Holy Crap! You do *NOT* mess with EarlG!

[Bunny]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2741812&mesg_id=2742350

[Dr. Strange]

1. Oh. my. God.

He strikes with a righteous anger, that mod does!

[Hand]

40. Watch for them to appear in the next Top Ten Conservative Idiots list.

EarlG is slow to anger... but when gets pissed, it's :nuke: time! :toast:

[Midlodemocrat]

2. No kidding.

:scared:

[Bake]

3. Wow. Some of them have been around here for a while, too.

Beelzebud? Kingshakabobo?

Dayummmmmm!

"Do not taunt HappyFun EarlG." :rofl:

Bake

[Truth2Tell]

120. My concern would be

that so many smart-asses on DU vote the opposite of what they believe on really stupid polls - just to make a point of how idiotic the poll is. It would be a shame to lose long-time posters for that reason.

Just sayin'.

Edit to add: It looks like that's exactly the case with Minstrel Boy. Shame. And the OP is still with us - even though the Poll was flamebait and his "quote" was a fabrication.

[regnaD kciN]

124. Exactly...

I have often cast a totally-sarcastic vote in polls where I thought the entire basis was ridiculous.

As far as I was concerned, polls were supposed to be "secret ballots." The notion that the admins can track such things, and ban people based on them "voting the wrong way," is something I find very troubling.

[MissMillie]

4. badass EarlG

I'm scared of him!

[Guava Jelly]

5. I'll make a note of that

And I don't blame him.
That was a bullshit racist poll.

[RoadRage]

137. Wow.. what if those 4 just "Hit the Wrong Button"?? NT

[Ellen Forradalom]

6. I think they're getting awfully fed up with what's going on over there

And I don't blame 'em.

[Steven_S]

44. absolute bullseye, Ellen...

enough is enough already. Good for EarlG.

[MonkeyFunk]

89. I'm happy they are

a lot of us have been fed up for a long time.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. My dear Bunny!

And did you notice?

A couple of those banned people weren't in the thread...

But EarlG still knew they'd voted in the poll...:scared:

I knew they could tell who'd voted for recommendations...but I didn't realize they could tell who voted in polls too...

He could also override the lock, to post again...Wow!

I do believe they exercise their power very responsibly...

[DS1]

they announced the ability to track who votes for what years ago

polls were quite new at the time.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. Ah, thanks!

I hadn't realized that...

:hi:

[Dr. Strange]

13. He had mentioned that in the new and (possibly) upcoming version of DU...

that there may be an addition to polls in which posters could see exactly who voted yes and no (so as to prevent insincere voting).

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. That will certainly make things more interesting!

Thanks for reminding me...

I'd forgotten that!

:hi:

[Hawkeye-X]

47. Ooh!

When did he announce that? Got a link?

[Dr. Strange]

73. Not handy.

It was about a month ago. It was in a poll thread (GD or Religion, I think) and several people were selecting one of the stupid options, and EarlG mentioned that in the newest version of DU, there might be an option where votes were no longer anonymous.

[XemaSab]

95. I'm not in favor of that idea

There are some polls where I don't want to be dumped on for selecting the less popular option.

Ya know? :shrug:

[Dr. Strange]

141. Here's a recent post by Skinner:

This is all probably going to be moot anyway. Because in a few months when we unveil our complete overhaul of the site, how you vote on polls is probably going to be made public so everyone can see it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4169960#4170818

[uppityperson]

116. I missed that also. No more poll voting for me.

It's all fun and games, and then someone gets their eye poked out. Nope, if they're seeing who votes which way, nope.

[regnaD kciN]

125. Wow...

Imagine if the current administration changed electoral rules in the U.S. so that there were no more secret ballots, but that the administration could track exactly how every American voted on every race and issue.

Think the country would suddenly and unaccountably shift toward supporting the administration on everything?

:eyes:

[DS1]

8. Nice

makes me think twice about voting for the wrong answer as a joke, not that I'd have touched that poll in the first place

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. Exactly.

[sniffa]

20. Tell me about it.

I just out of habit vote for the wrong answer every time.

[jonnyblitz]

45. delete, meant to reply to OP

[billyskank]

91. Yes.

Not that I have any sympathy for the sentiment expressed by the four - if they meant it. I know nothing about those people, so I don't know if they did or not. If they were known for disrupting, then that is fair enough.

But otherwise, a lot of the people in this thread disgust me. They can't see past the specifics of four (I'm assuming) obnoxious people to the general principle of being banned for saying the wrong thing.

No, not even saying the wrong thing. Pressing the wrong fucking button on a poll. They didn't even write anything.

I have noticed how ready people here are to drop all their principles when it comes to individuals they find distasteful. I say to you all, if you do not apply your principles to the vilest of us, then your principles are not principles at all. They are mere expediences. If this is what "liberalism" is then I would not count myself a liberal.

I feel nothing but contempt for you all.

[Tafiti]

119. To be fair...

...using that logic, then DU shouldn't ban obvious Republicans, conservatives, or any other non-Democrat/liberal. They are banned precisely because of their views, the implication being that DU as a whole finds them distasteful. Clearly, saying the "wrong thing" falls squarely into this realm. Know what I mean? That said, the tombstoning at least has the appearance of being a tad premature, perhaps a little knee-jerk.

Also, I find it interesting that the very first post in that poll thread was by one of those who got banned, and it read:

Whoever said the "dogshit into clam chowder" is a racist fucking asshole.

Hmm.

[regnaD kciN]

126. Well said...!

:applause:

[racaulk]

9. Snap!

He really cracked down on that poll, and he should have. Good on him!

:rofl:

[flvegan]

10. No, no you don't. EarlG also stated previously

that potentially, in the DU 3.0 rollout, Poll votes will be made public. Don't know how, exactly, but it's a good idea.

[DS1]

11. vBulletin supports that as an option to the person posting the vote

with a link to "See who voted" and it's all laid out.

[LostinVA]

19. I think so, too

[Midlodemocrat]

24. *sigh* then I can't vote "Robb is a dingbat" anymore.

[lost-in-nj]

26. and I would feel stupid

voting for myself in Parches polls!!!!!

:rofl: :rofl:


lost

[Robb]

93. Of course you can!

...I have it on good authority it's the best way to get into EarlG's "good" books.

Or his "naughty" books. Whichever floats yer boat. :D

[Richard Steele]

133. Well, I don't think it's really a secret that "Robb is a dingbat" is ALWAYS my favorite option.

It's not always what I vote for, but it's always my FAVORITE, knowhutImean?

[supernova]

12. Been waiting for a couple

of those to bite the big one for a while now. (kingshakabobo and Beelzebud)

Glad they finally outed themselves.

What a nasty poll.

Good on ya, EarlG. :applause:

[no name no slogan]

17. There are several things you don't do: 1) piss into the wind

2) start something you cannot finish,

3) mess with EarlG. Or Skinner. Or Elad.

[Deep13]

23. Or step on Superman's cape. nt

[regnaD kciN]

127. If "mess with" them means "vote for an option they dislike" in a poll...

...then DU should quickly be renamed "The Republic of Oceania."

[StrongBad]

18. I respect his decision to do that...

...but am kind of concerned of this becoming a precedent. Who truly knows the intentions behind the posters that were banned (I'm not familiar with them but then again I'm not the most active member). Maybe they were just replying "yes" just because the OP was so absurd that it would be fairly humorous to see that some people actually voted for it.

I think I've even done this in polls in the past, just to make people's heads explode and think "who voted for that option?!?".

[CaliforniaPeggy]

25. When posters are banned...

It is always by consensus...

There was about an hour between the time the thread was locked, and the second announcement on who was banned.

They were in the Mod Forum, discussing the banning.

That is a very serious step, and it's not taken lightly. The history of the posters is taken into account...

Normally, only obvious trolls are banned without warning...

[NMDemDist2]

59. I dunno Peggy, when I was a mod the Admins would on very rare occasions

TS someone.

not normally I agree, but I've seen it happen

[StrongBad]

71. Thanks Peggy!

Glad to know the detail and consideration used when making such big decisions...

[baldguy]

52. EarlG, Skinner and Elad are the administrators of DU

This is their sandbox.

[Deep13]

21. Obviously, the poll is way over the line.

Frankly, I wouldn't even call Republicans "dog shit." Still, I don't like the idea of banning someone from the forum just for agreeing second hand with a dissenting opinion, however offensively it was expressed. I have always supported free expression at the expense of personal offense. Again, there are a lot of words in the English language the poster could have chosen that would not be rascist or dehumanizing. Having said that it is important that we explore possible weaknesses in every candidate's background for the sufficient reason that if we ignore those potential weaknesses, the Republicans will not.

[MrScorpio]

22. Mess with the bull...

Get the horns!

[emad]

27. Banned MinstrelBoy?

Doesn't the guy run Rigorous Intuition blogiste? Friend of Seemslikeadream?

[flvegan]

30. I assume that some, if not all

will be allowed back pending an explanation of their vote in that poll.

There is a poster in that particular lot that I really dislike, but I don't think that even he would truly feel the way he voted, and did so in jest/disruption.

[Scooter24]

28. All this tells me is that I will no longer vote in polls

[KG]

31. word.

[SammyWinstonJack]

33. Right?

:hide:

[Whisp]

83. I will refrain as well...

I think on this particular poll the people who did vote yes were just yanking chains and don't truly believe that. But I'm not very familiar with their history so can't say if they had a history of racist posts and this was the final straw.

I think the person who put up that ridiculous poll should get a suspension or ban because it was an obvious troll/bait one perhaps meant for the results in banning people who had the nerve to point out how ridiculous that poll was.

anyway, I'm not sure anymore what a 'safe' opinion would be in future polls other than do you prefer pepsi or coke :).

[Bassic]

110. I'm with you. nt

[uppityperson]

115. Yup.

[Richard Steele]

118. Qhy? Have you been voting for the options that only scum-licking Freeptards would approve of?

Have you voted "yes" for things equivalent to "Black Xtians are dogshit"? :shrug:

[Jamastiene]

29. Bravo, EarlG.

That poll was racist on so many levels. I can't imagine anyone on DU voting yes to that. :wow:

Btw, when someone gets tombstoned and they are on my ignore list, does that mean my ignore list goes down by one or what?

[LostinVA]

102. No -- they still show up on your ignore list

Now, I just know that I can delete those four names from my ignore list.

[Fox Mulder]

32. I don't even know why anyone would vote "yes" in that poll...

even if he/she was kidding around. I sometimes vote for a stupid response in polls, but I wouldn't in a poll like that. If it were up to me, I'd keep those four individuals banned and not let them come back, but it's not up to me.

[Deep13]

37. My only guess...

...is that the voters may have empathized with the idea that Ds should not accept the homophobic views of some of religious members of the Black community. For the record, I do agree that the way that the agrument was presented was way, way out of line and that I had to do a lot of reading-between-the-lines to come up with my guess about what the poll voters might have thought.

[kdmorris]

100. What did "Yes" mean BEFORE the poll was edited?

THAT'S what I want to know.

[meegbear]

34. HOLY DIEBOLD BATMAN!

Our votes aren't secret!

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

36. That was my first thought...

Guess I'd better not vote in polls anymore.

[texas1928]

35. Well why would you post something like that to begin with.

I really does nothing to further a true political discussion. It is just repeating stupid hatred. Sometimes things that are posted over there, as political discussion.

[sniffa]

39. only the voters were banned

[texas1928]

43. Still, why post something like that.

I just don't see the point.

[Lilith Velkor]

134. To get people banned for being smartasses?

:think:

Apparently, some flamebaiters are more equal than others. :eyes:

[Whisp]

87. sort of like 'if you have nothing to hide, then why are you

against wiretapping?'

:)

[DS1]

38. I heard they know who votes on what by using Hotwire Eye-Spy Community-Military Intelligence

All three.

:scared:

[flvegan]

41. .

:thumbsup:

[Midlodemocrat]

42. National and International? Holy crap.

:scared:

[harmonicon]

48. Not just National and International, but National and International (All Three)!!!

Damn.... those fucker's were all in Earl's house with disease, and he saw to it, that's for sure. If Jeb Bush ever tried that, Earl G would have to run for president to prove that Jeb Bush was all in his house with disease, and who knows if that would even work, since he doesn't have all of the doctorates he'd need to have awarded to him in court to fight the disease.

[robertpaulsen]

101. Are you saying EarlG is Lee Mercer?

All Three?

[jonnyblitz]

46. I guess this ends my habit of purposefully voting for the worst

choice just to piss the poll author off if I think the poll is idiotic or flamebait.

[CreekDog]

60. I think even us troublemakers would have resisted when confronted with THAT poll

It's one thing to make a joke, or mock somebody's poll, it's quite another to affirmatively vote in favor of labeling a group of people with that derogatory epithet.

[no name no slogan]

61. I have a feeling you are not alone

:hide:

[Dr. Strange]

64. I saw this coming when EarlG warned me last year to stop voting for Sanjaya.

[Jamastiene]

78. OMG

:spray:

You admitted to voting for Sanjaya? Remind me not to walk home from school with you. You'll get yer ass kicked.

:rofl:

[LostinVA]

111. I also heard he founeded the Bucky Covington Fan Club

[Redneck Socialist]

105. Yeah, I do that too, sometimes.

I find it a little disturbing that the mods/admins monitor that sort of thing.

[Kucinich4America]

117. Yeah, it does seem a bit NSA-like

There are some polls out there that are just such ridiculous flamebait that you are tempted to vote the "wrong" way just to piss off the original flamer. I'd hate to think you could get banned for that, though I would agree that this particular thread was WAY over the line, and I would have avoided that one even if I had seen it when the thread was open. I can't even joke-vote on blatant racism.

[LibraLiz1973]

112. I know, I thought the same thing

Having said that, the poll posted was not something I would have even voted in. It was offensive.

[XemaSab]

49. d00d

:o

[Bake]

50. That does it. GD/GD:P are just too dangerous these days.

The tombstones they are a-flyin'. I'm stayin' out of there until after the primaries!

And no poll-voting except of course in the Lounge.

Bake

[HamdenRice]

51. I probably shouldn't say this but

one of the people banned was the third biggest asshole on DU, so I have that German feeling, what's it called?

Shadefresomething.

[Midlodemocrat]

53. I wanna know who one and two are.

:P

[HamdenRice]

55. I've been warned!

I'm not allowed to talk about them per the mods. But 1 and 2 aren't lounge lizards, and they know who they are!

[LostinVA]

130. All four were on my Ignore List

[baldguy]

56. Schadenfreude

The feeling you get when a holier-than-thou christo-fascist gets caught in a sex scandal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude

[CreekDog]

58. Freud

means i will laugh when their mom's beat them up.

[crim son]

65. Schaudenfreude.

The Germans have a word for everything!

[Fire Walk With Me]

106. Except "mercy".

Like the Daleks. ;)

Oberhaffentittengaben.

[crim son]

114. Wow! I looked it up and found only a synonym for the word,

"Gnade" meaning "Grace." The STBE is German and I'm going to ask him what the hell's wrong with his people that they haven't any word more specific. :P

[LostinVA]

131. EXTERMINATE THE DOCKTOOOOOOOR

[NMDemDist2]

54. KingShakaboo and MinstrelBoy??

:wow:

[HamdenRice]

57. I'm very sad that Minstrel Boy, aka Rigorous Intuition, aka Jeff Wells

was banned.

As for your other reference, let me just say I'm neither surprised nor unhappy, especially given that the bannings have to do with racism.

[NMDemDist2]

62. I only know KSB from the DIY forum

he did beautiful woodwork

[HamdenRice]

63. Yes, he was helpful in DIY

But if you are an African American, you may very well have had very bad experiences with him.

[NMDemDist2]

69. ...

then I'm glad he's gone

:hug:

[Midlodemocrat]

70. Can I ask you where your screename came from?

I lived in Hamden, CT for a bit and I'm curious.

[HamdenRice]

74. My father's side of the family is from

an area in Virginia between the towns of Hamden-Sidney and Rice. Other nearby towns are Farmville and Burkeville.

But I have been to Hamden, Ct.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

66. i am sure this is part of a pattern. it would be very strange to TS them for one offense

which may have even been done in a joke

[KamaAina]

67. The Curse of the Lottery strikes again!

Several months ago, Bannee #1 won a substantial chunk of change in the (Ill.?) lottery. These stories seldom end well... less than a year later, it's the ol' granite cookie for him. :scared:

[mainegreen]

68. Wow. I don't think I've ever seen a mod calling out like that here.

Good job mods!

[jgraz]

72. I hope this doesn't get me banned, but...

two mouseclicks to a granite cookie? That's pretty severe even allowing for how horrible that poll was. I can't believe any of those posters meant their response to be as racist as TPTB are interpreting it.

Hopefully they'll be let back in once everybody calms down.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

76. i wonder if it was part of a pattern. i have found that people dont get TS'd unless its a pattern

[redqueen]

79. They can always appeal...

I think the mods here are very fair.

[jgraz]

81. True. What's more disturbing is how many seem to enjoy seeing long-time members banned

for what seems like a single poor decision. Authoritarianism really has a seductive effect on people.

[redqueen]

82. I enjoy seeing trolls kicked out.

If well-meaning but misguided DUers get swept up in the mess, that's just unfortunate.

I don't think DUers are happy to see long-time members banned, unless they're long-time trolls. :)

[Lerkfish]

140. my, my, you DO really enjoy it.

its better to have things all neat and tidy and be surrounded with like-minded folk, eh?

[Lerkfish]

84. blank

[Mad_Dem_X]

75. EarlG lays the smack down!

:headbang:

[redqueen]

77. See? This place is THE BEST!

:loveya:

[Lerkfish]

86. not sure I get from point A to your conclusion.

can you elaborate?

[redqueen]

90. People voted that other people were "dogshit"

that's as vile as it gets.

If they were joking they can plead their case, but I'm glad that people who call other people "dogshit" are banned.

[hisownpetard]

92. Me, too. Good job, EarlG.

[tkmorris]

96. I disagree

Posting a poll in which answering yes FORCES you to accept the premise, i.e. that some people are "dogshit", is far more offensive to me. In this case the OP to me is clearly about a million miles over the line, while I cannot possibly know the intentions of those who voted yes or no.

Does anyone here really believe that any of those 4 were expressing a racist sentiment in making that vote?

[redqueen]

97. They're both offensive... the poll and responding that way.

It's not about what you or I believe. The admins have decided on a course of action and I don't have a problem with it.

[BlueJazz]

80. In fairness to (Maybe) one of the 4...

I clicked a place on a poll here once that I didn't mean to click.
(I use a laptop to post on DU and "tapped" the wrong entry)

Just saying....

[laconicsax]

88. Don't all polls here ask that you confirm your vote?

[BlueJazz]

113. Yrue...But you don't realize your mistake until after you make it.

Especialy when you're watching Football at the same time! :)

[MonkeyFunk]

85. that is so fucking awesome

Thank you EarlG!

[zanne]

94. I've been noticing quite a few "lurkers" lately...

Some people manage to come to DU and not show their freeper side for a few hundred threads by posting in the Lounge or other forums that aren't political and you only see their wingnut side when they just can't stand it anymore and finally show their true colors. I'm sick of it. (Sorry for the run-on sentence.)

[kdmorris]

98. What I don't get is why NorthernSpy wasn't also banned

He linked to a "quote" from a person and it didn't say anything about "mixing dog shit in clam chowder". He lied and posted that poll, acting like it was a legitimate poll. And it wasn't. No one said that. Go here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2734227&mesg_id=2734227

Search for "dog shit". Nope, can't find it.

I would also like to add that this poll was edited at 10:33 by NorthernSpy. Does ANYONE know what these people answered "Yes" to? I refused to answer either Yes or No on that poll because it was all bullshit. I don't think it's fair that these people get banned without even finding out WHAT they were answering to, or finding out why someone is allowed to post a link to another DU post and then lie about the quote.

[LostinVA]

103. He's certainly spewed enough homophobia over the years

He was on my ignore list and now I can see his posts for some reason.

[BlueIris]

99. That's damn skippy. And it's about time a certain poster mentioned on his "banned list" bought it.

He knows who he is (filthy little RW propagandist).

[Sugar Smack]

104. THAT whole thing was just BIZARRE!

:wtf:

[DarkTirade]

107. There was another one

that just got locked ASAP by Skinner himself. 'Twas a rather stupid and more than a bit misogynistic poll 'bout Hillary. Now I'm no fan of hers myself, but I voted for what I saw as the least misogynistic option, but by the time I finished writing a comment saying something along those lines, the thread had already been locked.

Man, the admins are on their game right now. :)

[Redstone]

108. Yes, indeed. There's some panache, right there.

Redstone

[madrchsod]

109. skinner`s been on the board today too

i can`t remember them ever policing during 2004..

[krispos42]

121. Hmmm... so the admins can track how you vote in polls...

Interesting.

I wonder if the mods can?



Lesson here: don't be a racist asshole, don't vote for racist asshole shit, and don't piss off Skinner, Elad, or EarlG. Especially EarlG, 'cuz he's fast on the "smite" button.

If the economy wasn't taking already, I bet Skinner would be out there hacking into their credit ratings and trashing them!

:-)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

122. My dear krispos42...

Nope, the moderators cannot track your poll votes...

Actually, I don't know about the senior mods, the ones with the dark symbols next to their names...

They have functions (I believe) that the ordinary mods don't have...

You can always PM or email the Admins...

:hi:

[krispos42]

123. My dear CaliPeg!

No I don't think I will ask...

I might wind up on a watchlist!

:hide:

Or get "extra" attention at the airport...






I can see Skinner now...

"Dat's a nice new hard drive ya got dare. Be a shame if a big'ole magnet got stuck to your computer's case, knowwhatImean??

:rofl:

[regnaD kciN]

128. Seriously...any time I do a photo group contest from now on...

...I'm going to include a disclaimer in the opening post along the lines of "the admins can track your votes in polls, and will ban you if they find your choice offensive enough."

[uppityperson]

132. and they can publically post who they banned for voting how.

[Lerkfish]

135. yep

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/04/24/big_brother_narrowweb__300x450,0.jpg

[T_i_B]

129. Unfortunately those views are not limited to those 4 people

[Lerkfish]

136. In fact, those views might not even INCLUDE those four people

:shrug:

[uppityperson]

138. Note to admin, I have voted like a smartass once or twice.

Not as a nasty racist, and prefer to alert instead, but have voted as a smartass once or twice. I won't do so again.

[Lerkfish]

139. its probably better to never vote again in ANY poll here

unless you want to have your name and your vote revealed to the world.


which, I would add: tends to make the veracity of any poll here suspect.