# What were you THINKING? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 13, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532 "2023-10-13T19:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 339
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7151 "2026-04-30T22:54:46Z")
Dude, let it go. That was a stupid thing to spend any more than one post on, let alone bringing it over here. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7152 "2026-04-30T23:04:56Z")
Yeah. Oops across the board. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7153 "2026-04-30T23:10:07Z")
No opinion on the conflict in question since I haven’t been reading that thread, but I’ll still give @ASL_v2.0 and @Thumper668 credit for fighting here rather than in the thread. Especially given it was apparently in FQ. One of things this thread is for. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7154 "2026-04-30T23:40:47Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > credit for fighting here rather than in the thread. Especially given it was apparently in FQ. > > One of things this thread is for. sounds right ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7155 "2026-05-01T00:02:47Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > but I’ll still give @ASL_v2.0 and @Thumper668 credit for fighting here rather than in the thread Well, I appreciate the sentiment, but for the record only one of us is fighting and it’s not me. I **do** agree that it went off the rails for FQ and part of that is my fault for overexplaining what should have been obvious. > [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > You might as well show up to an academic conference and the moment someone disagrees with you about something loudly announce you have the smallest dick in the room This right here is where I check out. It’s really just not worth my time any more, even in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7156 "2026-05-05T14:01:48Z")
Gentle request: could people stop responding to ZosterSandstorm in Politics threads? He’s a conservative troll who wants Democrats to lose and who gives condescending bad advice to Democrats in furtherance of his goal. Almost everything he says about Democrats is a stupid, transparent lie. He’s low-hanging fruit just here to fuck with people, and I’m not asking “What were you thinking” to him; it’s clear he’s trolling. I’m asking it of people who are taking him seriously. Every response to him degrades the thread it’s in. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7157 "2026-05-05T14:08:08Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > He’s low-hanging fruit just here to fuck with people, and I’m not asking “What were you thinking” to him; it’s clear he’s trolling. I’ve had him on ignore for years. He really is a troll. He was suspended a few years ago and it looked like he was on the verge of a ban, but then he kind of went underground. He’s done being quiet though. Hopefully he will get himself removed permanently this time. In the meantime, the fewer people engage with him, the better. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2026, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7158 "2026-05-05T14:12:33Z")
He disappeared for 4 years. That is lying low. But if you think he is trolling, you do need to flag him. If you think he is just expressing right wing views though, please don’t bother to flag him. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7159 "2026-05-05T14:15:02Z")
I’ve been told before variants of “we don’t moderate for factual inaccuracies,” and his trolling consists of posting things so egregiously and transparently inaccurate that people can’t stop themselves from getting pissed off and arguing with him. I’m convinced, given his history, that he’s not sincere, but I can’t prove it, and I don’t know that it rises to the level of what P&E mods will consider trolling. That’s why I’m asking folks here to stop treating his posts as if they’re worthy of serious discussion. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > If you think he is just expressing right wing views though, please don’t bother to flag him. This might be worth talking about: a lot of the views he expresses are both right-wing talking points and transparent lies. It’s tricky, because the right wing in America is so steeped in fascist lies (“they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the dogs”) that a lot of mainstream conservative views are obvious lies meant to engender hate and fear; but they’re part of the mainstream conversation. I don’t think it’s against board rules to repeat a mainstream lie, but it’s against best practices to engage with it as though it’s serious discussion. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7160 "2026-05-05T14:28:19Z")
My mistake. Thanks for the heads-up (sincerely). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7161 "2026-05-05T14:37:37Z")
The recently departed trock **Varl\_something** characterised **Zoster** as a “centrist Democrat”. I do not know if **Zoster** considers themselves such, but if not, they didn’t correct **Varl** s’ error in any of their several posts in that now cornfielded thread. If indeed we have somebody snarlingly spouting RW propaganda while claiming to be a centrist Democrat (whatever exactly that term represents these days) that seems to be an epic fail on the “sincerity” front. Failing sincerity is another word for trolling. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7162 "2026-05-05T15:54:35Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m convinced, given his history, that he’s not sincere, but I can’t prove it, and I don’t know that it rises to the level of what P&E mods will consider trolling. This is my feeling as well. On top of that, he is very much a rage-baiter. That’s why I put him on ignore. He is a master at pissing people off, and I just didn’t want to deal with it anymore. It was actually his comments here in the Pit years ago that convinced me he was a troll; he was _deliberately_ misstating what other people were saying to stir shit up. Here is where I finally put him on ignore: ```auto https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-law-fuck-the-rules-fuck-decency-this-is-texas-football-motherfuckers/927507/133 ``` And I now remember that he was actually the first poster I ever put on ignore. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7163 "2026-05-08T14:34:07Z")
There are few things people around here seem to love more than brag about the extent to which they have never heard of someone famous and popular among young people. Yet somehow they hate the person they’ve barely watched. > [@Have heard of MrBeast - if so, how much](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-heard-of-mrbeast-if-so-how-much/1029900): > > On a recent episode of Survivor, a surprise guest was featured - MrBeast. Everyone OOO;d and AHHd but I’d never heard of him. Over in the Survivor 50 thread, it was mentioned. Some having heard of him some have not. Someone even compared him to the Beatles. So, my fellow Dopers, have you heard of him? If so, do you know what he does? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7164 "2026-05-08T14:56:26Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Yet somehow they hate the person they’ve barely watched. Maybe because our first exposure to that person was on the Dope a week or two before that thread, in a different thread where he was excoriated as evil. As for bragging about not knowing someone, the OP of that thread specifically asked if we know what he does. Say “no, I’ve never heard of him” is not bragging, it’s answering the question. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7165 "2026-05-08T15:53:32Z")
If you are referring to my OP, I was neither bragging nor expressing hate. The internet is a big place, famous people can sometimes fly under your radar if the algorithm doesn’t think it’s for you. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7166 "2026-05-08T16:40:08Z")
But God forbid you haven’t heard of some anime studio. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2026, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7167 "2026-05-08T16:43:00Z")
What? I’m so confused by your complaint and @hajario’s? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7168 "2026-05-08T16:51:00Z")
People were lectured here when they said they hadn’t heard of some anime studio whose style ChatGPT was apeing. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7169 "2026-05-08T16:53:28Z")
I recall that, from a few months ago. Studio Ghibli, specifically. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7170 "2026-05-08T16:56:20Z")
Especially if the OP asks “Have you heard of so and so?..” I believe I’ve been noted, flagged, chewed out like a naughty child over answering that very question in another such thread. But really you can just say “no, never have” you don’t need to have a 4 paragraph post to type “nope”. And multiple posts repeating it. Pretty easy to slide right on by, as well. And that’s what I’ve learned, right here on the Dope. 😊 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=338) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=340)