Why was my Shark Jump Message Board thread closed?

See, this is why it’s such a shame that Giraffe didn’t close that thread. If your explanation for closing it was that the thread was a big pile of stupid, no one would disagree (well, perhaps the OP might take some umbrage, but the board population in general would back you up).

Agreed. I’m no Giraffe, but…

I Love Me, Vol. I, your joke sucked. Your efforts to draw attention to your alleged witticism were tiresome the first time you posted them and are getting worse. If you’re not getting enough appreciation for your jokes, try being funny. Going “That thing I said was funny, huh? Huh?” doesn’t make people laugh.

Anyway, the registration agreement says “The board is not intended to furnish you with a forum for promoting your personal agenda;” there’s also a longstanding policy against bringing off-board grievances to the board. I’m sure you are aware of this, as neither is new.

If you’re not sure whether or not you can post your joke, don’t post it. We’ll live.

Here are the actual issues, Mar:

  1. I’ve never heard of the rule against posting bad jokes. Can you direct me to it? Thanks.

  2. I understand that you hold the opinion that my pressing you on your lame and disingenuous reasons for closing the original post may be ‘tiresome’ for you , but you need to take off your mod hat before you offer your opinions on the quality of my jokes. Take it to the pit.

  3. Don’t give me this “drawing attention to my alleged witticism” crap. Every. Single. Post. made on this public board are intended to bring attention to what ever point the OP is trying to make. So THAT clearly doesn’t hold water. You are going to have to do better than that.

  4. I can hardly get appreciation or criticism of my comments when you close my thread, can I? I’m just trying to find out exactly how you want me to write the post so that you’ll finally take your nose out of my business. Do the new rules allow a Moderator to close a thread (or forbid the opening of a new one) just because the moderator doesn’t find it amusing? I’d like you to show me where that rule is is the Membership Agreement. I don’t think you can.

  5. Can’t you see that this isn’t about the relative humor value of my joke anymore? It’s about you (apparently) trying to disallow the use of 4 words but you can’t justify why they should be disallowed. Again: “it isn’t funny” is not a TOS violation.

  6. It hardly matters if my-tongue-in-cheek, self-deprecating, sarcastic remark about how funny I am (which apparently went right over your head) makes people laugh or not, does it? Not unless some new rule has been instigated where every post must pass Marley23’s personal writing quality test. Is there such a rule? Can you direct me to it please?

  7. Yup. You are correct that the Board does not allow for me to post things simply to further my own agenda. Please tell me how “Here is a little funny I thought up” is promoting my own agenda any more than “I think Americans should get more exercise, don’t you agree?”

  8. What do you mean by off-board grievance? Where did I do that? My only grievances these days are very much ON-board.

  9. Actually, under the rules of sanity that used to govern this place I would be QUITE sure that I could post my joke. I was only asking you if you would permit something that is completely within the rules of this board to be posted (which you would agree I shouldn’t even have to wonder about but the complete arbitrariness of Mod decisions lately has got everyone a little nervous about… oh, I don’t know… maybe getting banned because an over-zealous mod was so bothered by a phrase which is sooooo perfectly apropos that he seemed desperately find reasons to disallow it.

I am sure that I can post the joke under the rules and guidelines of the SDMB, what I am not sure about is what length you will go to to “disappear” something that obviously gets so deeply under you skin that you will bend any rule you need to to suppress it. Indeed, it is you who doesn’t seem to understand that I have violated neither the spirit nor the letter of the law of the SDMB.

And finally, I think you KNOW that the SDMB has “jumped the shark” and my silly little joke just cuts a little to close to the bone, doesn’t it my friend? Awfully sorry about that, but it doesn’t mean you can make up excuses for censoring my comments.

And again-- you STILL haven’t answered if you will escalate your quite personal vendetta against me if I type up an innocuous post containing those “four forbidden words” or whether those words will be permitted on this board whether written by me or anyone else. So what is it, Mod-dude: is “Shark Jump Message Board” censored, or not? Yes or no, please on that last question.

It’s not true. This has always been allowed, this is a new policy and you better sticky it and tell it to a BUNCH of people, Marley.

I’ve posted OPs both here and on the Unaboard-and been told point-blank in e-mails or in the thread itself that it was fine by mods on both boards–the only caveat I ever got from any mod or admin was that I couldn’t just dump the OPs in both places and walk away–as long as I participated in both discussions it was fine. Tuckerfan’s posts are generally beloved and he’s crossposted OPs between boards for years. I’m pretty sure Opalcat’s done it as well and I could easily keep listing people.

Hell, if the f-word-ing search engine would work, I’d provide you with at least one example where I started a thread saying “I posted this on another board as well” and a mod (Chronos or Czarcasm, I think) point-blank, in thread, said “No problem at all”

Boards have different memberships and it’s possible to carry on the same conversation with more than one person/group of people. Or are you saying that if you talk about a new movie with one friend, you’re not allowed/able to talk about the movie with any of your other friends?

You’re mistaken on this point Marley–if you want it to be a new policy, I’ll accept that, but it has not ever been the policy to date-either written or one of those special “Well, everyone just knows” rules.

So the reasons for closing the thread changed twice now:

First it was because “We already have threads suggesting alternative destination for Dopers”

Then it was because “we don’t allow people to cross-post”

Now it’s because “it’s a stupid joke”

Good lord. What’s next? You closed it because you didn’t like what I Love Me, Vol. I was wearing at the time they posted the thread?

I Love Me, Vol. I, I didn’t close your thread because it was unfunny, but given the amount of effort you’re putting into an unfunny joke it was worth noting.

I’m now left with the impression that you’re not reading what I am posting, because I said clearly “I’m not proscribing individual words and phrases here.”

It’s changed zero times. The fact that several reasons apply was worth nothing, though.

It’s not a new policy. We have prohibited this for years. I hope these examples are sufficient.

Regardless of the merits of this thread, this position is risible pap.

Thanks for your contribution. :slight_smile:

Not at all.

Do you seek to disagree, or would you care to recast your position? I’d be quite prepared to clarify (as an Australian, living somewhere there is freedom of speech yet no First Amendment).

This is a private message board. Freedom of speech refers specifically to public fora- which are regulated (or not) by government, not private entities.

Claiming that your freedom of speech is being infringed because you can’t say something on a message board is akin to saying your free speech is being infringed because the phone company disconnected your phone line.

This thread is a good example of how the SDMB has jumped the shark.

What exactly do you mean? I’ve been here 7 years. We’ve always had disputed thread closures. How is this one any different?

To review a bit:

  1. The thread was started in the Pit and moved to MPSIMS, where the subject matter was similar to another active thread. For that reason it was closed.
  2. Board criticism goes in ATMB.
  3. A thread that was, more or less, “here’s a funny joke I made about the SDMB” would probably get locked even if started in ATMB.
  4. A thread that was, more or less, “here’s a funny joke I made about the SDMB reposted from another board” would be even more likely to get locked.
  5. Joke wasn’t funny. This wasn’t a reason for the thread closure but bears mentioning.

Please show us both threads in question.

“I need a new message board a lot like the Straight Dope.” Contains plenty of Domebo discussion.

I Love Me, Vol. I’s thread.

The other thread is the one I’d thought you’d link to. I don’t see how they have anything in common. One is a genuine request for other board recommendations. The other is a simply vehicle for I Love Me, Vol. I to tell us his lame joke. He’s not asking for other board recommendations and no one is furnishing them.

Yep. That’s about it. Marley23, can you ever, ever, ever, admit you are wrong? Try it. Just this once. Re-open the thread you never should have closed in the first place. Or, alternatively, offer up more of your silly reasons (that continue to change) why you closed it. Or, a still better option (for someone as apparently weak-kneed as you), try that one about how my original post wasn’t funny again. You KNOW that that is no reason to close a thread yet you keep coughing it up like grandma’s cancerous phlegm.

You have been called out, my friend–exposed. Not just by me, but also by others. You haven’t a leg to stand on and you know it. Are you man enough to admit that? Or will you keep the nonsense coming–ever more laughable each time you spew it?

And what excuse will you come up with for closing THIS thread? You know you want to— after all, you really don’t have any other option now, do you? Except to “man up” and admit your errors, but is that really an option for you? I doubt it, because you know that the SDMB has “jumped the shark” and that you are earnestly endeavoring to help provide the springs for the jumping. THAT’s why the joke is “lame” to you— because the truth frigging HURTS.

Please–tell me once again how my joke wasn’t funny. One more time, at least, please. You’ve played that lame-ass card how many times now? And, ironically, because of your continued flailing about, backtracking, and general desperation, my lame joke becomes more so much more apropos by the minute.

Nice work. You are now the moderator poster child for the Shark Jump Message Board.

The answer to that is simply no. Unless he’s presented with absolute, empirical evidence he will not accept your logic or reason. It’s one of those “I’m going to stick to my guns no matter what” that unfortunately too many mods are guilty of.

No it doesn’t. That’s freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.. These two things are obviously not the same.

[sub]I think I’ll let this point rest in this thread now. I’m happy to take it up elsewhere if anybody wants.[/sub]

When I’m wrong, yes. That’s not now.