# What's up with all the tomndebb haters? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 14, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839 "2007-03-14T02:53:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/61 "2007-03-14T16:27:59Z")
If I’d been in **Tomndebb** ’s shoes, I would have resigned from the position of moderator several times over by now, for no other reason than it’s impossible for him to do the job he does without attracting accusation of bias. Please note this is absolutely not to be interpreted as a call for his resignation; this is merely to note that he has far greater stamina than I would expect to have in that situation. I’d have given up trying long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/62 "2007-03-14T16:28:04Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Okay, well now it’s down to two. [/QUOTE] **Valteron** has recently accused **Tom** of being out to see him banned. So there’s at least one more. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/63 "2007-03-14T16:39:16Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] The one thing that bugs **Tapioca** about **Tomndebb** is when he speaks of himself in the third person [/QUOTE] Yes, it bugs this True Blue Jack guy, whoever he is, too! * * * True Blue Jack (or whoever) ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/64 "2007-03-14T16:46:37Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] Sorry, I only talk to people who own zithers. [/QUOTE] Whereas I would only care to speak with someone too cool to be interested in **my** newletter. 😉 * * * True Blue Jack ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/65 "2007-03-14T16:50:02Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] In 1990 they could still pull this crap? Please excuse the ignorant North Easterner. I honestly had no clue this was even allowed in Public school that recently. I think the so-called adult that administered the paddling should probably do some time in jail for child abuse and never be allowed near kids again. [/QUOTE] I don’t see why you’re so surprised. There are still schools that do all kinds of crazy things. Some of them are slower to change than others. ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/66 "2007-03-14T17:30:53Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] That, in and of it’s elf, is sufficient to brand him a weaselly lying hypocritical motherfucker. [/QUOTE] Well, shit, **Tomndebb** has an ELF. He’s OK in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/67 "2007-03-14T17:56:42Z")
[QUOTE=Duckster] Hmm. And the others in the top tier? [/QUOTE] Czarcasm is the best mod on the site. Gaudere used to be, but she was promoted to admin. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/68 "2007-03-14T17:58:26Z")
If I have an official warning (I can’t remember if it was a warning, or just a smack), it was from **tomndebb**. The bastard. Of course, I had it coming, but still. The bastard! ---
**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:** [March 14, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/69 "2007-03-14T18:14:10Z")
[QUOTE=Talon Karrde] I don’t see why you’re so surprised. There are still schools that do all kinds of crazy things. Some of them are slower to change than others. [/QUOTE] Public schools? Still? Today? I am sorry, here it would immediately involve firings and probably police. Color me shocked. In fact in NJ we kind of tiptoe around even parents using physical punishment. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/70 "2007-03-14T18:38:08Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse] Right, but that means you were forced to pledge your allegiance to the flag, and the Republic for which it stands. Not to God. [/QUOTE] Nobody needs me to respond to this with anything other than a :rolleyes:, do they? > [@What Exit?](#): > > Public schools? Still? Today? I am sorry, here it would immediately involve firings and probably police. Color me shocked. In fact in NJ we kind of tiptoe around even parents using physical punishment. > > Jim The problem is that, illegal though some of these things may be, the parents agree with it. That way it will never get reported. The only kids who got paddled were the ones whose parents gave consent. Those are not the kind of parents who are going to find anything wrong with pledging allegiance to the flag, one nation under God. The times they are a changin’, but not as quickly as some of us are a thinkin’. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/71 "2007-03-14T18:43:55Z")
People hate other posters on a bulletin board? I can see being annoyed at someone else, but hate? I tend to be the type of person who wants to find root causes for things, so I get involved in religious debates to try and understand why otherwise rational seeming people put their brains on hold in the belief of obvious fairy tales. I also am the type of person who thinks that a valid goal or vision is one worth working towards eg. fighting ignorance as posted at the top of this page. Is it enough that we find out about other’s religious beliefs to have our ignorance fought? If so then we have lived up to the vision of this bulletin board and should have no further discussion. But that would apply to ever other discussion on this board if that was the case. Once a person stated their beliefs that would be the end of the debate. Can anyone imagine a debate ending if someone posts “George Bush is a great and wonderful guy and is only doing what is best for the world and the US because of (inserts their reasons)”. Not likely. So, each debate goes deeper than that where each side presents evidence to support their case. Religion can’t be exempt from this. If people hold beliefs that have no basis in fact then it is up to us to fight that ignorance, too. Yet, religion tends to be given a pass and once the other person has listed the reasons why they believe as they do, it seems no further debate is expected and they should be given a pass on their statements. It is when we do go further that people get upset. It is not the norm to challenge people on their religious beliefs in the same way they might be challenged on their political or other beliefs. So even though we do challenge such beliefs on this board people still get far more emotional about it than the typical political debate. When was the last time you’ve seen religious leaders debating each other on why their religion is the better one? They might say this to their specific audience, but rarely to each other. Politicians debate all the time. We are used to one and not the other. So, when **badchad** calls Jesus a cunt people get more upset than they normally would otherwise say if GW was called the same thing. Richard Dawkins raises this point when he says that the arguments he uses, which many consider provocative and insulting, would not be considered as such if he was debating any other topic. It is just the way it is and any debate concerning religion is going to be more upsetting to most people who read them than other types of debate and by default religion is held to a different standard. Tom annoys me on occasion. He annoys me because he moderates on a board with a stated mission of fighting ignorance. Yet, he continues in his belief of fairy tales. He rarely (if ever) tells us why he believes as he does so it can be very frustrating debating him. I think, because of this, he fails in supporting what this board is all about. And those that do attempt to debate him end up with a worse reputation than they probably deserve because of the subject matter under debate regardless if they are polite, or not. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/72 "2007-03-14T19:15:46Z")
[QUOTE=Uzi] Yet, he continues in his belief of fairy tales. He rarely (if ever) tells us why he believes as he does so it can be very frustrating debating him. [/QUOTE] I also make it a point to not tell you what I believe, so I am not sure why this should be upsetting. Certain inferences can be drawn based on the fact that I have stated that I am a Catholic and other inferences may be drawn from the fact that I generally participate in discussions of scripture from the perspective of literary analysis rather than from the perspective of “This Hath God Written.” However, I am not here to express my beliefs or to defend my beliefs. (I also refrain from demanding to know or challenging the beliefs of others.) The only people who would appear to have a problem with my participation are those who seek to proselytize me. That is their issue with which to deal, not mine. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/73 "2007-03-14T19:20:39Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > If people hold beliefs that have no basis in fact then it is up to us to fight that ignorance, too. But that statement is itself rooted in ignorance. Knowledge must be rooted in fact, but belief is not knowledge. It is perfectly reasonable for belief to be based on experience. And it can be perfectly reasonable to act on one’s beliefs even in the absence of knowledge. Suppose, for example, that you wake up and hear unfamiliar sounds in your house. They sound like footsteps, but you don’t know that that’s what they are. If you act on only your knowledge, you may well be robbed or raped or even dead in a few minutes. If you have reason, born of life experience, to believe that the footsteps may be a danger to you, then you should act on your beliefs. That is not to say that you should throw caution to the wind and act irrationally, shooting through walls and hoping for the best. But it is your belief that will guide you to the knowledge you need. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/74 "2007-03-14T19:24:58Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] But it is your belief that will guide you to the knowledge you need. [/QUOTE] Search your feelings. You know it is true. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/75 "2007-03-14T19:29:03Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] Search your feelings. You know it is true. [/QUOTE] I can’t make sense of that non sequitur. Are you equating “belief” with “feelings”? Are you lumping belief, feelings, instincts, hunches, and wild ass guesses all into one all-purpose equivocation? If so, you are exceedingly ignorant. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/76 "2007-03-14T19:33:11Z")
No, I think he’s just quoting _Star Wars_. ---
**Author:** ![cards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cards)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/77 "2007-03-14T19:35:21Z")
Why does **tom** draw so much ire? Well _someone_ had to **banhatten’s** place as the most pitted mod. Tom just does it in GD instead of GQ. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/78 "2007-03-14T19:36:46Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] No, I think he’s just quoting _Star Wars_. [/QUOTE] The Force is strong with this one. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/79 "2007-03-14T19:43:41Z")
[QUOTE=cards] Tom just does it in GD instead of GQ. [/QUOTE] You know, they kicked Tom out of GQ after only a few days modding? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839/80 "2007-03-14T19:53:10Z")
Oh, sorry, Autolycus! 🙂 (I’ve never seen Star Wars. I went to the original movie, but feel asleep during it.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-tomndebb-haters/395839.md?page=5)