Hythloday -
I'm sure you are a very good teacher. You seem to enjoy sparking debates, and stirring up controversy, & while this is a perfectly appropriate teaching method, these predilections do not necessarily make for a good moderator. The root of the word "moderator" suggests that one should be beyond some of the seemingly petty squabbles that you've been involved in here at antimoon. You are an interesting poster, & I always look forward to reading what you have to say, but "moderate" is not how I'd describe you. Please, don't be offended, I really don't mean this to be insulting.
How about Alice? She seems nice enough :-)
Re:
I'm sure you are a very good teacher. You seem to enjoy sparking debates, and stirring up controversy, & while this is a perfectly appropriate teaching method, these predilections do not necessarily make for a good moderator. The root of the word "moderator" suggests that one should be beyond some of the seemingly petty squabbles that you've been involved in here at antimoon. You are an interesting poster, & I always look forward to reading what you have to say, but "moderate" is not how I'd describe you. Please, don't be offended, I really don't mean this to be insulting.
Thanks, Alice. I suppose you're right - it would be better to choose moderators who have neither opinions nor the capacity for critical and/or abstract thought. Jim, mjd and A.C.S.M. therefore seem perfectly suited for the job.
By the way, the petty squabbles you mention were nothing to do with me - they were instigated by a troll using my name. (This is one of the problems which come with not having a registration policy.)
The faker is not consistent. He says the French are gay and then says "gay French posters" which surely, according to his logic, is tautological.
Hythloday,
Remember that little discussion we had about you being a rude prick, well here's a perfect example:
"Thanks, Alice. I suppose you're right - it would be better to choose moderators who have neither opinions nor the capacity for critical and/or abstract thought. Jim, mjd and A.C.S.M. therefore seem perfectly suited for the job."
Lack of opinions? On what? What issues have you raised? What topic would like to "debate" and critically analyze? Perhaps double negatives, a topic of which you're very fond. We've already been through this. There is nothing inherently wrong with double negatives. The discussion you and I had a while back was on the double negative you wrote (I don't remember the thread)...I found that particular example to be unorthodox and unclear. I think I made a good case, but if my thinking wasn't "critical" enough for you....hey, sorry Professor.
You start a decent thread here and there, but they're never anything special. Why don't you put your doctorate to work and show us some of your brilliance, or are you too busy gloating about what a great "moderator" you'd make?
Oh dear, oh dear. Maybe mjd will not make such a great moderator after all. Not unless the job entails swearing at other users and insulting them. Moderator, please do your job and remove the highly offensive remark above. My children use this forum.
<<You start a decent thread here and there, but they're never anything special. Why don't you put your doctorate to work and show us some of your brilliance, or are you too busy gloating about what a great "moderator" you'd make?>>
<<You start a decent thread here and there, but they're never anything special. Why don't you put your doctorate to work and show us some of your brilliance, or are you too busy gloating about what a great "moderator" you'd make?>>
<<Oh dear, oh dear. Maybe mjd will not make such a great moderator after all. Not unless the job entails swearing at other users and insulting them. Moderator, please do your job and remove the highly offensive remark above. My children use this forum.>>
This is hilarious. The antimoon of old is coming back. Keep it up.
The Times' Good University Guide says the University of Birmingham is the best university in that city. Probably Hythloday is a professor there. Possibly Marcus Walsh, head of the English department? (
http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/ )
Juan,
I was referring to the 'prick' part of mjd's imbecilic rant. If mjd is moderator, perhaps this means that we can all use insulting and highly offensive language. How's this for starters: mjd is a cunt.
Ginny,
No, try a little further south.
Further south than Marcus Walsh?
Earth to Hythloday:
It doesn't matter who oversees this forum so long as trolls who continuously spam it are kept in check. Who Tom chooses is up to him; anyone is fine with me...including you, Professor.
What I said was far from imbecilic. You made a rude remark about me so, naturally, I countered with one. When I take issue with you, it's always for good reason and I'm usually right. I mean go look through this thread and see who cast the first stone.
This bickering is quite childish and immature, but I will defend myself against whatever you hurl at me. Trust me, when dealing with you it's not that difficult.
Until next time, Professor. I hope the semester is going well for you.
Best,
mjd
mjd,
Sorry for taking so long to answer, but I've been impossibly busy over the past few days. Please e-mail me at "tom at antimoon dot com" for further instructions.
Jim,
Thanks for agreeing to become a moderator, but this is something of an experiment, so I'd rather tread carefully and try one moderator first. If there are no major problems, I'll get back to you. Thanks again!
Here's why I think mjd and Jim are perfect candidates:
- they have been active participants in this forum for a long time
- they do not post messages that are sure to provoke boring flamewars
- they have exhibited a great willingness to help others
- they know better than to feed trolls
- they're both in a different time zone than I
mjd, you are either very young or exceedingly stupid
Re: including you, Professor.
I don't believe I have ever claimed to be a Professor.
Re: What I said was far from imbecilic.
That's your opinion. It looked pretty imbecilic to me (and many of my colleagues, may I add). I made a fair criticism of you and your response was to use insults and crude language. I don't call that the response of an intelligent or rational being.
Re: You made a rude remark about me so, naturally, I countered with one.
I did not make a rude comment about you. I made a fair comment about you. I did not use insulting or crude language. You did. Look 'wit' up in the dictionary, you may learn a thing or two.
Re: Why don't you put your doctorate to work and show us some of your brilliance, or are you too busy gloating about what a great "moderator" you'd make?
I never gloat. I've no need to, but OK, I'll take up your challenge - what are your views on systemic functional linguistics?
Simon,
I've no idea who the hell this Marcus Walsh is, but if he's the antichrist, then I guess so.
Tom,
Are you sure that you are willing to try a moderator who uses abusive language such as 'prick' at the drop of a hat? Personally, I would say that this is would be a good way to get a flame war started, not a good way to get people using this forum constructively (mjd's command of the English language is also questionable, if you ask me). I think, as you yourself put it, there will be quite a few 'major problems' if you let this joker off the leash.
Here's why I think mjd is far from a perfect candidate:
- He has been an active participant in this forum for a long time (OK, but so have I and many others)
- he does not post messages that are sure to provoke boring flamewars (I disagree - mjd has provoked one by the use of the word 'prick' on this thread alone - would you like some more examples?)
- he has exhibited a great willingness to help others (I disagree - mjd has rarely helped others and rarely contributes in a constructive way to posts - he's pretty good at killing threads, but rarely contributes intelligently)
- he knows better than to feed trolls (see above)
- he's in a different time zone than I (mjd appears to be in a time zone all of his own)
