Hey, some of us Brits are slaving away over hot PCs here.
Sob
Where’s my drink?
Almost as important as where Kournikova is, is where all her clones are?
There were something like 5 of em entering pros this year, but they haven’t shown up anywhere.
Oh, and a big hearty fuck you to this piddly-ass place where I can’t get any TV. I want my Wimbledon!
Also, what happened with Henman/Matin?
The ESPN site is obviously screwy, cause it shows Henman losing in 4, then a fifth set being played anyway, which he wins–leaving him down 2 sets to 3–and then advancing to the next round.
Somehow, I don’t think that’s what happened.
Henman won the last two sets 6-2 6-3 and CRUISED past that useless American. 
pan
ps he’s currently 4-4 with Federer, having been broken back. Agassi meanwhile is 1 set to love down. Could we have no Americans in the men’s semi-finals? Bloomin’ 'ell.
pan
Having actually read most of this thread (I skimmed the very last page), I’ll be a lemming, too.
First: I never paid much attention to Mike Masterson/Silo. I only have other people’s say so (and they’re people whose opinions that I trust) that he was a jerk as a poster, at least initially.
Second: having met Silo twice IRL at Dopefests, there is a bit of a schism between his RL person and his reputed SD behavior. IRL, he came across to me as polite, intelligent and generally thoughtful, with a good sense of humor.
And no, I wasn’t going to bother doing a search of his posts to verify his reputed troll-worthiness. This ain’t a court of law, and as people that I respect, posters and Mods, have told me that he was a jerk in one incarnation or another, I am satisfied that his net bahvior was (at least occasionally) less than acceptable for the standards of this board.
Third: while the people that make up this MB give it its unique flavor, in the end, it isn’t our MB, no matter how many times we post, how intelligently, thoughtfully or humorously. But those who do post in such a manner are certainly going to get a bit more leeway if they should happen to err than someone who trolls, or otherwise defies the board/forum guidelines.
Some may say that this is unfair; I say look up the definition of the word “Moderator”. If they use discretion in allowing certain people a little leeway where they don’t others…well, that’s their call.
Fourth: To those who criticise the Mods and Administrators, the old adage “walk a mile in their shoes” might come to mind. I was brought up to not criticise anyone for doing a job that I can’t or wouldn’t do myself. If any of you who are harshly criticising the Mods and such feel that strongly about it, Step Up. Offer your time and services as a Moderator for a while.
Let the rest of us know how it works out.
I’ve met enough Mods and one Administrator IRL. They’re not ten-feet-tall-and-bulletproof; they’re not evil ogres, either. Just people, volunteering their time (and a lot of it, too!) to something that they like, that it may remain as good thing for as many people as humanly possible (thanks for eloquently clarifying the concept Tris).
Being people, they also have to deal with the rest of the RL bullshit that gets the rest of us mere mortals tied up in knots. So cut 'em some slack if they seem occasionally snappish. They’d sure do it for you, as they did for me.
I ain’t proud of it; I was a total fucking ass, and if I had been banned, I would have no one to blame for it but myself. And I was, compared to Silo, a first-time offender.
But from what I’ve read of Silo, this latest incident is just one more in a long string of others, no matter how long he’s minded his P’s and Q’s.
Fifth: I don’t hang out in the GQ Forum enough to have a real feel for Manhattan’s style. But, just like with Silo, enough poster’s whose opinions I value have said that Manhattan was out of line, and should apologize. And he has.
But Manny? Perhaps it’s not us that you owe an apology to.
Lastly: to those who might cry about uneven application of rules, favoritism, Nazi-like behavior of Mods and Administrators and censorship, consider this:
We have here a five-page rant for and against the SD management. If they were as bad as some of you are claiming, then about 2/3 of the posters to this thread would have been banned. But they have not been banned, as this is the correct forum for this kinda thing. Well, at least for this kind of tone; ATMB is the proper forum to truly address real grievances and board problems, along with politley worded e-mails to the Mods and Admins.
IOW: this ain’t a democracy. There is no obligation on the part of The Chicago Reader, Cecil Adams, Ed Zotti, Lynn, Tuba or any of the Mods. to apply any standard of fairness comparable to our Bill of Rights or the rule of law.
That they largely do so speaks well of them, and goes back to the concept Tris admirably outlined and I expounded upon above: that without some standard of fairness, and a liberal, judicious application of judgement, this board would have no problem whatsoever with slow response times, as no one would bother coming here to participate in this community.
The fact that so many people are here is some small testament to their good work.
Slightly Off-Topic
To those who say that this is just a message board, and those of us who value it highly should, if I may paraphrase,“get a life”, I say this:
Get bent you shit-eating fuck-wads.
I work a travelling job. I am away from home for months at a time. The internet is my lifeline to community, my family and my friends, some of whom are members of this message board, that I have met, IRL, not once but several times. In no particular order
Falcon, GeoBabe, Tequila Mockingbird, Vix, Palmyra, TurboDog, Weirddave, Thinksnow, PLDennison, Peta Tzunami, RTFirefly, Jeff Olsen, Iampunha, Joe_Cool, Jersey Diamond, BigGirl, Goboy, CajunMan and Dr. Matrix, BillDo, Maeglin, Gadarene, Gaudere, DavidB, UncleBeer, Pucette, Porcupine, Rastahomie (and Mrs. Rasta), BeagleDave, VileOrb, Lucretia, Bluesman, DCNewsman, Jess (and Hubby), Tiburon, Silo, Ukulele Ike, Grok, Cartooniverse, Alessan, Chef Troy (and Mrs Chef and Chef Jr.), Grace, Zyada, Lynn Bodoni, JimB, AdamYax, Aglarond, Balance, SkySlash, RJK, Sua Sponte, Lux Fiat, Valerie Blaise, Flypsyde, MikeG, DynoSaur, Tiggeril, Uncle Bill, DaveW0071, Delphica, Beerchick, Wendell Wagner…
God, I know I’m forgetting someone, somewhere. Please forgive me. These are not just screen names. This is a community of people, real people, brought together by this message board. And it’s nothing compared to the list of people from the SDMB that I want to meet.
Don’t apply your comfy labels and stereotypes to anyone, anywhere, on this message board ever again.
Just to set the record straight -
I apologize.
It was bad wording on my part and didn’t come out as I intended. I was only refering to a select few and in no means meant the majority of the posters.
Now onward. . . .
L_C and the rest of y’all -, Yer so cute with your straw hats and the foo-foo stuff. Nice change from the beer and farting. 
Game, Set, adn Match!
Alrigh’, that’s that. Fancy a quick ride on the District and Picadilly to grab a pint or two at Leicester Square, lads? Remind me to toss this bloody straw hat first.
farts
I say chaps, the foreigners are revolting.
Agassi ties it up!
Whoohoo.
Win, you small bald American, win damn you.
Jolly good show there, Timbo, coming from 6-3 down to win the tie break 8-6.
::polite applause::
But be sure to let the other chappie win a few sets. We don’t want to appear unsporting.
Carry on.
pan (off home to listen to the hopefully final set in the car. And come on Escudet!)
quite.
quite revolting indeed.
From bannings to Mod bashing to hacking to Rodney King to International warfare to tennis. This thread has everything except a movie review.
A.I. is aptly named. 
There, now this thread has the whole kit and kaboodle.
Wait, we had Rodney King? Huh.
Oh, and go Agassi. Into the semis.
(is beer an appropriate beverage to celebrate for Wimbledon? I’m so confused about these things)
Yeah. Someone did the “Can’t we all just get along” thing.
Linear Crack is mostly right. This thread has almost everything. (It’s missing a recipe, so let me suggest that “Roy Rogers” (similar to “Shirley Temples”) are good drinks for the kiddies on special occasions: Grenadine, Lime Juice and Cola…yum.)
The only think we’re really missing, though is a dramatic meltdown finale. The tennis hijack is nice and everything, but…somehow it’s just not enough.
It’s the 4th of July, people. I wanna see fireworks!
Fenris
I like Silo. I liked watching him in much the same vein as, say, I liked watching Beavis & Butthead. But now that he’s gone, I’ve got a little thought for robgruvar and each and every other person who’s taken part in this thread-
The next time you can’t access the boards, you can rest assured that it isn’t because Mike Masterson is bumping one of his “salad days” threads about how big his dick is.
I agree. Where’s Jally?
I really wasn’t going to do this, but after having read almost every word in this entire thread, I can’t resist putting in my 2 cents worth. And my 2 cents worth are in the form of a question.
Can any mod, admin, poster, or Ed Zotti himself, PLEASE define the word “jerk”, in a way that applies to every single person that has ANYTHING WHATSOEVER to do with this board, whether they are a poster, mod or admin? Please.
I mean, it seems that if people call other people names, no matter what that name is, you are “within your rights”. But if you post something about some “workaround” or a “hack” or whatever else, you ARE a jerk. And it doesn’t seem to matter whether anybody knows what you are talking about or not.
If we were to go with my definition of jerk, I would say that manhattan’s comments were well within the perameters, and silo’s comments were not.
Shit fire and save matches, people, if this board is going to “fight ignorance” like one of the motto’s is, then maybe the “powers that be” could define their rules a tad bit better. And when that definition is finally found, it should apply to EVERYBODY whether they are a poster, mod, admin, or the owner of the board. Period.
Who knows, maybe I am a jerk for questioning what a jerk is. Will I get banned for it? I really couldn’t care less. Would I loose sleep over it? Not in a million years.
No.
Can’t be done.
Any definition of “Jerk” given will generate an asshole who finds a loophole within seconds.
The vast majority of Dopers recognize what “jerk” means: not tampering with the server or telling someone how to do so, not consistantly posting insults outside the pit, no serious (for whatever value of serious) threats against other users/public figures, etc. Past history probably has something to do with it too, (ie: someone who haa 10 posts, and every one of them is “jerk-ish” is probably not going to be cut much slack on the 11th post, whereas someone with 4000 good posts, will probably be forgiven for a single slip up.)
There’s no quick magic answer, but it’s pretty obvious.
Fenris
No it shouldn’t.
In my house, I feel free to walk on the carpet with muddy shoes if I so desire. I don’t have to ask permission to get something from the fridge. If I choose to burp, scratch myself or fart, hey, it’s my house. However, I’m not going to look too kindly on someone else doing so.
This board is the Chicago Reader’s. They let the Mods and Admin’s run it.
THEY HAVE NO* OBLIGATION TO BE EQUITABLE. NONE! Nada! (the fact that they are is a credit to them). The rules that apply to guests do not apply to homeowners, nor should they.
Fenris
Finally – something in this thread that makes sense and I can agree with!