# WTF tomndebb **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 29, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711 "2011-05-29T23:50:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [May 30, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/21 "2011-05-30T17:31:29Z")
**Sevastopol** has a long history of anti-semitic comments. So this isn’t anything out of the blue. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/22 "2011-05-30T19:20:24Z")
I will say that I found this post (#195 in that thread) by **Tom** to be a rare example of when I can’t tell whether it’s a moderator’s post or just a post: > [@](#): > > You have responded to a specific statement with a broad brush misunderstanding, trying to drag me into a discussion in which I do not choose to engage. > > Naxos is fixated on the idea that the only reason that Israel exists is to promote some version of Judaism. This is not a fact and his persistent interjection of that comment is trolling. There are more than enough posters engaged in the real discussion and I am not expressing any opinion on the topic. > > You have enough other posters with whom to feud; leave me out of it. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/23 "2011-05-30T19:54:42Z")
Kind of a hybrid, I guess. The “Mod” comments are simply repetitions of statements already made in Moderator mode, making no new points in that regard while still refraining from engaging in the general topic of the thread. The rest is just as a poster telling another poster that I do not choose to engage in the larger discussion. I suppose that I could post in Moderator mode, saying something along the lines of “_Go away, boy, you bother me_,” but that seems a bit strong to need a “Moderator” imprint. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/24 "2011-05-30T20:28:31Z")
It did seem like a hybrid, which I think is a very bad idea. Either you’re posting as a moderator or a poster. When you mix the two, it’s hard for people to respond without worrying about breaking some rule or other. I think we had a thread about this very subject in this forum not that long ago. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/25 "2011-05-30T22:37:07Z")
So, if a poster comes out of left field to demand that I make a thread-related comment based on a separate observation in a Mod post that was not on topic to the thread, what is the clearest way to post? Continue posting as Moderator as if my remarks were some official position of the SDMB? I had already specifically noted that I was not going to enter the discussion. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/26 "2011-05-30T23:36:17Z")
I think it should be crystal clear when you’re posting as a mod and when you’re not. I found it difficult to tell in that post. You yourself said it was a hybrid. It seems a small thing to explicitly demarcate moderating from posting, as is the case 99% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/27 "2011-05-31T00:10:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think it should be crystal clear when you’re posting as a mod and when you’re not. I found it difficult to tell in that post. You yourself said it was a hybrid. It seems a small thing to explicitly demarcate moderating from posting, as is the case 99% of the time. That is fine. How was I posting? I agree it should be clear, but when a poster conflates thread material with Mod material, what is the appropriate response? (I’m not entirely sure what was confusing about the post in question; I noted in three separate sentences that I was not going to engage in the thread discussion and the only other point I made was a specific reference to the behavior of the poster I Modded. Since I do not think you are just yanking my chain, I am trying to see where this discussion should go.) ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/28 "2011-05-31T08:23:29Z")
Since the poster was making gross characterizations of a whole nationality being comprised of religious nutjobs, I don’t think Tom really had to clarify if you put it into context. He told him to stop trolling. I just objected to someone else doing the same thing with Palestinians. Still, it doesn’t negate Sevastopol’s clear disregard for mod warnings. also: I am mildly amused by the OP. If I really do threadshit or spam (whatever that means) then tell me. I don’t talk about Israel in conversations that don’t involve Israel and I don’t talk about Jews unless the topic is about Jews. My snark has been modded more than once, so I feel like I’d know if I were guilty of the charge. Topics kind of have a trend here and comments can result in spin-offs. If there are 4 topics on Israel and I have an interest in the particular subject, I’ll probably post in the 4 threads. But I don’t _make_ 4 threads about Israel. I mean, I studied IR in college, so it’s not surprising that I have an opinion on the subject. But that’s no different than the resident linguists, anti-religionists, Christians, etc. We all have different interests here. I don’t care about threads on relationships, pets, games, or movies. Instead of Capitaine complaining that I post about Israeli affairs and demand that I stop, maybe he/she should wage a campaign against multiple threads on the same subject…? And maybe not characterize me as an ‘uber-Zionist’ in some kind of backdoor Pitting? (Still not sure what that is, and since I have said I’m atheist and Zombie knows it, it can’t be the ultra-Orthodox kind.) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/29 "2011-05-31T09:16:39Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > That is fine. How was I posting? I agree it should be clear, but when a poster conflates thread material with Mod material, what is the appropriate response? > (I’m not entirely sure what was confusing about the post in question; I noted in three separate sentences that I was not going to engage in the thread discussion and the only other point I made was a specific reference to the behavior of the poster I Modded. Since I do not think you are just yanking my chain, I am trying to see where this discussion should go.) The part I bolded in the following comment is a good idea, and some mods even think it’s part of the rules. > [@tomndebb](#): > > The consensus of the Staff is that Sevastopol has warranted a one month suspension. > > That has now been implemented (although the “BANNED” status may take a little while to be reset to “SUSPENDED”). > > **[/Moderating]** Sure, you may find tags silly, but it doesn’t hurt, and gets rid of the excuse. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/30 "2011-05-31T13:25:07Z")
The issue is not whether to use tags when Modding; I always do. The question John raises is whether the specific post he quoted should have been considered Modding or just a post from a poster. I saw it as a response by a poster, who happens to be a Mod, to another poster that did not require a Mod tag. The way I worded it, (or my reference to a statement I had made when I had been Modding), left that distinction less clear to John. I am just not sure what I should have posted differently to ensure that no one took it as a statement by a Mod. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/31 "2011-05-31T13:31:03Z")
I’d like to take this opportunity to complain that it’s very difficult for me to keep **CitizenPained** , **Capitaine Zombie** , and **Captain Amazing** discrete in my head. Something really ought to be done. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/32 "2011-05-31T13:33:28Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I’d like to take this opportunity to complain that it’s very difficult for me to keep **CitizenPained** , **Capitaine Zombie** , and **Captain Amazing** discrete in my head. Something really ought to be done. Perhaps they should use tags when posting? Just to keep things 100% clear. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/33 "2011-05-31T14:46:16Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I’d like to take this opportunity to complain that it’s very difficult for me to keep **CitizenPained** , **Capitaine Zombie** , and **Captain Amazing** discrete in my head. Something really ought to be done. You mean our names are way too close and you keep confusing us or we post so violently it seems like we’re shouting all the time? Maybe both? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/34 "2011-05-31T15:39:20Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > The issue is not whether to use tags when Modding; I always do. > The question John raises is whether the specific post he quoted should have been considered Modding or just a post from a poster. I saw it as a response by a poster, who happens to be a Mod, to another poster that did not require a Mod tag. After reading enough of that mess to make sense of it, I agree. You made a response as a poster that you did not wish to engage in part of the discussion. The confusing part was making reference to the comment that **Naxos** was trolling, and it really wasn’t all that confusing. You were clarifying why you had responded to **Naxos** at all on the topic, to address his trolling as a Mod action. Seems clear to me your statement was not a mod action and did not need mod tags. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/35 "2011-05-31T15:59:23Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > The issue is not whether to use tags when Modding; I always do. > The question John raises is whether the specific post he quoted should have been considered Modding or just a post from a poster. I saw it as a response by a poster, who happens to be a Mod, to another poster that did not require a Mod tag. The way I worded it, (or my reference to a statement I had made when I had been Modding), left that distinction less clear to John. > I am just not sure what I should have posted differently to ensure that no one took it as a statement by a Mod. I wasn’t confused by your post. The sequence seemed to be that ElvisL1ves was trying to get you to expand or defend a comment you made when you were moderating Naxos. As a mod you need to be able to explain to a poster why they were trolling and that is what you did, to paraphrase: “support your accusations with evidence or you are trolling” was said in a moderator note, with tags. Then later you dismissed ElvisL1ves who asked you to disprove those accusations that you referred to as unsubstantiated. That post didn’t need mod tags since you were declining to further the discussion as a poster, it wasn’t your argument, you only described it during the course of your moderation of the thread. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/36 "2011-06-01T00:20:38Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > That is fine. How was I posting? I agree it should be clear, but when a poster conflates thread material with Mod material, what is the appropriate response? > (I’m not entirely sure what was confusing about the post in question; I noted in three separate sentences that I was not going to engage in the thread discussion and the only other point I made was a specific reference to the behavior of the poster I Modded. Since I do not think you are just yanking my chain, I am trying to see where this discussion should go.) That post had no mod tags, and yet you accused a poster of trolling. That was the confusing part. While it was pretty clear that the “trolling” part was you acting as a mod, it wasn’t clear when you were not acting as a mod in that post. I would suggest that good moderator practice would be to never mix modding and posting. Keep the mod notes as a separate post, always identified with mod tags. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/37 "2011-06-01T00:25:05Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Sevastopol has a long history of anti-semitic comments. So this isn’t anything out of the blue. [/QUOTE] Nope…Sev has a long history of vehement anti-Israeli sentiment, and to me he’s often seemed to be on pretty thin ice. I’m surprised he kept pushing this time…usually his modus operandi seemed to be to push only so far then back off and even stop posting for a while before coming in and doing the same thing again. This time it was almost like he was trying to get banned (or suspended I guess). As John Mace said, I don’t think he’s going to be missed much…and, presumably, a suspension is only for a limited time, so he could be back and as nasty as ever (on this one subject…afaik, he’s fairly sane on other subjects, but I have to admit he only sticks out in my mind as one of the rabid anti-Israel 'dopers) -XT ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/38 "2011-06-01T00:46:33Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That post had no mod tags, and yet you accused a poster of trolling. That was the confusing part. While it was pretty clear that the “trolling” part was you acting as a mod, it wasn’t clear when you were not acting as a mod in that post. > > I would suggest that good moderator practice would be to never mix modding and posting. Keep the mod notes as a separate post, always identified with mod tags. The sequence, (from my perspective) went: [Post #157: Mod note to Naxos to stop trolling. Includes Moderator tag.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=13857751#post13857751) [Post #162: Repeat note to Naxos to stop trolling. Includes Moderator tag.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=13857795#post13857795) [Post #184: Warning to Naxos for trolling. Includes Moderator tag.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=13858386#post13858386) [Post #195: Reply to ElvisL1ves that I had no intention to comment on the “real” reason for establishing Israel just because I had Warned Naxos for trolling a false reason. No Moderator tag as I was not addressing anyone in my Mod capacity.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=13859310#post13859310) Given that the three posts that actually addressed trolling had Moderator tags and that they were all on the same page, (presuming a 50 post per page limit), and that the post that has prompted ElvisL1ves to address me was a Warning that included a Moderator tag, I did not think that it was all that confusing. I’ll try to avoid such confusion in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711/39 "2011-06-01T15:26:34Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That post had no mod tags, and yet you accused a poster of trolling. Did he accuse the poster of trolling in that post, or did he just explain the reason he was modding that poster so that he could state why he posted on that topic as a mod but did not wish to engage as a poster? I don’t see any mod action in that post, but I see a fuzzy zone where as a poster stating that another poster is trolling is kinda bad form. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-tomndebb/583711.md?page=1)