# Two new rules, maybe? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 12, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316 "2007-08-12T04:27:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/1 "2007-08-12T04:27:42Z")
1. Guests can not _start_ threads in the PIT. Maybe also GD. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8871280#post8871280](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8871280#post8871280) 2. No more “whooshes” or _deliberately_ wrong answers in GQ. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8873202#post8873202](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8873202#post8873202) What do you dudes think? ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/2 "2007-08-12T04:55:01Z")
**1. Guests can not _start_ threads in the PIT.** Not sure if this is really necessary. Guests who start “inappropriate” pit threads are usually ripped apart pretty quickly (and thoroughly) by the membership at large. **2. No more “whooshes” or _deliberately_ wrong answers in GQ.** I find myself agreeing with you here: whooshes and drive-by bullshit answers are distracting and don’t really contribute anything useful to GQ. Does every forum \*have \*to be turned into a clone of MPSIMS? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/3 "2007-08-12T06:10:30Z")
I think both proposed rules solve nonexistent, or at most trivial, problems. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/4 "2007-08-12T09:49:12Z")
**1.** Gotta agree with **Uvula Donor**. I enjoy watching guests get torn apart, but no more so than members. It’s not like all guests get lured into the pit so the jackals can feast on their young tender flesh. It’s the ones with an attitude, that has nothing to do with them being new, that get into the heated conversations. On a more practical note, the whole point of a guest membership is so guests can decide if they like it here. Cutting out a couple large chunks of the board is gonna result in them crying “I didn’t know people here were so mean!” when they’re finally let loose on us, and us on them. **2.** I see no real harm in the rule as there’s plenty of other places to screw around on the boards. However IMHO it’s only the real subtle jokes that cause a problem. Sometimes screwing around in GQ has been really funny. I do think the same etiquette guidelines that apply to hijacking should be used because it almost is hijacking sometimes. That’d be common courtesy. i.e. don’t screw around when the OP’s question is still awaiting an actual answer. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/5 "2007-08-12T13:24:21Z")
I realize that people may be irritated by these things but I don’t think the answer lies in restricting guests to where they can go. We need to educate them better. You shouldn’t make jokes in an informational area unless you also are ready to provide the answer directly afterwards. Like so: Question. Snappy witty nonresponse. Response. If you don’t have the correct answer save your wit for somewheres else. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/6 "2007-08-12T15:01:22Z")
[QUOTE=TubaDiva] I realize that people may be irritated by these things but I don’t think the answer lies in restricting guests to where they can go. We need to educate them better. You shouldn’t make jokes in an informational area unless you also are ready to provide the answer directly afterwards. Like so: Question. Snappy witty nonresponse. Response. If you don’t have the correct answer save your wit for somewheres else. [/QUOTE] Kind of like Hollywood Squares. Will you be providing us with pre-printed jokes for each thread? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/7 "2007-08-12T16:08:00Z")
I disagree with the first. Let 'em have at it. What’s the harm? As for the 2nd, I’d say that at least people should use smileys if their post isn’t serious. It’s really annoying to have to sift through everybody’s attemps at comedy to get to a real answer. Having smileys would alleviate a lot of the problem. I wouldn’t be totally opposed to an outright ban on whooshes or deliberately wrong answers, but I don’t think that the solution needs to be that drastic. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/8 "2007-08-12T16:59:14Z")
[QUOTE=TubaDiva] I realize that people may be irritated by these things but I don’t think the answer lies in restricting guests to where they can go. We need to educate them better. You shouldn’t make jokes in an informational area unless you also are ready to provide the answer directly afterwards. Like so: Question. Snappy witty nonresponse. Response. If you don’t have the correct answer save your wit for somewheres else. [/QUOTE] This is what I usually try to do if I have a joke answer. I realize that GQ is serious and all, but the temptation to be Paul Lynde on Hollywood Squares is too great to resist. I don’t mind seeing funny answers in GQ at all; it makes it more fun. But not at least attempting to point the OP in the right direction when doing so isn’t a good thing, unless the OP’s question is a really, really good straight line. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/9 "2007-08-12T17:08:00Z")
What **Uvula Donor** said. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/10 "2007-08-12T17:12:56Z")
I am opposed to too many rules. The pit is annoying to me and I stay away from it. I can’t imagine why others can’t too, if they find it annoying. Sometimes joke responses are annoying, sometimes they are funny. It is a social board as much as anything. I say leave things alone, lest you drive people away by being over-regulated. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/11 "2007-08-12T17:45:20Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] 1. No more “whooshes” or _deliberately_ wrong answers in GQ. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8873202#post8873202](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8873202#post8873202) [/QUOTE] Since I’m a moderator in General Questions, I want to express my opinion of what I consider good behavior in that forum. I don’t want too many rules. I’m against making a new, restrictive rule. Hell, sometimes the OP is such a good “straight line” that I have been known to respond with a less than helpful post. That kind of thing is gonna happen. I try to resist, and I hope others do. I know it’s pretty hard. As **Khadji** said, this is a social board. Hell, even Cecil would probably post one liners in GQ. But where I draw the line is posting something that can be misconstrued. That’s what happened in your example. While I’m sure the poster didn’t mean for it to confuse, only posting in jest, it resulted in many people reading it the wrong way. And when a doctor, **Qadgop** , reads it the wrong way, in a thread which was designed to help someone understand a recent term, “Restless Leg Syndrome,” and posts that this is one reason he doesn’t post as much in GQ anymore, then it’s time to say _enough!_. Think twice, post once! **samclem** GQ moderator ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/12 "2007-08-12T18:12:30Z")
I agree with **samclem** that we don’t need more rules. Mods can intervene when folks misbehave. If someone’s post is misleading, offensive, or otherwise inappropriate for the forum, let the mods deal with it on a case by case basis. The masses are pretty good at policing each other, too. I also agree with **Khadaji’s** views on the various forums. I’ve been a member for 8 years, and I don’t ever stray into the Pit, or any forums other than GQ and ATMB. I suspect I’m not the only member with that preference. I do think that too many people feel the need to practice their standup routines with lukewarm one liners in GQ. While I’m sure some folks believe that this fosters an atmosphere of collegiality, I think it dilutes the value of the GQ forum. The percentage of posts in GQ that don’t address the OP is much higher than it ought to be. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/13 "2007-08-12T19:58:42Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] the temptation to be Paul Lynde on Hollywood Squares is too great to resist. [/QUOTE] I loved your work in [Bye Bye Birdie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056891/). 😃 Yeah, GQ is not MPSIMS but in the midst of serious sometimes humor works. OTOH, it is clear when it isn’t appropriate or derails a really serious thread and leaves people dismayed ( **QtM** , for example ). I cannot see a hard rule making that any better- it will alter the tones of the Forum in a fundamental way. Sometimes a wiseassed remark drives a thread in a new direction. No I don’t have a cite, but since this post is proof that I love a good yuk and a decent answer in the same post as much as the next schlub, I’ve seen some threads that go hightailing off in new directions and sometimes it is because of a smarmy post. What were those wise words from Jedi Moderator **Samclem Kenobi**? " Think twice, post once ! " Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/14 "2007-08-13T04:19:47Z")
[QUOTE=essell] **1.** On a more practical note, the whole point of a guest membership is so guests can decide if they like it here. Cutting out a couple large chunks of the board is gonna result in them crying “I didn’t know people here were so mean!” when they’re finally let loose on us, and us on them.. [/QUOTE] Ah, but I was not saying don’t let them post there, I was asking for them not being able to **start new threads** , and only in those two forums. But I can see this isn’t all that popular. But what I am hearing is that the majority (including Staff) think that my suggested GQ “rule” is a Good idea, but not as a hard and fast"rule"- maybe more or a guideline? Maybe it can be added to the GQ sticky, as a Guideline? As opposed to a rule? And I got no problem with the “Hollywood Squares” format for GQ, after all, some question scream for a one liner. If you whip out that bit of snappy repartee, _but follow it with a solid answer_, that is a winner, as far as I am concerned Compromise? ---
**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:** [August 13, 2007, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/15 "2007-08-13T10:45:57Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] 1. Guests can not _start_ threads in the PIT. Maybe also GD. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8871280#post8871280](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8871280#post8871280) [/quote] I think it’s up to them. Newbies have to follow the same rules as anyone else. If they are able to follow the rules of the pit or GD, let them do what they want within the rules. If they can’t follow the rules, chuck em out. Look at it this way. Guest status gives someone a trial period, to see if he and the Dope are right for each other. Their posting style should be tested in the free period, to see if they are suitable members. Any potential problems with someone’s posting style should be seen during their guest membership. > [@](#): > > 1. No more “whooshes” or _deliberately_ wrong answers in GQ. > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8873202#post8873202](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8873202#post8873202) > > What do you dudes think? Oh, but some whooshes are just too tempting to resist. Such as [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=380947) or [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=427437). I’d really hate it if I wasn’t allowed to post stuff like that. And at least a few people appreciate my sense of humour. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/16 "2007-08-13T18:21:29Z")
Rules are not needed. The only rule that we have is the simplest and easiest to follow and enforce: Don’t Be A Jerk. Well, maybe not the SIMPLEST to follow… In any event, whooshes in GQ are inevitable. What are you going to do to someone who insists on posting them, ban them? Get real. If someone persists in making things difficult for people around here, they will be attended to. \ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/17 "2007-08-13T18:30:21Z")
Those weren’t whooshes. You made it very clear that they were jokes. (And, I don’‘t think either was all that funny, but in the words of the Great Pappy O’Daniel "there’s no accountin’ for taste.") Now, really I’d prefer no jokes either in GQ- it ain’t MSPIMS. But if you must, then do it Hollywood Squares style as **TubaDiva** suggested. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/18 "2007-08-13T18:54:37Z")
[QUOTE=chaoticbear] Kind of like Hollywood Squares. Will you be providing us with pre-printed jokes for each thread? 😃 [/QUOTE] Why would I bring a ham sandwich to a banquet? Jokes have never been in short supply around here. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/19 "2007-08-13T21:15:11Z")
[QUOTE=TubaDiva] Why would I bring a ham sandwich to a banquet? [/QUOTE] Because it’s a vegan banquet? Because you don’t keep kosher? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316/20 "2007-08-16T00:45:48Z")
It’s getting worse. Two new examples: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8883976&posted=1#post8883976](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8883976&posted=1#post8883976) post 16-21 If **Q.E.D.** thinks it is for real, then we have problems, it isn’t an obvious joke. Here: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8883983#post8883983](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8883983#post8883983) So, maybe we need that rule after all. Or at least a sticky _asking_ dudes to not do this. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-new-rules-maybe/415316.md?page=2)