# Why is Ghost a boomerang?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ghost-a-boomerang/88644>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 20, 2001, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ghost-a-boomerang/88644 "2001-10-20T23:59:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2001, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ghost-a-boomerang/88644/1 "2001-10-20T23:59:10Z")

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In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=42018) **Guinastasia** linked to **Ghost** (last post page 1) is a boomerang instead of a member. Why is that?

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**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2001, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ghost-a-boomerang/88644/2 "2001-10-21T00:07:53Z")

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The moderators have the option of giving individual posters a different status than the common ones. This is occasionally done when someone who has been banned comes back under a new name and the banning administrator is in a capricious mood. It is also occassionally done when a poster is deactivated for other reasons.

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**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:** [October 21, 2001, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ghost-a-boomerang/88644/3 "2001-10-21T00:08:58Z")

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The mods can enter whatever they want under your name. Usually, they stick with Member or Banned, although someone was kicked off the boards and his remnant posts labeled “Another Serlin Sockpuppet” (Serlin being an infamous troll hereabouts)

I don’t how **Ghost** ended up being called a boomerang, though.

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**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2001, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ghost-a-boomerang/88644/4 "2001-10-21T00:09:41Z")

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IANAMod, but a boomerang is something that gets thrown away and then comes back. Maybe one of the admins had a bit of fun with the sock puppet of a banned poster instead of just saying “banned” under the name. Just a WAG, mind you, I don’t know for certain.

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**Author:** ![Ferggie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@Ferggie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferggie)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2001, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ghost-a-boomerang/88644/5 "2001-10-21T01:22:49Z")

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I thought this was going to be a riddle, like “How is a raven like a writing desk?”

(Best answer I ever heard: They both have inky quills.)

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**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2001, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ghost-a-boomerang/88644/6 "2001-10-21T01:26:35Z")

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Thanks folks. I never noticed anything like it before.  
That sounds like a good WAG, **Crunchy Frog**. I’ll extrapolate and say it must have been **Czarcasm**.

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**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2001, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ghost-a-boomerang/88644/7 "2001-10-21T01:55:23Z")

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[Here’s](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_266.html) why, silly.

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**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2001, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ghost-a-boomerang/88644/8 "2001-10-21T02:30:43Z")

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Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Because they both produce notes which are often very flat.