# START has been banned **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 7, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505 "2005-07-07T20:52:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/41 "2005-07-08T17:00:30Z")
> [@Salem](#): > > I think the key here is your assumption that the **START** persona was legitimate. **Salem** speaks wisdom. I decided quite some time ago that the entire **START** persona was manufactured and that everything posted under that name was fiction. That puts the newer **Kyle** character into some perspective: subtract a couple of “traits,” add on a couple of others, and _voilà_, new identity. And since perpetrators of fraud like this guy thrive on attention and the knowledge that people are talking about them, because they’re so sad and pathologically lonely they don’t care whether the attention is positive or negative, I’m going to do the only smart thing one can do in this situation, and stop discussing or even thinking about him. _—cue Kevin Spacey blowing on his fingers—_ What you-all do, of course, is up to you. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/42 "2005-07-08T17:17:56Z")
I sponsered the kid’s membership fees. \ ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/43 "2005-07-08T17:23:54Z")
> [@Mdm. President](#): > > Hesheit is having a blast. The proper term is “[h’orsh’it](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_245b.html).” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/44 "2005-07-08T17:41:41Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > I sponsered the kid’s membership fees. > \ FWIW, I think you did a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/45 "2005-07-08T19:37:32Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > I don’t think so. I think one of the benefits of this board is that it’s filled with people who are intelligent, respectful and play by the rules. If you don’t, you’re done. Overall, this means that the people who stick around are those who show those qualities. Those are the kind of people I WANT (and pay) to associate with, not people who don’t play by the rules. > > Not to mention the fact that, IIRC, one of the members here (I forget who) forked over the money for his membership. I think I’d feel…used. And especially so if he was allowed back. Agreed. The Mods and Admins keep this board very “clean” and that’s why I post and read here. I love the idea of having younger people posting. They give me fresh ideas and new perspectives. But they, just like older folks, need to abide by the rules. Perhaps the rules are less stringent on other boards, and that’s why some are thinking this board is the same. I still wonder about a probationary period though… Maybe 30 days? ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/46 "2005-07-08T19:45:21Z")
> [@Jake](#): > > I love the idea of having younger people posting. They give me fresh ideas and new perspectives. But they, just like older folks, need to abide by the rules. I enjoy the fact that teenagers post as well. Heck, I started out as one myself. I joined when I was 15 (or so) and this place has been invaluable in the intervening six years. But then, I’ve never even been so much as warned by the mods (I think). ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/47 "2005-07-08T19:52:49Z")
> [@Jake](#): > > I still wonder about a probationary period though… Maybe 30 days? If you mean a 30-day suspension for START, no. He lied to us, and we don’t like being played. If you mean 30 days probation for under-18s, no to that as well. Not everyone announces their age or other vital statistics when they begin posting; the mods presumably have no way of gathering this info, and IIRC, START didn’t begin his pattern of jerkishness until long after the first 30 days of his tenure. Plus which, it would just make us look elitist. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/48 "2005-07-08T19:57:09Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Kind of off-topic, or maybe not, but does anyone remember that thread where the OP talked about his ‘feeyonsay’? - anyone got a link (the searches they do nothing) Follow the links in the OP, then read the rest of the [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=131082%5B/url). I hadn’t laughed so hard since the sweatpants strings thread. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/49 "2005-07-24T06:02:55Z")
> [@inkleberry](#): > > That assumes the human behind START was, in fact, a teenager. He/she/it/them could have really been any age/sex/religion/whatever. I’ll place my bets for the real persona being a 72-year-old Buddhist hermaphrodite! ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/50 "2005-07-25T08:26:24Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > I’ll place my bets for the real persona being a 72-year-old Buddhist hermaphrodite! Surely not! What’s the odds of there being TWO of us?! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/51 "2005-07-25T09:20:17Z")
So that picture of a cute boy with green eyes I remember seeing posted… was not START but some innocent dupe? Damn, my whole reason for being here has disappeared in a puff of smoke… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/52 "2005-07-25T16:52:08Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > In fact, rereading Kyle Rayner’s posts, his use of slang is reminiscent of the character Jay from Kevin Smith’s movies such as Clerks, Mallrats, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. These movies are well-loved by comic book readers due to writer/director Smith’s many comic book jokes and references, and Smith has even made forays into writing comics himself. I understand the Jay and Silent Bob characters have become cult heroes for teens, and their style of dialogue is very easy to lapse into. > > START once mentioned his religious parents not allowing him to watch the offensive cartoon South Park, so I would be surprised if he was familiar with Kevin Smith’s movies, themselves known for lots of profanity and sexual humor. Just one more exhibit I present. Maybe he had a split personality. If that is true, perhaps he could make a plee of insanity. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/53 "2005-07-25T16:58:07Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > For once I am shocked by a banning. **START** seemed like a promising doper. Yeah, considering his age I thought his posts were usually OK although I often skipped them. From what he described of his family he came from an interesting place, and I’d like to have seen how he moved on after high school ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/54 "2005-07-25T17:23:23Z")
**Bosda** , if it makes you feel any better, think of it this way: **START** is no longer gaining any benefit from your generosity. But the Chicago Reader (who now has the money) is. So effectively, what you did was to make a $15 donation to the Chicago Reader, something that many members long wanted to be able to do. And we all know that that’s a worthy cause. So cheer up, you did good! ---
**Author:** ![JimSox5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@JimSox5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimSox5)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/55 "2005-07-25T19:19:11Z")
> [@Sarah Woodruff](#): > > So that picture of a cute boy with green eyes I remember seeing posted… was not START but some innocent dupe? > > Damn, my whole reason for being here has disappeared in a puff of smoke… 😉 No, no, no. That was _my_ picture you were looking at, dear. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/56 "2005-07-25T22:44:44Z")
I’m not clear on this. Was “Start” his complete dope name? I know some folks that have that name included in their complete “handle” If it’s the same person I’ve read, on this and othe boards, I’ll miss him/her too. ☹ Jack ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505/57 "2005-07-25T23:16:39Z")
START, specifically in all caps like that, was this particular user’s name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/start-has-been-banned/311505.md?page=2)