# What "Laws" Would You Like To See On This Board? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 23, 2005, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512 "2005-02-23T11:35:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AZCowboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/97f17d/32.png) [@AZCowboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AZCowboy)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/21 "2005-02-23T23:25:37Z")
If you post in GD, take a position on the issue in the OP. Or at least if you fail to clearly do so, you are not permitted to post later in the same thread, “I haven’t taken a position.” It is trollish behavior to put forward arguments, only to fall back that the arguments don’t reflect _your position._ This law can be voided if the initial post clearly states that one is taking a devil’s advocate position. Whether the law should apply to the OP can remain open for debate. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/22 "2005-02-23T23:39:06Z")
> [@scule](#): > > Only if it’s Grey. 😉 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/23 "2005-02-23T23:50:19Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Heading for the Pit at the request of the OP. > > (Title will be changed to reflect original intent.) > > [/Moderator Mode] A brief note on the OP and thread title: this one began life in GD as a request for suggestions for formal “Laws” appropriate to that forum - as it took a turn towards criticisms of posting habits on the board in general, it got moved to the Pit. Still waiting on that new title, though… ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/24 "2005-02-23T23:52:47Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > A brief note on the OP and thread title: this one began life in GD as a request for suggestions for formal “Laws” appropriate to that forum - as it took a turn towards criticisms of posting habits on the board in general, it got moved to the Pit. Still waiting on that new title, though… …or not, as the case may be. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/25 "2005-02-24T00:15:39Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Posts should have a minimum length to stop the stupid ass drive by posts that consist just of a partisan shot tangentially related at best to the OP. I was considering a thread like this specifically for these posts but I haven’t gotten around to it. > > [Example](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5873602&postcount=20) Links to SDMB threads should include the thread title not just “example” or “in this thread”. Example: [Will Taiwan declare independence? Will China invade? Will (should) we intervene?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=303555) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/26 "2005-02-24T00:24:12Z")
If someone posts something you disagree with and you call them on it and you deem their reponse not worthy of you, you do not automatically win the argument. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/27 "2005-02-24T00:35:47Z")
I know this depends on an honor system, but anyone using the “CITE!” bomb without first making a good-faith effort to google it their own damn selves at least once should get a big wet sturgeon upside the head. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/28 "2005-02-24T00:45:41Z")
I changed the title to reflect the entire board since the thread was moved from Great Debates. Just in case anyone’s left scratching their head and wondering if they hallucinated something, y’know. TVeblen ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/29 "2005-02-24T01:02:44Z")
_RIF Law_\*: Haven’t read the entire thread? **DON’T FUCKING POST TO IT.** “I didn’t read the entire thread but I just wanted to add my 2 cents.” \ * * * “I can’t believe nobody has mentioned **Highlander 2** as the worst movie of all time.” \ * * * “Can someone give me a link to a plot synopsis from last week’s episode?” \ * * * “This ‘Dog finds weed’ thread reminds me of [this](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2005/02/16/national/a125933S13.DTL) incident that occurred last week.” \ :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: \*[Reading Is Fundamental](http://www.rif.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/30 "2005-02-24T01:18:45Z")
Poisoning the grammer: I would like a law banning the attributing l33tsp34k to the opposing position. For instance, were I to write the following OP, it would break the law. "I think Bush’s plan XYZ is good because … and I don’t want anyone posting “Bush is teh sux!!!1111oneoneone!!11!” I’ve seen this a lot less here then other boards, but I’ve seen it here, and it should stop ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/31 "2005-02-24T01:39:21Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > _RIF Law_\*: Haven’t read the entire thread? **DON’T FUCKING POST TO IT.** > \*[Reading Is Fundamental](http://www.rif.org/) You’re DREAMING. We should consider ourselves lucky if everyone bothered to read just the POSTS they’re replying to. Occasionally they haven’t bothered to read the whole SENTENCE they’re objecting to. It’s more like this: > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Most struggles against oppression are bloody (with the exception of a relatively movements led by charismatic pacifists like Martin Luther King or Gandhi.) > > Aren’t you forgetting Gandhi? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/32 "2005-02-24T02:03:46Z")
> [@TVeblen](#): > > I changed the title to reflect the entire board since the thread was moved from Great Debates. Just in case anyone’s left scratching their head and wondering if they hallucinated something, y’know. > > TVeblen Thanks, **Veb**. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/33 "2005-02-24T02:22:59Z")
> [@uglybeech](#): > > You’re DREAMING. We should consider ourselves lucky if everyone bothered to read just the POSTS they’re replying to. Occasionally they haven’t bothered to read the whole SENTENCE they’re objecting to. What’s worse than that is when they haven’t even bothered to read the posts they’re replying to. ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/34 "2005-02-24T02:28:18Z")
> [@ITR champion](#): > > **The SAB law** : Anyone who links to the Skeptics Annotated Bible gets bitch-slapped. I’ve only taken a glance at the SAB, but I don’t see anything that makes it egregious. Explain? ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/35 "2005-02-24T02:28:58Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > What’s worse than that is when they haven’t even bothered to read the posts they’re replying to. You know your post actually pissed me off before I got it? ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/36 "2005-02-24T02:33:35Z")
Yeah, but sometimes an OP can be longer than several other entire threads _combined_. Worse, subsequent retorts rival the length of the egregiously bloated post that spawned them, like a flame-war composed of Unibomber manifestos strung one-after-the-other. I think it’s a lot to ask of people to not skim in some circumstances. Shit, I got yelled at once for not reading an entire post, but the thing was fucking four 8.5x11"-pages-in-12-point-font long, ferkrissakes. Have freaking mercy on our eyes, if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/37 "2005-02-24T02:38:46Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > People who call religion a “fairy tale,” or equate belief in God with belief in gnomes, pixies, Unicorns, or other fantastic beings will be turned into asexual newts by the Lord! So much for debate. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/38 "2005-02-24T02:40:16Z")
I got better. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/39 "2005-02-24T02:40:17Z")
> [@Gadfly](#): > > I’ve only taken a glance at the SAB, but I don’t see anything that makes it egregious. Explain? Take a look at Genesis 1. Basically, they’re critiquing a very simplistic and literal interpretation of the bible. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512/40 "2005-02-24T02:43:27Z")
> [@uglybeech](#): > > You know your post actually pissed me off before I got it? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-laws-would-you-like-to-see-on-this-board/291512.md?page=3)