# Tasteless jokes in IMHO now merit "moderator notes"? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 8, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273 "2012-05-08T12:57:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/21 "2012-05-08T17:08:12Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Hm. I can’t see myself going, “Shut _up_, girlfriend!” without the mod hat. I think that if becoming a mod drastically changes the way you post as a regular poster, than moderation has become a burden. How much of a burden that is is up to you to decide - but I really don’t see how the title should affect you while not enforcing the board rules. I really don’t see how a little snark as a poster compromises anything. There’s a very good reason that mods have developed the protocol of either adding “Moderator Note/Action” in the subtitle bar or framing their post in [noparse][Moderator][/Moderator][/noparse] tags - people are quite capable of sussing out the difference between your words/actions as a poster, and those as a moderator. For the few who cannot, that is their problem. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/22 "2012-05-08T17:09:41Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Ever had a person in power/authority insult you just because they could and you get the vibe you sure as hell better not mouth back? Yeah - his name was manhattan. It was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/23 "2012-05-08T17:21:10Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > **KneadtoKnow**? How about you? I believe **billfish678** has described my feelings as well as I ever could. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/24 "2012-05-08T17:28:27Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a mild rebuke - but there wasn’t any reason to slap a mod hat on while doing so. But the “mod hat” apparently excuses the fact that she insulted a poster in IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/25 "2012-05-08T17:34:29Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Ever had a person in power/authority insult you just because they could and you get the vibe you sure as hell better not mouth back? Kinda sucks doesnt it? Particularly where its a minor offense and a “knock it off please” would have sufficed? > > Just sayin. I think this is the real issue here, not whether or not Ellen had her mod hat on or off. It feels like the mods are more and more resorting to insults against us civilians (most recently, Twickster calling someone a twat and then giving herself a mod note comes to mind). Mods are, by definition, supposed to be above that sort of thing. The title shouldn’t be a license to break the rules you’re supposed to be enforcing. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/26 "2012-05-08T18:27:24Z")
The “thought a fool” bit is generally viewed as an insult, then, by most of you all? If so, I am sorry (as I said earlier). I thought of it more as a more literary way to quell threadshitting by in essence telling them to hush. Munch, I still don’t feel right issuing a “mild rebuke” without a mod hat, simply because I feel I’m viewed that way, mod-hat note or not. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/27 "2012-05-08T18:41:35Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > The “thought a fool” bit is generally viewed as an insult, then, by most of you all? If so, I am sorry (as I said earlier). I thought of it more as a more literary way to quell threadshitting by in essence telling them to hush. The idiom itself is pretty benign and a great warning regarding future actions… But when you use it in regards to something somebody has already said (they’ve already “opened their mouth”), you’re calling that person a fool. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/28 "2012-05-08T18:46:26Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Munch, I still don’t feel right issuing a “mild rebuke” without a mod hat, simply because I feel I’m viewed that way, mod-hat note or not. Frankly it sounds like you’re hiding behind the title, Ellen. You used your position as a moderator to directly insult another poster. You knew it wasn’t kosher, so you slapped your mod hat on to do so. I think you’d have been skirting the line as a poster (which is fine), but putting the hat on makes it quite a bit worse. Oddly enough, I have very little problem if you want to call someone a fool with the mod hat on while issuing an actual warning. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/29 "2012-05-08T18:47:32Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > The “thought a fool” bit is generally viewed as an insult, then, by most of you all? Of course, compounded by the “remove all doubt [… that you are in fact a fool]”. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/30 "2012-05-08T18:48:46Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > The “thought a fool” bit is generally viewed as an insult, then, by most of you all? If so, I am sorry (as I said earlier). I thought of it more as a more literary way to quell threadshitting by in essence telling them to hush. It sort of crossed the line. I think if a regular poster had said that, they probably would have received a mod note for it. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/31 "2012-05-08T18:57:09Z")
I’m okay if she wanted to stop threadshitting, guys lamenting the ickiness of women parts or whatever. I think if she’s going to Mod Note that, she shouldn’t dance around violating the rule of insulting posters in the process. Mod notes should be a clear instruction of the rule in question being violated, not some experiment in creative name calling. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/32 "2012-05-08T19:07:37Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Frankly it sounds like you’re hiding behind the title, Ellen. You used your position as a moderator to directly insult another poster. You knew it wasn’t kosher, so you slapped your mod hat on to do so. This really isn’t true. I honestly thought I was being more funny than insulting, but I probably should, as Irishman suggests, be more sober and non-fun when I use my moderator powers. And as I’ve pointed out a couple times, anything I say about how another person is posting I do as a mod. I don’t do any rebuking, mild or otherwise, as an ordinary poster (that I can think of). I apologize to **KneadToKnow**. I appreciate everyone’s input. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273/33 "2012-05-08T19:09:13Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I apologize to **KneadToKnow**. Apology accepted. I now consider this matter closed, FWIW. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasteless-jokes-in-imho-now-merit-moderator-notes/621273.md?page=1)