# What is wrong with frivolous/silly/stupid threads? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 9, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511 "2012-12-09T16:04:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![taskmgr.exe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@taskmgr.exe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taskmgr.exe)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/1 "2012-12-09T16:04:30Z")
OK, I know this is extremely [stupid](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=674988). But, is it harmful? Does it upset people? I don’t think it is any harmful or offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/2 "2012-12-09T16:11:49Z")
In the case of this particular thread, if you have to ask, you’ll never know. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/3 "2012-12-09T16:17:11Z")
I’m sort of with the OP. The way it’s worded, as if directed at Obama is the only way this differs from any number of threads we see in Elections. Such as: _Hey, look at this funny picture I saw of \. Ha, ha!_ At least the OP put that thread in MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![taskmgr.exe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@taskmgr.exe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taskmgr.exe)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/4 "2012-12-09T16:18:17Z")
If it’s locked because of any disrespectful content to the president of United States of America, I am fine. Sure, understanding of the concept of disrespect is different to everyone. And, I cannot complain/whine/bitch about the fact that mods have different understanding of disrespect. I know that I have to follow their mentality and understanding of concepts, in order to participate in this forum. If this is not about being disrespectful or something similar, I’ll politely ask you why you’ve locked it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/5 "2012-12-09T16:28:14Z")
We are subject to the whims of the mods in these cases. Personally I don’t see it as any different than the subject of “What does the Queen Elizabeth keep in her purse?”. But in this case it could bring up a lot of negative responses. Perhaps more explicit humor in the OP would have allowed it to pass, or if it had included multiple presidents instead of just the current one. However I fail to understand the concept that a thread can be too mundane and pointless for MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/6 "2012-12-09T16:50:27Z")
I’m with **Task** on this. It was a silly thread but it had potential to be an entertaining thread. Closing the thread was one level of stupid I could have easily shrugged off. But for **Twickster** to double down and say: “You’re lucky I’m not giving you a warning for trolling.” goes way beyond the pale of stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/7 "2012-12-09T17:14:17Z")
Clearly it rubbed someone the wrong way. FWIW, I think the thread was juvenile and immature. In all seriousness it might have lasted longer if it had a bit of wit and pseudo-sophistication to it. Even for the SDMB, it was lame. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/8 "2012-12-09T17:21:05Z")
I actually found the question interesting. It had never crossed my mind before, but now I’m kind of wondering. Bill Clinton? No question about it-whenever time permitted, multiple times per day, even in the Oval Office or on Air Force One, if he had the privacy. Ronald Reagan? No way, viagra had not yet been invented. But President Obama? That one’s a head scratcher. I would have been interested in the responses. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/9 "2012-12-09T17:39:12Z")
I thought it was stupid and offensive – not because it was about Obama, it would have been equally stupid and offensive about Romney, the Pope, whoever. This is not a junior high locker room. I also didn’t think it was particularly funny. The OP asked me in a PM if humor was allowed – I discerned no humor in the way the OP was written. And, yes, it is possible to be too mundane and too pointless for MPSIMS. I’ve closed threads on that basis before and I will undoubtedly do so again. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/10 "2012-12-09T18:10:32Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > This is not a junior high locker room. [It’s not?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=668138) ---
**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:** [December 9, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/11 "2012-12-09T18:19:15Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > [It’s not?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=668138) That’s not even on the same level. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/12 "2012-12-09T18:25:10Z")
Does Obama write about it in any of his books? He admits to smoking pot and snorting coke, so it seems that at least at some point in his life he’d have yanked the ol’ crank. I’ve read about his current schedule and seriously doubt he’s watching porn movies. He drips more gravitas than anybody, and porn movies are basically a waste of time. I’d bet $10 he does not, if he ever did. FWIW, here’s a photo of [Obama shaking hands with the Governor](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Obama+romney+shaking+hands&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&biw=1920&bih=895&tbm=isch&tbnid=oZdJW4akHKxzxM:&imgrefurl=http://www.flavorwire.com/351413/obama-romney-oval-office-photo&docid=ooXuC0d6HgcU8M&imgurl=http://assets.flavorwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/obma-mitt-romney-white-house-oval-office.jpg&w=600&h=400&ei=JtfEUOTTO7TryAG_iIDgBA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=410&sig=112309644473353061086&page=1&tbnh=144&tbnw=214&start=0&ndsp=43&ved=1t:429,r:27,s:0,i:172&tx=101&ty=82), _in the Oval office!_ ---
**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:** [December 9, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/13 "2012-12-09T18:41:33Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > That’s not even on the same level. IYO. IMO, it is. And that’s all we’re talking about-- whether something is “junior high school” level or not. And that thread easily falls into that category. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I can appreciate junior high school level humor as much as the next guy. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/14 "2012-12-09T19:36:03Z")
It might have been the _way_ it was written. If it was worded differently, it might have worked. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/15 "2012-12-09T20:57:01Z")
I reported it because it made the short list of the most puerile posts I’ve seen here, and there was no redeeming quality of humor, cleverness, or insight. Like Woody Allen said, pornography is only dirty if done right, and that OP was just simply lame. It isn’t a matter of the OP needing to try harder, but whether the OP was trying at all. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/16 "2012-12-09T21:18:35Z")
You mean to tell me that the “P” in MPSIMS doesn’t stand for “puerile”? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/17 "2012-12-09T21:24:44Z")
The thread about the unfortunate picture of Romney at least had some content: We could all click the link, look at the picture, laugh at it, and tell each other that we had laughed at it. The thread the OP linked, though… What could it have possibly led to beyond (at best) a whole bunch of people saying “I dunno”? ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/18 "2012-12-09T22:19:39Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I thought it was stupid and offensive – not because it was about Obama, it would have been equally stupid and offensive about Romney, the Pope, whoever. This is not a junior high locker room. > > I also didn’t think it was particularly funny. The OP asked me in a PM if humor was allowed – I discerned no humor in the way the OP was written. > > And, yes, it is possible to be too mundane and too pointless for MPSIMS. I’ve closed threads on that basis before and I will undoubtedly do so again. I agree with you that the OP thread in question is as JHS it gets. It has no redeeming comic or intellectual content. However, the unfortunate fact is that numerous threads not significantly better get an administrative pass around here, and that encourages our lower moronic elements to continually test the limits with a never-ending egestion of real garbage. This pertains especially to thread having to do with sex and urinary/lower GI funtion. I think it would do this site a lot of good to institute a moratorium on such threads. Surely nothing of any geniune interest or novelty has been left unsaid and unexamined. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/19 "2012-12-10T00:15:38Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I reported it because it made the short list of the most puerile posts I’ve seen here, and there was no redeeming quality of humor, cleverness, or insight. Like Woody Allen said, pornography is only dirty if done right, and that OP was just simply lame. It isn’t a matter of the OP needing to try harder, but whether the OP was trying at all. Why not just stay out of the thread? What could possibly motivate you to expend the energy to “report” something that all you have to do is skip over? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511/20 "2012-12-10T01:04:25Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Why not just stay out of the thread? > > What could possibly motivate you to expend the energy to “report” something that all you have to do is skip over? Because I’m a Grinch and I love to ruin other people’s fun. Either that, or I saw a thread that I’m pretty sure the mods would have a problem with and I called it to their attention. Surely you aren’t implying that, except for me clicking a button and typing six words, the mods wouldn’t have closed it anyways, or that I put a lot of effort into reporting something. It has taken me probably twelve to twenty times more effort to reply to your question than it does to report any post. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-frivolous-silly-stupid-threads/643511.md?page=2)