To the moderators of the Escapist:

[Internet Kraken]

Please could I be added to the list.

I was recently also wrongly put on 'Probation' for commenting on a video before watching it.
I had watched it and my comment was posted over 40 mins after the video was uploaded.
I think the moderators need to get better at their job.

You got put on probation for saying "first". Consider yourself lucky. Most people get suspended for stupid comments like that.

Again, as I mentioned to the person above, the comment says more than just, 'first'.
I'm new to the Escapist and I have NEVER come across any rules for posting on the forums.
I have never been directed to any 'terms' or 'conditions' or been sent a message explaining the rules.

Then you're not looking hard enough. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.116827]

That's sticikied to the top of every forum. You should have read it before posting.

Granted, it says nothing about "first" comments. But that's why you only got a probation. Nothing bad actually happened, you have just been reminded to not repeat the mistake you made.

Huh, it feels weird to justify the actions of a mod.

 

[sirdanrhodes]

If you have a long history with the mods and banning, then you deserve to be reviewed by the staff. I myself am lucky, the mods where a little nice on me, I have been on suspension or probation about seven or eight times whilst I have been here, and to be honest, I have admittedly done some stuff that I am surprised the mods did not act on!

One probation this year, I am NOT having another one.

Agreed. I sometimes go off on a point then look back and think "fuck, I am soo getting in trouble for that" then expect every new message to be a ban notice but obviously the mods look at the entire thread and if someone is baiting ya then they tend to take it easier else I woulda been fish food long ago.
Anyway I have seen a few people getting banned with a message stating it was for their entire history but ya, mostly not.
As for Swanson, I understand that thread may have been the final nail in his coffin but well, he did have a point. We are not trained psychaitrists and do tend to be a egocentric bunch. (excluding me of course. It is not ego if you really are that damn good)

I do wonder sometimes how heavy my camels load is... >.>

Edit: Oh I just remembered that fishfoodcarl and richardgoovypants got axed. ;.;

This person is my double, I am always expecting a ban subconsiously. Also, fishfoodcarl was nice, but was an idiot. I am gonna have to say I am not even slightly upset that Richard was axed, I played him on a game, and he was one of the worst people I met online!

 

[Clemenstation]

Forum ecology? The biggest fish have to get caught eventually so others can step up to take their place.

I don't know any of these banned people. I also look forward to not knowing whoever fires off those ~50 posts/day to become the new Fat Fish of the Escapistpond.

 

[Internet Kraken]

If someone was perma-banned a year ago or two years ago, could they get it overturned or is a perma-ban really forever and ever?

I don't know. Honestly, if someone who was banned still wanted to be on the Escapist after that period of time, I imagine they would have made a new profile.

 

[Fingerprint]

- snip -

Unfortunately, popularity has no bearing on our moderation policies. If you are a repeat offender, have been warned repeatedly to stop doing something, yet persist despite all prior punishment, we must assume that you will not learn from your actions, have no desire to abide by our community forum guidelines, and as such we do not want you as a member of our community.

As much as I'm going to miss them, you are right. I was unaware that Darth had been banned seven (?) times previously - thats crazy, I'm surprised he was still here until so recently. (I have no idea how many times/if Necro was banned before, though I've seen him suspended and put on probation a number of times.) I don't believe that you, the mods, wanted to ban either, but as I said before you were left with little choice.

The bottom line has to be - if you want to maintain a good-spirited, nice forum - that popularity etc. doesn't count, a troll is still a troll.

 

[D_987]

I'm saddened to lose both Darth and Swanson but their banning posts were a little un-necessary (what they wrote).

Necro's rant on the human psyche was uncalled for - personally I would have liked to see a 30 day suspension or something similar (I know he has/had a history with moderation) but I still feel a perma-ban was a little harsh. But I suppose weight of time & posts shouldn't count for much - it's a question of post content.

Darth's last post was just stupid; I can't understand what he was trying to say (something about using christian instead of retarded), he must have known that the mods would have had a thing or two to say about that - not to mention he has/had been playing with fire more and more in his recent posts.

I can understand why the mods banned them - in all honesty they had little choice but to do it - but nevertheless I would like to see them back amongst the community. Can the mods do a perma-probation or something like that - of course it would assume that all parties are happy with the arrangement, and that they can actually be 'un-banned'.

Also in certain circumstances I would be all for a community appeal if that were possible.

As a side note, can the mods put a quick sentence at the end of a banning so as to remove any confusion. Even one like with RichardGroovyPants would be O.K. if not a little vague.

I agree with regards to the whole "leave a message if the person was well-known" but half the time the bannings are obvious; I'm not going to directly comment on the two bannings, why?

Because its pointless thats why; 90% of the time we don't know every little offence someone performs, and what we may consider "jokes" may be very serious insults from another point of view. The mods generally do a good job (and I'm just saying that because I have barely been disciplined) and in my opinion they should be allowed to work in piece - often enough your point of view may be clouded by an agreement with that persons opinions etc...

Needless to say I sincerely hope the mods never incorporate a system as you suggested - letting people like Eggo and Richard back in would not only be extremely unfair but rather foolish - it would undermine the whole point of mods. A forum should never be based on rules by which the infamous people gain any-form of privilege.

 

[Symp4thy]

Again, as I mentioned to the person above, the comment says more than just, 'first'.
I'm new to the Escapist and I have NEVER come across any rules for posting on the forums.
I have never been directed to any 'terms' or 'conditions' or been sent a message explaining the rules.

As soon as you sign up you get this message in your inbox, so yes, you have been directed to terms and conditions.

We'd like to take a minute to welcome you to the site, and give you a bit of information about our forums.

We make keeping the forums respectable a high priority here, so please help us keep them a pleasant place to visit. Before you start posting, please take a few minutes to read the forum guidelines. They can be found on every site, posted on the top of the Off Topic forum. Other forums may also have a more detailed set of guidelines posted on them, which you should look at before posting. On each post on the forums you'll also find a report button - if you think a post is inappropriate, please click it to let a moderator know.

Since you're just setting up your account, why not take a few minutes to update your user profile? Fill in as much information as you'd like to share, and set your forum avatar by uploading an image or picking one from our avatar gallery. You can see the profiles of other users by clicking on their name in the forums, or by clicking on their avatar.

To send someone a private message, like this one, you can click on the envelope next to their name on the forums, or just send a message right from their profile. You can see the number of unread messages you have at the top of any forum page, or on the login panel on other pages on the site. And go ahead and add people to your friends if you'd like to keep track of them - you don't need their permission, and something good may come of it ...

If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know.

Thanks for registering!

 

[D_987]

Forum ecology? The biggest fish have to get caught eventually so others can step up to take their place.

I don't know any of these banned people. I also look forward to not knowing whoever fires off those ~50 posts/day to become the new Fat Fish of the Escapistpond.

Those people were never "famous" due to their post counts, they were "famous" due to their posts.

 

[Susan Arendt]

If someone was perma-banned a year ago or two years ago, could they get it overturned or is a perma-ban really forever and ever?

I don't know. Honestly, if someone who was banned still wanted to be on the Escapist after that period of time, I imagine they would have made a new profile.

That's called ban jumping, which is against the rules.

Also, I would like to reiterate that a) my example of 7 bans was strictly that, an example, and b) I was not referring to anyone specifically.

 

[Teachingaddict]

The funny things is - if they had not of been banned for whatever comments they have said, you can guarantee lesser members would have commented about that - although I have read neither post, I can guarantee it seems the mods cannot win.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

I'm so confused, I don't know any of these people. I feel a little noobish...

 

[KSarty]

If someone was perma-banned a year ago or two years ago, could they get it overturned or is a perma-ban really forever and ever?

I don't know. Honestly, if someone who was banned still wanted to be on the Escapist after that period of time, I imagine they would have made a new profile.

That's called ban jumping, which is against the rules.

I heard about that.
But my question stands, is a perma-ban really forever?

Why wouldn't it be? The "perma" is in there for a reason. To be honest, neither the community nor the individual really miss out on anything due to a perma-ban. Don't get me wrong I enjoy visiting the Escapist and posting here, but I can't believe people view being banned from an internet forum as "harsh".

 

[Pimppeter2]

Can someone explain this

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.118296#2261331

Why was Kukul suspended? Did he write something then delete it? or did he really ask for it and receive it?

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

Can someone explain this

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.118296#2261331

Why was Kukul suspended? Did he write something then delete it? or did he really ask for it and receive it?

I think he really meant it, can't imagine why though. I think the mods just saw it as a challenge.
I'm getting really confused here and I'm feeling a little uncomfortable. Do you know what happened to cause all this?

 

[Clemenstation]

Forum ecology? The biggest fish have to get caught eventually so others can step up to take their place.

I don't know any of these banned people. I also look forward to not knowing whoever fires off those ~50 posts/day to become the new Fat Fish of the Escapistpond.

Those people were never "famous" due to their post counts, they were "famous" due to their posts.

But they still posted incessantly, from what I can tell. My point is that nobody will remember these people in six months. They're iced. You'll find new gods.

And good on you for putting "famous" in quotations, because you're right - the "fame" of message board celebrity is a dubious honour at best.

 

[John Funk]

Can someone explain this

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.118296#2261331

Why was Kukul suspended? Did he write something then delete it? or did he really ask for it and receive it?

He received as requested.

 

[Simriel]

Again, as I mentioned to the person above, the comment says more than just, 'first'.
I'm new to the Escapist and I have NEVER come across any rules for posting on the forums.
I have never been directed to any 'terms' or 'conditions' or been sent a message explaining the rules.

As soon as you sign up you get this message in your inbox, so yes, you have been directed to terms and conditions.

We'd like to take a minute to welcome you to the site, and give you a bit of information about our forums.

We make keeping the forums respectable a high priority here, so please help us keep them a pleasant place to visit. Before you start posting, please take a few minutes to read the forum guidelines. They can be found on every site, posted on the top of the Off Topic forum. Other forums may also have a more detailed set of guidelines posted on them, which you should look at before posting. On each post on the forums you'll also find a report button - if you think a post is inappropriate, please click it to let a moderator know.

Since you're just setting up your account, why not take a few minutes to update your user profile? Fill in as much information as you'd like to share, and set your forum avatar by uploading an image or picking one from our avatar gallery. You can see the profiles of other users by clicking on their name in the forums, or by clicking on their avatar.

To send someone a private message, like this one, you can click on the envelope next to their name on the forums, or just send a message right from their profile. You can see the number of unread messages you have at the top of any forum page, or on the login panel on other pages on the site. And go ahead and add people to your friends if you'd like to keep track of them - you don't need their permission, and something good may come of it ...

If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know.

Thanks for registering!

Er, no? I wasn't given a link directing me to the forum guidelines.
I'd appreciate you not telling me what I have and haven't received because if there's one thing that angers me more than anything, it's arrogance.

Everyone receives that e-mail when they sign up. You are the one being arrogant.

 

[Abedeus]

Can someone explain this

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.118296#2261331

Why was Kukul suspended? Did he write something then delete it? or did he really ask for it and receive it?

He asked to get banned, he got banned.

Problem lies... where?