Poll: Injustice of the Permaban

[Scarim Coral]

Spoiler: My inital reaction

<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m50lftYTAR1qcoc6y.gif" img src>

I'm sorry but let me back up abit in the comment below.

First thing first, were you on this site before the eight strike system? The old ban system was more like an four strike system, you get a warming, then a probation, then sespension (two weeks) and finally a banned. If you asked me, comparing the old banned system to the current one, the mods are alot more fairer these days.

Second thing, belive it or not but there is a appeal system to state your plea to come back to the site and the mods decided wheather or not to give that banned person a second chance. While I don't know the pecentage of the amount of banned persons has been let back in (that is if they plea in the first place) but I know for hell that someone got banned a few months ago for being a racist (Danyal I think? He hang around in the political threads) which it turn out he was banned for the second time. Goes to show some people are ungrateful for getting a second chance.
EDIT- It came to my knowledge that the infamous Zeel was recently unbanned well got banned again. Look like I'm stand corrected on some people are ungrateful for having second chances.

Beside how hard is it to stay polite and stick to the rule and gudieline as seen in the Good Job Citizen thread, there are people on here who never once gotten a warnings. By all means one or two time I had an unpopular opinions but in those cases, I worded my comment carefully to not offence anyone and also refrain myself into getting into an argument that result in name calling.

At the end of the day we are the guest on their site and it's their home (sure a website is build on community but not a foulmouth, hateful and disrepectful community unless it's 4chan), they have all the right for the mod warnings and if you don't like it, find another site more suitable for you as there are plenty of other sites out there.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Its cute you think the banning system is worse now then it used to be.

From what I've seen since I came back, most of the post that get tagged for probation or banning are quite legitimate.

I remember when there was actually an underground group of individuals trying to get rid of mods because of what was getting people in trouble. Hell, I once got in trouble for the most non-offensive fapping joke ever. When I contested it, the mod replied:

'It's gross.'

Fantastic.

Heck, I remember at one point there was a very much aboveground group of individuals trying to get the rules as written to reflect the way they were actually being enforced. I remember this because I was one of them XD

If you've ever wondered why the rules explicitly mention piracy and the laws of the United States, that's why. A bunch of us complained because the rules didn't explicitly mention piracy, and that even the old illegal content rule wasn't enough to do it implicitly, because it didn't specify the country that the laws would come from (important because the US is unusual in just how strict its copyright and drug laws are), and besides, it only said advocating or linking, not admitting to. But even though it wasn't explicitly mentioned, you could still get banned for it. In fact, pre-health bar, it was pretty much an instant ban. That's why getting that rule actually spelled out in the TOS was a good thing.

So, yeah OP. The rules around here are much better and much more fairly enforced than they used to be. There's still room for improvement, but at least it's clear from reading the TOS what can and cannot get you in trouble. There was a time where you needed to both read the TOS and lurk for an extended period of time, because there were additional bannable offenses which weren't officially in the rules. For that matter, the health bar has cleared up the ban process. Time was, the mods had a lot more discretion as to how quickly to ban someone, which actually led to people getting banned more quickly, not less quickly. The system as it is isn't perfect, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was two or three years ago. Heck, thanks to the buyout, it's not enforced as strictly as it was six months ago. I can't be the only one who's noticed the quiet changes that have been going on here since Themis Media sold the place.

 

[DeadpanLunatic]

I have removed my words from this site.

 

[Mikeyfell]

This is one of the only times I'll advocate for a ridiculous third option in the poll because the moderation on the forum is honestly bacon.

I could say the most horrible, racist, sexist, hurtful, hateful, reincarnating-of-Hitler-ly-terrible thing and get a warning for it.

While at the same time my seventh low content post will get me a permaban.

It's a bad system.

But the Moderators are lovely people and I want to please them in every way humanly possible because they are a higher class of people and deserve preferential treatment.

I'd like to see a return to the old form of forum moderation where you got a punishment that was on par with your offense instead of a "standard unit of punishment" every time you broke one of the rules no matter how pointless the rule was in the first place.

 

[Quellist]

I know in the wrong mood i can be a nasty, sarcastic person, prone to occasional trolling and the odd outburst of potty mouth and ive never recieved a single warning for my conduct. Admittedly i always reread what ive written to make sure i dont cross a line but imo moderation isnt too harsh at all.

Ask me again once i get an infraction tho

 

[Xan Krieger]

The problem is when the moderation permabans someone and the quality of the forum drops. Take for example when they banned Danyal and the quality of R&P went down. I think the mods need to decide which is more important, the rules or the quality of the site?

 

[Susan Arendt]

If you can't figure out how to behave after being given 8 chances, we don't really want you as part of our community. One's value is not increased by their post count. A member is not magically exempt from our rules simply because others find them entertaining. Our rules are in place so that the community as a whole can enjoy themselves while they're here. Even if they just lurk, even if they maybe only post once every blue moon.

Everyone has bad days, and we certainly don't expect anyone's behavior to always be perfect, which is why we not only have an 8-strike system, but also remove ban levels in return for extended periods of good behavior. Mistakes in judgment also happen, as do misunderstandings, which is why we have an appeal system in place so that if a ban is given incorrectly, it can be undone.

If someone simply cannot learn from past mistakes, that's their problem, not a flaw in the system.

The problem is when the moderation permabans someone and the quality of the forum drops. Take for example when they banned Danyal and the quality of R&P went down. I think the mods need to decide which is more important, the rules or the quality of the site?

So your enjoyment of R&P is more important than someone else's desire to not have to deal with Danyal's particular bullshit? Sorry, but that's a very selfish point of view. Rules are in place to be impartial and make sure that we're not placing more value on one definition of "enjoyment" over another. Follow the rules, you stay. Don't follow them, you go. No exceptions.

 

[Hagi]

I think moderation is fine as it is.

It's not like the moderators are prowling these forums looking for every single post that might possibly be thought to have low-content.

When I was new here I made a low-content post, just a single picture. You know what happened?

I got a polite PM from a mod informing me of my mistake, explaining the rules, saying he'd removed me from the reporting system for now so I wouldn't get a warning and asking me to edit my post so I wouldn't get a warning in the future if I was reported again.

Horrible isn't it? Just imagine if that happened with all the honest well-intended mistakes one eventually makes. I mean... you'd get like 1 PM from a moderator every single year! OH THE HUGE MANATEE!

 

[GundamSentinel]

What's so difficult about following the code of conduct? Don't break the rules and you won't get any strikes. A single violation won't get you a banhammer to the face here, thankfully. I hope the moderation stays the way it is as it makes this forum a better place to be.

 

[DeadpanLunatic]

I have removed my words from this site.

 

[ShadowKatt]

I remember..back in my day we didn't have no health meters, and mods could just bring down the banhammer and smite their justice upon the land like Odin. And they forced you to walk to the smiting hill before they did it, uphill, both ways. And we didn't have none of them fancy jumping physics; you had to walk all the way up there.

*ahem* Anyway, the forums have, for the most part, gotten much more lenient, I think. I do know that after the US election, the mod squad got together and went Vlad the Impaler on the R&P section. I've never seen that many bans happen at one time before or since...march madness earlier that year anyway.

However, I will agree that while the forums have gotten more lenient, the judgement is just as if not more inconsistant than before. While I don't know the history of every poster that gets banned, I find a lot of the posts that get people banned to be very tame or inoffensive at all. However, I also understand that part of the mod system is us reporting posters, so part of the blame falls on the mods, the other part falls on the mob mentality of this site.

 

[Radoh]

Don't you need to agree to the rules of this site before you can start posting anything anyways?
If you don't know the rules that is not an excuse for breaking them, since you need to come across them in order to actually post.
You've got 10 chances to stop the thing that you are doing and instead when I see someone getting banned it's almost always going to be something they've done before.

So no, it isn't too harsh. I've gotten modded once and only once in my stay here, and I've made sure to never repeat that mistake.
If you like being here, you'll adjust yourself to not lose that privilege, if you don't want to be here, then getting banned isn't a big deal.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

I've seen a few people banned for silly things but for the most part it's because they kept doing silly things.
As long as the rules and moderation don't inhibit discussion then it's fine.

Though I know for certain that at some point in the future I will be banned for discussing drugs. I can't help it, it's one of my favourite topics for discussion. I dislike the fact that it's banned and to be honest don't really understand why. Seeing as the mods are most likely going to be watching this thread, if one of them could explain why, I'd be very grateful.

[small]I'm going to receive a warning for this, aren't I?[/small]

 

[Berithil]

No.

I've been here for over 4 years, and while I don't have the highest post count, I've had plenty of opportunities where I could of done something worthy of mod wrath but chose otherwise, and I have an utterly clean record (the closest I got was once I unintentionally made a low content post, but someone was kind enough to warn me before I got mod wrathed). It isn't that hard to avoid marks. All it takes is some self control. Also, the current system is a lot more lenient than the old one, that had only 4(?) strikes.

I do admit the system might be a little inconsistent at times, but hey... the mods are only human...


Right?

 

[anthony87]

Don't get 8 warnings and you won't be banned. Simples.

If you can't grasp this concept after 3 or 4 warnings then it's your own damn fault.

 

[kailus13]

The notion that you cannot post large amounts without being banned falls apart when you consider that there is a group solely for people who have posted 5000 times without getting a warning. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/The-Neo-d

 

[Mr. Eff_v1legacy]

Mods seem to have loosened up a bit, but two or three years ago they were awful. Still, I try to be pretty careful with what I post after several (ridiculous) warnings some time ago.

 

[blackrave]

One of my principles is- Everyone deserves second chance, nobody deserves third.
Why not to apply same rule in this forum?

If person gets 8 warnings he/she gets extended ban (1year)
After that term he/she gets clean record, but after another 8 warnings it is permaban
That would be more fair to everyone.