Friday, April 22, 2005

The death of trainwreckspotting

trainwreckspotting is dead. Have a nice day.
----
Update on trainwreckspotting;
We were a fully function snark journal between 4th of April and April 22. During it's short 18 day life, there were over 900 posts.
We* were thinking of setting up a message board, (since, well any blogging format kinda sucks), but I do not have the time. I do not want all of his work to be in vain. Contact Thanos if you would be interested in helping him start up a message board run snark community.

*Thanos who has been a great help.

What board on the SDMB do you avoid with a vengeance?

From the submission thread:
I rarely go in Great Debates. All too often it seems clogged up with the same old arguments. Also, even with good debates, there are rarely more than two posters yammering back and forth to each other for five pages.

MPSIMS is getting pretty retarded as well.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Spoof or for real?

From the submission thread:

I started clicking around because I felt nostalgic and came across your board(s).

This is all very amusing, altough I get the idea that I am the kind of poster who would have been broiled had these communites been around when I was a Doper. We share contempt for the board's administration and the joy of watching trains wreck, however...

Yer pal,
Satan

Did you know that Otto plays poker? No, really!

From the submission thread:
He plays online and everything. He's really good, he just loses because everyone else is stupid and lucky. Not that he loses, mind you. He wins like crazy. He's really good.

For example:
PokerRoom has lost itself a customer
Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo
You know something I never need to hear again (re: poker)?
The REAL best holdem hand ever
How would you have played this hold 'em hand?

And these are just the threads he's started since March. You'll of course find him in every single thread with the word poker somewhere in it talking about whatever hand he recently won or lost.

I hope he loses all his money so he'll finally shut up already. Christ.

Star Wars Geeks

From the submission thread:
This one starts out funny as Soapbox Monkey rants against those who hate the Star Wars prequels but will see them to complain. You see, Monkey is a true die hard, he loves them, he even loves the midichlorians.

Naturally, this causes some posters to get bent out of shape. Guin comes in and rambles about shit from the novelizations. The only thing sadder than a Star Wars movie geek is one who reads novelizations of the book.

Zh'enka, who is now my new favorite poster, comes in and call her stupid.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

ur8it and guests in general

ur8it, still a guest (5 a day post count, but that's growing), their threads include:

  • In the Workplace, by women: "It's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you Blow."
  • Traveling abroad: I thought English is the Universal Language!
    And my favourite;
  • People who are Easily Amused, what's their problem!
    Guests; who are the good, the bad and the socky?

  • For those who aren't renewing...

    From the submission thread:
    ...any plans on what you'll be doing instead of posting on the SDMB? There are some who have said they aren't renewing-- how many more aren't renewing, but didn't care to announce it, and are just going to stop posting without calling attention to it?

    Tuesday, April 19, 2005

    Umm...wherefore art thou Mockingbird?

    From the submission thread:
    Wasn't it Hastur? Wait! It was Mockingbird, then Hastur, then back to Mockingbird?

    What? He's noticed Diane doesn't post anymore, so he can change his name back and post without having to own up to his hateful shit?

    Or, I'm misremembering and y'all can laugh and point until you realize that you're reading and responding to my mistake. Fucking losers.

    What do we think about this?

    From the submission thread:
    Allan has apparently come out of exile to ask about the anon communities. In the thread, he says he'd love to start up Hayters again but has to run it by his wife. He apparently checked the journal status and it has not yet been purged.

    Let's say she gave him the okay: Would we go back there if he did? (Does anyone else doubt that he was tracking us with webbugs?) And, would it be worthwhile considering that someone seems hell-bent on having the LJ anon communities shut down anyway?

    One of the reasons I'm asking is that I'm considering starting a new LJ anonymous spot myself. I want to see whether I should bother considering that an older, well-liked one might come back anyway.
    -------------------

    On the same theme, another Anon submission points out that Inkleberry does not approve.

    BrainGlutton

    From the submission thread:
    Does anyone else wonder why BrainGlutton is never taken to task for incessantly starting OPs in GD by just throwing out some ridiculously long quotation from The Nation or some left-wing social science book he's read? Seems like several times a week, he opens a thread like this:

    Reflecting upon the recent election in Upper Slobovia last week, I recalled a pertinent passage from Walter H. Plotnick's Gold, Sex, and Democracy: Intra-Provincial Power Struggles In 19th Century Algeria (Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe, 1990):

    The factors that contributed to Hassan I's abdication are many, not the least of which was the Hacksaw Worker Rebellion in 1872, which represented the confluence of multiple competing theories of compensation differentiation, itself an unholy union between the agriculturally-minded tendencies of the Old Left and the...
    On and on for 3 pages.

    These debates never seem to get very far, yet he keeps starting them. It's surprising people don't accuse him of not having original thoughts and just wanting to discuss books he's read, which, it appears, almost no one else is interested in.

    What I really want to know is whether he types these passages in by hand. One of his recent ones is from The Nation, so he could have cut-and-pasted from their website, but most seem to be from books.
    ------
    MOD NOTE: I haven't really noticed, but a little bit of searching brings up this as a good example. These don't seem to me to be very often though, unless someone else has some prime examples?

    Monday, April 18, 2005

    Quality vs. Quantity, a two-fer

    From the submission thread:
    What things have people shared on the boards that have made you wonder whether they keep anything private at all? No mentions of Incubus, please, we already know.


    Why haven't the other bad writing whores been slammed like Scylla? You know the people I mean, those who write long drawn out prose usually their family. You can see they are just trying to impress up with their master writing skills. >hurl<

    Sunday, April 17, 2005

    Just to allay confusion...

    Anything I (secretdubai/istara) post here is from the submission thread. It's not my own words or opinion. We mods are tightening entries up a bit and putting the URLs behind phrases, but that's about it.

    I don't even know half of the people that are being snarked about here.

    If I do make a personal comment, it will have a: "Mod note: " type thing preceding it, or at least be under a line. I also haven't so far left any anonymous comments nor do I plan to.

    That's *your* job ;)

    finn007: New member, old-school nutter

    From the submission thread:
    Seen the new kid on the block, finn007?

    This might be a good place to start. Total old-school nut, along the lines of Justhink for readability. Just the shot in the arm that langishing board needs, says I.

    Saturday, April 16, 2005

    The Experiment: Engine the Anti-Mod

    Sunday 10 April

    Last night I wandered into #straightdope chat for the first time. At first I was surprised by the lack of snark, which I have come to believe is running riot on chat. Second, I came to learn that one of the dopers on there had sent in a Mod Application after receiving one from TubaDiva, and nothing had happened. I was surprised, why SkipMagic and not this doper? I wondered, well, if they'll have SkipMagic as a mod, why not someone modding an anonymous snark community against them? So this doper forwarded me an application.
    The application included such questions as:
    • What is your daytime phone number?
    • What is your address?
    • What ISP do you use?
      And of course, the good ol':
    • Why do you want to be a volunteer at The Straight Dope?
      My favourite:
    • Are you now or have you been an chat host or a moderator? If yes, what area(s)?

    I wasn't expecting a reply, or, if any, it to look something like this.
    Dear Go You Big Red Fire Engine;
    Get fucked.
    Your Humble Tubadiva
    Instead I received this no less then 6 hours after sending my application:
    TUBADIVA@aol.com to me
    I am in receipt of your application and I have forwarded it up the pipeline for processing.

    We'll let you know as soon as you come out the other side of the vetting procedure. I'm not in charge of that, so this may take some time. Please be patient and do not take it personally; the wheels of Zotti grind slowly and exceedingly fine.

    your humble TubaDiva
    Which I translated to mean "get fucked". Later that same day; I receive this email from Arnold Winkelried.
    Hello, Arnold Winkelried from the SDMB here.
    I see that you have sent an application to be a Straight Dope moderator. In your application you said you had experience "[m]odding various SDMB related communities." What communities were those? Could you send a link to the online communities?

    moderator, Straight Dope Message Board

    I can't lie, so I tell him the truth. Yes, I modded a livejournal community namd trainwreckspotting (now defunct) and I run a blog on blogspot called trainwreckspotting. As if he didn't know already.
    Suffice to say it has been a week and still no response. Damnit, why SkipMagic and not someone running a SDMB snark community?
    ----
    ADDED Engine Note: This is a joke. I don't have anything against SkipMagic, I just wanted to see what would happen if someone in my position attempted to become a mod. Of course, Tuba bullshitted to me, and Zotti's out of the loop.

    Gone in 0.60 seconds aka The Mystery of the Missing Moose

    From the submission thread - some curiosity as to the disappearance of LJ anonymoose:

    Damn, that dope_anonymoose community didn't last long at all. From all appearances, it was deleted by its owner rather than suspended by LJ...if that makes a difference..."

    and

    Anonymous is gone? WHODUNNIT!?

    Friday, April 15, 2005

    Is wonderwench for real or just a troll?

    From the submission thread:
    I'm starting to suspect that she's just trolling the shit out of everyone.

    Either that or she's the stupidest bitch to come down the pike since H4E.

    ----------------------
    And we have a query from another anon: "Where did the joke about smoking a turd come from? I don't get it."

    What do we think of socks and implants?

    From the submission thread:
    Just how good is the SDMB at finding socks?
    Say, for instance, I feel like creating a sock account and I use an anonymizer or proxy bypasser, is that enough to hide my identity or would they bust my ass and throw my p2p account off the board before I could say oh shit!

    Of course, this is all purely hypothetical!


    Silicon implant debate. Not a single thread on it in the entire SDMB. You would think these guys would be all over that.

    Thursday, April 14, 2005

    Who is it?

    From the submission thread:
    Since we've had two submissions on it, I guess I should post this:

    In this post, QuickSilver comments:

    There is a popular poster on this board who's spouse seems to make a habit of philandering. The poster has made a concious decision to stay in the marriage despite the difficulties and associated depression. The poster requested advice, received various extensive replies and the thread remained alive and active.

    Why is the weight issue any more abhorent than the one I just described?

    So... who is it?
    ----
    Engine Note: No posting of personal information.

    How long until rjung claims the government planted a device in his ass?

    From the submission thread:
    Delusional, paranoid, pretty much crazy... Nope! Not Dio. rjung:

    "Related idle speculation: How many people have had to watch what they write on an electrionic bulletin board (such as this one) for fear that something they post -- even in jest or hyperbole -- might be construed as a "reasonable threat" by a spook somewhere in Langley and end up getting a visit from a few agents?"

    I finally figured out why I still visit the place - watching lefties implode on themselves is fun. It's like standing at the zoo pointing out over the railing - 'See that son? Crazy people. If it weren't for that pit and plexiglass, we'd be in big trouble.''

    ETA by snarkboy; Here's the post in question from the above linked thread

    Liberal and the Pit: He's baaaaaaaaack..... Plus, Read Icculus

    From the submission thread:
    Yep, at the top of the third page, our old friend Liberalalalaterian decides that the lure of the Pit was just too strong. Now he's back to bestow his steaming blend of liberalterian mysticism and more-saved-than-thou Christianity. You just knew he'd be jumping in to defend anyone self-defining as a liberalterian, no matter how simplistic their arguments ("The government is stealing my cash, you morons!")

    On that note...Read Icculus: Troll or what? The guy even admits to "getting into it on another online forum." Right.

    When even sven gives you a coherent flaming...

    From the submission thread:
    You know you must be the bigger douche.
    Aeschines.

    sydney snarker

    From the submission thread:
    So...what happened to sydney snarker? Why is he or she no longer a mod here?
    ---
    Engine Note:
    Sydney snarker no longer wants to be with us.

    Reeder literally sickens me. Oops. Got some vomit on my chickpea salad. :(

    From the submission thread:

    Joe Doper asks whether it's legal to use someone's unsecured wireless connection. Reeder say's it's not legal because he doesn't like it. Then he says it 8 more times. Knowing this guy is a fat disgusting FREAK just makes his horrible stupidity even more disgusting. What a fucking annoying pig.

    C K Dexter Haven is an ass. Discuss

    From the submission thread:

    "Non-Apology Apologies and why they don't help a goddamn thing"
    "Clarification Requested on "Medical Advice""

    Wednesday, April 13, 2005

    Tuckerfan

    From the submission thread:

    The man is a douchebag. Just about every single thread of his gets cross-posted on The SDMB, Fathom and the Unaboard. What a little attention whore bitch. Now, if only he could do more than bitch about his pathetic white trash life, or post news stories gathered from Fark.

    Everything you didn't want to know about Stretch marks but are tortured by anyway

    From the submission thread:

    Incubus assaults our retinas with a discussion about stretch marks.
    Eurgh. Being the TMI-manwhore that he is, informs us that he *gasp!* has stretch marks. As if the guy wasn't disgusting enough, he's got ass cheeks like look like a giant pair of ribbon candy. Sick.

    190? Come on, you've got to be joking. If this guy has stretch marks, particularly near the caboose area, he's gotta be HUGE right? So he's disgusting and lies about being fat?

    Honorable mention goes to Indygrrl who just has to chime in to mention how perfect she is. I swear she's drawn to threads like this like a fly on shit.

    -----------
    Mod note: we are loving bodies and body parts at the moment, aren't we?

    More whining about pitting motherfuckers in the pit...

    From the submission thread:

    Mhendo writes a very solid OP refuting some of the bullshit rhetoric made against Bush protestors during the RNC convention (which exposes not only that more 90% of those arrested were innocent but that the pigs and the DA were caught lying through their teeth and tampering with evidence) and in the course of the OP Mhendo takes a few potshots at Shodan (who pretty much deserved it) and suddenly, instead of addressing the substance of the OP we get morons like Cheesedick and Unclefucker crying and bitching because the OP insulted Shodan (who deserved it) in a fucking PIT THREAD.

    What the fuck, man? Do we have to justify insulting Shodan in pit threads now? What the fuck for? Shodan pretty much specializes in sweeping insults of liberals so the crying is that much more unjustified.

    Even if it's gratuitous and off topic (and in this case it was neither) so fucking what? If I want to bitch about my job and then say "oh, by the way, Dio is a cunt" am I not allowed to do that?

    Fucking crybabies, man.

    Tuesday, April 12, 2005

    I'm so tired of Scott_Plaid

    From the submission thread:
    Join date: Feb 2005, posts? As I speak, 1697. That's 28.35 posts per day.
    Yup, and he's tired of other people harping on.
    His threads include:

  • What fictional Characters are they themselves rabid fanboys?
  • Games that appear to be hand-drawn
  • Common parlance be damned! What words don't mean what you think?
  • Do you know anyone who "repairs" things by hitting them withe wrong end of a hammer?
  • If them Brits can play Mornington Crescent on here, then we can play MacArthur Park!

    Signal-to-noise ratio? 1:1696. If that.
    -----
    Mod note: I might as well add this, this was in the submission thread:
    "Wheeeee! The first comment in a new space. It's like pissing in a pristine snowbank. Or, rather, what I imagine pissing in a pristine snowbank would be if I had the equipment for that kind of thing."

  • From the Mod:

    Looking for html writers and mods.

    RULES
    1. We do not speak of trainwreckspot.
    2. No spoofing.
    3. No posting of personal details.
    4. No porn spam.

    ETIQUETTE
    1. When replying, quote if replying to a specific comment.
    2. When adding submissions, please link to offending topic.

    If you have any more rules and such, just throw in a comment.

    Cheers,
    Engine.

    Reminder: Submission thread on the right.
    Clicking the timestamp instead of the Comments link improves readability.
    Original Date: 5/4/05

    Monday, April 11, 2005

    You're worried about protocol?

    In the good old days, this thread about Incest and funeral protocol would have been headed straight for the Pit. It isn't going to get a pitting on the Dope, so we might as well have at it here.

    Now everyone's so concerned with playing "nice" that no-one's even questioning why the OP is worrying about protocol, when the family clearly has much bigger problems that not knowing what Miss Manners would do.

    The OP doesn't have a problem with sis/aunt wanting to be in on the bunch of flowers which get sent to the funeral of the woman sis/aunt replaced as Uncle's spouse? What the fuck do they put in the water there?

    Why is jarfatty off limits?

    From the submission thread:

    link

    So, why is jarfatty off-limits? Why can't we talk about her diseased cunt and how she couldn't get pregnant because of it?

    Please list the other people that we are not allowed to discuss in terms that you find objectionable.

    And, again, why the special treatment for that fat bitch. Trust me, she won't appreciate it and doesn't like you anyway.
    ----
    Added ENGINE NOTE
    Not because it's objectionable, just because it's overdone and old. Why go over and over the same person again and again when we could be digging up new dirt on someone else? I don't remember deleting anything about jarbaby.

    How are you phasing out your SDMB?

    From the submission thread:

    Hopefully not too introspective for the old snark board, but it's Sunday so: How are you phasing out your SDMB?

    It's funny, I was thinking about what an anon said on sashimi about the board culture encouraging the "Jack of all trades, master of none" type and that experts who don't suffer fools are chased off. I have to admit to that jack-of-all-trades personality; IMO a forum that encourages heavy discussion of all things under the sun is going to attract that type. It just seems that current J-o-a-T types don't want to give focussed learning it's due.I think what really gets in some people's craw is when someone seems a true expert in one field but also has other varied hobbies and interests. Way to hog the show MUTHERFUCKA! Haw.

    So lately I'm doing what I used to do before I discovered the Dope of old, lurking on expert sites - posting only if I think I have a useful non-expert POV, or a question I think experts would want to explain to an avid amateur.
    -----------
    Also from the submission thread on a similar theme :
    I see a lot of comments that talk about how the board has changed. And it has.

    But I'm curious as to how people think it's changed. FWIW, I've been on it since the start, and some changes I see: the passage of time has allowed all sorts of social interactions to transpire that weren't in place when the board was young; also, MPSIMS and the Pit have become near pure wastes of good, hard workin' electrons.

    Inkleberry, with even sven thrown in free

    From the submission thread:
    Here we see evensven whining like only she can about the unfairness of life. In that thread, the SDMB's newest attention whore, Inkleberry and her moron husband, Dr. Lovegun talked about how the pregancy left them with $40K of medical bills. and he lost his job ask a stock broker, and delivered pizza and has now "transitioned" a job managing a restaurant. And she Inkleberry is freelancing as a career counselor.

    If I were unemployed or thinking about switching jobs, I would get my advice from someone who lives in a slum on a street with RSOs and methheads.
    ------------
    Another submission about the same thread :
    inkleberry gripes a little and it breaks into class warfare. Whining, hijacking, strawmen, nyctea scandida. All the hallmarks of a trainwreck.
    -------------
    Mod note : My personal favourite post in the thread to date is this one from bodypoet in reply to nyctea scandiaca.

    Well, congrats on your abortion and all that, honey. Well, you might have considered birth control, you know. You would have avoided all that nasty expense and clinic visits and all, and your life would have been only God-knows-HOW much more incredibly awesome than it is.

    Saturday, April 09, 2005

    Hardygrrl

    From the submission thread:
    What is the deal with Hardygrrl? I keep reading her LJ posts about her intense aerobic workouts and how she is so edgy and rock and roll but in reality I have seen her and know that she is an ugly late 30 something early 40 something, out of shape, fat old maid still living with her parents.

    Is it also true that Satan had the hots for her until he actually met her in real time then ran as fast as he could?

    I open up my sock drawer

    From the submission thread:
    Badtz Maru/Blue Ruin/clearturbulence
    The poster formerly known as Badtz Maru has claimed that he is still posting on SDMB and has more than one sock. Has he told anyone what his new handle is? Does anyone have any guesses?
    -------
    Is Good Egg A sock for Vanilla?
    I think she is. Not that I care that much. Vanilla never really bothered me. I was just wondering if anyone else thought Good Egg sounds an awful lot like her.
    ------
    So who here has a sock?
    People have socks for some reasons or another, who was your previous sock? How many socks do you now have?

    Incubus. Ick

    From the submission thread:
    This thread seemed innocuous enough- "What is your favorite internal organ?" but hovering over it was a different story. You know, at one time I actually like this fucker, but his continual TMI posting has really pushed me over the edge into hatred.

    Not only do we know about his losing his virginity to his "woman he met while on a cruise", his impotency problems, his girlfriends enormous meatflaps, his girlfriends love of blow jobs, his girlfriends period when he had sex with her anyway, his girlfriends pregnancy, the consistency of his poop AND how it always sticks to his asshair thus requiring a shower after each bowel movement, but now he's got to tell us his stinky butthole likes a massage?!! AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! HATE! HIM! hate him.

    Friday, April 08, 2005

    There's spoof everywhere.

    Don't spoof other people, fuckers. Wanna post under a name? Email me with proof. Don't want to provide proof? Your posts start getting dio-leted.

    And the award goes to...

    How about a list of DEADBEAT DOPERS? The ones that got no job but still got a comp, ISP and money for SDMB P2P?

    Opal
    Jinwicked
    Aesiron
    Vanilla's current sock
    Scott Evil

    Whether sponging off some ignorant jackass or sucking on the public tit, I've started the LIST O' LOSERS. Now, post your own nominations for this pack of worthless fucks.
    ----
    Mod Note: Attributed to Anonymous

    Thursday, April 07, 2005

    Anon Sashimi: Expired

    Gee, who didn't see that one coming.

    I weep for the gene pool

    I don't know how in the heck we missed this one folks.

    Just recently found out that I'm five weeks along with a teeny tiny jarbaby baby!

    Stay tuned for 8 months of jardrama.

    From the submission thread : Spitefucking Ann Coulter

    Looks as if the PC bitches are out in force.

    Mod note : Veb just warned the OP; expect arguing back and forth about whether the warning was justified.

    We need some submissions people

    Otherwise we're going to have to start creating new topics ourselves and then you're all going to whine about how lame they are.

    From The Submission Thread: Pile it on

    There seem to be a number of Dopers who only contribute to a thread when it appears that the thread is headed toward an oblivion of a disaster of trainwreck proportions. Among these I cite Diane, Freddy Teddy Peddy, Go You Big Red Fire Engine, wring and lezler.

    Are these all female?
    Are there other obvious pile-on posters?
    -----
    MOD NOTE: Once a trainwreck hits the submission thread, it's too much fun not too play! I didn't think I piled on anything, I normally only make one post.
    Is that Freddy Teddy Peddy thing a typo or a reference to pedopilia?

    Wednesday, April 06, 2005

    From the submission thread: Bosda Da Foo Foo

    Can we talk about Bosda and why he is such a clueless no talent idiot? My dog is smarter than Bosda

    Tuesday, April 05, 2005

    From the submission thread: Inkleberry

    Will somebody ban inkleberry's tits from the Pit?
    This is only her latest offering.

    We get it. You're breastfeeding, but if you really must share every fucking detail of the process with us, can you please keep it in Mundane Pointless Shit I Don't Have Enough Impulse Control to Refrain from Posting?

    That is all.

    From the submission thread: Double Whammy

    Every year, we get the sob stories about how they can't afford a few bucks for the subscription.
    Who is the most pathetic of the sad sacks? And just to keep it interesting, you can't just say Opal since we all know how pathetic she is.

    -----------
    Your nominations for suicide by mod before 28 April:
    Which posters do you think will "go out with a bang" before the resubscription date for charter members?

    My money's on Gobear.