# "The Usual Suspects" **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 21, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961 "2010-12-21T15:41:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/1 "2010-12-21T15:41:38Z")
> [@We can't state opinions as fact?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-cant-state-opinions-as-fact/564868/27): > > The usual suspects gleefully grabbed the opportunity to take potshots at a mod in ATMB. Can we \*please \*get a moratorium on this phrase in ATMB? If somebody wants to use it in the Pit, fine, but it’s insulting and dismissive and doesn’t belong in this forum. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/2 "2010-12-21T15:42:34Z")
'Twas a cool movie. ---
**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:** [December 21, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/3 "2010-12-21T16:34:17Z")
By “we”, I presume you mean that you’re asking posters for a voluntary moratorium? 'Cause, if you’re asking fro a new rule forbidding a specific phrase, the answer will be no. ---
**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:** [December 21, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/4 "2010-12-21T16:35:08Z")
Oh, I’m sure the usual suspects will come in here and bitch about wanting that term banned. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/5 "2010-12-21T16:38:08Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > 'Cause, if you’re asking fro a new rule forbidding a specific phrase, the answer will be no. _chortle_ ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/6 "2010-12-21T16:45:34Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > By “we”, I presume you mean that you’re asking posters for a voluntary moratorium? 'Cause, if you’re asking fro a new rule forbidding a specific phrase, the answer will be no. Guess I’m a silly cunt, then. (Not that I’d support this particular rule change, of course. Just sayin…) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/7 "2010-12-21T16:56:52Z")
I’d support a moratorium on its use anywhere on the board (except in Cafe Society for film discussions). It’s always one of those big red flags that says “I am threadshitting”. ---
**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:** [December 21, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/8 "2010-12-21T17:04:15Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I’d support a moratorium on its use anywhere on the board (except in Cafe Society for film discussions). It’s always one of those big red flags that says “I am threadshitting”. In that case, there would be a whole laundry list of words and phrases that need banning. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/9 "2010-12-21T17:06:03Z")
Or we could just ban all the liberals. We’d have a nice quiet little board then. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/10 "2010-12-21T18:26:31Z")
Maybe, in a conciliatory gesture, the people that like to use the offensive phrase could start saying “The Unusual Suspects” instead. Meet the other party halfway. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/11 "2010-12-21T18:35:21Z")
I am shocked, _shocked_ find that complaining is going on in here. 😉 Seriously: we’re not going to make a rule against the term, but I think we need to reduce the amount of personal criticism of mods and posters in ATMB. This isn’t the Pit Lite, it’s for questions and complaints about the rules. That kind of stuff makes it harder to discuss board matters in any kind of productive way. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/12 "2010-12-21T18:37:14Z")
I thought it was “the unusual suspects” that were always complaining about “the usual suspects” always complaining. ---
**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:** [December 21, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/13 "2010-12-21T18:54:43Z")
How about we start a poll and each person votes for the phrase that they find most insulting and dismissive, and we ban all those phrases? That way, people could probably post using “the” and maybe some of the forms of the verb “to be.” I suspect that “To be or not to be” wouldn’t make it because many can-do optimists would dislike the verb “not.” In that spirit, I’d like to say that [del]…[/del] and [del]…[/del] would [del]…[/del] in their [del]…[/del] if we [del]…[/del] any [del]…[/del] ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/14 "2010-12-21T19:02:25Z")
The usual suspects will object to this. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/15 "2010-12-21T19:06:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I am shocked, _shocked_ find that complaining is going on in here. 😉 > > Seriously: we’re not going to make a rule against the term, but I think we need to reduce the amount of personal criticism of mods and posters in ATMB. This isn’t the Pit Lite, it’s for questions and complaints about the rules. That kind of stuff makes it harder to discuss board matters in any kind of productive way. But isnt it in most cases complaining about what poster X or mod Y DID that folks are complaining about? Yeah, I guess you could dress it up and make the target of the complaint anonymous. But IMO, that aint gonna fool anyone. And, more specifically, the devil is almost always in the details and you need to see the actual situation to have a meaningful discussion (which blows anonymity right outa the water). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/16 "2010-12-21T19:16:32Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > But isnt it in most cases complaining about what poster X or mod Y DID that folks are complaining about? Often, yes. That’s not the problem. The problem is sniping at posters and mods when it’s not relevant to the discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/17 "2010-12-21T19:25:55Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > The usual suspects will object to this. However the unusual suspects will not object to this. ---
**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:** [December 21, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/18 "2010-12-21T19:27:22Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > However the unusual suspects will not object to this. Usually. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/19 "2010-12-21T19:28:13Z")
That phrase is born out of frustration. It’s one thing to have a complaint about a specific incident, but every time any complaint is lodged - “Why did moderator soandso do suchandsuch?” - someone will come and say “because the moderators all suck!” or some equally pithy remark. How that helps anything I can’t fathom. If you don’t like being grouped in “the usual suspects”, perhaps you should avoid being one. (I mean that for the generic you." ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961/20 "2010-12-21T19:30:05Z")
> [@CK Dexter Haven](#): > > By “we”, I presume you mean that you’re asking posters for a voluntary moratorium? 'Cause, if you’re asking fro a new rule forbidding a specific phrase, the answer will be no So, are we allowed to say ‘buckeyes’ now? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usual-suspects/564961.md?page=2)