# What the fuck is happening here lately? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 11, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054 "2008-09-11T02:11:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/61 "2008-09-15T05:01:02Z")
> [@bluecanary](#): > > Funny, I was thinking the opposite - there seemed to be a lot less drama and a lot less bannings (perhaps because of the introduction of suspensions) since pay-to-post started. Fewer bannings. What? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/62 "2008-09-15T06:49:22Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > FWIW I always check dictionary definitions before I post about the use of a word, unless talking about a vernacular or personal experience of it. In that particular instance, for all I knew there was a secondary meaning that fit your use of the word. I intended no offence but will be weary of how I come across in future. ::Rilchiam flashes peace sign:: Okay! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/63 "2008-09-15T08:08:44Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > That should be _wary_. Well that too. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/64 "2008-09-15T10:07:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Fewer bannings. Stupidest grammatical rule ever (well, maybe second stupidest after ā€˜never split an infinitiveā€™). I boldly go and break it at every opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/65 "2008-09-15T11:14:29Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Fewer bannings. > What? Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/66 "2008-09-15T12:06:24Z")
> [@bluecanary](#): > > Stupidest grammatical rule ever (well, maybe second stupidest after ā€˜never split an infinitiveā€™). > > I boldly go and break it at every opportunity. No, this one actually makes sense. It simply distinguishes between ā€œamountā€ and ā€œnumberā€, and contributes to precision of expression; it communicates information. The split infinitive thing is a useless carry-over from Latin. ETA: All the same, I try never to unnecessarily split an infinitive. Also, I never end a sentence with a preposition unless I canā€™t think of anything else to end it with. (I do sometimes end a sentence with a _proposition_. That leads to trouble.) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/67 "2008-09-15T16:08:04Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > ETA: All the same, I try never to unnecessarily split an infinitive. Also, I never end a sentence with a preposition unless I canā€™t think of anything else to end it with. Getting banned once this month wasnā€™t enough for you? Keep that up and no one will come to your rescue. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/68 "2008-09-15T19:37:23Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Getting banned once this month wasnā€™t enough for you? Keep that up and no one will come to your rescue. šŸ˜‰ Goinā€™ down the only road Iā€™ve ever known. Iā€™m glad to be back, though. Thereā€™s really no other message board that I know of that compares. Have you ever tried discussing a movie on [imdb.com](http://imdb.com)? The worst poster weā€™ve ever had would be a shining light there. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/69 "2008-09-15T19:53:23Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > I canā€™t count how many times someone shared a personal experience of the subject being discussed, only to be slapped down because it was not a **perfect** analogy, and was therefore **utterly** irrelevant to the matter at hand. The oneupmanship around here is definitely tainting the boards. Yeah, that sucks. One of my biggest pet peeves about this place for a long time has been that you cannot post about your personal experience with something without at least one other poster trying to challenge or invalidate it. Like all these people know my life better than I do because theyā€™ve _read about_ something Iā€™ve _done_ :rolleyes:. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/70 "2008-09-15T20:00:36Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Have you ever tried discussing a movie on [imdb.com](http://imdb.com)? The worst poster weā€™ve ever had would be a shining light there. Same with discussing books at Amazon. :smack: Glad to have you and the rest back. New blood is good, but so is proven old blood. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/71 "2008-09-15T20:04:32Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Yeah, that sucks. One of my biggest pet peeves about this place for a long time has been that you cannot post about your personal experience with something without at least one other poster trying to challenge or invalidate it. Like all these people know my life better than I do because theyā€™ve _read about_ something Iā€™ve _done_ :rolleyes:. A few weeks back I was accused of making up a story. Strangely enough, it was a story that painted me in a bad light in the thread and on this board in general. I understood with further explanation why the poster was suspicious of my story, but I cannot understand why he thought I would make up a story that actually put me in poor light. I have rarely had any other problems though. I didnā€™t think it was that big of a problem. I guess it happens more than I noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/72 "2008-09-15T20:04:56Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > To respond to the OP - I think that what you are noticing is a symptom of malaise that commonly affects people that have frequented the SDMB for a period of several years. Wait. Now weā€™re at war with Malaysia too?! Damn you, George Bush! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/73 "2008-09-15T20:07:12Z")
We have always been at war with Malaysia. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/74 "2008-09-15T20:50:06Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > A few weeks back I was accused of making up a story. Strangely enough, it was a story that painted me in a bad light in the thread and on this board in general. I understood with further explanation why the poster was suspicious of my story, but I cannot understand why he thought I would make up a story that actually put me in poor light. > > I have rarely had any other problems though. I didnā€™t think it was that big of a problem. I guess it happens more than I noticed. It makes at least as much as telling a TRUE story that painted you in a bad light in the thread and on this board in general. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/75 "2008-09-15T20:57:38Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It makes at least as much as telling a TRUE story that painted you in a bad light in the thread and on this board in general. Why? It is one thing to talk about an iffy thing you did as a teenage and another to make it up. I had nothing to gain from relaying the incident, I was just showing who I was at the time. It really wasnā€™t anything that would stir up much controversy or make me out to be tough or a maverick, just a silly little quixotic thing I did as a teen. ---
**Author:** ![deball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@deball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deball)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/76 "2008-09-15T21:09:21Z")
Iā€™m back! How has everyone bā€¦Wait, whoa. Wrong thread. Election? Barn House? Mayonaise? Whatā€™s this message board thing the kids are talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/77 "2008-09-15T21:25:22Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Why? It is one thing to talk about an iffy thing you did as a teenage and another to make it up. I had nothing to gain from relaying the incident, I was just showing who I was at the time. It really wasnā€™t anything that would stir up much controversy or make me out to be tough or a maverick, just a silly little quixotic thing I did as a teen. Why? I couldnā€™t answer that without reading the post in question and maybe not then. I tend to be more doubtful about stories that cast the tellers either in an exceptionally good, or exceptionally bad, light. People like to tell tall tales. Maybe you just put something odd in the story that set off someoneā€™s alarm bells. My alarms have rung more than once here ā€“ though more often than not I donā€™t say anything about it, especially if I have nothing more than gut feeling to rely on. Others are less reticent than me. Iā€™ll try and find the last thread where I thought the OP was hiding something, or lying. It was someone looking for advice on some odd combination charity program involving housing, foster care and horse therapy for underprivileged youth. If I can find it maybe I can remember what made me suspicious about it. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/78 "2008-09-15T21:35:06Z")
[This is the thread I was referring to](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=453413&highlight=%27ranch%27). I thought the questions and responses were very odd, and my alarm bells were jingling. I even exchanged a couple of PMs with St Germaine about it, though neither of us acually posted suspicions. I suppose I was thinking some kind of religious cult. ---
**Author:** ![ScarletSteve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@ScarletSteve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScarletSteve)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/79 "2008-09-17T18:41:33Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Fewer bannings. > What? No. less banning ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054/80 "2008-09-17T22:38:06Z")
> [@ScarletSteve](#): > > No. Less banning Tastes great. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-happening-here-lately/463054.md?page=5)