# What is the Mission of the SDope? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 13, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817 "2011-11-13T18:40:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/21 "2011-11-14T14:20:54Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Maybe I have a method in the madness for my questions,… The correct quotation (by Polonius in regard to Hamlet’s behavior) is “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” I have no further comment on this, be it madness or method, except that the o.p. stretches the bounds of tolerance more than a classroom full of four year olds. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![G-SE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@G-SE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G-SE)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/22 "2011-11-14T15:05:41Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > [sup][Bolding mine][/sup] > Serious question because I really don’t know, doesn’t the click-through revenue balance out for those of us who are not paying members? Maybe, but probably not. Click through rate (CTR) on advertisements on forum only sites is usually lower than an average website. This is usually because of higher than average pageviews per user combined with loyal, regular users developing ad blind spots. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/23 "2011-11-14T15:24:57Z")
If I were **Jinx** , I’d have pointed out that it’s possible to have a job serving paying customers, even if that payment does not form any kind of remuneration to those serving - for example, volunteers in a charity shop serve paying customers. I’d have argued that it was abundantly clear I was talking about payment going to the SD, and I’d have said that I was under no illusion whatever about the (lack of) payments made to Mods. That’s what I’d have done, but it’s too late now. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/24 "2011-11-14T16:08:43Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The correct quotation (by Polonius in regard to Hamlet’s behavior) is “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” 😕 Sure, but saying that “there’s a method in my [my/his/her] madness” has been a standard phrase for decades, possibly centuries. Almost no-one uses the actual quotation in everyday conversation. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/25 "2011-11-14T16:18:13Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > 😕 > > Sure, but saying that “there’s a method in my [my/his/her] madness” has been a standard phrase for decades, possibly centuries. Almost no-one uses the actual quotation in everyday conversation. Correct. But who says: “Maybe I have a method in the madness”? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/26 "2011-11-14T16:32:03Z")
I would be very curious to know what the method to **Jinx** ’s madness is. Why post about something like “[Where does the name Mount Rushmore come from?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=630899)” or “[What is a uni-directional tire?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=570733)” or “[What is Firefox?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=557284)” or [basic details about commemorative U.S. quarters](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=557287) when you can try Google or Wikipedia? In that last example (from March 2010) **Colibri** quoted from the GQ rules: > [@](#): > > 1. Please take some time to consider if your proposed thread is really a General Question; General Questions is for factual questions only. … Perhaps more importantly, many queries can be solved with a simple web search. Please give your favorite search engine a shot if you can before starting a thread. It makes sense to use the board for discussions of topics like [the cause of the U.S. Civil War](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=630162), where people have a wide variety of opinions, or topics that might have a factual answer but syntesizing or interpreting the history can get complicated, like [your question about piano and harpsichord tuning in the time of Mozart](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=616349), or share opinions on things like [whether the new Muppet movie will be any good](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=621310). It doesn’t make much sense to post about simple stuff that you could find just as easily on Google or Wikipedia. Dopers might take hours to respond when you could find the answer yourself in a few minutes, and it’s sort of inconsiderate to ask people to take the time to explain something to you when you couldn’t be bothered to try to figure it out for yourself. If you look into it and can’t find an answer or there’s something you don’t understand, start a thread then. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/27 "2011-11-14T16:33:05Z")
What is this “google” thing that people are talking about. Same for “wikipedia”. Is that last one a group of Hawaiian pedophiles? Perhaps someone would be so kind as to open two GQ threads so that we can get an expert to explain it to us. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/28 "2011-11-14T16:52:53Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Maybe I have a method in the madness for my questions… Why keep us in suspense? Just tell us what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/29 "2011-11-14T18:06:57Z")
Well, this thread has gone on for more than 6 posts, so Jinx has diverted his attention elsewhere, never to return again. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/30 "2011-11-14T18:10:18Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Why keep us in suspense? Just tell us what it is. Remember-he said _maybe_ he has a method in his madness. It could very well be that he doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/31 "2011-11-14T18:39:58Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I would be very curious to know what the method to **Jinx** ’s madness is. Why post about something like “[Where does the name Mount Rushmore come from?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=630899)” or “[What is a uni-directional tire?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=570733)” or “[What is Firefox?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=557284)” or [basic details about commemorative U.S. quarters](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=557287) when you can try Google or Wikipedia? Because the questions are too challenging for Yahoo Answers? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/32 "2011-11-14T18:44:11Z")
The mission of the board is to fight ignorance, not to coddle it. And I’m saying that as a PAYING MEMBER. Because apparently that must mean something according to the OP. (I just do it because I like the board and support it and it’s worth my 2 cents a day.) ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/33 "2011-11-14T19:05:50Z")
I’d like to hear more about the coffee mugs. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/34 "2011-11-14T19:08:04Z")
to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations ---
**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:** [November 14, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/35 "2011-11-14T19:15:47Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’d like to hear more about the coffee mugs. Standard rate of pay for staffers here. (They used to get calendars too but the Reader doesn’t do calendars anymore.) Most staffers find them useful. Some swig straight from the bottle. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/36 "2011-11-14T19:26:03Z")
Have you mods ever considered asking him 3 basic questions before letting him cross the chasm of doom and get on the board. Perhaps start off with asking him his name, favorite color and then what is ‘the mission of the Straightdope’? A right answer and he is free to post. A wrong answer and SPRAUUNGGGGGGGG! Into the pit of doom with him (with one of you guys saying something like THIS! THIS IS THE STRAIGHT DOPE! in a psudo-Greek accent)… -XT ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/37 "2011-11-14T19:26:23Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’d like to hear more about the coffee mugs. Once upon a time, the SD website sold SD merchandise, including SD Tshirts, SD books, and SD coffee mugs. Staffers get, on occasion, an SD coffee mug that has had “STAFF” added to it. Generally, you only get one. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/38 "2011-11-14T19:26:46Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Well, this thread has gone on for more than 6 posts, so Jinx has diverted his attention elsewhere, never to return again. Yep, that’s another key part of **Jinx** ’s posting style. “Here, answer this question for me. Oh, and by the way, don’t expect me to return to this thread, say thanks, or in any way contribute further to the discussion that i started.” In 12 years here, **Jinx** has a total of 6,585 posts. By my calculation, 2,927 of those are thread OPs, with 2,091 threads started in GQ alone. So almost half of all **Jinx** ’s posts are OPs, and almost one third are GQ OPs. Here’s a little series of ATMB threads that encapsulates **Jinx** ’s contributions nicely: [2005](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=311419) > [@Jinx](#): > > How can I find out my “subscription” date and my renewal date? Will I be notified, or is it automatic if I gave you a credit card? Also, is the fee going up? [2008](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=463405) > [@Jinx](#): > > Isn’t about that time of year again to renew our SD memberships??? When is this dubious date? I am always so afraid of being dropped! Of course, some would applaud that…😃 [2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=556298) [QUOTE=Jinx] I guess it’s about that time again! :eek: Time to renew my SDsubscription! 🆒 Hey, it’s more like a therapeutic subscription! 😉 Anyway, as I always…I must ask :smack: the following: How can I find the status of my subscription, such as renewal date? :smack: How much is the renewal fee? Is my account set up for automatic renewal? :smack: (For some reason, I seem to recall that this option is available…and, I selected it.) But, if not an automatic renewal, can I pay by Pay Pal or by credit card? :smack: Heck, it’s hard to remember such things from year to year! :rolleyes: Please enlighten me! :o [/QUOTE] [2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=607916) [QUOTE=Jinx] Pardon me, but I forget… If I renew my SD subscription early, am I selling myself short? Am I moving up the renewal date AND also not receiving my full year’s worth (in the currently paid year)? [/QUOTE] And then, when someone provided an answer: > [@Jinx](#): > > Thanks! I’ll keep this in mind…until I have to ask again! 😉 There’s a smiley that sums up this string of posts, and it’s not the winky smiley. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/39 "2011-11-14T19:30:23Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Remember-he said _maybe_ he has a method in his madness. It could very well be that he doesn’t. That “maybe” is so big cows huddle behind it in a snowstorm. That “maybe” is so big Earl Scheib once fixed a dent. That “maybe” is so big its nickname is Dayum! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/40 "2011-11-14T20:00:25Z")
This isn’t GQ, so I can WAG, right? My WAG is that the method in the OP’s madness is to try to encourage search traffic to the board. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817.md?page=3)