# What's the Official Mod ruling on "Drumpf"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [March 9, 2016, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392 "2016-03-09T10:57:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/61 "2016-03-10T18:37:50Z")

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> [@BigT](#):
>
> Just because a rule exists doesn’t mean it’s a good rule. And the solution of “you can’t use an extension because it violates a silly rule on this one website that no other website\* has” is not a very good one.
> 
> \*Well, none that I’ve seen in my 20 years online.

Funny, I just ran a quick Google search for “‘terms of service’ forums misquotes” and found an awful lot of forums that have rules about deliberately misrepresenting or misquoting what other users have said.

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**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/62 "2016-03-10T18:42:53Z")

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> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#):
>
> Funny, I just ran a quick Google search for “‘terms of service’ forums misquotes” and found an awful lot of forums that have rules about deliberately misrepresenting or misquoting what other users have said.

Indeed. I participate in several cannabis forums. We may be stoners, but we are careful with attribution.

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**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/63 "2016-03-10T19:02:53Z")

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> [@Shalmanese](#):
>
> I had no idea the extension would change the words submitted and not just the text I see and, crucially, with the extension on, I have no way of even finding out that was the case.
> 
> …

It depends on the extension. I use one called Word Replacer II (in Chrome) for a personal peeve about technical documents/tutorials that say “you need to…” (it changes the wording to “it’s important to…”). If I’m quoting someone on here who typed the word “need”, it won’t change the contents of the text box.

Mods, I assume it’s still ok to quote just a sentence from another poster, provided it’s verbatim? Or is it important to do what I just did and use an ellipsis?

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**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/64 "2016-03-10T21:11:12Z")

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> [@BigT](#):
>
> Just because a rule exists doesn’t mean it’s a good rule. And the solution of “you can’t use an extension because it violates a silly rule on this one website that no other website\* has” is not a very good one.
> 
> \*Well, none that I’ve seen in my 20 years online.

Not altering within quotes is a reasonable rule. Even if it weren’t their playground so their rules.

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**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/65 "2016-03-10T21:17:37Z")

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Okay, everybody, let’s see if we can do what certain influential Rebublicans won’t do – compromise!

Forget changing Trump to Drumpf everywhere. Someone who knows how to write these add-ons, let’s have us an add-on that changes all occurrences of “Trump” to “Let’s go to the quarry and throw shit down there”. This should be acceptable to all, right?

(ETA: With a bit of searching, I came upon an older thread that seems to suggest the above wording was the original, which I think is slightly different than the wording that a certain Doper has made popular here.)

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/66 "2016-03-10T21:20:35Z")

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> [@bienville](#):
>
> Are you kidding me? You seriously don’t think the rule against changing another poster’s words, while using a Quote box thus making it look like your false quote is actually what the other poster originally wrote, is a good rule???

No. As long as they don’t change the meaning of what was said, and it’s clear a change was made, I see nothing wrong with it.

There’s a reason why the meme “FTFY” or “fixed that for you” exists. That meme couldn’t exist if websites generally banned everyone from changing quotes.

I have been to no other website that is this anal about the quote thing. It’s as weird as how this website freaks out about socks.

My issue, and what I assume to be the issue of the poster in question, is that this is a rather draconian punishment for such a harmless change. Sure, if someone were making someone look like they supported Hitler, that would be one thing.

But this is people who have an extension and forgot to change a quote back. And the mods have dished out multiple Warnings with promises of more You know, the same punishment for people who actively try to attack people. The same punishment for people who say bigoted crap (if it gets moderated at all). They’re all the same: Real things that cause real harm–and changing a word in a way that misleads no one.

A rule that allows such overkill is a bad rule.

Hell, if this were a widespread problem online, I’m sure LastWeekTonight would put in the quick fix that would get rid of the problem. It was one of the first things I did when I started my addon (before the original was ported to Firefox). Then when I found that it didn’t work completely, it took me all of five minutes more to figure out what I’d needed to do, Google the JavaScript to do it, and then fix the problem.

```php
var nodeType = walk.currentNode.parentNode.nodeName;
if (nodeType != 'STYLE' && nodeType != 'LINK' && nodeType != 'SCRIPT' 
                && nodeType != 'TEXTAREA' && !walk.currentNode.parentNode.isContentEditable
              && !walk.currentNode.parentNode.spellcheck) 

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/67 "2016-03-10T21:22:21Z")

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> [@BigT](#):
>
> No. As long as they don’t change the meaning of what was said, and it’s clear a change was made, I see nothing wrong with it.
> 
> There’s a reason why the meme “FTFY” or “fixed that for you” exists. That meme couldn’t exist if websites generally banned everyone from changing quotes.
> 
> I have been to no other website that is this anal about the quote thing. It’s as weird as how this website freaks out about socks.
> 
> My issue, and what I assume to be the issue of the poster in question, is that this is a rather draconian punishment for such a harmless change. Sure, if someone were making someone look like they supported Hitler, that would be one thing.
> 
> But this is people who have an extension and forgot to change a quote back. And the mods have dished out multiple Warnings with promises of more You know, the same punishment for people who actively try to attack people. The same punishment for people who say bigoted crap (if it gets moderated at all). They’re all the same: Real things that cause real harm–and changing a word in a way that misleads no one.
> 
> A rule that allows such overkill is a bad rule.
> 
> Hell, if this were a widespread problem online, I’m sure LastWeekTonight would put in the quick fix that would get rid of the problem. It was the first thing I did once I started my addon (before the original was ported to Firefox). Then when I found that it didn’t work completely, it took me all of five minutes more to figure out what I’d needed to do, Google the JavaScript to do it, and then fix the problem.
> 
> ```php
> if (nodeType != 'STYLE' && nodeType != 'LINK' && nodeType != 'SCRIPT' 
> && nodeType != 'TEXTAREA' && !walk.currentNode.parentNode.isContentEditable
> && !walk.currentNode.parentNode.spellcheck) 
> 
> ```

I guess you’ve never been to any of the boards where fixed that for you is constantly abused. It’s not a hard concept to leave other people’s quotes alone.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/68 "2016-03-10T21:25:53Z")

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> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> Okay, everybody, let’s see if we can do what certain influential Rebublicans won’t do – compromise!
> 
> Forget changing Trump to Drumpf everywhere. Someone who knows how to write these add-ons, let’s have us an add-on that changes all occurrences of “Trump” to “Let’s go to the quarry and throw shit down there”. This should be acceptable to all, right?
> 
> (ETA: With a bit of searching, I came upon an older thread that seems to suggest the above wording was the original, which I think is slightly different than the wording that a certain Doper has made popular here.)

That’s actually a good point. Why wasn’t he sanctioned for his addon that converted LOL to that phrase? Is it just because LOL doesn’t come up often in quotes?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/69 "2016-03-10T21:30:58Z")

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> [@BigT](#):
>
> No. As long as they don’t change the meaning of what was said, and it’s clear a change was made, I see nothing wrong with it.

_‘I want more uncertainty in moderation, have absolute faith in moderating decisions around this uncertainty, and hate all bright line rules’_ - FTFY.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/70 "2016-03-10T21:39:43Z")

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> [@octopus](#):
>
> I guess you’ve never been to any of the boards where fixed that for you is constantly abused. It’s not a hard concept to leave other people’s quotes alone.

I’ve been on Reddit. And I never said that it was a hard concept. I said the punishment is out of proportion to the crime.

I actually find it more offensive that people will quote entire posts without reading them.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/71 "2016-03-10T21:40:30Z")

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> [@BigT](#):
>
> And the mods have dished out multiple Warnings with promises of more

I see a single warning, to someone who was previously instructed three times to turn off the add-on.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [March 10, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/72 "2016-03-10T21:57:01Z")

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> [@bienville](#):
>
> Are you kidding me? You seriously don’t think the rule against changing another poster’s words, while using a Quote box thus making it look like your false quote is actually what the other poster originally wrote, is a good rule???
> 
> I don’t use other messageboards much, but if this is the only messageboard on the internet where you’re not allowed to falsify a quote in attribution to another poster, then this is the only messageboard on the internet with even a shred of integrity. (Of course, there are plenty of online communities with rules against altering or falsifying cites and quotes- your exaggeration is ridiculous.)

There are rules here that I don’t much care for, but that particular rule is probably the best one we have. Especially since there is an easy out for those who feel they must fuck with other people’s posts-- don’t use quote tags when you do it.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/73 "2016-03-10T22:05:41Z")

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> [@Colibri](#):
>
> I see a single warning, to someone who was previously instructed three times to turn off the add-on.

Then I misread **bieville** ’s post. Still doesn’t change the promise of more. Or the fact that you are in fact instructing people to turn off a non-malicious addon.

Because one site has a silly objection, they can’t use the addon at all. This is overkill. It is one site dictating what people can do everywhere else. It’s you violating the sovereignty of someone’s computer. A whole lot of people have problems with this.

This is what I get for trying to defend someone from people acting like they’re stupid. I don’t know why I bother.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/74 "2016-03-10T22:11:54Z")

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> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#):
>
> Over the years, I’ve started a couple of threads asking about changes to text in quote boxes. One was about changes made by [SpellCheck](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=597112), and the other about changes made by [board software](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=776759).
> 
> For some reason, no moderators saw fit to respond to either question. Any thoughts?

I guess not. Weird. They seem like fairly straightforward questions to me …

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/75 "2016-03-10T22:13:22Z")

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> [@BigT](#):
>
> No. As long as they don’t change the meaning of what was said,

> [@](#):
>
> making someone look like they supported Hitler

If I am allowed to change what’s in a quote box I should be able to say whatever I want.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/76 "2016-03-10T22:20:29Z")

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> [@BigT](#):
>
> That’s actually a good point. Why wasn’t he sanctioned for his addon that converted LOL to that phrase? Is it just because LOL doesn’t come up often in quotes?

He is not changing what someone else has said. :smack:

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/77 "2016-03-10T22:22:44Z")

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> [@BigT](#):
>
> Then I misread **bieville** ’s post.

**bienville** was quite clear in his OP that no warnings had yet been issued. That was not just misreading, it was non-reading.

> [@](#):
>
> Still doesn’t change the promise of more. Or the fact that you are in fact instructing people to turn off a non-malicious addon.
> 
> Because one site has a silly objection, they can’t use the addon at all. This is overkill. It is one site dictating what people can do everywhere else. It’s you violating the sovereignty of someone’s computer. A whole lot of people have problems with this.
> 
> This is what I get for trying to defend someone from people acting like they’re stupid. I don’t know why I bother.

How very unfortunate.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/78 "2016-03-10T22:24:37Z")

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FTFY is sophomoric bullshit and should be banned on every serious discussion board.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/79 "2016-03-10T22:49:37Z")

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> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> FTFY is sophomoric bullshit and should be banned on every serious discussion board.

_‘FTFY … should be … on every serious discussion board.’_ - FTFY 😃

> [@BigT](#):
>
> This is what I get for trying to defend someone from people acting like they’re stupid. I don’t know why I bother.

Which people are acting like they are stupid?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/80 "2016-03-10T22:58:00Z")

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I admit, I had that question as well.

In addition, no one has been told to uninstall the extension. They’ve been notified about a side effect that could break the rules and that they should keep in mind.

Lastly, trying to argue how other boards do it is a non-starter to me. Our goal here should be to have standards that exceed others and to provide a pleasant, grown up place to discuss and debate. To do so we have rules to try and minimize the sort of nonsense so pervasive on the Internet and from commenters in general.

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