# What about us voting posters off the SDMB? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 5, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163 "2010-10-05T19:26:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/61 "2010-10-07T00:19:51Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > > [@Xema](#): > > > > Right - as long as dissenting opinions are expressed in a gentle, respectful, humble way, they can be tolerated. > > Why should dissenting opinions be presented any differently than majority opinions? Mr. **Artist** , I just want to point out that **Xema** was being sarcastic. Thou art whooshed. As other have said, there may be advantages to advancing an unpopular viewpoint diplomatically, but having different standards is unfair. And fairness is generally a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/62 "2010-10-07T01:00:02Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > > > They exist now, just in a non-formalised way. Try genuinely advocating a controversial and unpopular position and see what happens. > > You get yelled at, not banned. I do it all the time. No, _you_ get yelled at (but I seriously doubt it), “other\*” people get warned, and if often enough, banned. But since you’re the resident pet psycho liberal pit bull of TPTB around here, you get away with it. - And by “other,” I _do_ mean “not liberal.” ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/63 "2010-10-07T02:38:37Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > > [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > > > Why should dissenting opinions be presented any differently than majority opinions? > > Mr. **Artist** , I just want to point out that **Xema** was being sarcastic. Thou art whooshed. I can see by his or her subsequent post on the subject that you are very likely right. My apologies, **Xema** , I was out of line. > [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > As other have said, there may be advantages to advancing an unpopular viewpoint diplomatically, but having different standards is unfair. And fairness is generally a good thing. Agreed. And thanks for the heads up on **Xema’s** post. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/64 "2010-10-07T03:38:13Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > > You get yelled at, not banned. I do it all the time. > > No, _you_ get yelled at (but I seriously doubt it), “other\*” people get warned, and if often enough, banned. > > But since you’re the resident pet psycho liberal pit bull of TPTB around here, you get away with it. > > - And by “other,” I _do_ mean “not liberal.” I see no evidence of any political bias on the part of the modding on this forums. Nor do I see any evidence that I have some kind of privileged status. What, do you think I have blackmail photos of the mods or something? People on this forum tend to get banned because they are spammers, socks or really work at it. Look how long it took for that pro-pedophilia guy to get banned; if the mods were banning people by popularity they wouldn’t have taken ten seconds to ban him. And I hope you aren’t going to try to claim that pedophilia is a “liberal value”. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/65 "2010-10-07T03:41:09Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Nor do I see any evidence that I have some kind of privileged status. What, do you think I have blackmail photos of the mods or something? We all know that you have a picture of You Know Who and a duck. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/66 "2010-10-07T07:59:57Z")
I don’t even have people on my Ignore list, although there really should be. What can I say, irritation and recreational outrage are some of my hobbies. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/67 "2010-10-07T10:23:29Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > > [@BobLibDem](#): > > > > I can’t buy this premise. I totally don’t understand the respect for bricker. > > Are you saying that you don’t understand what **Kyla** said? If not, why do you disagree. Bricker can be a bit of a stickler sometimes, but always with his understanding of the facts and logic on his side. I think one can always find facts and logic to support about any viewpoint. Given that he always supports the right wing position he presents only those arguments that support that viewpoint. During the Bush administration, it was always “well, if you look at it in a certain light and through sixteen prisms, then you can’t really say what Bush did was legally wrong.” Either conservatives always have facts and logic on their side or bricker is hyper-partisan. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/68 "2010-10-07T12:35:55Z")
The ability to vote people of the boards would have one consequence. A never-ending parade of trolls delighting in pushing as many buttons as possible, all in an attempt to get a spectactular flame out voting thread where the topic of conversation is ALL about said troll. DNFTT? This would be room service and assisted feeding for trolls. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/69 "2010-10-07T13:03:38Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Just put the poster on your Ignore list. This solution already exists, works fine, and allows people you don’t want to interact with free to interact with others. If you can’t see this post, it’s because you’ve already used the feature yourself! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/70 "2010-10-07T13:08:25Z")
What **Starving Artist** says, plus one. Although it is rather reassuring that even those who do not go against the flood tide of opinion on the SDMB see the drawbacks of silencing everyone who disagrees with it. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/71 "2010-10-07T13:27:20Z")
What’s the point? I ignore posters/posts/threads I don’t like, and if the time comes when I don’t want to read anything here, I’ll simply not read it. I’d much rather vote real people into the cornfield as opposed to posters here. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/72 "2010-10-07T13:33:58Z")
Reality SDMB. Lets vote anyone with an opposing view off until only one poster is left. Kind of defeats the purpose. Who would you disagree with, yourself? I wouldn’t even want my harshest critic voted off SDMB because this is one of the last bastions of freedom of speech. What ever happened to just agreeing to disagree? It is our differences that I find so interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/73 "2010-10-07T13:35:49Z")
The idea does have classical form. For your edification: [Ostracton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostracon) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163/74 "2010-10-07T17:17:50Z")
I don’t see any moderator comments, so I may as well step in with a comment before I put this thread out of its misery. First of all, even in a traditional private club you usually can’t be blackballed once you pass the pledge or prospect stage. To be permanently vulnerable to blackballing would be ridiculous. And besides, that’s what we have banning for (as well as suspensions, which didn’t use to be the case). As for letting people slide, mentioned in the OP, this occasionally does happen, but if so it’s because this is a huge, busy place and our eyes aren’t everywhere at once. Just as often, certain people profess unpopular or offensive views–but still stay within the rules. We can discipline members for direct insults (except in the Pit), but not for expressing views espoused by only 1% of the people, again provided they’re not trolling which is a different issue. Given the number of people who’ve voted, and the overwhelming result so far–185 to 12 against, I think this poll and thread have served their purpose and I’m going to close it. If anyone thinks there’s a good reason not to do this, please let me or one of the other mods in this forum know. For the Straight Dope Spectre of Pithecanthropus [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-us-voting-posters-off-the-sdmb/556163.md?page=3)