HiveMind: Where's the door?

August 2, 2007 10:15 PM

Bad day for posting here, but I'm miffed. How many chances do/should people get to drop insulting hurtful shits in AskMe threads of all places before they're just banned? I don't want to institute a talk nice policy, but being a dick to an OP looking for a psychiatrist or similar is, to me, a higher crime than just crayoning the walls, it's really demonstrating a bad fit here.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur to etiquette/policy at 10:15 PM (38 comments total)

I'm specifically looking at this guy who decided to "good luck, freako'" several threads within a few minutes, but my concern is general as well.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:21 PM on August 2, 2007

What do you expect from someone who lives at the bottom of the Sea of Japan?
posted by Burhanistan at 10:23 PM on August 2, 2007

Do you have examples of this? I can't see this in his (assuming male) answers.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:29 PM on August 2, 2007

Freako guy gets a timeout, regardless. If he had a real email listed, I would have explained why to him.
posted by cortex at 10:31 PM on August 2, 2007

BP: See my comment above. Offending examples get deleted, which is great, but, I'm wondering how much of this crap the mods throw out and how much they put in your permanent record. Can fucked up comments never carry as much bannination weight as posts or what?

Okay, a timeout. I think I forgot about that middle ground. I feel better, but I'm still looking for a answer about how much bile is too much to be allowed, and since I think our sensibility about that is social, I wanted to do that here in the open.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:39 PM on August 2, 2007

I'm still looking for a answer about how much bile is too much to be allowed

One bucket. But now we have to decide how big the bucket is.
posted by sanko at 10:52 PM on August 2, 2007

People have made some amazingly fucked up comments, repeatedly, on MetaFilter and not been banned for it - including broadcasting personal details about other members who wanted to keep their anonymity, which seems even more fucked up than crapping on a thread. So don't count on a permaban-for-a-few-shitty-comments rule coming up any time soon.
posted by cmonkey at 10:54 PM on August 2, 2007

cortex: "Freako guy gets a timeout, regardless. If he had a real email listed, I would have explained why to him."

Had you tried this one?
posted by koeselitz at 11:12 PM on August 2, 2007

He's here, too.
posted by micketymoc at 11:32 PM on August 2, 2007

What does a user see when they visit the site if they have been timed out or banned?
posted by bystander at 12:11 AM on August 3, 2007

What does a user see when they visit the site if they have been timed out or banned?

If you're still logged in, you see the site as if you're logged in. If you log out, you can't log back in. If you try to comment or post, you get an error message. /voiceofauthority
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:15 AM on August 3, 2007

I guess only quonsar and the cabal have more authority.
posted by blasdelf at 12:30 AM on August 3, 2007

I think people should get at least one chance, even if they are having a "massive asshole" moment. He seems to be an expat, and there can be lonely and alcoholic times when trying to get a rise out of strangers on the Internet seems like a good idea.

He might wake up, and then slowly remember as if through a thick fog that he spent all night online, while drinking, doing progressively stranger and wronger things... He might become ever more ashamed and embarrassed, and think "Oh my God what have I done?!?" Then he'll open up his email, and there will be messages from Matt telling him he's banned, and other hatemail from pissed off Mefites.

Just hypothesizing, pure conjecture here.
posted by Meatbomb at 3:09 AM on August 3, 2007 [2 favorites]

He seems to be an expat, and there can be lonely and alcoholic times when trying to get a rise out of strangers on the Internet seems like a good idea.

Not any more, apparently.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 3:24 AM on August 3, 2007

Read that again, Pete. I took the "back" to be in Japan after a failed attempt to go home to the US.
Not that I'd know anything about drink-fuelled ex-pat Internet arseholery, oh no.
posted by Abiezer at 3:46 AM on August 3, 2007

I don't know from banning, but the pathology that compels one to behave in such a manner is endlessly fascinating to me. I wonder, do we have friends or family members that engage in such trollish behavior? Do they lead normal lives otherwise? Or are they sad, lonely fucks who'll do anything for attention?
posted by psmealey at 3:48 AM on August 3, 2007

insulting hurtful shits

As opposed to praiseworthy, helpful shits?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:04 AM on August 3, 2007

"One bucket. But now we have to decide how big the bucket is."

However big it is, I know the volume will be measured in cocks.
posted by Eideteker at 4:28 AM on August 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

psmealy: here's the formula
posted by winston at 4:39 AM on August 3, 2007

You know, I came very close to making a Meta thread about this AskMe... not because it's a bad post or because the answers are bad, but because of the defensive disclaimers at the beginning.

It struck me as telling that this poster felt the need to put them in, and worthy, perhaps, of some thought.
posted by Malor at 4:57 AM on August 3, 2007

You have to realize, nothing prevents 11-year-olds from signing up for a uid here, nor their emotional equivalents.
posted by Dave Faris at 5:14 AM on August 3, 2007

nothing prevents 11-year-olds from signing

Most 11 year olds don't have PayPal accounts. Or do they?
posted by IronLizard at 5:27 AM on August 3, 2007

Jesus Christ, why are you people eviscerating this poor bastard?
posted by Burhanistan at 6:54 AM on August 3, 2007

I do!
posted by matty at 6:57 AM on August 3, 2007

"One bucket. But now we have to decide how big the bucket is."

However big it is, I know the volume will be measured in cocks.

A cockbucket is roughly seventeen k'zayin.
posted by kosem at 7:39 AM on August 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

As opposed to praiseworthy, helpful shits?

You rang?
posted by yerfatma at 8:21 AM on August 3, 2007

Brandon Blatcher writes "As opposed to praiseworthy, helpful shits?"

No, I think that was "insulting, hurtful shits" as opposed to "cowardly, selfish shits" or "angry, belligerent shits".

Like "school lunches that taste like shit" isn't opposed to "school lunches that taste good", but is used to distinguish them from "school lunches that taste like cardboard".
posted by Bugbread at 8:30 AM on August 3, 2007 [3 favorites]

Jesus Christ, why are you people eviscerating this poor bastard?

This is MetaTalk. Piranas can't tell Kobe beef from hot dog meat.
posted by baphomet at 8:35 AM on August 3, 2007 [2 favorites]

Man, people really like his AskMes.
posted by Mitheral at 8:43 AM on August 3, 2007

They should get 53 chances.
posted by shmegegge at 9:07 AM on August 3, 2007

"Jesus Christ, why are you people eviscerating this poor bastard?"

The feeding frenzy of the offended Pure, Burhanistan. Nothing is worse than the wrath of an In-group whose members never sin themselves.

But I don't know a damn thing about the poor bastard they're eviscerating here nor what they're compaining about: it concerns Ask Metafilter, which I rarely read.
posted by davy at 9:10 AM on August 3, 2007

I don't think it's appropriate to mention Kobe's beef when there are 11-year-olds about.
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 9:37 AM on August 3, 2007 [2 favorites]

Forget Kobe's beef, my hot dog was koshered.
posted by davy at 9:47 AM on August 3, 2007

Welcome back my flings to the MetaBag o' Wings.
posted by davy at 11:46 AM on August 3, 2007

I know the volume will be measured in cocks.

MY volume is measured in buckets
posted by pyramid termite at 8:42 PM on August 3, 2007

My volume goes up to 11.
posted by davy at 9:52 PM on August 3, 2007

Since this isn't particularly wendelling, I've got some supplementary questions for Uncle Matt and Auntie Jess (or other authoritative MeFites):

1. Who was the first unfortunate member to feel the force of the banhammer, and what did they do wrong?

2. Did Stavros invent the word "banhammer"?

3. Has Cortex been allowed to press the banhammer button yet?
posted by roofus at 11:30 PM on August 3, 2007

1. No idea, though it probably wasn't that exciting.

2. Not sure, but this is the earliest cite I could find and it's by him, so that's sort of compelling. Maybe stavros can elaborate.

3. Oh my, yes.
posted by cortex at 7:31 AM on August 4, 2007 [1 favorite]