# Why does the SDMB condone cyber bullying? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 21, 2015, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576 "2015-03-21T07:28:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**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:** [March 23, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/101 "2015-03-23T13:25:39Z")
1. It is not against the rules to mention or link to the Giraffeboard so let’s stop being coy. [www.giraffeboards.com](http://www.giraffeboards.com). See? No rules violation. As far as I know, the rules here about GB are: 1) Can’t put it in your sig, 2) no starting board-wars, 3) no spamming. 2 and 3 are standard for all links, I’m not sure if 1 even still applies. It was one of those “invoked once” rules. 2. In answer to the OP, there is no cyberbullying going on, so there is nothing for the mods to actually…y’know…do. 3. The complaint in the OP is possibly the single dumbest complaint that ATMB has ever seen, and I remember the thread where AndrewT, after being banned, created a sock to bitch that he didn’t get an “AndrewT” was banned note in ATMB. This one? Orders of magnitude dumber than that. ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/102 "2015-03-23T13:37:08Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > This may shock you, but I do have friends who have told me about those other discussions, in one or two cases sending me links. What, you think I’m sitting here in some sort of isolation? I have PM’s and e-mail, too, you know. So, you are responding with no firsthand knowledge of what is being written? How mature of you. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Really, I’m not as vain as you think I am. “Vain” is not the adjective I would use. But this isn’t the pit, so I won’t elaborate on which ones I would choose. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Also, I have this _dreadful_ compulsion to post in threads I read… if I’m not posting, it’s a pretty safe bet I’m not reading. How did you think I got to 20,000+ posts here, after all? Magical fairy dust, obviously. Or maybe you sat on the keyboard and branded your ass with YTREWQ. > [@Broomstick](#): > > I mainly found out about the “other board” when I did a Google search to attempt to find out what happened to the poster known as **I Have Hippos In My Garden** , whereupon I found some of the self-righteous congratulating themselves on having outed **umkay** , how good it felt, and maybe they could continue the crusade to expose other posters as frauds. I’d post a link, but I’m really not sure how the mods would take that, or if it would be constructive. I have, however, given anyone enough information to do such a search themselves if they care to do so. Yup. That’s totally ALL the Longnecks do. Maybe you should read before you judge. Assuming you are telling the truth about never having read that forum. Or the Pit with your name on it. But that’s kinda the point of that one. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/103 "2015-03-23T14:02:20Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > So, you are responding with no firsthand knowledge of what is being written? How mature of you. > > “Vain” is not the adjective I would use. But this isn’t the pit, so I won’t elaborate on which ones I would choose. > > Magical fairy dust, obviously. Or maybe you sat on the keyboard and branded your ass with YTREWQ. > > Yup. That’s totally ALL the Longnecks do. Maybe you should read before you judge. Assuming you are telling the truth about never having read that forum. Or the Pit with your name on it. But that’s kinda the point of that one. This post, and several others that I haven’t quoted, are discussing Broomstick and her posts and have nothing to do with the SDMB or its rules and policies. I realize that many of these posts are in response to things that were posted here, but these comments belong in the Pit, not ATMB. Please restrict the discussion here to the rules of the SDMB and what is or is not acceptable to post in various forums. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/104 "2015-03-23T14:19:37Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Everywhere else but the PIT is very well monitored for a no insults allowed policy. But to say that SDMB does not allow cyber bullying, when you have a whole section set up where people trade insults like two boxers in a ring… If there ARE two people squaring off to spar “like two boxers in a ring” it is, in fact, consensual… just as actual boxing is consensual. Actually, the Pit is a LOT tamer than it used to be. > [@Robert163](#): > > Oh, sorry… I am not familiar with the details but from what I have read on this thread I would have to say I do not find her stories to be credible. I have very little doubt that she is either exaggerating greatly or outright lying for attention. See, this is where the damage comes in - he hasn’t actually read any of the “details” or presumably the source posts, but based on hearsay he has come to a conclusion because, essentially, a few people are saying over and over I’m a liar. Which, frankly, I can live with. I realize some of the tales I tell are improbable and will not be believed by everyone. What I don’t entirely understand is why it matters so damn much to those people - I’m an anonymous person telling anecdotes on a message board. _What does it matter?_ Either enjoy the story(s) or go elsewhere. Who appointed you the Internet Police? If someone has a problem with a poster they’re supposed to take it up with the mods. Of course, the mods don’t always agree with the complainer. When that happens, we mature people just deal with the fact we don’t always get our way. Other people attempt to get their way regardless. > [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Okay, after a modestly quick skim, I found no insults in that thread greater that “liar/lying”, and no discussion of any other aspects of her character. Nobody has written that they do not like her, and nobody has insulted her (again, outside of the issue of her dishonesty). Which is fine, people are allowed to question anything they want… but it’s a great illustration of how second hand information is pernicious. I don’t have direct experience of the Pit thread in question, my opinions are formed solely by second hand information therefore it’s not a good reflection of what’s going on there, and my be quite wrong on several points. Likewise, when **PlainJain** decides to paraphrase something I said in her own interpretation rather than being arsed to find the correct post and link to it [(like I just did regarding her post)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18228896#post18228896) what I actually did or did not say gets lost, the information gets corrupted in repetition, and the resulting conclusions can be quite off base. If people would use the search function, or a search engine like Google, to link to the originating posts it would cut down on a lot of confusion and misinformation. Anyone who doesn’t know how to do that, or link to something, can ask for help and plenty of folks will help them out with it. > [@](#): > > So, the cyberbulling, meanness, and “executioner” stuff seems to me reflective of a dramatic overreaction. Or it’s an example of how hearsay and second hand information can really distort what’s actually going on. > [@Fenris](#): > > 1. It is not against the rules to mention or link to the Giraffeboard so let’s stop being coy. [www.giraffeboards.com](http://www.giraffeboards.com). See? No rules violation. As far as I know, the rules here about GB are: 1) Can’t put it in your sig, 2) no starting board-wars, 3) no spamming. 2 and 3 are standard for all links, I’m not sure if 1 even still applies. It was one of those “invoked once” rules. The reason I didn’t mention or link to the giraffe board directly is because I don’t want to start a board war or be accused of starting one. If folks on that board want to start linking to threads there that is their business. ---
**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 23, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/105 "2015-03-23T14:30:07Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The reason I didn’t mention or link to the giraffe board directly is because I don’t want to start a board war or be accused of starting one. Thank you for that kindness. I lost a cousin and two good friends in the great board war of 2008. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/106 "2015-03-23T14:31:34Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I realize some of the tales I tell are improbable and will not be believed by everyone. What I don’t entirely understand is why it matters so damn much to those people - I’m an anonymous person telling anecdotes on a message board. _What does it matter?_ Either enjoy the story(s) or go elsewhere. Who appointed you the Internet Police? > [@](#): > > Which is fine, people are allowed to question anything they want… but it’s a great illustration of how second hand information is pernicious. > > Likewise, when **PlainJain** decides to paraphrase something I said in her own interpretation rather than being arsed to find the correct post and link to it [(like I just did regarding her post)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18228896#post18228896) what I actually did or did not say gets lost, the information gets corrupted in repetition, and the resulting conclusions can be quite off base. > > If people would use the search function, or a search engine like Google, to link to the originating posts it would cut down on a lot of confusion and misinformation. Anyone who doesn’t know how to do that, or link to something, can ask for help and plenty of folks will help them out with it. > [@](#): > > Or it’s an example of how hearsay and second hand information can really distort what’s actually going on. These seem like drastically inconsistent standards. On the one hand, it’s okay for someone to tell a bunch of stretchers because it’s just inconsequential anonymous anecdotes on an internet message board… but on the other hand if someone wants to comment on the manifold stretchers, they better link precisely to them and get all the details right or it becomes an unfair matter of hearsay and a cabal of executioners. So, is this all inconsequential diversion, or does it carry the weight of a potential miscarriage of justice? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/107 "2015-03-23T14:32:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Thank you for that kindness. I lost a cousin and two good friends in the great board war of 2008. ☹ I had heard some second hand information about that and I’m sorry to hear it confirmed first-hand. Please accept my condolences on your loss. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/108 "2015-03-23T14:39:53Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Likewise, when **PlainJain** decides to paraphrase something I said in her own interpretation rather than being arsed to find the correct post and link to it [(like I just did regarding her post)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18228896#post18228896) what I actually did or did not say gets lost, the information gets corrupted in repetition, and the resulting conclusions can be quite off base. This is a gross mischaracterization of what I meant and you know it. What I was trying to say was that I understand that your husband is not in a wheelchair now but was explaining why I thought that at one time. I wasn’t intentionally trying to mis-parse your words, only that the sentence _as I read it at that time_ led me to think that. And I can understand why others might have mis-read it that way too. It was germane to your accusation that people who might think your husband is in a wheelchair are > [@](#): > > … deliberately doing it as part of their accusations I am lying comment up thread. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/109 "2015-03-23T15:01:39Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > So, is this all inconsequential diversion, or does it carry the weight of a potential miscarriage of justice? It depends. Personally, I’m totally OK with someone calling “Bullshit” in the originating thread, but when one poster or a group starts following another around the board calling LIAR! in every thread the person participates in I’d say that’s skirting the line of reasonable, if not going over it. A person can have a history of being annoying or wrong or whatever and still be correct in a particular thread or post. As a reference (because that seems to be the trend these days) [in this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15207666#post15207666) someone yells bullshit in reference to a claim made by **curlcoat** , [more pile on,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15210556#post15210556) (despite other posters naming the problem properly) but the phenomena she describes really does exist and is a legitimate disorder recognized by medicine. But, even though it’s a recognized disorder that millions of people have it’s somehow impossible for her to have it because her veracity on some other subject was cast in doubt. :rolleyes: Honestly, I think some people just like to stir the pot. I guess their own lives aren’t interesting enough. I’d prefer that each thread be judged on its own merits, but I don’t run the show here. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/110 "2015-03-23T15:06:32Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > This is a gross mischaracterization of what I meant and you know it. What I was trying to say was that I understand that your husband is not in a wheelchair now but was explaining why I thought that at one time. Why couldn’t you be bothered to link to the actual post that caused your misunderstanding? If I did word it that badly I’d like to know about it to prevent future misunderstandings. And, AGAIN, such misunderstandings are why I _politely_ correct such misunderstandings regardless of whether or not I think there is some other motivation at work. Unless you can like to a post were I hulk-out at someone saying my spouse is in a wheelchair? Can you? Did I rip you a new one just now or was I reasonable about the whole thing? I’m not sure why people will focus in on just one sentence or maybe two in an entire post and completely ignore whatever else is being said. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/111 "2015-03-23T15:24:57Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Honestly, I think some people just like to stir the pot. I guess their own lives aren’t interesting enough. This is an interesting attack, given the issue at hand. > [@](#): > > I’d prefer that each thread be judged on its own merits, but I don’t run the show here. I don’t think that approach reflects the truth that a message board, at least this message board is a community. Claiming individual dots rather than pointilism just doesn’t fly. If a new poster were to start several threads with a not-impossible but still unlikely or unusual sexual question, it would certainly be worth observing the cross-thread commonalities and wondering about the motivation. I don’t see why it should be any different when someone has a portfolio of improbable anecdotes than span multiple threads. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/112 "2015-03-23T15:42:32Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Which, frankly, I can live with. I realize some of the tales I tell are improbable and will not be believed by everyone. What I don’t entirely understand is why it matters so damn much to those people - I’m an anonymous person telling anecdotes on a message board. _What does it matter?_ Either enjoy the story(s) or go elsewhere. Who appointed you the Internet Police? I posted this in the pit thread, to answer other people who asked the same question, and since you haven’t read that, I’ll say it here as well. To me, the Weber grill story _doesn’t_ matter. But many of your stories aren’t just amusing anecdotes, they are meant to illustrate your experiences with bigots and bullies. They are meant to further your agenda of making the public aware of these issues. I am in alignment with you that these are societal problems that need to be addressed. When you tell wild tales about your experiences that people dismiss because they are SO unbelievable, it makes them also dismiss the idea that these are problems at all. As Guinistasia said, it’s like the boy who cried wolf…telling these stories makes people less inclined to believe, indeed it causes them to laugh it off. It makes the problem worse. ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/113 "2015-03-23T16:30:47Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > If someone has a problem with a poster they’re supposed to take it up with the mods. Of course, the mods don’t always agree with the complainer. When that happens, we mature people just deal with the fact we don’t always get our way. Other people attempt to get their way regardless. No, this is false, at least for me. I’ve sent 4 or 5 messages to mods and never received a single response. Not just that I didn’t get my way, I’ve never gotten a single reply. The mods do not want to be bothered, unless you disagree with a mod, in which case they come running. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/114 "2015-03-23T16:54:09Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > No, this is false, at least for me. I’ve sent 4 or 5 messages to mods and never received a single response. Not just that I didn’t get my way, I’ve never gotten a single reply. The mods do not want to be bothered, unless you disagree with a mod, in which case they come running. If you report a post and a moderator doesn’t think that any action needs to be taken, we generally do not reply to the person who reported the post. If you want to know why no action was taken on a particular post report, feel free to contact one of the moderators of that forum. We don’t mind being bothered. Really. It’s what we’re here for. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/115 "2015-03-23T16:55:05Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > 1. It is not against the rules to mention or link to the Giraffeboard so let’s stop being coy. [www.giraffeboards.com](http://www.giraffeboards.com). See? No rules violation. As far as I know, the rules here about GB are: 1) Can’t put it in your sig, 2) no starting board-wars, 3) no spamming. 2 and 3 are standard for all links, I’m not sure if 1 even still applies. It was one of those “invoked once” rules. > > 2. In answer to the OP, there is no cyberbullying going on, so there is nothing for the mods to actually…y’know…do. > > 3. The complaint in the OP is possibly the single dumbest complaint that ATMB has ever seen, and I remember the thread where AndrewT, after being banned, created a sock to bitch that he didn’t get an “AndrewT” was banned note in ATMB. This one? Orders of magnitude dumber than that. Thank you for bring that up, and yes, that’s what makes it cyber-bullying. It’s not just a PIT thread. First we have the harassment in the original tattoo thread, where Broomstick posted her original little anecdote. Then Fenris and Greenbean and Guinastasia and others started a harassment thread on Fenris’s board- which of course led Greenbean to\* bring that shit over here \*. This is pretty common, they like to do a “list” about certain SDMB posters (they have none of there own, really) and then after the fun pales preaching to a rather small choir, then then start shit over here. \*\*Cyberbullying. \*\* Then you add in the posts here, one of which was (too gently) modded, and yes you have a pattern. Not to mention that last point comes pretty damn close to a personal attack in ATMB. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/116 "2015-03-23T16:57:36Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Which, frankly, I can live with. I realize some of the tales I tell are improbable and will not be believed by everyone. What I don’t entirely understand is why it matters so damn much to those people - I’m an anonymous person telling anecdotes on a message board. _What does it matter?_ Either enjoy the story(s) or go elsewhere. Who appointed you the Internet Police? Great line. The thing is- it doesnt really matter to them. What matters is the bullying, the sense of being smarter and hipper and being part of the “in crowd” who are taking turns with the bullying. It’s like high school all over again. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/117 "2015-03-23T17:07:09Z")
_Cyberbullying is the use of cell phones, instant messaging, e-mail, chat rooms or social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to_\* harass, threaten or intimidate someone\*\*. \* _Cyberbullying can include such acts as making threats, sending provocative insults or racial or ethnic slurs, gay bashing, attempting to infect the victim’s computer with a virus, and flooding an e-mail inbox with messages_. > **[What is Cyberbullying and its impact? – TechTarget Definition](https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/cyberbullying)** > > Learn about cyberbullying, a type of bullying using digital technologies -- mobile phones, computers or tablets -- to intentionally harm another person. Did any of that really happen? (bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/118 "2015-03-23T17:15:27Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > _Cyberbullying is the use of cell phones, instant messaging, e-mail, chat rooms or social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to_\* harass, threaten or intimidate someone\*\*. \* > _Cyberbullying can include such acts as making threats, sending provocative insults or racial or ethnic slurs, gay bashing, attempting to infect the victim’s computer with a virus, and flooding an e-mail inbox with messages_. > > [http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/cyberbullying](http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/cyberbullying) > Did any of that really happen? > > (bolding mine) Yes. **"harass… or intimidate someone**" also see Heffalump and Roo’s earlier post with this defintion: _Cyber-bullying could be limited to posting rumors or gossips about a person in the internet bringing about hatred in other’s minds_ ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/119 "2015-03-23T17:17:56Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Thank you for bring that up, and yes, that’s what makes it cyber-bullying. It’s not just a PIT thread. First we have the harassment in the original tattoo thread, where Broomstick posted her original little anecdote. Then Fenris and Greenbean and > Guinastasia and others started a harassment thread on Fenris’s board- which of course led Greenbean to\* bring that shit over here \*. This is pretty common, they like to do a “list” about certain SDMB posters (they have none of there own, really) and then after the fun pales preaching to a rather small choir, then then start shit over here. \*\*Cyberbullying. \*\* > > Then you add in the posts here, one of which was (too gently) modded, and yes you have a pattern. > > Not to mention that last point comes pretty damn close to a personal attack in ATMB. There was an issue of cyber-bullying that was going on. There was a group of people that kept posting in Broomstick’s threads, which is basically cyber-stalking. This was discussed in the mod loop, at least one warning was issued that I know of, and as far as I am aware, that problem has been dealt with. As I said earlier, we don’t tolerate cyber-bullying. I can’t go into any more detail than that since I wasn’t one of the mods involved in that action, but as far as I am aware, it has been handled. In case it isn’t perfectly clear to everyone by this point, any discussion of Broomstick and the truthfulness of her posts (or any other user and the truthfulness of their posts) belongs in the Pit and nowhere else. You are allowed to insult posters here, and question the accuracy and honesty of their posts, as long as you do so in the Pit. That is not cyber-bullying. Anything that happens on other boards is beyond our control. Quite a few posts in this thread are not appropriate for ATMB. I’m giving folks a little leeway since it’s difficult to draw an exact line between the issue and what can be posted with respect to it in ATMB and what should only be in the Pit, since responses to the former often lead to the latter. That said, if this thread keeps progressing the way that it is going, with the discussion focusing on the poster and not the SDMB rules and regulations, I will end up moving this thread to the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576/120 "2015-03-23T17:20:23Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > There was an issue of cyber-bullying that was going on. There was a group of people that kept posting in Broomstick’s threads, which is basically cyber-stalking. This was discussed in the mod loop, at least one warning was issued that I know of, and as far as I am aware, that problem has been dealt with. As I said earlier, we don’t tolerate cyber-bullying. > > I can’t go into any more detail than that since I wasn’t one of the mods involved in that action, but as far as I am aware, it has been handled. In case it isn’t perfectly clear to everyone by this point, any discussion of Broomstick and the truthfulness of her posts (or any other user and the truthfulness of their posts) belongs in the Pit and nowhere else. > > You are allowed to insult posters here, and question the accuracy and honesty of their posts, as long as you do so in the Pit. That is not cyber-bullying. > > Anything that happens on other boards is beyond our control. > > Quite a few posts in this thread are not appropriate for ATMB. I’m giving folks a little leeway since it’s difficult to draw an exact line between the issue and what can be posted with respect to it in ATMB and what should only be in the Pit, since responses to the former often leads to the latter. That said, if this thread keeps progressing the way that it is going, with the discussion focusing on the poster and not the SDMB rules and regulations,\*\* I will end up moving this thread to the Pit.\*\* That could open up (again) a discussion of Pitting Mod actions, tho. Might want to think about what precedents you set… or change. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-sdmb-condone-cyber-bullying/715576.md?page=7)