# Yo, Czarcasm-what's the problem? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 22, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380 "2008-07-22T16:08:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/21 "2008-07-22T19:37:02Z")
[QUOTE=Who\_me?] We always HAVE had to follow the unwritten rules too, it’s not like this is the first time something like this has happened. And for one, I have no problem with it. And don’t call me Shirley…😉 [/QUOTE] You owe me a quarter. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![padabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@padabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/padabe)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/22 "2008-07-22T19:38:21Z")
So to recap, the problem is _not_ that **scrambledeggs** started 100-some threads in 30-some days; the problem is that he is not posting _enough_. even when he presumably has nothing to say. as a result, **scrambledeggs** ’ thread was closed _not_ to punish the people who were contributing and enjoying it, but to punish **scrambledeggs** , for not visibly enjoying it, or at least not acknowledging that he enjoyed it. And lastly, it’s been pointed out that this is _not_ an arbitrary codification of something as subjective as netiquette, but in fact the enforcement of the well-defined Jerk Rule. The reason that no one can remember anyone getting bounced for this specific infraction before is that **scrambledeggs** is the first person to be a jerk in this precise manner in the ten years of the SDMB. Yeah, yeah, ignored warnings, some of them polite, I know, “Respect my authoritay!”, right. It’s no skin off my nose, but I can’t help feeling that this is one of the most bizarre bannings-in-progress I’ve witnessed. Of all the goofballs the board has tolerated over the years, this one seems harmless. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/23 "2008-07-22T19:44:28Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Whoop de fucking do. You can now read the threads in question and learn more about the situation. Is that a big problem now? [/QUOTE] Only when you use your Mod position to be a condescending fuckwit about it. > [@](#): > > Capricious my ass. We asked him to pick the right forums and come back to his own threads now and then. That’s not capricious at all, it’s what everybody else here does. But for him, it was a big problem and he took it to an extent that was idiotic. I couldn’t have imagined ever need to warn somebody for posting threads in the wrong forum or for ignoring his own threads. You’d have to be either a total idiot or a jerk to take it to the degree **scrambledeggs** has. You’ve continued to ignore that fact that other posters were enjoying dialog in some threads, absent the input of eggman. Whether he comes back or doesn’t isn’t relevant. As usual, the Mods aren’t clued in to the fact that you’re the CSRs of this business. Before you charged admission, you could do whatever the fuck you wanted, but now, we, the paying members, are owed a level and dependable standard. I’m not the only person complaining, so you can address the issue or continue to stick your head in the sand, or wherever else you’d like to stick it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/24 "2008-07-22T19:46:03Z")
[QUOTE=padabe] So to recap, the problem is _not_ that **scrambledeggs** started 100-some threads in 30-some days; the problem is that he is not posting _enough_. even when he presumably has nothing to say. [/quote] The threads themselves were mostly “nothing to say.” Personally I think he was asking idiotic questions in the hope people would waste their time answering them. But maybe I’m wrong. > [@](#): > > And lastly, it’s been pointed out that this is _not_ an arbitrary codification of something as subjective as netiquette, but in fact the enforcement of the well-defined Jerk Rule. The reason that no one can remember anyone getting bounced for this specific infraction before is that **scrambledeggs** is the first person to be a jerk in this precise manner in the ten years of the SDMB. Far as I know, yes. Anybody else know of someone who actually _tried_ to do something like this? I don’t. > [@](#): > > It’s no skin off my nose, but I can’t help feeling that this is one of the most bizarre bannings-in-progress I’ve witnessed. It’s an unusual situation. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/25 "2008-07-22T19:50:52Z")
It’s clear the mods get hard-on for somebody, then get hair-trigger on whatever subject got their panties twisted up. Example: [Anyone have experience buying from irotors? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=476436) **Czarcasm** closes it for non-participation a mere hour after it was opened. Fucking ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/26 "2008-07-22T19:54:00Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Personally I think he was asking idiotic questions in the hope people would waste their time answering them. [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure we users can decide for ourselves whether we want to waste time answering something or not. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/27 "2008-07-22T19:54:55Z")
I’m just bummed to find out the Expos are leaving Montreal.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/28 "2008-07-22T20:00:55Z")
[QUOTE=danceswithcats] Only when you use your Mod position to be a condescending fuckwit about it. [/quote] I’m sorry my explanation dampened your outrage. > [@](#): > > You’ve continued to ignore that fact that other posters were enjoying dialog in some threads, absent the input of eggman. And we let most of those threads go. Only a handful of his threads were locked, and most of those were nipped in the bud because we were trying to get him to make the effort to put them in the right forum. The “obese women” thread, the one about liberal arts degrees, the one about rape… the ones that got interest stayed open. Most of them didn’t last very long because they were stupid, but that was about the choice of topic, not the moderation. I think we locked seven of his threads. 7/100… you can do the math, I bet. > [@](#): > > As usual, the Mods aren’t clued in to the fact that you’re the CSRs of this business. Ah yes, the invented outrage of the customer is always right. > [@](#): > > Before you charged admission, you could do whatever the fuck you wanted, but now, we, the paying members, are owed a level and dependable standard. You’ve got one, your desire to find something to complain about notwithstanding. > [@Revtim](#): > > **Czarcasm** closes it for non-participation a mere hour after it was opened. Fucking ridiculous. Yeah, that thread was sure to be the one **scrambledeggs** decided to actually participate in. I mean, he was due. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/29 "2008-07-22T20:03:02Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Anybody else know of someone who actually _tried_ to do something like this? I don’t. [/QUOTE] Not to the extent of **eggs** but I believe there were a few whose “Let’s You and Him Fight” threads contributed to their banning. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/30 "2008-07-22T20:10:49Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Yeah, that thread was sure to be the one **scrambledeggs** decided to actually participate in. I mean, he was due. 😛 [/QUOTE] So it’s OK to close threads because the user will _probably_ break an unwritten rule some time later. Wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/31 "2008-07-22T20:15:23Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] It’s clear the mods get hard-on for somebody, then get hair-trigger on whatever subject got their panties twisted up. Example: [Anyone have experience buying from irotors? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=476436) **Czarcasm** closes it for non-participation a mere hour after it was opened. Fucking ridiculous. [/QUOTE] I closed it because he was asked repeatedly(via email, IM, and in the threads themselves, without response) to participate at least superficially in the threads he created, then asked by me the night before for a clarification on a thread he started the day before, and his response was to get online just long enough to start thread #100 then sign right back off. As far as I’m concerned, if he wants to start some sort of record for posting the most number of questions in the least amount of time with the least amount of personal participation, he can do it elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/32 "2008-07-22T20:25:00Z")
[QUOTE=Czarcasm] I closed it because he was asked repeatedly(via email, IM, and in the threads themselves, without response) to participate at least superficially in the threads he created, then asked by me the night before for a clarification on a thread he started the day before, and his response was to get online just long enough to start thread #100 then sign right back off. [/QUOTE] Which has nothing to do with that thread, where no rule, unwritten or otherwise, was broken. Unless you people made yet another rule that applies to one person only, that **scrambledeggs** has less than an hour to follow up in a thread (even though there were no other posts to respond to) or it gets closed. Here’s another hint: if you wanted him to participate more in his threads, closing them minutes after they are opened makes that less likely, not more likely. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/33 "2008-07-22T20:25:20Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] So it’s OK to close threads because the user will _probably_ break an unwritten rule some time later. [/QUOTE] That just happened to be the thread where we acted because we’d gotten tired of asking him if he’d pretty please like to think about learning the rules. He’d received an email from another mod earlier in the day, plus **Czarcasm** ’s messages. I could see all this bitching about “unwritten rules” if we hadn’t told **scrambledeggs** exactly what he was expected to do, repeatedly, for weeks. Do you think he didn’t know, or something? And he also had weeks to ask about what we were trying to get him to do if he didn’t understand it somehow. This wasn’t exactly an ambush. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/34 "2008-07-22T20:27:36Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] Here’s another hint: if you wanted him to participate more in his threads, closing them minutes after they are opened makes that less likely, not more likely. [/QUOTE] Again, you’ve missed the point. He was asked over and over to participate in his _other threads_ and didn’t. That one was locked because it was his response to our request that he visit his other threads before starting any new ones. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/35 "2008-07-22T20:29:17Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] That just happened to be the thread where we acted because we’d gotten tired of asking him if he’d pretty please like to think about learning the rules. [/QUOTE] So it was closed because he was suspended at that time? That’s more understandable. If that’s the case, it should have been described in the closing message instead of the snark that’s there. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/36 "2008-07-22T20:31:49Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] So it was closed because he was suspended at that time? [/QUOTE] It was closed because that’s when we started discussing the suspension. He was asked to come back to the older threads before opening another one, and when he signed on, started yet another new thread and signed off without answering questions in the other threads, it was decided that we had to talk about doing something more drastic. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/37 "2008-07-22T20:35:29Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Again, you’ve missed the point. He was asked over and over to participate in his _other threads_ and didn’t. That one was locked because it was his response to our request that he visit his other threads before starting any new ones. [/QUOTE] Then you should have put that explicitly in the closing message. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/38 "2008-07-22T20:38:56Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] Then you should have put that explicitly in the closing message. [/QUOTE] > [@Marley23](#): > > he made repeat appearances in few of them despite repeated advice and suggestions that he do so, followed by warnings. I thought that was clear enough. But I hope it’s been explain enough now. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/39 "2008-07-22T20:41:47Z")
So, have there been a lot of reported posts and emails from other members complaining about these unattended threads, or is this coming from the Pitting a few weeks ago or are you mods just bored? Because, speaking for myself, I don’t care if someone doesn’t feel like participating in their threads. I simply don’t feel the need to participate in theirs. No modding necessary. (I’m becoming more and more sure that modding should be restricted to moving threads to the right forum, dealing with personal attacks, and banning socks. I’m getting tired of this “The thread was too stupid to live” crap. I’ll decide that for myself thank you very much.) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380/40 "2008-07-22T20:46:25Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I thought that was clear enough. But I hope it’s been explain enough now. [/QUOTE] Sorry, I meant the message in the thread that was being closed, not a message in this thread. Yes, it’s clear now, thanks. I agree the closing was justified, but the message in the thread itself should have described the reason better. It looked like a pretty ridiculous closing to me until you guys explained it here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-czarcasm-whats-the-problem/457380.md?page=3)