If I call you an asshole and get a moderator note for it, then later say “but it’s the fucking truth,” I am again calling you an asshole, only this time by proxy. It’s another insult.
mhendo did not insult her. I stand by that. If he called her a cunt and I agreed with that I wouldn’t have a problem with the warning. And truth be told; So what?
I think it’s arguable whether or not it was an insult. I’m leaning towards yes. And so what? Well, whether or not insults should be allowed is an argument you can make elsewhere and you might be able to make a good case. But as it stands now, they’re against the rules. If the rules weren’t enforced there’d be some stomping, angry posters in a different thread complaining about how hostile* the forums are.
*Yes, I realize the forums are plenty hostile as it is.
rolandgunslinger, you indicated that it was “the truth” that “[TubaDiva] won’t be happy until this place is a dull clone of her own mediocrity,” immediately after xash noted that this was an insult, and was not permitted. You effectively repeated the insult, just after being told not to. And I think “dull clone of her own mediocrity” can hardly be construed as anything other than an insult.
I officially warned rolandgunslinger for repeating an insult after xash issued a reminder to refrain from insults.
I guess I see your point. He should have left off the “it’s the truth” part.
I agree with Mhendo that the appropriate response in the original situation would have been to tell anyone who was out of line to can it. For one thing, the term “yelling” is silly under the circumstances. Was anyone posting everything in all caps? That is the only posting equivalent of yelling that I am aware of. If one or two people were name-calling or using personal insults, shouldn’t that have been handled in the usual way?
Arnold, you say that you have noticed more than one situation in the last month where a Moderator has said, “Please refrain from doing X,” and then has to say the same thing two or three times. I see that too. Dopers have learned quickly that they can get away with pushing the limits two or three times before they get a warning. And they have learned that it takes seven or eight warnings before they are permanently banned. They were carefully taught this by moderators who lean over backwards to be fair until they themselves are too pissed off to see straight.
There was a good reason for not ending that thread. Most of it was being productive. Argument and disagreement is not necessarily a bad thing. Weed out just the ones who are breaking the rules and let us continue with our discussions. Telling us to open a new thread on the same subject usually takes the wind out of our sails and is the biggest hijack of all. Why should a moderator ever put a Doper in the position of reopening a thread on the same subject in the same forum? That is needless.
YMMV on the threads that were left open that were critical of the mods. Who wants to read back over those?
(luci, put your hand down.)
Zoe said:
The moderators can’t win. They are simultaneously being accused of being heavy-handed jackbooted thugs looking for any reason to stomp on people and being too lenient and encouraging disruptive behavior by trying to be too even-handed. 
Hell, both just happened in this thread on the same incident.
I am trying really hard here, but I can’t find any sympathy in my heart for the hypothetical person who would complain that they really want to continue a discussion from a closed thread, but are stopped by the fact that opening a new thread is an insurmountable burden.
You say that like it is a bad thing.
Hold it. ATMB is the forum for complaints about admins and mods, but if you say that one is mediocre at her job you get warned for it? How does this make any sense?
Please, give me a break. That’s not what was said. You are contending that “She won’t be happy until this place is a dull clone of her own mediocrity” wasn’t intended to be insulting?:dubious:
I don’t know if it was or wasn’t, but this whole kerfuffle started, I believe, when Q.E.D. called her a cunt in the Pit, which was perfectly legal at the time. That begat the move to ATMB for complaints about the administration, and further begat the language rules in the Pit. Calling her a cunt is so far removed from calling her mediocre as to barely be in the same universe. Why even bother to criticize when the act of criticism itself is outlawed? It’s ridiculous. As ridiculous as claiming that she needn’t answer the OP because of the tone of his questions.
Protecting the mods from the kind of insults that were being slung about is a good thing, but the pendulum has swung way too far the other way. Asking a mod in ATMB if she has read the forum rules is about on a par with telling a poster in GQ that she needs to read her cites all the way through.
Again, please give me a break. You seriously don’t know whether or not that remark was intended to be insulting?
Why even bother to respond to a poster who makes remarks as ridiculous as “the entire act of criticism is outlawed,” when this entire forum consists largely of criticism of moderator actions?
Well, I guess it depends on your definition of insulting. If it’s an insult, it’s about on the level of “Your mama wears combats boots.”
Show me the poster who said that the entire act of criticism is outlawed. Or is he some hypothetical poster?
It’s not an either or situation. The fact that some criticism is allowed does not negate the fact that some isn’t.
Look, Contrapuntal, I’m not interested in playing games with you. You said “Why even bother to criticize when the act of criticism itself is outlawed?” This is ridiculous hyperbole.
Hello? Anyone? I’d still like an answer to this question from a mod or admin. Preferably xash. (Since he’s who I was responding to in the first place.
Contrapuntal said:
Which is also not allowed in this forum.
Well, I’m not a moderator, so feel free to ignore my post, but I think that you can improve your odds of having a question answered if you phrase it in a civil fashion. With all due respect to mhendo, who has a store of knowledge that I have often benefitted from at the SDMB, (and I hope he will continue to grace the board with his contributions), the way the question in the OP was phrased might make some people disinclined to answer it.
and
To modify your own phrasing, i can’t find much sympathy in my heart for a moderator or administrator who would refuse to do her job simply because the post calling her judgment into question was not sufficiently respectful.
My OP didn’t break any rules, it contained no insults, it was in the correct forum, and it laid out my complaints quite clearly. I concede it might have been worded slightly more tactfully, but this fact still should not preclude any moderator with a reasonable sense of duty and professionalism from answering it.
With all due respect, I’d still like a mod or admin’s answer.