I have only a very slight personal connection - even as a “board buddy” - to one mod, and he’s not one of those who advised me.
I’m not sure why this is stirring up so much… reaction. It seems to be a perfectly reasonable and courteous thing to do: “Your comments about ____ are taking some harsh criticism in [this Pit thread]. You have not responded over several days, so I wanted to make sure you were aware of it.”
shrug
No, they absolutely “gang up”. And they are a “cabal”.
I’ve been here a few months and I see exactly how this message board works. It lures suckers in with the cachet of its founder, and then submits them to an extended pledge period where they are expected to submit to hazing by the full fraternity members and especially the frat’s officers. It purposely identifies how long you have been here so that the pledges are easily identifiable; and it also publicizes whether you’ve paid your $15 so that posters and mods can see whether you’re current in your fraternity dues. Then the fun begins.
Insults and trolling are expressly forbidden, and the stated goal is to “fight ignorance.” But if you find yourself in a disagreement with a mod (pledgemaster), another will jump in to insult you and try to provoke a response. Such as Miller’s brilliant contribution to this thread in which he had previously posted exactly zero comments, but I had disagreed with tomndebb:
Note that it was directed at ME, not my post, “You have a strange way…”
So I, refusing to take the bait, replied:
Which then received this brilliant, ignorance-fighting response from Miller:
To which I replied:
So then another mod, Johnathan Chance, apparently the High Alpha, swooped in to Miller’s rescue with his paddle:
The Moderator Speaks
TWO “oblique” references to a monkey, but not an “oblique” reference to a random word generator. And no reference at all to trolling. I realize that my response was dismissive of Miller, it was intended to be. But there was no “insult” there. Certainly nothing fundamentally different from Miller’s responses. At least my presence in that thread was part of a real discussion; Miller just jumped in to hurl insults because I was disagreeing with tomndebb.
I get it, pledges aren’t allowed to get uppity. I now have one official fraternity demerit on my record. If I continue in my insolence, I will eventually be put on social probation or, if I prove to be an especially contumacious pledge, double-secret probation, which will include being completely de-pledged from the frat. My only question is: Do I get to keep my pledge pin?
Here’s the thread:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=750850&page=3
Well, that was something.
I feel a sudden need to rise up and overthrow our mod overlords. Seize the paddles!
Frictate. Excellent. Yours?
I’m confused. Are you claiming you were cyberbullied? All I’m seeing here is some hurt feelings after a moderator warning. Maybe you should start a new thread.
I checked the thread. It is evidence of Mod bullying.
Not that there is anything wrong with that.
And I assure you, it will continue to be zero.
Precisely.
I see no reason to venture into a thread that is, essentially, for people who don’t like me to talk shit about about me (although it does seem that there are people speaking up for me, which of course I’m happy about). I’ve been a grown up quite awhile and I’m well aware not everyone is going to like me, or my stories, and I’m OK with that.
I much prefer all that going on in a Pit thread I can ignore than threadshitting everyone on the Dope. So have at it, folks, but don’t expect me to to drop in, I have no intention of reading even the OP much less the rest of it.
Yep.
That did start happening but it has stopped.
It is my understanding there is another message board with a similar discussion occurring, but I’ve only heard about that second hand. Does that count as spreading? Well, if it stays in those two forums I don’t really care, they’re as entitled to their opinions and stories as anyone else.
This is true. People are free to say whatever they want, making threats or taking it to the real world is where things get unacceptable.
Actually… a number of things I have said in the past HAVE been distorted or exaggerated. As an example, on several occasions people have stated my spouse is in a wheelchair, most recently in the thread that started with men and tattoos. I can only assume these people have either conflated “disability” with “wheelchair”… or they’re deliberately doing it as part of their accusations I am lying (which latter would be quite despicable to my mind, but obviously these folks and I have differing opinions on things.) Whether or not that constitutes “lying” is debatable. From ignorance it’s merely a mistake, as a deliberate action it would be lying of a sort.
No. I am not and do not ever intend to be on Facebook.
Well, not on THIS board… 
What complaints I had I took to the mods and they settled it, to the degree attention was required, to my satisfaction (thanks, guys). As I said, I’m happier they have a camp in the Pit and are no longer free-range thread-shitting which, to be honest, was limited to only a very few individuals.
I probably won’t make any further comments in this thread, either, but I won’t make absolute promises about that.
That was the second time in my life I’ve heard anyone use the word “frictate.” The first time was in 1983, when a friend was speculating on the relationship between Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi.
Um, how do you know there are people speaking up for you, if you haven’t read the thread? 
I’m assuming that based on what has been said in *this *thread. Of course, I might be entirely wrong on it.
:::shrug:::
I think so many people think your husband is in a wheelchair because “wheelchair” and “Broomstick’s husband” have simply become conflated in people’s minds.
You have posted many times on disability-related matters, mentioning both your spouse AND people in wheelchairs. It’s not always clear that your husband is excluded from the latter group, and it’s easy to assume that he is a wheelchair user, especially since you seem knowledgeable about wheelchair issues. You have indeed stated on several occasions that he doesn’t use one, but apparently the correlation is strong enough to overcome that. Until a few days ago, I thought he was a wheelchair user too.
I"m not claiming that this case is cyberbullying, nor do I know much about the subject of cyberbullying. I just happened to do a quick search on the subject for another thread on this board. Your description doesn’t match what I found, IMO. In the interests of more information, I’ll add a description of cyberbullying I found on wiki (wiki cites a website called uslegal.com which doesn’t provide a cite for its definition):
U.S. Legal Definitions is a website in this, not a description of a legal definition. While I realize those aren’t the best cites, the legal sites’ information becomes very specific and complex with the words cyberstalking and cyberharassment getting intertwined in the definition. Most of the cyberbullying laws I’ve found have to do with schools.
Your examples seem to be from the extreme end of the spectrum, but based on that definition, cyberbullying can happen without any of those extreme things happening.
For me, it’s baffling to imagine a moderation purpose in informing someone that there’s a Pit thread about them. If someone chose to be blissfully unaware when anyone Pits them, a moderator informing the person of it would thwart that choice.
I can understand the OP of a Pit thread letting someone know that they posted a Pit thread about them, inviting them to comment, but a moderator comment seems baffling. That may be the reason you’re getting a reaction.
So much for my “last post”… but then, I made no promises, right?
Yes, I understand where people may be confused about whether or not a member of my household uses a wheelchair. That is why, when such confusion has become apparent, I have tried to politely correct any misinterpretations rather than assuming malice.
Sorry, I don’t buy it.
Don’t buy what, that I’ve never looked in the current Pit thread about me?
How on earth would I prove that sort of negative?
Believe or don’t believe what I say, again, ::: shrug :::
No, I wasn’t “cyberbullied.” And my feelings certainly weren’t hurt. But I was ganged up on by the mods and then judged by a vastly and hypocritically different standard than they were. And it was total horseshit. My irritation is not with the warning, but that it was the ONLY warning.
My post in this thread was in response to people describing how fair and awesome the mods are. They aren’t. Someone specifically claimed they don’t “gang up.” They do, too. And people should be made aware of the clear double-standard so that they can decide whether they wish to engage the mods or not.
…wrong thread dude. The pit thread is thataway.
You are correct and a excellent link. In order for cyberbullying to actually become criminal, it does have to be pretty extreme. Obviously what has occurred here isnt that extreme, altho who know what else some posters may have done outside these boards. But “Cyber-bullying could be limited to posting rumors or gossips about a person in the internet bringing about hatred in other’s minds”? Sounds about right. and even tho there may not be criminal penalties for that, other penalties can & do occur. And yes, mostly the issue is when the bullying is directed against kids, but it’s not limited to that- altho certainly minors need extra protection.
And, the bullying hasnt been limited to just the PIT thread, as is quite well known. The staff here is quite aware of what I am talking about. True, they did step in to stop the hijack that occurred in the original thread.
It’s nice that Broomstick is happy that people are sticking up for her but I am not doing that. I am pretty neutral about her posting (altho if she left I’d miss some of her anecdotes- true or not). But certain group of posters have taken it upon themselves to bully a couple posters they like to make fun of. It goes beyond starting one simple PIT thread. I am tired of this bullshit. Giraffe, Fenris you know what I am talking about.
I mean look at dba Fred’s post here, which certainly is evidence that the bullying has gone into more that just one PIT thread (not to mention the solid evidence of the original tattoo thread). Even if it’s not cyber-bullying it is a personal attack/jab and completely outside the purview of this forum, but all he gets is a rather mild mod Note.
Again, I ask-** why does the SDMB condone cyber-bullying**? It’s a simple question, why not a answer?
When did you stop beating your wife?
i.e., if the SDMB does, in fact, not condone cyber-bullying (which is the opinion of at least a few here) then your question cannot be answered.