Poll: Injustice of the Permaban

[Susan Arendt]

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]

Depends on what you want to discuss. Something like "should drugs be legalized" is totally fair game. But admitting to committing a crime - which taking or selling drugs is in the US - is a bit of a gray area for us. It could, in theory, get us into legal trouble. If we have evidence you're committing a crime and do nothing about it, we could theoretically be held liable. Yes, we really could.

So if you want to talk about drugs in the abstract, fine, but refrain from telling us about the amazing you time you had snorting lines off your Vita's screen, ok?

 

[GundamSentinel]

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.

I would've have thought those 8(!) warnings would have been enough of a second chance. If someone doesn't get it by that time, he probably just isn't going to get it, if you ask me.

 

[madwarper]

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.

No.
Your second chance begins after your first Warning. Then, you're given a third chance, a fourth chance, a fifth chance, a 3-day vacation and a sixth chance, a 2-week vacation and a seventh chance.

Then, after your seventh chance, you get banned. But, according to you, nobody deserves a third chance, so people should be banned after their first warning.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

I would offer my opinion on the issue, but I'm afraid I'd get permabanned for doing so.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

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

Wait, they're supposed to send out an invite to anyone with a neo badge? But I got mine over 2,000 posts ago, and I never got an invite. Still got a squeaky clean health bar, too. Not that it really matters

 

[The White Hunter]

No, I for one like our hammer happy overlords and will offer sacrifices unto them.

Really if you stop, read the CoC and then post with them in mind it's really not hard to avoid warnings or bans. Frankly just try and be nice, or failing that at least be civil and discussive. A member who shall remain unamed was recently permabanned for being far too agressive and eager to dismiss others thoughts as bullshit with no reason, he didn't learn from previous warnings, bans, etc and thus is gone.

Likewise consistently posting short, off-topic or deliberately inflammatory contet will eventually get you banned.

It's not hard to avoid, the rules are there clearly laid out and you agree to them when you join, if you can't follow them then this is not the place for you.

This is like the third thread on this subject today I think.

 

[Souplex]

I can't think of anyone who's been banned in recent years who didn't bring it upon themselves.
Back in the day we had an overzealous mod named NilCypher, but nowadays, I haven't seen anyone get in trouble without deserving it.

 

[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]

Depends on what you want to discuss. Something like "should drugs be legalized" is totally fair game. But admitting to committing a crime - which taking or selling drugs is in the US - is a bit of a gray area for us. It could, in theory, get us into legal trouble. If we have evidence you're committing a crime and do nothing about it, we could theoretically be held liable. Yes, we really could.

So if you want to talk about drugs in the abstract, fine, but refrain from telling us about the amazing you time you had snorting lines off your Vita's screen, ok?

A reply from the editor in chief? I feel honoured.
Thank you for your reply, and that's really helped clear things up. I never realised that you could get in legal trouble and now I completely understand.

If you care to indulge me further, would that also be applicable to Non-US citizens? Or is that where the aforementioned grey area occurs?

Perhaps I should venture over to R&P and see if I can't get some interesting discussion going! Though from what I've heard, R&P is a bit of a mixed bag and something akin to mixing petrol, diesel and propane in a blender.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Maybe its just me, but I think I only went into the yellow one block (if they still do it colour coded) at my peak. Currently I'm completely clean and I have quite a few posts on the site. So i think its more on the user than anyone to control themselves when posting. If youre being unnecessarily heated (or just didnt read the rules which in that case you do deserve it for not taking five minutes to read the rules of the site) then its your fault for doing so.

BUt then again, thats just me, and I'm generally pretty non inflammatory.

 

[blackrave]

Well that would technically count as giving everyone 16 chances.

I would've have thought those 8(!) warnings would have been enough of a second chance. If someone doesn't get it by that time, he probably just isn't going to get it, if you ask me.

No.
Your second chance begins after your first Warning. Then, you're given a third chance, a fourth chance, a fifth chance, a 3-day vacation and a sixth chance, a 2-week vacation and a seventh chance.

Then, after your seventh chance, you get banned. But, according to you, nobody deserves a third chance, so people should be banned after their first warning.

Wait this is gaming website isn't it?
I approached warning bar as something like health bar.
When you're down you get another chance after some while.

I would even go that far as getting rid of permaban altogether
And replacing it with 1y extended ban only
(maybe with only partially cleaned warning bar- when ban is lifted you have 6/8 of the warning bar)

P.S. Man, I love carpet bombing

 

[Drathnoxis]

snip

I would even go that far as getting rid of permaban altogether
And replacing it with 1y extended ban only
(maybe with only partially cleaned warning bar- when ban is lifted you have 6/8 of the warning bar)

P.S. Man, I love carpet bombing

I agree, I think this sounds like an improvement on the system.

 

[Susan Arendt]

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]

Depends on what you want to discuss. Something like "should drugs be legalized" is totally fair game. But admitting to committing a crime - which taking or selling drugs is in the US - is a bit of a gray area for us. It could, in theory, get us into legal trouble. If we have evidence you're committing a crime and do nothing about it, we could theoretically be held liable. Yes, we really could.

So if you want to talk about drugs in the abstract, fine, but refrain from telling us about the amazing you time you had snorting lines off your Vita's screen, ok?

A reply from the editor in chief? I feel honoured.
Thank you for your reply, and that's really helped clear things up. I never realised that you could get in legal trouble and now I completely understand.

If you care to indulge me further, would that also be applicable to Non-US citizens? Or is that where the aforementioned grey area occurs?

Perhaps I should venture over to R&P and see if I can't get some interesting discussion going! Though from what I've heard, R&P is a bit of a mixed bag and something akin to mixing petrol, diesel and propane in a blender.

Yep, that's the grey area. Admitting to smoking weed is no big deal in, say, Amsterdam, where that's totally legal. But it all gets a bit squidgy, because just because you say you were there doesn't mean you were, etc, etc. It's just easier for us to avoid all potential issues by having it be against the rules, period.

 

[kailus13]

So if you want to talk about drugs in the abstract, fine, but refrain from telling us about the amazing you time you had snorting lines off your Vita's screen, ok?

For when the hookers are asking for too much money?

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

Wait, they're supposed to send out an invite to anyone with a neo badge? But I got mine over 2,000 posts ago, and I never got an invite. Still got a squeaky clean health bar, too. Not that it really matters

That's what is says on their frontpage. You could always try PMing the group leader if you want.

Doesn't everyone have to read the CoC when they first join? I did, then had to read it again before I could post.

 

[Random Argument Man]

I remember 2008...and how we felt like small children with strict parents back then. If we did something bad, we knew consequences were bound to happen. Some mods were downright terrifying based on their harshness. Today, Mods are more like watchful parents. They will step in when the needs occur and they will react based on the severity of the transgression.

Besides, if you're worried about moderation, there's a few easy things that you can do to avoid being banned.

A. Ask yourself "If I was somebody else, would I find this insulting?". If yes, then change the message to something acceptable.
B. People often get banned on "How" they say things than "What" they say. Watch that.
C. Don't get into arguments where you know that you'll get angry and insult others. You'll waste energy for basically not much.

 

[CriticalMiss]

8 chances seems very fair to me, certainly so if it puts the fear of Mod in to people who are quick to insult others. And if you don't agree with the rules you can always not post any more and go somewhere else, no apologies if you get called names when you get there.

 

[wulf3n]

I don't see the Permaban being that useful.

A rational person that gets permabanned because of a build up of minor infractions is just going to leave and you lose what they may have contributed.

A troll is just going to come back with a new name/email, and continue to Troll.

Eventually all you'll have is people who don't post much and trolls.


While I generally think moderators do a fairly good job handing out warnings/bans where needed, I've also received my fair share for seemingly trivial things, Such as an accidental double post which I apologized for in-post, but still got 1 more notch on my ban-bar, others include "low-content" because I was able to express my ON TOPIC opinion in three words.

 

[grey_space]

Offensive Posts
Please read what you wrote before you post it and think if anyone else could find it offensive

Is so vague it's practically useless. Anyone can find it offensive? Anyone can find anything offensive

Hopefully no one on the entire internet finds this post offensive, or I'm in trouble.

I find the word 'offensive' offensive!!!!


It's a derogatory term for the plural of my people, the Offencarians.

But ya that's a point I suppose either everything is potentially offensive or indeed nothing is.

But OT;

As a relatively new member, I find the modding fine. And even the rules seem clear enough to me (don't be a jerk, and say something constructive towards the debate/discussion)

If I want to be a bit of a dick or get into a flamewar with an eejit on the internet, there are plenty of other places to go, Like Bullshido or 4chan.

Here, the lord of (relative) politeness rules.

Which is just fine by me.

 

[Rednog]

I'm honestly starting to roll my eyes at threads like these and the remember the banned threads.
Sorry to burst people's bubbles, but a lot of the users who get a ton of attention when banned got their notoriety not form being stunning pillars of excellence in the community, but more often than not from being toxic.
Heck I sometimes wish moderation was a bit harsher, 8 infractions with a removal system is insanely generous. I'd love it if "being a jerk" was worth more strikes, there's nothing worse for a community than a user berating/insulting/demeaning other users.

Addition: I really wish there was something against the passive aggressive attitude that some users constantly resort to, it's basically dancing around the don't be a jerk rule.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

Yep, that's the grey area. Admitting to smoking weed is no big deal in, say, Amsterdam, where that's totally legal. But it all gets a bit squidgy, because just because you say you were there doesn't mean you were, etc, etc. It's just easier for us to avoid all potential issues by having it be against the rules, period.

Aha, that's a triple tier joke there! My name, an adjective and a type of hash!
But yes, thank you for your time and for clearing all that up!