# The Banning of Shodan **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 14, 2020, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763 "2020-05-14T02:33:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/341 "2020-05-15T20:43:43Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Dear Word Police: Is it ok to call a harpy a harpy or not? > > Regards, > > Shodan’s Friend I’ll let Colibri weigh in on that one, though they’ve been extirpated throughout most of their former range in the zones he’s most familiar with (tropical lowlands from Petén through Muskitia and, sporadically, onward into Darién). ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/342 "2020-05-15T21:13:48Z")
Cunt good! Harpy bad! ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/343 "2020-05-15T21:17:00Z")
They are beautiful birds. Looking at **Shodan’s** entire record, I can see that he’s got a history and he’s been given a lot of rope. I understand the banning. On a personal note, he’s been part of the fabric of this place for so long that he leaves a hole. It’s a bit like not having drunk uncle at the holiday party. It’s a relief and yet you notice his absence. Unfortunately, he had clearly become a bitter, angry, racist, misogynistic poster. If there was any way to fix that, I would welcome him back. Topic bans plus forum bans? ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/344 "2020-05-15T21:24:24Z")
Sunny - I don’t know all the history here? Who was he racist against? ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/345 "2020-05-15T21:37:16Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > They are beautiful birds. > > Looking at **Shodan’s** entire record, I can see that he’s got a history and he’s been given a lot of rope. I understand the banning. > > On a personal note, he’s been part of the fabric of this place for so long that he leaves a hole. It’s a bit like not having drunk uncle at the holiday party. It’s a relief and yet you notice his absence. Unfortunately, he had clearly become a bitter, angry, racist, misogynistic poster. If there was any way to fix that, I would welcome him back. Topic bans plus forum bans? This is an issue yeah, long time posters that are active a lot should be given a bit more consideration. I would almost say that you might want to look at the percentage of posts that is deemed problematic, than just time… Then we probably still would have people like Dio and budget player cadet. Which would make this a much more interesting place. Banning is the nuclear option on a forum. Mods here seem to think it is part of the logical continuum of being An active poster. For what it’s worth, I have a very low opinion about the mods here. They pretty much admitted in this thread that they don’t feel like reading the forum…so reporting makes bans happen. Which brings us to the current situation where people like mr dibble and iiandii just follow people they disagree with and report them until they are banned. When I came here first, it was to see the crazy right wing opinions from the US (in discussion with more reasonable opinions)… that has really changed. (And not because right wing opinions have become any more reasonable). Verstuurd vanaf mijn moto g(6) met Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/346 "2020-05-15T21:47:11Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > Which brings us to the current situation where people like mr dibble and iiandii just follow people they disagree with and report them until they are banned. Cite? Are you just making wild, baseless accusations against posters you don’t like? Unless you’re a mod, you couldn’t possibly know whether this is so (it’s not, but the way). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/347 "2020-05-15T21:50:30Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > Which brings us to the current situation where people like mr dibble and iiandii just follow people they disagree with and report them until they are banned. You have no idea who all I report, or why. But suffice to say “follow people I disagree with” is not it. I certainly didn’t report Shodan’s post, because I never even saw it (or read the thread) until \*\*Shodan \*\*was banned and it was linked. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/348 "2020-05-15T22:10:37Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > This is an issue yeah, long time posters that are active a lot should be given a bit more consideration. I would almost say that you might want to look at the percentage of posts that is deemed problematic, than just time… TPTB do, eventually, look at the percentage. Did you not notice how long it took to get rid of **Starving Artist**? ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/349 "2020-05-15T22:15:03Z")
There are a lot things on this forum I may have never seen, let alone been able to report, if it hadn’t been for this thread and the cunt thread. Where’s the blue pill? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/350 "2020-05-15T22:54:49Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > {…} They pretty much admitted in this thread that they don’t feel like reading the forum. {…} So, we’re going with the _that’s not what was said at all_ definition of _pretty much admitted_ here? CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/351 "2020-05-15T23:12:26Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Anyone else earworming The Barber of Seville? For me it’s “The Farmer in the Dell.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/354 "2020-05-16T00:55:56Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/355 "2020-05-16T01:47:27Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > To paraphrase another poster who was paraphrasing John Mulaney, this analogy does not hold. I know that because you use the word “harpy” but use “n\_\_\_\_\_r” in place of the racial slur. k9bfriender’s response to you was pertinent: > [@k9bfriender](#): > > If we are ranking slurs, then yes, the n-word gets top billing. > That does not make other slurs acceptable. > > My take on a slur is anytime you are insulting an individual by associating them with a group, which insults the group. Both the N-word and the H-word do this. That the former is associated with far more horror and hatred than the latter does not give the latter a pass. > > Unlike H, there is no time when you should use the n-word. … I would add only that your post demonstrated that you’d failed to read the post to which you were replying. If you had done so, you’d have seen that the parallel you made between the N-word and “harpy” simply doesn’t hold up, because as noted here, “harpy”–unlike the N-word–can be an appropriate term to use _ **in context** _. > [@Sherrerd](#): > > You might as well argue that calling a specific black person “n\_\_\_\_r” does NOT insult all black people, everywhere. (As in ‘Barack Obama is a [n-word].’ > > Most would agree that such a language choice _does indeed_ insult all black people. The term is an indictment of being black. The term is a claim that being black is, in and of itself, a negative condition. > > Similarly, “harpy”— **when divorced from any specific context,** as in an accusation that the woman is attacking unfairly or viciously as mythological harpies did—is an indictment of being female. It’s a way of claiming one-up status by dismissing what some particular woman has said or done, on the basis that she’s female (and therefore worth less). > > If this board doesn’t want to stand for that sort of messaging, that seems to me to be a legitimate position. ‘That person whose words I oppose is _female_–I rest my case’ might be messaging that would attract those looking for a _Boyz Clubhous No Gurls Allloud_ sort of experience. But that’s not what this place is about. > > As others have noted, “harpy” could be defended when an accusation of ‘being someone who attacks viciously and unfairly’ is being made. But the use Shodan made of it was nothing like that. It was just (again, as others have said): she’s female and I don’t like her message. … ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/356 "2020-05-16T02:36:15Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > You might as well argue that calling a specific black person “n\_\_\_\_r” does NOT insult all black people, everywhere. (As in ‘Barack Obama is a [n-word].’ > … > > Similarly, “harpy”—when divorced from any specific context, as in an accusation that the woman is attacking unfairly or viciously as mythological harpies did— There is a very big difference there. I’m sorry you can’t see it. Call someone a nigger, it implies that there is something wrong with the skin they were born in. It is an insult to every person with that same skin colour. Call someone a harpy, it implies that there is something wrong with the personality and behaviour of that specific individual. It insults that specific person, and nobody else. Shodan said that this particular woman is one who attacks people viciously or unfairly. That does not insult one single other person. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/357 "2020-05-16T02:46:34Z")
If anyone who was banned, but no one noticed, reads this thread I hope they appreciate how things worked out in their case. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/358 "2020-05-16T02:48:45Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Shodan said that this particular woman is one who attacks people viciously or unfairly. … Your claim is incorrect. Exactly the opposite is the case. Therefore your conclusions make no sense. Shodan’s post–his first in the thread–is copied here. (As has been noted the thread is locked, so I can’t link to it in the normal fashion.) > [@](#): > > Since home-schooled children tend to exceed the standards of public education, banning home schooling is obviously not addressing that issue. The problem, as that Harvard harpy mentions, is that parents have too much authority and (in her ill-formed and bigoted opinion) the state has not enough. Thus they might > a. Grossly outperform the public schools, thus forming a group of well-educated over-achievers who will hurt the self-esteem of others, and > b. Teach un-approved thought, which in the minds of the liberal elite always equates to racism/sexism/heresy. > Teacher’s unions don’t want the competition, and liberals don’t want children to be taught anything but liberal thought. Hence the call to ban home-schooling. > > Regards, > Shodan [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=22300829#post22300829](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=22300829#post22300829) Shodan posts _ **nothing that could be construed as a claim** _ that the woman he was excoriating as a “harpy” had attacked anyone. (Let alone that such attacks had been accomplished “viciously or unfairly”). ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/359 "2020-05-16T02:56:16Z")
^He may have been going for an amusing alliteration. A number of posters probably did not see it for an obvious reason. But, given his previous infractions and behavior on this site, he would have been very well-advised to choose his words extremely carefully and not use something that can only apply to a particular class of people. Seriously, have you ever heard “harpy” used to refer to a male? If so, find; however, I never have that I can recall. The alliteration was obviously intended as an insult, so he should have been way more careful than before. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/360 "2020-05-16T02:57:20Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Shodan posts _ **nothing that could be construed as a claim** _ that the woman he was excoriating as a “harpy” had attacked anyone. (Let alone that such attacks had been accomplished “viciously or unfairly”). Irrelevant. Calling someone a harpy attacks that specific individual, and nobody else. It does not matter if the attack is true, or deserved. Even if untrue, it still attacks one specific individual. I have no idea who this person is, or whether the insult was deserved or not. I only comment on how it applies to board rules. Deserved, or undeserved, it attacks one person who is probably not a member of this message board, and does not apply to one single other person. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/361 "2020-05-16T03:01:34Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Shodan said that this particular woman is one who attacks people viciously or unfairly. That does not insult one single other person. Did he say this in a PM to you? Would you mind sharing it with us? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/362 "2020-05-16T03:02:48Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Calling someone a harpy attacks that specific individual, and nobody else. It does not matter if the attack is true, or deserved. Even if untrue, it still attacks one specific individual. So it’s impossible that gender-specific derogations have anything to do with a society that has for millennia systematically subjected a particular gender to disadvantages in almost every single aspect of life? It’s impossible that a series of stereotyped insults can function as components of that systematic oppression? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763.md?page=19)