# Tastless threads against SDMB rules?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [June 29, 2008, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634 "2008-06-29T06:21:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/1 "2008-06-29T06:21:19Z")
Is it just me? Or was [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=473383&page=1&pp=50) completely fine?
**SkipMagic** some junior mod, who I didn’t even know was a mod, apparently decided to shut down the thread for being “tasteless”
It seems to me that there is no stipulation that “tasteless” threads be closed down because taste is a question of… well, taste.
So who the fuck do you think you are, **SkipMagic** , “moderator” for closing down our stupid thread about bling. I don’t remember anywhere in the SDMB agreement about mods closing down threads they didn’t like.
Face it. It was tasteless, but you have no right to close it down. Your job is to enforce the rules, but you gave no reason as far as the SDMB rules go, for closing it down. I even read the FAQ again just to be sure. I also read the member agreement, and I didn’t note anywhere that “tasteless” was a prohibited.
So **SkipMagic** ,
Thanks for playing, but you’ve successfully stifled free speech for no fucking good reason. I’m sorry that it offends you, but there’s plenty of shit on the SDMB that offends me every day. Yet, since I’m not a moderator, I don’t get to close down threads at any whim.
Fucking shitball moderating…
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### Author:  [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/2 "2008-06-29T06:26:30Z")
Are you drunk? Not snarky - serious - your post reads like you’ve been in the sauce.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/3 "2008-06-29T06:29:33Z")
I didn’t click any of the links in that one, but that was my choice. From the conversation in the thread, there’s nothing there that I found tasteless or offensive.
I also didn’t click any of the links from the “Why are maggots crawling from the inside of this live flies” thread in GQ either. Clicking disgusting links should be up to the user, not a jr. mod, IMHO.
If we can allow links to macro-image pictures of maggots crawling out of a dead fly, I don’t see how we can ban other stuff for being tasteless. Especially if it was in the MPSIMS forum.
If the links are that bad, just add “NSFW” to the thread title, don’t shut out free speech, especially in MPSIMS. That’s what that forum is for fer christ-sake!
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/4 "2008-06-29T06:32:19Z")
[QUOTE=alice\_in\_wonderland]
Are you drunk? Not snarky - serious - your post reads like you’ve been in the sauce.
[/QUOTE]
It IS 2:30 AM on the East Coast, so good chance he was. No rules against drunked posting last I checked. 😛
At least his spelling was on point. 😃
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### Author:  [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/5 "2008-06-29T06:37:39Z")
It was the Holocaust pictures that got the lock-hammer, but, since I doubt anyone here has been personally affected, I think the most positive way to respond to such tragedy is through laughter anyway.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/6 "2008-06-29T06:40:38Z")
I hope you’re having some cheese with that whine.
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### Author:  [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/7 "2008-06-29T07:25:53Z")
Point of order – \*\*SkipMagic \*\*is a longtime moderator on the board, and one I’ve found to be reasonable and fair in the past. He is not a new moderator, and he is certainly \*\*\*not \*\*\*a “Junior Mod” (which is a term for regular posters “playing” moderator.)
That said – **Skip** , I think you **really, really** dropped the ball on this one. Tasteless? Check. Possibly infuriating to some? Check. I admit that as an Israeli and a Jew I didn’t really appreciate the Holocaust Bling all that much. But I don’t think my feelings on this – nor anybody else’s – merit closing down the thread.
Lockdown worthy? No way. I think you called this one wrong. \*\*Very \*\*wrong.
Not sure why some of the responders are disagreeing so vehemently with **Merkwurdigliebe** , either. Even if he was PUI (Posting Under Influence.) It’s a venerated SDMB tradition! 😃
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### Author:  [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/8 "2008-06-29T08:21:43Z")
Seemingly, the closed thread was devolving into a contest where participants tried to show the most shocking picture they could think of. It seems to me there are plenty of other venues for this kind of creativity, and that, judging at least by the last picture (I didn’t look at the others) the result could easily fall under the “don’t be a jerk” rule. Actually the idea towards the end of thread seemed to be “prove that you can be a worst jerk than the previous poster”.
As a result, I personally have no issue with the thread being closed.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/9 "2008-06-29T09:41:16Z")
I personally have no problem with mods’ closing down any thread as they see fit. This is not a democracy. There is no “free speech” here. It’s in the terms of service: when you register, you agree to abide by the moderators’ decisions.
> [@](#):
>
> You agree to abide by the wishes of the board moderators in interpreting and enforcing these rules.
Anyone who thinks they have rights here under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is deluding himself. I’m not sticking up for the mods. Just pointing out a fact of life on the internet. Sure Congress may make no rule restricting freedom of expression. But that doesn’t prohibit anyone else from restricting your freedom of expression. Particularly when you agree to such restrictions. (And don’t say, “I didn’t agree to anything.” Your agreement is implied. Just like when you drive a vehicle, you “agree” to submit to a DUI test if you want to keep your license.) Your pet thread got shut down? Suck it up. Life goes on.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/10 "2008-06-29T10:18:23Z")
You know, we really haven’t had a good zit thread lately.
Or a semen based thread.
Or a sandwich in a toilet thread.
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/11 "2008-06-29T12:12:38Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus]
It was the Holocaust pictures that got the lock-hammer, but, since I doubt anyone here has been personally affected, I think the most positive way to respond to such tragedy is through laughter anyway.
[/QUOTE]
Just to say… I don’t agree with the thread being closed- I looked at it, wasn’t interested and moved on.
But on this point… Both my still-living parents are Holocaust survivors, so it affects me pretty profoundly.
But, I _choose_ not to look.
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### Author:  [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/12 "2008-06-29T12:15:08Z")
Holocaust bling is one thing, but the Barack Obama one is what put it over the top. I mean, there are limits. :eek:
Regards,
Shodan
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### Author:  [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/13 "2008-06-29T13:23:59Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane]
I personally have no problem with mods’ closing down any thread as they see fit. This is not a democracy. There is no “free speech” here. It’s in the terms of service: when you register, you agree to abide by the moderators’ decisions.
[/QUOTE]
Bull. It is the responsibility of the mods to enforce the rules, not simply close threads without any warning. **Skipmagic** could have just as easily posted a warning to the last couple of posters together and noting that the content was offensive and allowed the thread to go on. Arbitrarily quashing threads without warning is a dick move, and a lazy one at that. Normally I agree with **Skipmagic**'s modding nearly all the time; but on this one he was just plain lazy.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/14 "2008-06-29T13:43:51Z")
I did one of the holocaust bling pics, trying for the ultimate in bad taste. My pic of concentration inmates showed them all alive, posing for a pic. I was outdone by another who added bling to a pile of corpses, so I lost.
I’m ambivalent about the closing. I didn’t post it was NSFW, but then again there were a fair number before me that also weren’t labeled. I suppose it was fair to close the thread on that basis alone.
I think, though, that moving it to the Pit would have been a better choice, though it would have been an unusual choice. It WAS about inappropriate bling pics.
Possibly SkipMagic closed it out of fear of what the NEXT tasteless pic would be. Myself, I was curious about what the next one would be.
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### Author:  [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/15 "2008-06-29T13:48:06Z")
We have always had understanding that there are limits to the amount of tastelessness that we are willing to put up with. We’re extremely broad-minded in how we apply this, but nonetheless there are limits. The Registration Agreement doesn’t specifically spell out “lack of good taste” as prohibited, mostly because we want to allow discussion on almost anything and partly because we don’t want to get caught in a spider-web of definition.
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### Author:  [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/16 "2008-06-29T15:49:44Z")
[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven]
We have always had understanding that there are limits to the amount of tastelessness that we are willing to put up with. We’re extremely broad-minded in how we apply this, but nonetheless there are limits. The Registration Agreement doesn’t specifically spell out “lack of good taste” as prohibited, mostly because we want to allow discussion on almost anything and partly because we don’t want to get caught in a spider-web of definition.
[/QUOTE]
Okay then,
How come the zit threads and the semen cooking threads weren’t closed? That’s pretty damn tasteless. I realize that we don’t have First Amendment rights here on the board, but in the 5+ years that I’ve been here I’ve never seen a thread being closed down for a lack of “taste.”
A warning would have worked. Anything but this.
Hell I was pretty happy with my Stephen Hawking bling. I actually found a picture of him with a bunch of strippers.
I thought the Barack Obama thing was hilarious. I’ve seen far more expensive Obama bling pics before.
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### Author:  [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/17 "2008-06-29T15:58:47Z")
[QUOTE=IvoryTowerDenizen]
But on this point… Both my still-living parents are Holocaust survivors, so it affects me pretty profoundly.
[/QUOTE]
I stand corrected. My apologies.
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### Author:  [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/18 "2008-06-29T16:00:55Z")
don’t know what “expensive” Obama pics are… I guess I meant to write “offensive”
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### Author:  [@Fiveroptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveroptic)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/19 "2008-06-29T16:37:30Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot]
You know, we really haven’t had a good zit thread lately.
Or a semen based thread.
Or a sandwich in a toilet thread.
[/QUOTE]
I accidentally sliced my hand open with a boxcutter at work last month which required eight stitches. It was gross but really cool so I took a picture. Now I’m just waiting for the right thread to post it. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tastless-threads-against-sdmb-rules/454634/20 "2008-06-29T16:54:55Z")
[QUOTE=Fiveroptic]
I accidentally sliced my hand open with a boxcutter at work last month which required eight stitches. It was gross but really cool so I took a picture. Now I’m just waiting for the right thread to post it. 🙂
[/QUOTE]
Be sure to bling it first.
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