# Thread ban **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 4, 2024, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666 "2024-11-04T12:27:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [November 4, 2024, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/1 "2024-11-04T12:27:32Z")
> [@Do you correct people a lot? What's your motivation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-correct-people-a-lot-whats-your-motivation/1009660/14): > > Moderating: > > “Joking” by intentionally annoying other posters (@Mangetout had just explained how he was made unhappy by being corrected all the time, especially incorrectly) is being a jerk. > > @Peter_Morris , you are banned from this thread. You say that I was being intentionally annoying. I assure you, I did not intend that. The OP asked if I correct people. I responded by “correcting” him. This was a joke. It’s a parody. My intention was to amuse, not to annoy. Maybe it failed. Maybe it wasn’t funny. Maybe it was too obvious. But I don’t think anyone should be annoyed by it. I protest the thread ban. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/2 "2024-11-04T12:29:41Z")
I agree. I saw the post and immediately understood what you meant and the tone you meant it. Puzllegal’s banning of you displays a lack of reading for context. Responding to an IMHO thread with a deliberately exaggerated parody of the thing being talked about is extremely common. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/3 "2024-11-04T12:37:10Z")
Mangetout was pretty clear that while he was curious in general, mostly he was posting because this was behavior that he finds really annoying. I think you are the one who failed to consider the context. If he hadn’t said that in the OP, so clearly, i wouldn’t have moderated the post. But given that he said that, it looked like you were deliberately poking him. That’s trolling. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/4 "2024-11-04T12:41:50Z")
Also, it wasn’t a formal warning, just a thread ban. Maybe that was a mistake, maybe you could contribute constructively to the thread by explaining why you couldn’t restrain the urge to make this joke even though you knew you would annoying the OP. But i doubt that would actually be a constructive conversation. ---
**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:** [November 4, 2024, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/5 "2024-11-04T13:16:07Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > by explaining why you couldn’t restrain the urge to make this joke As **colinfred** points out, “Responding to an IMHO thread with a deliberately exaggerated parody of the thing being talked about is extremely common.” It is basically a SDMB tradition. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > even though you knew you would annoying the OP. As I have already said, I didn’t think it _would_ annoy him. I think his annoyance is not justified. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/6 "2024-11-04T13:37:23Z")
I happened to find this thread first and read it to the end before following up by reading @Mangetout’s thread. When I got to your post I did not find it all joking. It read as a deliberate pushing of the OP’s stated hot button. And I was primed by this thread to evaluate it in light of knowing your intent. An advantage nobody in that thread at that time could have had. I too like to fancy myself witty on the internet. And IRL. People, good people, tell me I’m witty. But once in awhile I try humor that fails utterly. Typically when I deliver something deadpan that I think is soooo outrageous in context that nobody, _nobody_, could possibly think it was said seriously. _Of course_ everyone will instantly know I’m joking. Then they all take it seriously and I have some serious apologizing to do. You (OP) may have meant a harmless funny. This time IMO you flunked delivery. Just like I sometimes do. IMO you’re a good long time poster. But as I’m forced to say every few months: “If you (me) post enough stuff, some of it is bound to be stupid, wrong, or offensive. Despite your (my) best efforts to avoid that.” I take no position on whether the thread ban is warranted. But IMO the OP here did factually thread-shit there, regardless of their motivation / intent. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/7 "2024-11-04T13:42:39Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Also, it wasn’t a formal warning, just a thread ban. Either way, it was considerably more of a slap on the wrist than a simple, “Cut it out - you are being a jerk.” Personally, I thought it a very mildly jerkish failed attempt at humor, but didn’t impress me as anything more significant than I perceive quite often. Periodically I will post what I intend as a sincere thread, and one or more of the first replies will be snotty - clearly intended to annoy. On occasion I’ve notified a mod. Not sure I recall any bannings resulted. IMO - a simple, “Don’t be a jerk” would be the preferred response. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/8 "2024-11-04T13:54:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > You (OP) may have meant a harmless funny. This time IMO you flunked delivery. I agree. I was in the other thread in real time. I could see the attempted joke, but it struck me as clumsy and mean-spirited in context, and the mod action didn’t surprise me. I believe a sincere apology might successfully cause the action to be reconsidered, but also, a sincere apology does not contain any flavor of “the other person’s feelings are invalid.” That ship, as they say, has now sailed. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/9 "2024-11-04T14:47:34Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > Also, it wasn’t a formal warning, just a thread ban. > > Either way, it was considerably more of a slap on the wrist than a simple, “Cut it out - you are being a jerk.” That might have been excessive. I read it as mean-spirited. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/10 "2024-11-04T14:48:55Z")
I accept, after the explanation, that it was intended as a joke rather than trolling. I think it fell a bit flat just on account of how early it was in the thread. A grin smiley or ‘jk’ or something would have made the intent clearer. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/11 "2024-11-04T14:55:14Z")
It was a joke. It’s over, everybody move on. ---
**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 4, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/12 "2024-11-04T15:32:18Z")
I read it as a tired joke, too, and don’t especially see it as threadbanworthy, but understand why. This form of joke–“The OP told us about something that annoys them, so I’m going to do the thing that annoys them for lulz”–isn’t exactly Mark Twain Award material, and has to be exceedling clever to be worth doing. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/13 "2024-11-04T16:48:56Z")
“Joking”, “teasing”, and “trolling” are a continuum. You have to ask yourself where a post falls in that spectrum. ---
**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 4, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/14 "2024-11-04T16:51:36Z")
I’ll support @puzzlegal that it was closer to trolling then joking, especially with no meaningful contribution to the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/15 "2024-11-04T18:28:14Z")
What puts it over the line, for me, is that the OP doesn’t just say that the behavior bothers him but that it perhaps bothers him much more than it should. That’s the absolute wrong time to go and do the thing and that’s why it comes off as mean. ---
**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 4, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/16 "2024-11-04T20:38:05Z")
“Maybe it wasn’t funny” “But I don’t think anyone should be annoyed by it” Yeah, no. It wasn’t the least bit funny, and that’s good enough reason to be annoyed by it. ---
**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:** [November 4, 2024, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/17 "2024-11-04T22:15:15Z")
It had a little too much “If I get caught it is a joke” for my taste. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/18 "2024-11-04T22:18:31Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > A grin smiley or ‘jk’ or something would have made the intent clearer. This, yes. If I’m going to tease someone or say something that seems outrageous or even mean but I’m not being serious, I really try to give an indication that it’s a joke, otherwise I come off as a sincere asshole and I’m really not trying to do that. When you’re communicating in a text-only medium, you sometimes have to use a crutch like that which you wouldn’t need if you were talking face-to-face. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/19 "2024-11-04T22:24:34Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > But I don’t think anyone should be annoyed by it. One thing that we can’t control, and shouldn’t presume, is how other people will react to what we say, or write. There are things I’ve written here, which I thought were straightforward, and attempts to provide clarity, but were seen by others as presumptuous and unwelcome. That surprised me at first, but when I stepped back, and tried to put myself in another’s shoes, I realized that I was the one in error. And, as others have already noted, conveying tone – **especially** sarcasm or subtle humor – can be really challenging in a text-only medium. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666/20 "2024-11-05T02:43:01Z")
There’s a great deal of discussion here about why the OP’s original attempt at a joke was inappropriate. I agree it was inappropriate, but if I may introduce a slightly different POV, I think this misses the point. I think the pertinent point is: why a thread ban? Thread bans have traditionally been used as a tool for moderators to remove disruptive posters. Like the one we had for months in the “Russia invades Ukraine” thread who persistently kept making contrarian pro-Russia posts supported by links to fake news until he was finally told to stay out of the thread. Recently a poster was thread-banned from his own thread, but this was supported by five examples of previous off-topic posts that the poster couldn’t resist repeatedly coming back to. So IMHO the question here should be, what did a thread ban accomplish in this instance that would not have been accomplished with a simple mod note? I doubt the OP would be complaining about a mod note, and we wouldn’t need to have this thread. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-ban/1009666.md?page=2)