# Terr and BrainGlutton **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 3, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406 "2015-10-03T20:59:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/321 "2015-10-07T18:13:25Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Would it surprise you to learn that amongst the current crew, the number of moderators who self-identify as conservative is either one or zero? Here’s the list of how the moderators have identified themselves so far. Asimovian Colibri Ellen Cherry engineer\_comp\_geek Gaudere Hal Briston Idle Thoughts - Just for the record, I am “no wing”. I don’t identify as right or left, as a conservative or liberal. I don’t know anything about politics nor do I care to. IvoryTowerDenizen Jonathan Chance Loach - implied in this thread that he is conservative, or at least not a Democrat Miller RickJay samclem tomndebb Your implication that conservatives are under-represented is really silly considering that most of the mods have not stated a viewpoint one way or the other. In fact, since we’ve only got two answers and one of them is “no wing”, conservatives are by far the majority over liberals among responding moderators. 😛 If you can find where a moderator has stated their viewpoints in other threads I’ll add them to the list and we’ll see where it ends up, but for now the overwhelming majority is “no answer”. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/322 "2015-10-07T18:15:39Z")
Meh. Assuming they fairly represent the makeup of the SDMB, it would be a shock if they are not overwhelmingly liberal. Except where it colors their decisionmaking I don’t think it’s a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/323 "2015-10-07T18:37:34Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Your implication that conservatives are under-represented is really silly considering that most of the mods have not stated a viewpoint one way or the other. In fact, since we’ve only got two answers and one of them is “no wing”, conservatives are by far the majority over liberals among responding moderators. 😛 > > If you can find where a moderator has stated their viewpoints in other threads I’ll add them to the list and we’ll see where it ends up, but for now the overwhelming majority is “no answer”. Assuming we’re identifying issues like same-sex marriage, feminism, and civil rights for nonwhite people as liberal issues, and opposition to all three as conservative, I’m pretty sure I can find posts by Miller and tomndebb and (I think) Asimovian and Jonathan Chance that put them on the liberal end of things. If we’re identifying issues like lower taxation and support for the military as conservative, and opposition to them as liberal, I’m not nearly so convinced. Of course, I can find support for same-sex marriage among Bricker’s posts, so I’m not sure what that means. Bricker, on what axis are we supposed to be looking? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/324 "2015-10-07T18:41:45Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > If you can find where a moderator has stated their viewpoints in other threads I’ll add them to the list and we’ll see where it ends up, but for now the overwhelming majority is “no answer”. I’m pretty sure I’ve self identified as an old-style Liberal. Worked to elect Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/325 "2015-10-07T18:43:45Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Of course, I can find support for same-sex marriage among Bricker’s posts, so I’m not sure what that means. Bricker, on what axis are we supposed to be looking? I’m sure the Axis was conservative. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/326 "2015-10-07T18:54:19Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I’m sure the Axis was conservative. 😃 You’re saying we’re supposed to be measuring conservatism on the Axis of Evil? Because I kind of think that plays into Bricker’s theory. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/327 "2015-10-07T18:55:09Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Here’s the list of how the moderators have identified themselves so far. > > Asimovian > Colibri > Ellen Cherry > engineer\_comp\_geek > Gaudere > Hal Briston > Idle Thoughts - Just for the record, I am “no wing”. I don’t identify as right or left, as a conservative or liberal. I don’t know anything about politics nor do I care to. > IvoryTowerDenizen > Jonathan Chance > Loach - implied in this thread that he is conservative, or at least not a Democrat > Miller > RickJay > samclem > tomndebb > > Your implication that conservatives are under-represented is really silly considering that most of the mods have not stated a viewpoint one way or the other. In fact, since we’ve only got two answers and one of them is “no wing”, conservatives are by far the majority over liberals among responding moderators. 😛 > > If you can find where a moderator has stated their viewpoints in other threads I’ll add them to the list and we’ll see where it ends up, but for now the overwhelming majority is “no answer”. I’ve seen enough posts from **ITD** , **Miller** and **RickJay** to put them in the “liberal” camp. I’d also put **tonmdebb** and **JC** there, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it. I could be misremembering, but I think **JC** used to more of a libertarian, but that was a while back. I don’t recognize any of the mods listed as being either conservative or libertarian. I list the latter because most of the folks on this MB lump the two together. We, apparently, get to be “honorary conservative” here whether we want to or not. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/328 "2015-10-07T18:58:39Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Would it surprise you to learn that amongst the current crew, the number of moderators who self-identify as conservative is either one or zero? > > Or would your reaction be more, “No, no – that can’t be right. We seek diversity among the moderation staff!” Would you care to try to guess my political affiliation based on my moderation? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/329 "2015-10-07T19:08:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Would you care to try to guess my political affiliation based on my moderation? Based on your postings, I’d say you’re: liberal. But I’m not sure since you don’t seem to post in GD much, mostly in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/330 "2015-10-07T19:08:22Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Assuming we’re identifying issues like same-sex marriage, feminism, and civil rights for nonwhite people as liberal issues, and opposition to all three as conservative, I’m pretty sure I can find posts by Miller and tomndebb and (I think) Asimovian and Jonathan Chance that put them on the liberal end of things. If we’re identifying issues like lower taxation and support for the military as conservative, and opposition to them as liberal, I’m not nearly so convinced. > > Of course, I can find support for same-sex marriage among Bricker’s posts, so I’m not sure what that means. Bricker, on what axis are we supposed to be looking? A lot of folks have differing opinions that on some topics make them appear to be liberal and on other topics make them appear to be conservative. I need more than example posts to put anything definitive on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/331 "2015-10-07T19:12:35Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Would it surprise you to learn that amongst the current crew, the number of moderators who self-identify as conservative is either one or zero? > > Or would your reaction be more, “No, no – that can’t be right. We seek diversity among the moderation staff!” And for the record, we have approached conservative posters to become moderators but they’ve turned us down. Others have been proposed as candidates but ultimately not selected because of factors other than their politics. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/332 "2015-10-07T19:29:28Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > When you say something like “foster a culture” and “moderators double checking and interviewing each other”… I’m not seeing how you can do that to any significant degree within the parameters we’re working with here. But I’m not a moderator, so maybe they have more time than I think they have. Can you explain how foster a culture takes time? Seems to me that is more how you talk about things, and stated expectations, than any additional tasks. To be honest, I don’t know how much time they commit, or what goes on behind the scenes. That all takes place in the mod forum or emails. **Colibri** says my ideal suggestions are already in place, or mostly so. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/333 "2015-10-07T19:52:08Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Based on your postings, I’d say you’re: > > liberal. > > But I’m not sure since you don’t seem to post in GD much, mostly in GQ. If you can’t determine it from my moderation, it’s kind of irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/334 "2015-10-07T19:56:08Z")
There’s a part of me that’s not entirely comfortable about having my personal political beliefs as a discussion point as to whether I’m doing what I need to as a mod. For the record, I believe in diversity of all opinions, genders, or any number of characteristics a human may have, as enriching the mod pool. I don’t think politics as a litmus test of how even-handed we are is a good measure. Would a politically diverse mod pool that was all men or all women, or all Caucasian, or all American be ok? We are diverse _people_. All those beliefs play into how we read a particular post and decisions we choose to make. We do comment on each other’s moderation decisions, big decisions are talked about by all, and we consider all reports from a perspective of what’s fair and what’s best for the board, so I think there are plenty of check and balances in place. If people feel they are being unfairly modded the only way to get that fixed is to bring it to the mods attention and it will be discussed. From my brief experience, the mods do really want what is best for the board and that is diversity of opinion. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/335 "2015-10-07T19:59:06Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Can you explain how foster a culture takes time? Seems to me that is more how you talk about things, and stated expectations, than any additional tasks. > > To be honest, I don’t know how much time they commit, or what goes on behind the scenes. That all takes place in the mod forum or emails. > > **Colibri** says my ideal suggestions are already in place, or mostly so. Well, then I guess you’re right and I’m wrong. > [@Colibri](#): > > If you can’t determine it from my moderation, it’s kind of irrelevant. I think the claim is that a set of Moderators, all of whom are liberal, is going to produce at least the appearance of liberal bias, and is not a good starting point if the desired outcome is to minimize bias. It’s not direct proof of bias, which may not be easy to produce, but it shows that the deck is stacked. Anyway, it’s **Bricker’s** claim, so I’ll let him flesh it out. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/336 "2015-10-07T20:33:30Z")
It’s starting to sound like Bricker is campaigning for a moderator title. Or at the very least, trying to get some more conservative justices on the panel. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/337 "2015-10-07T20:36:02Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I’m pretty sure I’ve self identified as an old-style Liberal. Worked to elect Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern. Since \*\*ECG \*\*brought it up, and I was bored during a meeting at work, I’d say you self identified as a[liberal ass](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7555776&postcount=1) rather than an old-style Liberal. [this is not meant to be insulting, since I’m quoting you :)] \*\*RickJay \*\*has stated _“[I’m neither a liberal or a conservative. I find the idea of classifying one’s position on a left-right axis silly. I don’t belong to a political party. I don’t care about this liberal-conservative holy war.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=2150108&postcount=1)”_ Though he has also stated that [he is socially liberal, and economically conservative, generally](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=1739165&postcount=37). I think that kinda means small l libertarian. \*\*Miller \*\*has stated that [he is a liberal.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9131345&postcount=24) **Hal Briston** has stated that [he spends his commute listening to conservative AM radio](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4812563&postcount=11), but in the context of the post it seemed more like hate-listening or doing it out of spite or to mock. I can’t say for sure though. \*\*Jonathan Chance \*\*has [committed to being a member of the Democratic Party](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13554331&postcount=25) in conneciton with his candidacy for public office and was a registered Democrat prior to that. Though he has also expressed similar thoughts as RickJay above with [libertarian tendencies.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=1739230&postcount=38) [\*\*Loach \*\*considers himself as far right with respect to the SDMB,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18238939&postcount=34) but says that in the real world that is moderate independent, and mostly conservative in certain areas. Former mod, \*\*Frank \*\*identified as [mostly U.S. liberal](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18242993&postcount=46) with occasional conservative, libertarian, and socialist sharp edges sticking out on various issues. Former mod **Ukulele Ike** [self identifies as a Democrat.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=1739364&postcount=44) \*\*Ellen Cherry \*\*has [self identified as a bleeding heart liberal](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10213083&postcount=5). **IvoryTowerDenizen** [seems to be pretty left leaning on both economic and social issues](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13007806&postcount=5), but I’m not sure this counts as self identifying. Who am I missing? Asimovian, Colibri, ECG, Guadere, and tomndebb. I’m not as familiar with the others except Tom since he posts in GD quite a bit. I have my guesses but no evidence. I did hesitate whether to post this since it seems kind of stalker-y but ECG asked and I figure my chances of being asked to mod are not that high anyways 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/338 "2015-10-07T20:41:06Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Well, then I guess you’re right and I’m wrong. > I think the claim is that a set of Moderators, all of whom are liberal, is going to produce at least the appearance of liberal bias, and is not a good starting point if the desired outcome is to minimize bias. It’s not direct proof of bias, which may not be easy to produce, but it shows that the deck is stacked. > > Anyway, it’s **Bricker’s** claim, so I’ll let him flesh it out. I’m not clear exactly what the remedy is supposed to be. Do we need to have 50% conservatives and 50% liberals (even if we could define what these terms meant)? If we have conservative mods in proportion to their representation on the board (if that could be determined), they would be in a minority and be outvoted, so we would still get claims of bias. Do we have to have other viewpoints represented? Do we need one Tea-Party Republican mod, three libertarians, two apoliticals, a couple Socialists, and a Commie? I don’t think selecting mods on the basis of their politics is a good idea in the first place. We try to pick fair-minded people who will make honest decisions according to their consciences. That’s hard enough. In my experience, the claims of bias come primarily from people who are highly partisan themselves, to the extent that they can’t imagine that someone else’s decisions might not be determined by their politics. And such claims come from the left as well as the right. As I mentioned, **The Second Stone** and **Der Trihs** both complained bitterly about our bias against left-wingers. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/339 "2015-10-07T20:50:31Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I don’t think selecting mods on the basis of their politics is a good idea in the first place. We try to pick fair-minded people who will make honest decisions according to their consciences. That’s hard enough. > > In my experience, the claims of bias come primarily from people who are highly partisan themselves, to the extent that they can’t imagine that someone else’s decisions might not be determined by their politics. And such claims come from the left as well as the right. As I mentioned, **The Second Stone** and **Der Trihs** both complained bitterly about our bias against left-wingers. Agreed on both counts. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406/340 "2015-10-07T20:54:08Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > **IvoryTowerDenizen** [seems to be pretty left leaning on both economic and social issues](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13007806&postcount=5), but I’m not sure this counts as self identifying. > > Who am I missing? Asimovian, Colibri, ECG, Guadere, and tomndebb. I’m not as familiar with the others except Tom since he posts in GD quite a bit. I have my guesses but no evidence. I did hesitate whether to post this since it seems kind of stalker-y but ECG asked and I figure my chances of being asked to mod are not that high anyways 🙂 Sure, anyone can suss out my political leanings. I certainly am not shy about it. But I’m also: White Jewish Atheist Married Straight A parent US east coaster Academic Etc. Why are those qualities any less relevant than politics as the litmus test? We need diverse, fair-minded, people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terr-and-brainglutton/733406.md?page=18)