This probably counts as #9, but I've seen people get banned for saying things like "Your religion is a lie". Religion can be a touchy subject here and should be cited as example if you're to write "How not to get banned" guide.Evil Smurf said:
How not to get banned.
- Thread starter Evil Smurf
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Let me add something to the "How to not be a jerk"-clause:Evil Smurf said:
Do not present a binary where both options insults the user/a group.
Examples (slightly altered versions of posts that have gotten people in trouble):
Exhibit A said:
And another one:Exhibit B said:
Do not call for attacks on a user.
As it is pretty much a call for cyber-bullying, I will let it speak for itself.
- Mar 31, 2010
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He means when someone makes a post that is literally this (word for word):Fraught said:
As in they actually type that they're putting in extra words to avoid mod wrath. I've seen people modded for that at-least twice before.
It depends on how obvious the person is being, and if others have already tried. If I'm entering the thread on page 4, and the offender was on page 1 and is already in the middle of an argument with someone about how offensive he/she has been, then I don't waste my time - I report all the offending posts and then add the person to my ignore list.D Moness said:
Likewise, I've on occasion tried to reply if I think someone is reasonable or being accidentally offensive, or just hasn't considered other options. If I get attacked - Report and Ignore.
I've also had people who do a good job of disguising hate, homophobia, or other types of intolerance in "logic" or "science" - usually making false or unproven claims about such - to make their statements seem reasonable when they're still just as hateful as the ones with swearing. Those are often frustrating because it is really hard to get the mods to deal with those, because they appear to be following the rules.
Anyway, Report and Ignore is almost always the best response. And if someone really was being reasonable and I was just upset, then the mods will recognize that fact and not punish them, but I still don't have to listen to them anymore.
And yes, my Ignore list is HUGE.
Actually, I took a few people off of it recently. For certain individuals, I use it as a "cooldown room" or temporary "dog house" and then remove people later. Those I don't report, I just put them on my ignore list to keep myself from replying.
For example, when all that bile about ME3 was flooding the Escapists, a few people got put on my Ignore list just so I wouldn't have to listen to them complain anymore. Now that that's passed, they can come off because they have moved on to other things again.
Oh.JoJo said:
Ohhhhh.
I didn't account for that. That's just silly. That just...pulls more attention to the post. WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THAT?!
Oddly enough, I have actually run into that. Words can't really describe what goes through one's head when one sees something like that for the first time.
Isn't this already posted in the forum rules? Doesn't that make this redundant? Also... why do you need to tell people not to be a dick. Shouldn't that be apparent? It's a sad world where people don't immediately act that way.
Just don't do anything I wouldn't. Perfect record man, perfect record!
When it comes to arguments, you're probably safe as long as you don't directly insult anyone or any specific group. The worst that can happen is that you'll be ignored, and while being ignored hurts the ego like twisting a knife in the gut, you'll live to fight another day.
Actually, better yet, just don't fight!
When it comes to arguments, you're probably safe as long as you don't directly insult anyone or any specific group. The worst that can happen is that you'll be ignored, and while being ignored hurts the ego like twisting a knife in the gut, you'll live to fight another day.
Actually, better yet, just don't fight!
Think of this as a meta Thread. If knowing the rules was all that was involved it certainly wouldn't be pertinent, but as discussed here--Evil Smurf said:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/528.389495-Possible-Solutions-to-Impossible-Standards-Religion-Politics-and-Moderation
--even the Mods readily recognize that there are "grey areas" and that, since there are 15 Mods with different perceptions and different ideas about what constitutes acceptability posters can (and have) discovered that what gets an "Okay" from one Mod gets a "No way" from another.
Meta guidelines like the one I suggested--
11. The more warnings you have, the easier it is to get another warning. When you have one more warning=banning then you are walking on the THINNEST ice. Very minor infractions that wouldn't earn a warning for people without any can earn you a final one leading to your being banned.
--are intended to give people a feel for how the system works, not just what the rules are.
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Yeah, sometimes I wonder how some people even manage to log-in this site, in this case I think they took the low-content rule far more literally than they're actually interpreted.Fraught said:
The forum rules aren't particularly concise, they repeat themselves in several places and include waffle about other site-related issues too. People signing up are meant to read them but given how common the story of "I got one warning for low content before I realised they weren't allowed" is, it's clear a lot of people don't read it carefully enough.Twilight_guy said:
This is hard to put into words, but don't get overly offended over trivial stuff.
That was, I think, part of what did Mortai Gravesend in. He would constantly report (seemingly) any post that responded to him with any sort of disagreement, saying that he was deeply offended.
My suggestion, then, is to only report posts that you seriously think are inflammatory. Don't bring extra attention to yourself by reporting posts linked to yours if you're also being an ass.
I once got a warning after someone said that I was acting LIKE an ass, and I responded claiming that he didn't need to be a dick about it. The mod that reviewed my post agreed that his post was just as inflammatory as mine (as in, not very), and overturned my warning. However, it could easily have reversed, where BOTH of us got a warning despite both of us using only lightly-inflammatory language, not language at all worthy of a warning.
That was, I think, part of what did Mortai Gravesend in. He would constantly report (seemingly) any post that responded to him with any sort of disagreement, saying that he was deeply offended.
My suggestion, then, is to only report posts that you seriously think are inflammatory. Don't bring extra attention to yourself by reporting posts linked to yours if you're also being an ass.
I once got a warning after someone said that I was acting LIKE an ass, and I responded claiming that he didn't need to be a dick about it. The mod that reviewed my post agreed that his post was just as inflammatory as mine (as in, not very), and overturned my warning. However, it could easily have reversed, where BOTH of us got a warning despite both of us using only lightly-inflammatory language, not language at all worthy of a warning.
I've definitely seen people get mod-hammered here because they were extremely passionate about something, someone else was a 100% douchebag, and said person called the douchebag out on it in a way that was very blunt and very honest.
This rarely happens, but it bugs me. Sometimes you shouldn't soften the blow; after all, the douchebag didn't get warned/banned.
This rarely happens, but it bugs me. Sometimes you shouldn't soften the blow; after all, the douchebag didn't get warned/banned.
I wonder why people say this (it is a sentiment I have seen over a few similar threads, I'm quoting you as you've reminded me of it). I've been here for nearly 4 years and have a spotless record. Admittedly my post-count isn't huge for someone whose been here that long and I mainly lurk these days - but I've been involved in some incredibly long and complex arguments (I would say heated, but that tends to imply insults on both sides, perhaps eager is a better word) with...less than polite users...yet have managed to avoid breaking any of the rules. Whilst virtually living in the Religion and Politics sub-section. I hardly have the patience of Gandhi, so how come so many people managed to get to suspension/ban levels so easily?5ilver said:
I've got two things:
1. Follow the posting guidelines.
2. Have a nice attitude towards others.
Those rules have kept my Forum Health Meter clean. Plus, they aren't too hard to follow.
Also, if someone is being a jerk, don't argue with them. Just report and move on.
1. Follow the posting guidelines.
2. Have a nice attitude towards others.
Those rules have kept my Forum Health Meter clean. Plus, they aren't too hard to follow.
Also, if someone is being a jerk, don't argue with them. Just report and move on.
I've only got two personal rules when it comes to posting.....and I've broken them both.
1. Never post while drunk. (1 warning for being aggressive towards another poster)
2. Sarcasm is a dangerous weapon, use it carefully or not at all. (2 warnings for "trolling"/baiting other users).
1. Never post while drunk. (1 warning for being aggressive towards another poster)
2. Sarcasm is a dangerous weapon, use it carefully or not at all. (2 warnings for "trolling"/baiting other users).
Wow, you make the mods sound like mystical and potentially unpredictable forces of nature... which has always been my belief anyway.
Generally I think one of the biggest problems other than obvious dickery is that some people mistake this place for an image board, and that simply will not do (clearly). Single word replies (I did that once.... once) or resorting to that kind of hostility feels wrong here, and I get that there is a place for that and this is evidently not that place. Personal attacks and nastiness also seems to go over poorly, which is something I actually like about things here. I've seen it slide, but never to levels I've experienced elsewhere. For that reason I don't mind the bans too much, certainly better than seeing this place turn into a war zone.
I can't pretend to understand why they will smash you to jelly with the mighty hammer of ban for talking about piracy, but my guess is that letting your foot in the door with something like that in this particular context (and others) is a slippery slope they wish to avoid here. Maybe sometimes trigger happy, I've even seen mods admit to being overzealous before (the adblock thing was that one time I did see explanation and repealed bans), but generally I think there appears to be fair reason as to why they ban users.
Lest we forget too, they are human.
Generally I think one of the biggest problems other than obvious dickery is that some people mistake this place for an image board, and that simply will not do (clearly). Single word replies (I did that once.... once) or resorting to that kind of hostility feels wrong here, and I get that there is a place for that and this is evidently not that place. Personal attacks and nastiness also seems to go over poorly, which is something I actually like about things here. I've seen it slide, but never to levels I've experienced elsewhere. For that reason I don't mind the bans too much, certainly better than seeing this place turn into a war zone.
Ads generate revenue, obviously they won't like that sort of thing, clearly they will work against that. An understandable position.GrAvItAtE22 said:
I can't pretend to understand why they will smash you to jelly with the mighty hammer of ban for talking about piracy, but my guess is that letting your foot in the door with something like that in this particular context (and others) is a slippery slope they wish to avoid here. Maybe sometimes trigger happy, I've even seen mods admit to being overzealous before (the adblock thing was that one time I did see explanation and repealed bans), but generally I think there appears to be fair reason as to why they ban users.
Lest we forget too, they are human.
Those two rules are practically universal across almost every forum on the internet that I've seen. It's not really right to condone any software that would prevent the website you enjoy from receiving the funding that helps to provide further enjoyment.GrAvItAtE22 said:
Many sites that deal with emulation and the like also have zero tolerance for actually talking about ROMs, where to get them, and so on. That said I do find it somewhat amusing that we get several updates about the state of The Pirate Bay in the news section.