# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/161 "2020-05-14T21:05:30Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That depends on whether you oppose misogyny, or whether you are looking for a way to post in a misogynistic manner and get away with it. So, Witchfinder General rules? ---
**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/162 "2020-05-14T21:08:22Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > A counterfactual is not a very valid point. I am 100% sure someone would get sanctioned for doing the above. We can’t actually know because it is an imaginary event produced by a heavily biased imagination desperate to scrape up imaginary evidence of a double standard. It took me less than 90 seconds using the board’s search function to find [a thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=22287286) from last week referring to both Melania and Ivanka Trump as a “cunt” with no apparent moderator action. Although, I do understand that there are different rules in different forums. ---
**Author:** ![Unreconstructed\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@Unreconstructed\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unreconstructed_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/163 "2020-05-14T21:11:06Z")
> [@Falchion](#): > > It took me less than 90 seconds using the board’s search function to find [a thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=22287286) from last week referring to both Melania and Ivanka Trump as a “cunt” with no apparent moderator action. Although, I do understand that there are different rules in different forums. And different rules for different women, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/164 "2020-05-14T21:12:38Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I see. So it’s okay to call someone a harpy, as long as you have evidence of the person’s character or conduct? And if you do have that evidence, using the word harpy is no longer insulting to all women, everywhere? That sort of “is the line here”? “is it there”? “how about now”? game is just what gets people banned. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/165 "2020-05-14T21:13:52Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iVBX7l2zgRw/maxresdefault.jpg "Ben Kenobi - "If you strike me down..."") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVBX7l2zgRw) Obi Wan Shodan has become more powerful… ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/166 "2020-05-14T21:14:19Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Which is why I said “as far as the SDMB is concerned”. > > We’ve had sincere racists deliberately troll the board before, and I don’t mean **Clothahump**. The SDMB can set its own rules, but it doesn’t get to change the meaning of words. A “sincere racist” cannot, by definition “deliberately troll” the board. The sincere racist is not trolling in any sense of the word. So whatever it is the board is trying to stop there, it needs to spell that out more plainly instead of misusing the word “trolling.” ---
**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 14, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/167 "2020-05-14T21:17:44Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > The SDMB can set its own rules, but it doesn’t get to change the meaning of words. A “sincere racist” cannot, by definition “deliberately troll” the board. The sincere racist is not trolling in any sense of the word. You misunderstand. Those sincere racists I’m referring to specifically stated on their own board that they were coming here to troll. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/168 "2020-05-14T21:22:41Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > That sort of “is the line here”? “is it there”? “how about now”? game is just what gets people banned. Perhaps, but I don’t plan on calling anyone a harpy. I’m simply curious about the opinion of posters who are seemingly trying to rationalize using the word harpy to describe women they don’t like while simultaneously frowning upon people using it to describe women they do like. It’s interesting to me. ---
**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 14, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/169 "2020-05-14T21:28:52Z")
> [@Falchion](#): > > It took me less than 90 seconds using the board’s search function to find [a thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=22287286) from last week referring to both Melania and Ivanka Trump as a “cunt” with no apparent moderator action. Although, I do understand that there are different rules in different forums. If you don’t report it and/or the mods don’t see it, then no action will probably be taken. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/170 "2020-05-14T21:31:47Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If you don’t report it and/or the mods don’t see it, then no action will probably be taken. It seems highly unlikely, on a message board filled with those who claim to support women and abhor misogyny, that none of them saw that post. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/171 "2020-05-14T21:41:48Z")
The straw is weak in this one. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/172 "2020-05-14T21:52:03Z")
You wanna ban a guy for trolling, ban him for trolling. Banning for “harpy” is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/173 "2020-05-14T21:56:31Z")
> [@Falchion](#): > > It took me less than 90 seconds using the board’s search function to find [a thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=22287286) from last week referring to both Melania and Ivanka Trump as a “cunt” with no apparent moderator action. Although, I do understand that there are different rules in different forums. Did you report it? Because that seems way out of line for MPSIMS. I’ll report it now, I guess. On the harpy comment, I’m not sure why we should accept that kind of comment anywhere in the debate forums (GD and P&E). I’ve started threads on this before, but hate when people refer to Trump as Tramp or Drumpf or whatever in those forums. It adds absolutely nothing to the conversation, and just makes the poster look childish and petty. It makes it hard to see the content of the post (if there is any). It’s one reason why **RioRico** ’s posting style drives me batty. For all I know, he/she may have all kinds of great points to make, but I can’t get past Tramp and Amerikkka and crap like that. BTW, that whole post from \*\*Shodan \*\*was trying to kick up a hornet’s nest, with the random swipe at liberals in addition to the harpy comment. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/174 "2020-05-14T22:03:16Z")
> [@Falchion](#): > > It took me less than 90 seconds using the board’s search function to find [a thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=22287286) from last week referring to both Melania and Ivanka Trump as a “cunt” with no apparent moderator action. Although, I do understand that there are different rules in different forums. I reported that post. It was in a 25 post thread in MPSIMS, so it’s certainly possible that no one bothered to report it. Also, Ivanka Trump was referred to as a feckless cunt by Samantha Bee, so this may have been a callback to that minor controversy. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/175 "2020-05-14T22:16:52Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Did you report it? Because that seems way out of line for MPSIMS. I’ll report it now, I guess. > > On the harpy comment, I’m not sure why we should accept that kind of comment anywhere in the debate forums (GD and P&E). I’ve started threads on this before, but hate when people refer to Trump as Tramp or Drumpf or whatever in those forums. It adds absolutely nothing to the conversation, and just makes the poster look childish and petty. It makes it hard to see the content of the post (if there is any). > > It’s one reason why **RioRico** ’s posting style drives me batty. For all I know, he/she may have all kinds of great points to make, but I can’t get past Tramp and Amerikkka and crap like that. > > BTW, that whole post from \*\*Shodan \*\*was trying to kick up a hornet’s nest, with the random swipe at liberals in addition to the harpy comment. RioRico made some very cogent and pointed posts. But they tended to be made early in the day. I think as the day wore on he drank and his postings became more erratic. Maybe the Mods should have a Covid 19 amnesty for people who have crossed the line because of the anxieties of the time and their ways of dealing with them. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/176 "2020-05-14T22:17:40Z")
> [@Unreconstructed\_Man](#): > > Just out of interest, if he’d referred to, say, Betsy DeVos as a harpy, would anyone have given a shit? Can anyone imagine him being banned over that? Public figure. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/177 "2020-05-14T22:20:03Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > If there was ever an indication of the arbitrary nature of moderation on the Dope, this is it. Bad decision. > > I don’t think he should be banned for one warning in eight months. If he runs up another couple of warnings, then give him a thirty day suspension. And if he gets a warning after that, then ban him. It’s the same treatment you’ve given many other posters before him, including RioRico. And other than the “regards” thing, I kinda liked Shodan at times, he contributed. Sometimes. I say, give him one more chance- on a short leash. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/178 "2020-05-14T22:26:34Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > If for some reason Shodan were reinstated, then in my not very important opinion, it should be with a long ban (1 year?) on political threads. Because as others have noted, when not discussing politics he could be ok… I can see that. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/179 "2020-05-14T22:30:22Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Sorry, but I disagree that calling a specific woman a “harpy” somehow insults all women, everywhere. She wasnt a public figure. Just some professor. The insult was needless and sexist. Now, let us say one used it against Warren or deVos- you _might_ get away with it. Public figures are different than 'real people". ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763/180 "2020-05-14T22:32:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > She wasnt a public figure. Just some professor. The insult was needless and sexist. > > Now, let us say one used it against Warren or deVos- you _might_ get away with it. > > Public figures are different than 'real people". I might argue that writing and publishing somewhat controversial articles on sensitive topics makes the author a public figure and opens them up to criticism. Not name-calling but criticism. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-banning-of-shodan/853763.md?page=10)