the whole board (including you) has recently determined is not, in fact, prohibited?
I must concur with my esteemed colleagues; that does indeed sound like a directive (“Please do not publish this PM on the board”) in an area where, as noted, we have already decided that private messages are not to be considered private for all intents and purposes. I guess the acid test is, what would happen if Jump decided to post it here for all to see?
There is at least one thing to be gained from posting it - my curiosity would be assuaged.
Is there such a thing as “publish it if you want, but we’d rather you didn’t”?
'Cause that sounds like what TD is saying.
Regards,
Shodan
And what part of this reasonable request(not order) are you having trouble comprehending?
This sounds like you’re stirring up trouble where there isn’t any.
PM’s can be posted publicly. Tuba was just saying that it would be easier if the PM was just forwarded to her so she can take care of it. Nothing to be gained by making it public, of course if the OP wants to, there’s no rule against it.
Not trying to stir up anything.
But, in my opinion, when an Administrator says something like…
…then it comes across as much more an order than a mere suggestion.
How is Shodan not comprehending it? I thought he was pointing out that it was a reasonable request.
If that is the case, then my sincere apologies to Shodan.
hmm… i actually received a message like that a couple weeks ago as well…
Share! Forewarned is forearmed! Plus, you know, dirt.
If they put you on their ignore list, they’d never get it. And if something you posted got them mad enough to hurl “abuse” at you, they probably did.
BTW, I know you apparently don’t want to reveal what was said, but would it have been against Pit rules? Because that would be another motivation to go to PMs which we have been told are essentially unmoderated. (Though I’m glad to see that something can be done),
Well the PM person saw this thread and sent me two PM’s today telling me that he saw this thread and thought that he’d explain himself.
Firstly, his initial message was just “Fuck You”, and in his following messages he explained that it was due to this post http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...7&postcount=32 (Quite tame really) and then says…
"Its petty, but I tend to put people on ignore easily. So if you sent me PMs wanting clarification I didn’t receive them. I saw your post on the ATMB forum having confusion about this, and am giving you clarification about why I sent that PM, what it was about & why I didn’t respond to PMs you may have sent back (I didn’t get them).
Anyway, I’m not trying to talk you out of reporting me (I can be pretty rude and petty at times), but that is why I did it if you were wondering."
(I’m assuming that since i didn’t name him, i’m not really breaching anyone’s privacy, and im not actually reporting him for anything)
He seems like quite a nice guy, if a little irrational, and it’s a shame that one little comment from me would warrant such a response as well as sticking me on the ignore list.
I’m just some guy on a message board, do i really warrant such an emotional response?
I hope he mellows out, for his sake.
By the way, since he said i am on his ignore list (and he didnt get my PM), how could he see this thread?
linkie no workie
ETA: Anyways, PMing a “fuck you” to someone for a post of theirs that you didn’t like is all kinds of chickenshit. Why can’t you just post and explain what you find wrong with it. Hell, or post “fuck you” and get your thrill. You are getting the warning anyways. “If you must do the time, at least do the crime”.