# Zenster banned? What's all this then? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 24, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338 "2003-10-24T15:54:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/101 "2003-10-25T01:52:48Z")
Thanks **Quasi**. I’m glad you’ve spoken to him. Just for the record, as Board Owner of G’Dope, I’d just like to clarify that that board is neutral territory, and we have a policy of not discussing any SDMB moderator or Administrator actions over there, so you’re all welcome to go there of course, but don’t expect any vitriol regarding this incident. Heck, we don’t even have a _Pit_. We used to have a _Slight Hole in th’ Ground_, but I think it caved in, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/102 "2003-10-25T01:55:04Z")
I think this goes back to **county** saying that axe handles should be used on those who cross picket lines. **Zenster** didn’t cook “axe handles” up out of thin air. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/103 "2003-10-25T01:57:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chefguy \* > \*\*Yes, yes, I’m not a complete fucking moron. I thought perhaps you were assuming I was replying to you, since my post directly followed yours. I was merely pointing it out to you (politely, I thought). \*\* That would make sense, except you quoted **EarlyOut**. Why would you be replying to me while quoting what he said? Either way, sorry for seeming snarky. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/104 "2003-10-25T01:58:31Z")
I have never participated in any thread about banning. Frankly, I don’t usually care who gets banned, or why. I do occasionally notice, and sometimes wonder, but rarely enough to do any searching to find out. This one startled the heck out of me. There are plenty of junior mods here - Zenster happened to _point out_ that he was doing it, when he typed the words (junior mod hat on) and (/junior mod hat off). I see people junior modding all the time, the difference is they don’t say “Hey, I’m gonna pretend to be a mod here and refresh you on the rules!” How many posts do you suppose you would find NOT by Zenster that say, “Rule number one here is don’t be a jerk and you’re violating it!”? As far as the threat is concerned: I see plenty of posts where people say, “Boy, if you did (whatever) to me, I’d kick your ass!” or words to that effect. In the cited post, Zenster was replying to county’s assertion that he (county) would beat someone with an axe handle - the difference? County said “if someone” and Zenster said “if YOU”. If it wasn’t taken as a literal threat - and personally, I think much more of Lynn’s ability to tell the difference than she exhibited - then I am left with the conclusion that the banning was already decided for some entirely different reason and someone was waiting for an opportunity to exercise it. I will freely acknowledge that there has been more than one occasion where a post of Zenster’s has made me mutter, “go back, GO BACK, you’re going over the line!” but - in every instance of that I have seen, he was quick to apologize and acknowledge his mistake. Granted, I don’t read everything here, so maybe he was a jerk one too many times - but I’ve seen plenty of people here behave worse, and more consistently. They’re not banned. Zenster was warned, yes? Has everyone else who’s ever been a jerk on this board been warned too? Me, I’m just disgusted at the moment. I maintain that a mistake on the mods’ part was done here, and I hope to see it corrected. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/105 "2003-10-25T02:02:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beagle \* > \*\ ***Zenster** didn’t cook “axe handles” up out of thin air. \*\* No, but he could do some really amazing things mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/106 "2003-10-25T02:30:29Z")
Well, the thing that bugs me about Zenster’s banning is that there are _plenty_ of people, even in the linked threads, that violate the “Prime Directive” of the boards even _more_ than Zenster, i.e. don’t be a jerk. I could name names but then I’d be being a jerk 😛 Not to say that he wasn’t a jerk: he definitely was. And not to say he wasn’t bannable, that’s the mod’s discretion when it comes to things like threats. But still, if I had my druthers there’d be more heads to roll\* before Zenster. \*in a SDMB way, not in a literal, threatening way 🙂 ---
**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 25, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/107 "2003-10-25T02:45:05Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by LifeonWry_ > This one startled the heck out of me. There are plenty of junior mods here - Zenster happened to point out that he was doing it, when he typed the words (junior mod hat on) and (/junior mod hat off). I see people junior modding all the time, the difference is they don’t say “Hey, I’m gonna pretend to be a mod here and refresh you on the rules!” How many posts do you suppose you would find NOT by Zenster that say, “Rule number one here is don’t be a jerk and you’re violating it!”? I think it was the “junior mod” thing specifically that was catching him the warnings. To someone who’s not familiar with the board and its various in-jokes, it could sound like he had some sort of actual authority on the boards, instead of just being another poster. I think it was the apparent asumption of authority he did not posses that merited the warnings, not the fact that he was pointing out what is and is not against the rules. > [@](#): > > As far as the threat is concerned: I see plenty of posts where people say, “Boy, if you did (whatever) to me, I’d kick your ass!” or words to that effect. In the cited post, Zenster was replying to county’s assertion that he (county) would beat someone with an axe handle - the difference? County said “if someone” and Zenster said “if YOU”. If it wasn’t taken as a literal threat - and personally, I think much more of Lynn’s ability to tell the difference than she exhibited - then I am left with the conclusion that the banning was already decided for some entirely different reason and someone was waiting for an opportunity to exercise it. You’ve just found the critical difference between the two situations: **county** was threatening a _non-board member_. **Zenster** was threatening another poster. AFAIK, there is no rule against threatening violence against, say, the guy who cut you off in traffic, or the slow clerk at the checkout counter. In fact, **UncleBeer** has a habit of attacking people who do make statements like that, but he never does so as a mod: only as a poster. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/108 "2003-10-25T02:45:07Z")
This blows. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/109 "2003-10-25T02:48:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\*Thanks **Quasi**. I’m glad you’ve spoken to him. > > Just for the record, as Board Owner of G’Dope, I’d just like to clarify that that board is neutral territory, and we have a policy of not discussing any SDMB moderator or Administrator actions over there, so you’re all welcome to go there of course, but don’t expect any vitriol regarding this incident. Heck, we don’t even have a _Pit_. We used to have a _Slight Hole in th’ Ground_, but I think it caved in, or something. \*\* Understood, **TLD**. Also for the record, I thoroughly enjoy posting there and reading about the lives of my Aussie and Kiwi buddies! 😃 Q ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/110 "2003-10-25T02:48:43Z")
Question for those who think this board is unfair or who have lost all respect for the Mods. Why the fuck you still here? ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/111 "2003-10-25T02:56:13Z")
We’re hoping to see you naked. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/112 "2003-10-25T02:58:00Z")
The odd thing is - a lot of the posters supporting **Zenster** are adding a disclaimer “but I understand, he did this/that.” Bullshit. He simply stated his opinion in a manner that the almighty mods decided was “unacceptable.” If I state that someone who killed their small children should be put to death, will I be banned? No? What if I phrase it differently, but suggest the same thing using more colorful language? The censors on the SDMB have just thrown out one of our most intelligent posters. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/113 "2003-10-25T03:04:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > **You’ve just found the critical difference between the two situations: county was threatening a _non-board member_. Zenster was threatening another poster. AFAIK, there is no rule against threatening violence against, say, the guy who cut you off in traffic, or the slow clerk at the checkout counter.** I fail to see the difference. Being a member of this board does not give one some magical immunity to threats or put them above the rest of the population. As far as I’m concerned, making threats against the guy who cut you off in traffic is just as egregious as making them against one of us. if the board administration seriously wants to raise the tone of this board, as they’ve said they want to time and time again, they’ll address this. If we’re going to disallow threats against SDMB members, then we should disallow threats against _anyone_. To do otherwise is hypocritical, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/114 "2003-10-25T03:12:44Z")
Aside from the personalities and circumstances involved in this particular banning, I would ask that the moderators consider this. While it is true that long-time posters are generally familiar with the rules and know when they are on thin ice, they are also more likely to mess us from time to time and show their backsides. Nobody gets his shit together once and for all. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/115 "2003-10-25T03:14:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*You’ve just found the critical difference between the two situations: **county** was threatening a _non-board member_. **Zenster** was threatening another poster. AFAIK, there is no rule against threatening violence against, say, the guy who cut you off in traffic, or the slow clerk at the checkout counter. \*\* I respectfully disagree with you here, **Miller** because in this SPECIFIC instance you may be correct, but there’s still plenty of “if YOU did that to me, I’d (whatever) to you” rather than “if the person or persons unknown who cut you off cut me off, I’d to this to that person or persons.” Just look at some of the thread titles in the Pit: “Ere YOU left the stall” is the one that jumps immediately to mind. Me? LifeOnWry? Ere _I_ left the stall?? Of course not. Or all the threads where someone rants about something and someone pops in and, having experienced something similar, says, “Oh, that was YOU?” Come on. Even the dimmest bulb on this board knows better. And you, **Miller** , you yourself in your own person as an individual poster on this board, are not the dimmest bulb. No, I am not making up conspiracy theories or harboring anything resembling a persecution complex (on my own behalf or on Zenter’s) but I still say that unless something very weird happened that none of us was privy to, this banning is just plain mystifying. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/116 "2003-10-25T03:19:50Z")
No worries **Quasi** mate. That wasn’t so much aimed at you as just general info for any other folks who might wander over there expecting to find something that isn’t there. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/117 "2003-10-25T03:28:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diane \* > \*\*Question for those who think this board is unfair or who have lost all respect for the Mods. > > Why the fuck you still here? \*\* Because this is the FIRST time I’ve seen a poster banned that didn’t deserve it. And why the fuck are you fucking asking? It’s not as if your life will be altered by whether any poster is “allowed” to be on this board. It’s just a fucking message board, right? Let’s just stop it with the potty mouth language, shall we? ---
**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 25, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/118 "2003-10-25T03:59:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LifeOnWry \* > I respectfully disagree with you here, **Miller** because in this SPECIFIC instance you may be correct, but there’s still plenty of “if YOU did that to me, I’d (whatever) to you” rather than “if the person or persons unknown who cut you off cut me off, I’d to this to that person or persons.” Just look at some of the thread titles in the Pit: “Ere YOU left the stall” is the one that jumps immediately to mind. Me? LifeOnWry? Ere _I_ left the stall?? Of course not. Or all the threads where someone rants about something and someone pops in and, having experienced something similar, says, “Oh, that was YOU?” Oh, now that’s just ridiculous. If a post uses the word “you” without reference to a particular poster, obviously the use is intended to be rhetorical, and not adressed to any specific poster, or even any specific indiviual human. And the “Oh, that was you?” thing is clearly meant as a joke. One which carries no threat of violence, I might add, so I don’t see how that applies. > [@](#): > > Come on. Even the dimmest bulb on this board knows better. And you, **Miller** , you yourself in your own person as an individual poster on this board, are not the dimmest bulb. Thank you for the compliment, I suppose. > [@](#): > > No, I am not making up conspiracy theories or harboring anything resembling a persecution complex (on my own behalf or on Zenter’s) but I still say that unless something very weird happened that none of us was privy to, this banning is just plain mystifying. I don’t see anything mystifying about it. There’s a clear and long-standing rule against threatening violence against another poster. Has been almost as long as I’ve been a poster, and I believe **Zenster** ’s been a member for longer than I have. On top of that, he violated several other board rules in a short period of time. No one of them was enough to warrant a banning, but taken together, I don’t see how the mods could _not_ ban him. **Q.E.D.** : If you want to argue against the _fairness_ of the policy, that’s an entirely different matter. I’m just pointing out what the policy (apparently) is. Although, for the record, I do think being a member of this board makes you better than the general populace. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jamcracker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@jamcracker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jamcracker)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/119 "2003-10-25T05:18:20Z")
A short-tempered poster might take this as a signal to cast a wider net with his ignore list. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/120 "2003-10-25T05:26:43Z")
Um, he didn’t threaten anyone at all. He cooked up a wildly exaggerated and surpassingly unlikely hypothetical situation, then “responded” to that situation verbally, and hyperbolically. This is important: at no time was anyone in any danger that Zenster would take an axe handle to them. Know why? Because 1) Zenster’s house was not on fire, 2) I doubt if his house even has a “fire lane” in front of it, unless it’s within 10 feet to either side of a fire hydrant, 3 )thus making it highly unlikely that someone was **blocking the fictional fire trucks from the fictional fucking fire lane in front of his uncombusted fucking house!** Know what? If someone dressed as a clown broke into my apartment and shaved my nonexistent Wookiee with a bowie knife, I’d fucking _boil their guts and spread their brains on toast_. This is a complete load of tripe. He broke no rule at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338.md?page=7)