# The moderation here is getting ridiculously heavy handed **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 23, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869 "2014-07-23T19:46:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_Jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Clockwork\_Jackal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_Jackal)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/41 "2014-07-23T22:00:44Z")
I agree. This is not a frivolous complaint. And if you close this thread, someone will start another. What are you going to do, ban us all? The whole damn board? You mods need to get your shit together because you look like assholes right now. And if that gets me a warning, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/42 "2014-07-23T22:01:32Z")
> [@So factual jr modding is OK now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-factual-jr-modding-is-ok-now/693512/24): > > I thought we all decided there was a Czarcasm exception to that rule? You know, like a cop not giving another cop’s wife a ticket for something that anyone else would have gotten a ticket for. > [@So factual jr modding is OK now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-factual-jr-modding-is-ok-now/693512/29): > > You want to make nasty comments like that about another poster, go to the Pit (where I don’t have to pay any attention to them.) > [@So factual jr modding is OK now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-factual-jr-modding-is-ok-now/693512/73): > > I still don’t understand why saying “Poster X gets an extra break because of special circumstance Y” is insulting to Poster X. > [@So factual jr modding is OK now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-factual-jr-modding-is-ok-now/693512/77): > > Funnily, it’s an “insult” that probably wouldn’t fly in the pit, either. Because you can’t pit moderator decisions, which is really what such a comment is bringing attention to. So, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/43 "2014-07-23T22:19:13Z")
> [@Clockwork\_Jackal](#): > > What are you going to do, ban us all? The whole damn board? That _would_ make moderation simpler and more consistent. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/44 "2014-07-23T22:25:05Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > As a footnote, I can see why some feel that **Giraffe** gets preferential treatment as an ex-moderator, but I assure you that it’s not so, no one gets preferential treatment. I’ve never seen anyone make such a complaint against Giraffe. It’s Czarcasm that gets all the complaints. A lot of people observe that Czarcasm is ignored, when anyone else would be told to ‘knock it off’ and gets a ‘knock it off’ when anyone else would get an official Warning. I’ve never seen Giraffe misbehave. I don’t know if the mods would give him the same leeway they apparently give Czarcasm, but AFAIK the situation has never arisen. > [@Fenris](#): > > There was no complaining about moderation, there was mocking of Czarcasm. And mocking Czarcasm is perfectly appropriate in the Pit. Mocking Czarcasm is perfectly appropriate _anywhere_, as long as you are just snarky, and not insulting. Snark isn’t against the rules. It’s also OK if you are just trying to annoy him. Being annoying isn’t against the rules either. Isn’t that the rule now, Dex & Marley? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/45 "2014-07-23T22:26:05Z")
I don’t even know WHAT the rules are anymore – it’s like a giant game of Calvin Ball. > [@Bozuit](#): > > I don’t know what sort of forums everyone else has had the luxury of participating in, but the modding here is, on the whole, much better than anywhere else I’ve been. I was once a member of a forum where you would get warnings (a few warnings and you got a ban) for any posts the mods deemed off-topic, or for not including enough words in a post. Everyone hated it and the mods didn’t give a shit. > > There have been some poor decisions today, but I disagree that the modding “is getting ridiculously heavy handed”. > > Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some apples to polish! Let me guess: Television Without Pity? ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/46 "2014-07-23T22:29:39Z")
I like Marley’s idea of randomly warning people who post to threads that anger him. It’s very performance arty. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/47 "2014-07-23T22:39:02Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > “If you want to talk about [**Czarcasm**], then go to the Pit or some other forum where it’s appropriate.” - **Dex** , two days ago. > > Anyone else feel like they’re trapped in a Joseph Heller novel? I’d like to note, on my own behalf, that I wasn’t aware of **Dex** ’s instructions when I closed the Pit thread - which I did mostly due to the fact that the OP of that thread referred to the moderation staff as “incompetent fucktards.” ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/48 "2014-07-23T22:41:46Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I’ve never seen anyone make such a complaint against Giraffe. It’s Czarcasm that gets all the complaints. A lot of people observe that Czarcasm is ignored, when anyone else would be told to ‘knock it off’ and gets a ‘knock it off’ when anyone else would get an official Warning. > > I’ve never seen Giraffe misbehave. I don’t know if the mods would give him the same leeway they apparently give Czarcasm, but AFAIK the situation has never arisen. Dex was making a joke. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/49 "2014-07-23T22:51:44Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Dex was making a joke. _Another_ joke. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/50 "2014-07-23T22:55:42Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I’ve never seen Giraffe misbehave. I’ve got tapes. $19.95 dlvd. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/51 "2014-07-23T22:58:32Z")
> [@Clockwork\_Jackal](#): > > I agree. This is not a frivolous complaint. And if you close this thread, someone will start another. What are you going to do, ban us all? The whole damn board? What! You missed the last time he did that? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/52 "2014-07-23T23:01:38Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I like Marley’s idea of randomly warning people who post to threads that anger him. It’s very performance arty. Not randomly warning, randomly suspending. Much more memorable that way. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/53 "2014-07-23T23:05:33Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I’ve never seen anyone make such a complaint against Giraffe. It’s Czarcasm that gets all the complaints. A lot of people observe that Czarcasm is ignored, when anyone else would be told to ‘knock it off’ and gets a ‘knock it off’ when anyone else would get an official Warning. Personal insults are not permitted in this forum, not even if disguised as “a lot of people observe…” Warning issued. For the rest of you who seem to still be confused, I’ll try to be as clear as I can: (1) Insulting remarks about posters (or anyone else) are permitted in the Pit. (2) What is NOT permitted in the Pit (or anywhere else) are insults directed at moderator actions. You can insult a moderator for their opinions as poster – if you want to mock me for my biblical interpretations, go right ahead – but NOT for the their moderator activity. (3) The thread in question was seized by two moderators (not involved in yesterday’s to-do at all) as deliberately insulting to moderators qua moderators. The thread was therefore closed and warnings issued. This has already been stated several times in this thread, by various moderators. Clear? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/54 "2014-07-23T23:12:17Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Personal insults are not permitted in this forum, not even if disguised as “a lot of people observe…” Warning issued. > > For the rest of you who seem to still be confused, I’ll try to be as clear as I can: > (1) Insulting remarks about posters (or anyone else) are permitted in the Pit. > (2) What is NOT permitted in the Pit (or anywhere else) are insults directed at moderator actions. You can insult a moderator for their opinions as poster – if you want to mock me for my biblical interpretations, go right ahead – but NOT for the their moderator activity. > (3) The thread in question was seized by two moderators (not involved in yesterday’s to-do at all) as deliberately insulting to moderators qua moderators. The thread was therefore closed and warnings issued. > > This has already been stated several times in this thread, by various moderators. Clear? “So-and-so gets away with things that others don’t” is going to be moderated as a personal insult going forward, yes, it’s clear. What’s not clear is: Isn’t “so-and-so gets away with things that others don’t” also a comment on moderation? If so, does this mean that there is no forum on the board where you can say “so-and-so gets away with things that others don’t”? Edit: My multiple uses of the quoted line isn’t an attempt to be sly or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/55 "2014-07-23T23:13:32Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Personal insults are not permitted in this forum, not even if disguised as “a lot of people observe…” Warning issued. Seriously?? This is a complaint about moderation, not an insult directed at Czarcasm. Why are you so invested in refusing to see this? This is utterly asinine. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/56 "2014-07-23T23:13:49Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > A lot of people observe that Czarcasm is ignored, when anyone else would be told to 'knock it off > [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Personal insults are not permitted in this forum, not even if disguised as “a lot of people observe…” Warning issued. WTF is going on around here? ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/57 "2014-07-23T23:18:00Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > WTF is going on around here? We’ve finally broken Marley and Dex. Wait, can I even say that anymore? I’m thoroughly confused by Dex’s new rule of “no mocking moderator actions.” ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/58 "2014-07-23T23:18:33Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Personal insults are not permitted in this forum, not even if disguised as “a lot of people observe…” Warning issued. I read that as he was sincerely confused and looking for clarification. I really don’t think he was trying to hide an insult. > [@](#): > > For the rest of you who seem to still be confused, I’ll try to be as clear as I can: > (1) Insulting remarks about posters (or anyone else) are permitted in the Pit. > (2) What is NOT permitted in the Pit (or anywhere else) are insults directed at moderator actions. You can insult a moderator for their opinions as poster – if you want to mock me for my biblical interpretations, go right ahead – but NOT for the their moderator activity. > (3) The thread in question was seized by two moderators (not involved in yesterday’s to-do at all) as deliberately insulting to moderators qua moderators. The thread was therefore closed and warnings issued. > > This has already been stated several times in this thread, by various moderators. Clear? Everyone, every single one of us, understands this. This is **NOT** the issue. The issue is whether or not SOME of the posts in that thread actually violated the above. Pretty much everyone agrees that the OP of the Pit thread violated the spirit of the rules and that the poster was trying to be cute. The disagreement is specifically about if the post by **GrandWino** in the Pit thread and his follow-up ATMB thread were rules violations. To his credit, **Marley** has agreed to reconsider. Clear? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/59 "2014-07-23T23:19:59Z")
I’d comment, but I’m unsure of the rules anymore, and I honestly have no clue what is allowable and what isn’t anymore. That’s pretty amazing considering there is only really one rule here, and that’s don’t be a jerk. I’m not seeing any jerks here. ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_Jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Clockwork\_Jackal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_Jackal)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869/60 "2014-07-23T23:21:12Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Personal insults are not permitted in this forum, not even if disguised as “a lot of people observe…” Warning issued. > > \ > > This has already been stated several times in this thread, by various moderators. Clear? That is not an insult, that is a legitimate complaint about the moderation here. If you cannot understand that, or if you and the other mods are incapable of taking any kind of criticism, you should not be mods here. (Or anywhere else for that matter.) I’m sorry if you think that’s insulting. But you seem either incapable of understanding our criticism or you are deliberately misinterpreting it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moderation-here-is-getting-ridiculously-heavy-handed/693869.md?page=4)