# When Moderators Lie **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 16, 2002, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151 "2002-07-16T00:58:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/41 "2002-07-16T13:26:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Francesca \* > \*\*You know, **Fenris** , none of that might actually happen if everyone didn’t keep prodding and poking and provoking her in this thread. So she over-reacts and claims everyone is out to get her - you think the way to remedy this is to poke fun at her? Think that really helps the situation? \*\* Yup. I do. The _only_ way to stop a spoiled kid from having tantrums is negative reinforcment. If this was the first time, sure, I’d ignore it. Everyone blows up once in a while. Everyone has an occasional regretted post. But this happens, what? once a month or so? Once every six weeks? It seems to me that Opal thinks that she deserves some sort of special exemption from the rules (it’s ok for HER to post personal commercial links, it’s ok for HER to encourage file sharing, it’s ok for HER to attack mods outside the Pit) and has a fucking meltdown _every_ goddamned time she gets called on it. It’s obnoxious and irritating and if it was anyone else, it’d be considered trolling. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Your last post was the equivalent of “pulling up a lawn chair”, laughing at things **Opal** ’s done in the past, and ganging up on her by encouraging others to do the same. No matter how ridiculous Opal is or is not being, I think that’s sad. \*\* If you meant the last prediction (“everyone yawns”), it was supposed to relate to the one imediatly above it: the last time a so-called Fathomite showed up, trying to provoke a board war, it was unanimously met with yawns. I realized after I posted it that I didn’t make it clear. If you meant the whole post, sorry, laughing at trollishness is a time-honored tradition, and referring to the pattern/history of trollish behavior is a requirement. This ongoing “I’m special, mods suk” type behavior _is_ trollish. **Francesca** : yer a pal, but honestly. If this was [b}AM/PM\*\* or **MuMu** or that Parrot one…any of the “Mods suk” trolls who constantly posted anti-Mod crap, would you be saying the same thing? Or are you trying to say that **Opal** should be able to get away with the same sort of behavior that MuMu, etc were banned for simply because she’s made valueable contributions to the SDMB (which I don’t for a minute deny) and that she’s your friend (if, in fact, she is)? Fenris PS: Now that **Coldie** has actually posted in this thread, the odds that we’ll get a **COLDIE SUX!** spin-off thread? 2:1 ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/42 "2002-07-16T13:30:52Z")
I agree. This isn’t a pile-on, this is a wake-up call to **Opal** from her contemporaries. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/43 "2002-07-16T13:32:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary Kumquat \* > \*\*As maybe, this still feels like yet another SDMB pile on. \*\* We do it rather well though, you must agree. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/44 "2002-07-16T13:42:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Buck The Diver \* > Why didn’t you handle this via e-mail? That’s like asking a flasher why he didn’t just keep his fly zipped. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/45 "2002-07-16T13:45:51Z")
**Opal** , you know I think the world of you, but the folks here are absolutely right. Whether or not you stepped over the line in the closed thread, you could have responded in a whole googolplex of less inflammatory ways than to open a thread for the purpose of calling the mods a bunch of liars. You’ve been down this road enough for people to find it predictable, which - even without **Ed** ’s warning - says it’s time to stop. So please stop, OK? ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/46 "2002-07-16T13:46:00Z")
Well, I see your point about negative re-inforcement. But I don’t think it works - how many times has this happened before? How many times have people accused Opal of over-reacting before? And she still does it. We know how regularly she does it because several people (me included) saw this pit thread coming a mile away the minute her thread was closed. It’s the way she is. I think it’s a stupid thing to do, but I don’t think continually pointing and laughing is the way to go. I think that’s ugly behaviour and it’s likely re-inforcing Opal’s view that she can’t complain without being vilified. As for whether I’d make the same objections if it was MuMu or Ma Parrot, I don’t know. It so happens that I don’t particularly like the way people behave towards them either, the mocking and jeering. It makes me feel as though people I like are behaving like an (albeit witty) baying mob. It may be a tradition but it certainly doesn’t make me proud to be part of this community when it happens. ---
**Author:** ![Anahita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@Anahita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anahita)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/47 "2002-07-16T13:49:33Z")
When it happens time and time again, it strikes this semi-newbie as Opal blatantly breaking stated rules and then lashing out when she’s held to account for it. Why she does this, only Opal can say. Does she know the rules, but try to skate around them? Does she not really understand the rules? Are the rules unclear or loopholey? That’s NOT for us to determine. The bottom line is this: Frankly, I doubt we’ll ever see a “BANNED” under her name. If most other posters, including other oldtimers repeatedly broke the stated rules, then pitted whomever called them on it, that person would be banned. I don’t think it’s my business to worry about it. As long as I keep my nose clean and don’t break the rules, what someone else does or doesn’t do shouldn’t matter. On the other hand, I agree with **Francesca** that piling on, even if Opal started the thread, only encourages her persecution complex. It does nothing to help the admittedly annoying and predictable routine of “Break a Rule, Get Called on It, Freak at the Mods–Repeat every few months.” It also divides our community into pro-Opal and not-pro-Opal. That is the worst part of it all. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/48 "2002-07-16T13:54:45Z")
Sure she can complain without being vilified, just as any board member can. Of course, she would need a valid _reason_ first, but that’s a mere detail, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/49 "2002-07-16T14:04:12Z")
I see your point, **Coldie**. I guess what I was objecting to was **Fenris’** “lets all join in on taking bets as to how stupid and ridiculous Opal is!”. It struck me as going beyond the simply expressing a viewpoint and into meanness. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/50 "2002-07-16T14:08:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anahita \* > \*\*It also divides our community into pro-Opal and not-pro-Opal. That is the worst part of it all. \*\* Well there’s another couple of t-shirts for you right there! ---
**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:** [July 16, 2002, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/51 "2002-07-16T14:15:25Z")
I only just noticed what **Scylla** did, way up there at the top; very funny. ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/52 "2002-07-16T14:17:13Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s the way she is. Which, knowing only the text, I’d agree with. Now, to my mind, this indicates that the pattern will happen over and over and over and…you get the idea. It’ll do that regardless of a pile-on/exasperated-TM’s, or lack of one. More of a cometary orbit than a habit at this point. Not my property or guests to manage, praise “Bob”. Entirely up to the admins of how tolerable the pattern is–and historically, it looks like it’s pretty tolerable. (Pretty generous for a pack of Nazi liars, really.) ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/53 "2002-07-16T14:17:46Z")
Okay, enough. your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**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:** [July 16, 2002, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/54 "2002-07-16T14:19:20Z")
well, almost. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/55 "2002-07-16T14:21:19Z")
John 3:14 ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/56 "2002-07-16T14:21:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anahita \* > \*\*It also divides our community into pro-Opal and not-pro-Opal. That is the worst part of it all. \*\* No offense, but that’s attaching _way_ too much weight to it. This board is a gathering of highy intelligent people from all walks of life, and from all corners of the globe. Barring a few discrepancies, board members tend to respecfully disagree on a wide array of topics, ranging from the latest Britney Spears record to the Middle East conflict. To suggest a “pro-Opal” vs. “not-pro-Opal” divide comes into existence because of threads like this is not giving the membership the credit they’ve earned (they’ll disagree on _anything_, after all), and it also means that the perceived status of one single board member apparently has gotten completely out of hand. In short: she’s not that important. Trust me. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/57 "2002-07-16T14:23:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Francesca \* > \*\*I see your point, **Coldie**. I guess what I was objecting to was **Fenris’** “lets all join in on taking bets as to how stupid and ridiculous Opal is!”. It struck me as going beyond the simply expressing a viewpoint and into meanness. \*\* It was intended to be “Let’s all take bets to see which of her standard melt-down methods she uses.” I mean, hell, she could surprise me by showing up, giving a legit apology and then _not doing this again_ in six weeks, in which case, my post would be meaningless. I understand your POV **Francesca** , and all I can say in response is if she didn’t keep having her every couple-of-month “I got called on breaking the rules” meltdown, I wouldn’t be able to list the methods she’s used. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/58 "2002-07-16T14:25:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TwistofFate \* > \*\* > > Because Opal has a persecution complex where she see’s any possible negative mention of her and her site as an all out attack on her. I can GUARENTEE that if there is any sort of negative reply to her by a reg or a moderator, there will be a new thread opened in the pit by her. > > Every. Single. Time. > > Its not big, it’s not clever, and the routine is just wearing thin. \*\* Perhaps. Having been here for much less time, it appears to be more of an attempt to solicit attention, much like the behavior of my old year old niece, who may bite the perceived offender. Can’t type yet, and all that. Same childish behavior, expressed slightly differently. All I know is that whatever the reason, it ain’t pretty. **Opal** needs a brand new bag, methinks… ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/59 "2002-07-16T14:26:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Francesca \* > \*\*You know, **Fenris** , none of that might actually happen if everyone didn’t keep prodding and poking and provoking her in this thread. So she over-reacts and claims everyone is out to get her - you think the way to remedy this is to poke fun at her? Think that really helps the situation? > > Your last post was the equivalent of “pulling up a lawn chair”, laughing at things **Opal** ’s done in the past, and ganging up on her by encouraging others to do the same. No matter how ridiculous Opal is or is not being, I think that’s sad. \*\* After almost 6000 posts she should know better. ---
**Author:** ![Avumede](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/avumede/32/7235_2.png) [@Avumede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avumede)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151/60 "2002-07-16T14:39:03Z")
So does this mean I can’t link to [Mirsk-T](http://www.mirskt.com/mirskt/mirskt.html) ? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-moderators-lie/119151.md?page=2)