Forgive my impertinence, but … It’s really the only sensible thing to do if it’s done properly. Therapeutically there’s no danger involved.
And the guidance to avoid @ and linking is mostly for new posters who might not know about the Pit and this thread. Long-time posters already know about it, so it’s kind of stupid to try to keep the fact we’re talking about them secret.
No, quite the opposite. I want you to marry me so that our child will be born in wedlock. I was going to suprise you and propose on a carrage ride with swans and a harpist. But you have forced my hand.
Will you cook for me for the rest of my life?
I thought we were only doing that with new poster trolls and socks.
Fuckin’ ninja fish!!!
I don’t get the abortion angle. Must be some cultural reference I don’t know.
Well, not linking is still needed - otherwise we’d have to modify the thread title to be in-line with the “no insults” ruling due to the back-linking issues. I don’t @ people we’re discussing normally because especially for short-time trolls it just encourages them to come here and foul this thread until the inevitable catches up with them.
And if said “new” trolls come here right away anyway, well, that’s a tell of a different nature.
I don’t think I’d go that far (though I’d be internally sympathetic to such a response!) - I don’t think it’s fair to demand a direct answer from them and then use it as a gotcha. Well, at least not in ATMB. I’m still going to judge the hell out of them for their beliefs, but I have more respect for the judgement of an individual who exercises their right to remain silent and stay out of threads where they apparently would otherwise feel compelled to break the rules by replying.
Ayup.
Welcome aboard 
Heck, I saw Airplane! in a theater in 1980 when I was twelve, and a lot of times later, but I didn’t remember that bit.
I concur, but, they’re not staying out of threads and remaining silent, they’re making their positions very clear.
It’s the posting equivalent of ‘I’m not touching you!’
My experience of this board is that the Mods, generally, have no long term patience with ‘rules lawyers’ and ‘line probers’.
Allow me to thank you guys for the illuminating discussion about the differing reasons for persistent trollery. It’s an illustration of why the Pit is imho an integral, necessary and fascinating part of the Dope, way beyond its value for venting, punning, ranting, blaspheming, and diving down rabbit holes.
Is that true since the rules update? I remember Ceasario. I wish I did not.
Oh, that’s on me 100% for lack of clarity. My intent was to say that if either of the posters in question had shown the capacity to keep their silence, I’d have more respect for their judgement, even if I totally disagreed with their reasoning. The two posters in question, exactly as you said, have not done so. Instead they keep trying to find away around the clear language of the TOS. Or they express outrage that their views are being silenced.
My main (and reasonably minor) disagreement is that in general I don’t like the gotcha of demanding them to state their meaning and then sanctioning them if they answer honestly. As pointed out upthread though, there were many ways they could express the concerns about their POV without automatically misgendering off board individuals. Sure, it would have required more work/effort, and thought, but gee, that’s part of being a person interacting in any society if you don’t want to get shunned (or warned/suspended/banned).
ANYWAY, I also agree that the mods do see that they’re trying to find a way to edge riiiiiiight up to our fuzzy lines, and are quite tired of it.
I think over the years (dear lord, I’ve been here for 20 years!) the obvious stuff is getting less and less tolerated. We’ll never see another ‘pics?’ post in a thread about bras and nobody is ever going to get away with ‘they’re called “wetbacks” because their backs are wet!’.
How much of that is because of the poorly written rules as opposed to Mods who see through the ‘rules lawyers’ and ‘line probers’ is a question I can’t answer . . . but it’s clearly the Mods!
Thanks. That’s good to know.
(Just to be clear I am being serious, not snarky. If there is never another poster like Caesario, that would be great)
There is something to be said for sincere bigotry.
It is bigotry.
My mileage varies. They’re better than they were, but I wouldn’t say “no patience”
I mean, Dr Deth is still unbanned, right? How many fucking times has he been suspended?
You will not see me disagreeing with you on that.
He’s just not on my short list of ‘rules lawyers’ and ‘line probers’.
Like I said, MMV. He definitely tops mine for the latter.
I would add,
He is the poster boy for rule abusers.
His continuing abuse of the ‘No Hijacks’ rule where he posts a hijack and then hides behind the rule to avoid addressing replies to said hijack admitting, IMHO, that he knew said post was a hijack.