# Why did Qin Shi Huangdi get a warning for suggesting Rubio is gay? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 19, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554 "2016-02-19T14:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [February 21, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/61 "2016-02-21T00:25:53Z")
“Value added” is such a subjective quality, I’m hope the mods don’t take that into account. That would be enough for me to start siding with those who claim bias. ---
**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:** [February 21, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/62 "2016-02-21T00:39:02Z")
Yeah, gotta admit. That’s a decision I never want to be in a position to make. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/63 "2016-02-21T01:14:37Z")
'Cos people like me and **Drunky** would be out on our asses. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/64 "2016-02-21T06:56:50Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > You or others may disagree and/or may argue against that reasoning, but that’s what the reasoning was for the decision (factual answer). Naah, I wasn’t agitating for his banning, I was genuinely curious about the process, thank for the info. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/65 "2016-02-21T08:26:08Z")
It seems though like he’s reverting to the way he posted when he first came here. Wonder why? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/66 "2016-02-21T08:41:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > “Value added” is such a subjective quality, I’m hope the mods don’t take that into account. That would be enough for me to start siding with those who claim bias. I know, I know. Probably won’t happen. I’d make it a _consideration_ anyway. We’re here to fight ignorance and make wisecracks. Posters can be ranked on both criteria. Most of the banned would earn double zeros anyway. Sure it might entail some bias, but so what? Let the whiners whine. Maybe I’d give it the weight of a couple of warnings. That’s my take anyway. It’s also very much against the consensus of this board’s mods or membership. Won’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/67 "2016-02-21T09:26:11Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > It seems though like he’s reverting to the way he posted when he first came here. Wonder why? He’s 18 or 19 now, isn’t he? ---
**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:** [February 21, 2016, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/68 "2016-02-21T10:48:28Z")
We’re wandering into discussing the poster instead of the mod action. I think it’s better for everyone that such not occur. Feel free to ask him when he returns. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/69 "2016-02-21T13:41:31Z")
Has anyone kept track on the effectiveness of suspensions in modifying posting behavior? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/70 "2016-02-21T14:29:33Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I know, I know. Probably won’t happen. > > I’d make it a _consideration_ anyway. We’re here to fight ignorance and make wisecracks. Posters can be ranked on both criteria. Most of the banned would earn double zeros anyway. Sure it might entail some bias, but so what? Let the whiners whine. Maybe I’d give it the weight of a couple of warnings. > > That’s my take anyway. It’s also very much against the consensus of this board’s mods or membership. Won’t happen. Everything is taken into consideration, at least by me. “Value” comes into it on the extreme ends. Some posters join just to troll. They get banned without a suspension. An exemplary poster could be here for years and just have a bad day or something hits a raw nerve and they have a melt down. That poster might get a short break from posting. Most cases fall in between. If a poster continually breaks the rules it’s not going to matter what they bring to other threads. ---
**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:** [February 21, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/71 "2016-02-21T15:27:34Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Has anyone kept track on the effectiveness of suspensions in modifying posting behavior? Someone tried to do that once, but he got banned. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/72 "2016-02-21T17:29:14Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Disparagement comes from using “homosexual” or “gay” with the intent to disparage, not as a neutral factual (or non-malicious speculative) description. > > In other words, “gay” is an insult if you use it with the intent to insult. As an insult, it is intended to lump both the target and the group being compared together, and to imply that both are bad. “Gay people are bad, and you are gay, so you are bad. QED.” Exactly, if people were referring to Rubio as say “Senator Taco”, the mods, if anything would have said “knock that off, right now” vastly quicker, at a minimum if not immediately jump to a warning even though such a phrase is not inherently insulting to either Rubio or Latinos. JC said stop that, and they refused to stop. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/73 "2016-02-21T18:24:13Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Exactly, if people were referring to Rubio as say “Senator Taco”, the mods, if anything would have said “knock that off, right now” vastly quicker, at a minimum if not immediately jump to a warning even though such a phrase is not inherently insulting to either Rubio or Latinos. > > JC said stop that, and they refused to stop. I don’t find this “ignore the context” argument very persuasive. If we’re in a thread about Barack Obama’s treatment by the GOP and I refer to him as President Kenya of Muslimistan, you’re saying I should be warned for hate speech? Of course not. The context and intent matters. Obviously, there’s room to argue about context and intent. And I accept that many people don’t see the ambiguity I see here. But to assert that we should ignore context and intent entirely seems foolhardy to me. I note with interest that there is now a thread making the identical assertion about Hillary Clinton without moderation. Why is it hate speech when directed at Rubio, but not when directed at Clinton? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/74 "2016-02-21T19:35:03Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Exactly, if people were referring to Rubio as say “Senator Taco”, the mods, if anything would have said “knock that off, right now” vastly quicker, at a minimum if not immediately jump to a warning even though such a phrase is not inherently insulting to either Rubio or Latinos. Yeah. “Senator Medianoche” or “Senator Ropa Vieja,” please. We’re all about fighting ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/75 "2016-02-21T20:53:23Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Before I answer that, please note that I’m answering since you have asked. You may not like or agree with the answer, but it’s what the answer to the question is…and that’s mostly this: > > He was suspended shortly after first joining, which was five years ago now. After that, he improved by a fair amount and followed the rules pretty much from then on with very little straying from them. It was–at least in this mod’s opinion–one of the bigger improvements I’ve seen a poster have, considering how close it was to banning in a short time the first time. > > With that taken into account, we’re not opposed to giving someone a second suspension instead of banning and letting that one be the last if it fails to work. Again, I speak only for myself for this next sentence, but there’s a big difference between that case and a case where someone breaks rules, builds up a lot of warnings, gets suspended, comes back and immediately starts breaking rules and pushing the line again. That wasn’t the case here, however. > > You or others may disagree and/or may argue against that reasoning, but that’s what the reasoning was for the decision (factual answer). I think it was the right decision. I actually knew him several years ago from another board and he’s gotten vastly more mature. This was really out of character for him. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/76 "2016-02-21T23:06:57Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Has anyone kept track on the effectiveness of suspensions in modifying posting behavior? It ranks an 18.7 on a 1 to 23 scale. Suspensions are also provided for other members, so that we can wave farewell to those on the ban-train. > [@Richard Parker](#): > > . I note with interest that there is now a thread making the identical assertion about Hillary Clinton without moderation. Why is it hate speech when directed at Rubio, but not when directed at Clinton? See post number 3. As I understand it, compiling evidence that Rubio is gay would be acceptable in a thread, provided it was topical. Empty insinuations and smears? That’s something else. This is also consistent with the board’s longstanding affirmative action plan for conservatives, something I support 200%. It’s a striking example of moderator bias and a crime against humanity, something I support 400%. ---
**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:** [February 21, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/77 "2016-02-21T23:23:31Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > This is also consistent with the board’s longstanding affirmative action plan for conservatives, something I support 200%. It’s a striking example of moderator bias and a crime against humanity, something I support 400%. Still working on that sarcasm thing eh? They can’t all be winners 🙂 ---
**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:** [February 22, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/78 "2016-02-22T00:44:25Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > I note with interest that there is now a thread making the identical assertion about Hillary Clinton without moderation. Why is it hate speech when directed at Rubio, but not when directed at Clinton? As much as I hate to defend that HRC thread… no assertion was made about her. The OP asked what would happen if she were to come out as a lesbian, as many people have speculated. And it’s true that many people have speculated that. The OP did not call her a lesbian. ---
**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:** [February 22, 2016, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/79 "2016-02-22T17:20:14Z")
> [@andros](#): > > 'Cos people like me and **Drunky** would be out on our asses. Ha, jokes on them. I always carry a Deluxe Comfort Donut Pillow with me. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554/80 "2016-02-23T11:51:08Z")
[quote=“Colibri, post:15, topic:746554”] As has been pointed out, this involves a suspension rather than a banning. In any case, it is not prohibited to discuss the reasons why a poster was banned with respect to the rules. What we want to avoid is personal attacks on someone who can’t defend themselves. I’m sorry, but it seems Dex was wrong then. [Link.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17030461&postcount=16) I gather it will be okay for people to ask why I was banned in an open forum? As far back as I can remember it was always “PM a Mod” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-qin-shi-huangdi-get-a-warning-for-suggesting-rubio-is-gay/746554.md?page=5)