# This warning is pretty lame **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 18, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906 "2020-11-18T18:38:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/82 "2020-11-19T23:46:16Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > There is something to be said for being responsive to the desires of your user base, so I mean, it’s a fine rule to have in a private forum. Agreed. And this is what’s happening and why it’s very difficult (if not impossible) to do anything about it. But it’s worth being aware that the user base itself is not a constant either. The aggregate orientation of the posters here has an influence over which type of posters join the community and which current members remain. And ditto for the moderators - a liberal staff, whose interpretations of things like “being a jerk” or “trolling” reflects their ideologically-driven assessment of posts and arguments, has an influence over the type of members who sign up and who remain here. So the line acceptability is ever drawn further and further leftwards, which in turn further influences the membership and so on. 20 years ago, the board was somewhat left. But over time, it’s gotten increasingly so. A poster like DamuriAjashi would have been mainstream back then, and would not have attracted much if any moderator sanction. That’s not the case today. You drive away guys like DA (whether by moderator sanction or just by making the place inhospitable) and then someone else, slightly to the left of DA, will then be the intolerable one, to the even further-left user base. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/83 "2020-11-19T23:54:51Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Don’t argue badly What instruction in the GD Rules do you think comes down to Don’t Argue Badly? I’m not seeing it but I’m tired, maybe I missed it: > [@New Rules for Great Debates and Elections – January 2020](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rules-for-great-debates-and-elections-january-2020/845726): > > Moderation in Great Debates and Politics and Elections In general, Great Debates and Politics and Elections are the most contentious fora on the SDMB. Because of that, you’ll find that moderation is more active and prone to sanctioning posters. You can compare it to sitting at the holiday dinner next to the crazy uncle who can’t help being unpleasant. Please don’t be that guy. Be aware that most rules are not ‘bright line’. This is intentional on our part as we believe such encourages poor … * * * To all, you wouldn’t believe how many flags we reject that seem to boil down to the “Posters and their opinions may offend you. This does not necessarily mean they are trolling.” I’ve flag some like that myself. I’m trying hard to not do that anymore. **Attack the post, not the poster.** & the overall SDMB except the pit one of **Don’t insult other posters** shouldn’t be so hard to avoid. If you really think another poster is just trolling, well then flag and explain and/or pop over to the Pit for the Trolling thread. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/84 "2020-11-20T00:35:32Z")
I wouldn’t phrase it that way. I think the bubble of this board has shrunken appreciably over time and will continue to do so, but not because the board has moved further and further left. The board has hewed closer and closer to the exact ideological center of its “average user,” and anyone who is distant from that center on any axis is subject to similar treatment. Certainly being a Trump supporter is a very good way to attract hostility, but so too was being SmashTheState (I think that was the name) or anyone similarly radical on the left. This isn’t a far left board; it’s an, I dunno, technocrat board? Academic boomer board? ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/85 "2020-11-20T01:42:05Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > This isn’t a far left board; it’s an, I dunno, technocrat board? Academic boomer board? FWIW, this seems right to me. No one here is defending actual communism or socialism, we have interesting and informative debates about guns, abortion, even immigration. There’s a debate going on about whether student loans should be forgiven, and no one is getting piled on (last time I checked it). I’d say this board is extremely anti-bigot, very science-oriented, and anti-conspiracy theory as well. Anti-GMO posters don’t get much traction, anti-vaxxers get much less, and even anti-nuke posters are pretty piled on. This all seems like a hijack from the thread, but I don’t mind, since it doesn’t look like any moderation will get reversed. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/86 "2020-11-20T06:38:58Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Have any non-conservatives fallen foul of the new rules and received warnings? _ **SlackerInc** _ was banned, and was a liberal, allegedly. Apart from his admitted racism and other such stuff, of course. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/87 "2020-11-20T06:42:43Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > This is exactly what is happening, and much of the whining about it (not necessarily in this thread, but in general) is down to people who have been making use of that same slack and are worried they’ll be next. Yes, this exactly. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/88 "2020-11-20T06:45:00Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > . What this really suggests is that there’s something about adopting a minority viewpoint on this MB which makes one be perceived as a jerk or otherwise in violation of the rules. What it “really suggests” to _me_ is that some “minority viewpoints”, like women being inferior etc. are just _inherently_ jerkish. Although **damuri** wasn’t mostly modded for a “minority viewpoint” there. AFAICT he was modded for being personal to another poster and then disputing that outside ATMB. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/89 "2020-11-20T06:50:20Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > IMHO: The quality of debate is generally better than it was 5 years ago. Agreed. But 5 years ago was a particular low point to pick, IMO. 10, 15 years ago, it was better than even now, I think, in terms of the actual debates. The quality of the _moderation_, however, is now at an all-time high. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/90 "2020-11-20T06:55:24Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > That said, I get the sense that the new class of mods tend to intervene on most reports. Actually, that’s not the sense I’m getting. I’m getting the sense they _respond_ more, but they’re just as likely to PM you now and discuss things, and say why they _didn’t_ mod something, which never really happened all that much on the old board (at least for me). So they’re clearly not doing anywhere near as much in-thread intervening as they are getting reports and responding to them. I must admit, I like seeing how my sausage is made. And it’ll make for a lot fewer ATMB “why wasn’t this modded” hassle-threads, I’m sure. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/91 "2020-11-20T07:00:39Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > If _for whatever reason_ , conservative posts are more likely to receive warnings than identically “flawed” liberal ones, then having X number of warnings says less about a conservative poster than it does about a liberal poster. If the reason is that “minority viewpoints” tend to be jerkish ones, like racism, misogyny or LGBT-phobias, then it says a lot _more_, actually. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/92 "2020-11-20T08:16:37Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > What instruction in the GD Rules do you think comes down to Don’t Argue Badly? It seems to be what UR2 received a warning for. Which rule did he break with that post? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/93 "2020-11-20T08:27:36Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > FWIW, this seems right to me. No one here is defending actual communism or socialism, we have interesting and informative debates about guns, abortion, even immigration. There’s a debate going on about whether student loans should be forgiven, and no one is getting piled on (last time I checked it). Yeah, true. It’s not that the board is far left, it’s that posters have arrived at a consensus view over time and tend to pile on - and eventually ban - anyone who disagrees with that consensus. Which in turn reduces diversity of opinion even further. It makes for much less interesting discussions IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/94 "2020-11-20T09:30:27Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Yeah, true. It’s not that the board is far left, it’s that posters have arrived at a consensus view over time and tend to pile on - and eventually ban - anyone who disagrees with that consensus. Which in turn reduces diversity of opinion even further. It makes for much less interesting discussions IMHO. I totally agree with the view of some (or many) here that we shouldn’t tolerate nonsense like 9/11 Truthers, Flat-Earthers, Qanon, etc. - stuff that is junk and just clutters up the board and wastes everyone’s time. Problem is, some people lump creationism, support for Trump, allegations of election fraud, etc. - things that people can _ **legitimately** _ debate, and take sides on - into the same category as the nonsense things mentioned above. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/95 "2020-11-20T09:32:28Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > Certainly being a Trump supporter is a very good way to attract hostility, but so too was being SmashTheState (I think that was the name) or anyone similarly radical on the left. I’m extremely far-left and very open about it, and I don’t feel particularly targeted by hostility. I mean, predictably, assholes make snarky comments about it in political threads, but certainly no more than any other impractical ideology, and not to any extent that I feel hounded. But yes, this is _very_ far from being a far left board. Anyone who thinks it is, has _no_ idea. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/96 "2020-11-20T09:33:28Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > posters have arrived at a consensus view over time and tend to pile on - and eventually ban - anyone who disagrees with that consensus This does not happen. My posting here is my cite. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/97 "2020-11-20T09:34:52Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Problem is, some people lump creationism, support for Trump, allegations of election fraud, etc. - things that people can _ **legitimately** _ debate, and take sides on - into the same category as the nonsense things mentioned above. One of these things _very much_ belongs in the first category. There’s a reason the GD forum is for debates _and_ witnessing, and that’s because things like creationism are _not_ topics for legitimate debate. The science is quite settled. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/98 "2020-11-20T11:41:52Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > This does not happen. My posting here is my cite. I’ve never seen you debate any opinions outside the Dope mainstream. Perhaps they just hasn’t come up lately. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/99 "2020-11-20T11:44:24Z")
Really? You think my opinions on free speech are inside the Dope mainstream? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/100 "2020-11-20T11:48:03Z")
I don’t even know your opinions on free speech. That’s kinda my point. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2020, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906/101 "2020-11-20T11:53:35Z")
Your point is that you’re disagreeing with MrDibble despite not having read the copious threads where he’s put forth unpopular opinions? Because that’s on you: he absolutely takes unpopular positions in a lot of threads. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-warning-is-pretty-lame/925906.md?page=6)