What's with all the ban requests?

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Ok, so you don't like the way the site is going any more, and you don't "want your voice to be heard here any longer".....ok? So...just stop coming to the site? Seriously, I don't understand the requests to be permabanned I'm seeing all over the place now. Is it some attempt to show them how many people are directly leaving so they have some metrics of lost members? 'Cause I don't think they're really going to care. Is it some form of protest? Odd format, since it removes your ability to have your voice heard in protest on the site that you have issues with.

Seriously, I just don't get this bit of intentional internet drama.

It's not so much drama as really a point of interest. Look, if I were to leave this site anyone who cared could look upon my departure in a number of lights: Maybe I'd simply run short of cash and couldn't renew my Pub Club. Maybe I'd moved house to an area without reliable Interwebs. Maybe I'd recently got married or had a kid or done one of those pesky family orientated magubbins. Or maybe I'd become dissatisfied with the way the site was being run. The point is no-one would know for sure why I'd left. But if I made a formal request saying "please ban me" I'd be saying I no longer have any wish to come back here.

TL;DR: It's kinda the difference between not voting and placing a vote of no confidence.

 

[RanD00M]

Sites gone to shit and when you're banned there is nothing to draw you back to the forums.

I'm guessing it's a last attempt to get some attention seeing how the people wanting the banned were nobodies on here.

Furburt was not a nobody on this site.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I always think of this when people INDIGNANTLY leave The Escapist. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.201095-Sassafrass-Presents-a-PSA-The-Do-s-and-Don-ts-To-Site-Quitting]

But that's probably because I'm, in internet years, an old fart now.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

I always think of this when people INDIGNANTLY leave The Escapist. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.201095-Sassafrass-Presents-a-PSA-The-Do-s-and-Don-ts-To-Site-Quitting]

But that's probably because I'm, in internet years, an old fart now.

This is absolute gold. Bit sad I missed it at the time...

And I must not have been too involved, 'cause I don't really remember an exodus in the dark year of 20 ot 10.

OT:

It's a ploy for attention. Nothing more.

Annnd it's working, if this thread is any indication.

 

[FalloutJack]

Look at Zachary Amaranth... He just left in the quiet of the night without saying a word. That's how you leave.

I thought it was quiet around here. And less smug.

Well, leaving gracefully IS the way to go, with an air of mystery.

 

[RicoADF]

But you dont have to get yourself banned to stop giving the site ad clicks, just stop going to the site. xD

I know, but I see the point of doing so: It sends a clear message to the admin that "hey, I disagree with your policies so much I don't want to be associated with you any more" whereas just not coming back could be for any number of reasons and won't get the point across.

G.O.A.T. hit the nail right on the head, while some have been abit loud about it I see most of these people are trying to explain why their leaving so the site knows why there's a drop off rather than them having to guess. If you just stop going to your local burger shop that you always went to on Thursdays they may think you've moved away or something, if you come in one last time and say "I wont be returning because the last few burgers haven't been up to standard" then they know there's something they need to improve.

True that you could just make a post and not come back, but by requesting a ban it lets the user know that yes the site has received the message, and they can always request an unban later on if it improves.

 

[Ishal]

Look at Zachary Amaranth... He just left in the quiet of the night without saying a word. That's how you leave.

I thought it was quiet around here. And less smug.

Indeed.

Threads are noticeably shorter without him coming in, quoting multiple people to, how did he put it? Get in people's faces who were wrong? Yeah. Pretty nice.

 

[FalloutJack]

Look at Zachary Amaranth... He just left in the quiet of the night without saying a word. That's how you leave.

I thought it was quiet around here. And less smug.

Indeed.

Threads are noticeably shorter without him coming in, quoting multiple people to, how did he put it? Get in people's faces who were wrong? Yeah. Pretty nice.

Didn't even matter if he was right or not, which he wasn't always, it was just the wrong attitude. Further, I'm certain that he absolutely couldn't see it, a bit of a disadvantage for anyone wishing to get along with...well...anyone.

 

[chadachada123]

The attention-whoring is my biggest issue with it. If you simply never wanted to come here again, it'd be a lot simpler to just alter your HOSTS file to prevent The Escapist from even connecting to your PC. THAT'S the way to do it.

I don't understand how or why you mock loud protests when you have a Vivian James avatar, the mascot of a large and loud internet protest.

(Funnily, I considered mentioning that I have Kotaku and Polygon edited in my HOSTS file to prevent me from accidentally going there, but decided not to because that would almost be doing the same thing as these posters I'm criticizing). It's subtle, but I think there's a difference between telling others not to go to a place and telling others that they'll no longer go to a place...on said place.

What I mean is that I don't see an issue with someone going on Twitter about how they're leaving The Escapist forever, but see a little one with doing so *on The Escapist,* since the latter seems a lot closer to scorching earth, in a sense.

Edit: There's also that there's a *significant* difference between "don't go there, it's bad" and "Well *I'm* not going there anymore, it's bad." The latter is rather full of ego and, well, attention-whoring.

 

[cleric of the order]

It's a sign of protest. A method that a consumer can use to put it bluntly to a company where it hurts. Hasn't this exact discussion been the cornerstone of a massive online spat spanning the last half-year?

Uh, I'm not sure how that works for here.
I mean this site has been historically neutral, (I said historically).
Anyway GG has always preferred letters.

 

[cleric of the order]

The attention-whoring is my biggest issue with it. If you simply never wanted to come here again, it'd be a lot simpler to just alter your HOSTS file to prevent The Escapist from even connecting to your PC. THAT'S the way to do it.

I don't understand how or why you mock loud protests when you have a Vivian James avatar, the mascot of a large and loud internet protest.

Not to be an unbearable fgt but
In all fairness unless i missed a lot of drams, GGers kinda just left places they felt were bad.
including here, (I heard some people couldn't stand by some censor shit that happened way earily).
There's a difference between leaving silently and committing suicide, accomplishing little

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

There's a user named "CumWaffles" hahahahaha.

Spoiler: I dont know what you're talking about, citizen, move along.

Though honestly I have to say I've always been really proud of the way that the Escapist handles bans. The rules are laid out clearly, warnings are given, and the banned parties usually have their posts left up as a sign for others about what not to do (for instance, CumWaffles teaches us the lesson that we shouldn't call the Escapist manchildren). A friend of mine got banned on Cracked the other day, and now I know that anyone looking at comment sections from articles past will be confused when they read comments that reference someone no longer there, or threads that apparently turned to a different topic suddenly because his responses are gone. It's one thing to ban someone, but Cracked scrubs the person from the system no matter what they posted or when, so that the archives going back years have obvious holes where long-time members were removed.

Call it stupid or petty or infantile all you want, but it's the right of the consumer to let their feelings be known when they feel a business is no longer performing to the standards they feel it should.

But then shouldn't they make their feelings known to the business? Spider-Mod has ended several "ban me" threads by handing out a helpful set of links so that a person could contact Archon and some other important people on the Escapist, so that you could make your voice heard by people actually in a position to do something about it.

On the other hand, if they want to let other customers know that they disapprove of a business then the best way to do that is not to metaphorically run into the lobby and start screeching about how everyone who works there is a monster and that you need security to drag you out because you can't control yourself; that only leads to security escorting you out and other people thinking you're a drama queen. Putting up a polite message (in it's own thread, not hijacking someone else's) about what you think is wrong and why you won't be coming back still gets your message out, and it makes people think that you're at least kind of reasonable. You've erected your sign on the Escapist's front lawn, and people passing by will read it long after you're gone. To mix my metaphors, you transition from a flash in the pan (bright, distracting, but forgotten in a few minutes) to a candle steadily shedding light on something.

Look at Zachary Amaranth... He just left in the quiet of the night without saying a word. That's how you leave.

Wow. OK, maybe these people trying to raise a stink have a point. He and I bashed heads many times over the years and I didn't notice he was gone, so I understand now why you might try to go out with a bang.

That said, he definitely took the classy way out, and I'll lay some flowers on his metaphorical grave.

 

[Pandalisk]

I've never understood the drama in it.

Way back in the days of yore I knew a fella on this site who requested a ban from a mod so he'd stop posting and get some study for exams done. Maybe the site creeps into the corners of your mind and devours you.

 

[Olas]

It seems like you could announce you're leaving the site without burning the bridge behind you. I mean, what if the site picks up and returns to it's former glory, or even better?

And so what if the site has less content, less of a good thing is still a good thing, it's not a reason to avoid the whole site. I don't visit the site as frequently as I used to, but I still come by because I still like what remains.

 

[Scars Unseen]

I've been tempted to respond with the classic Eve "can I have your stuff?" line, but I figured it might be considered to be trolling.

There's a user named "CumWaffles" hahahahaha.

Not anymore.

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

Not to be an unbearable fgt but
In all fairness unless i missed a lot of drams, GGers kinda just left places they felt were bad.
including here, (I heard some people couldn't stand by some censor shit that happened way earily).
There's a difference between leaving silently and committing suicide, accomplishing little

GG celebrates it's victories over media not by the number of members who committed suicide-by-mod, but in sponsors they denied a company. They didn't just leave, they stepped out the door and came back with Molotovs. I don't doubt that there were some among them who made a big scene, especially once it got out that sites were banning people for talking about certain things, but the movement didn't stop there.

Honestly, I support the Escapist in this, but I might have more respect for the people making such a fuss if they actually tried something like that, hard action aimed at forcing the Escapist to change rather than simply stomping their feet and leaving. I'd fight them, but at least I'd be fighting men and women rather than watching children.

And so what if the site has less content, less of a good thing is still a good thing, it's not a reason to avoid the whole site. I don't visit the site as frequently as I used to, but I still come by because I still like what remains.

The argument is that they don't want to visit the site at all, as the site will still be paying the person they find objectionable. It doesn't matter if they find some good content there, because the ad money goes into the Escapist's coffers and is divvied out from there, and not visiting at all makes a bigger financial impact than just not going to a specific weekly column.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

Got to go with the consensus here, it's just a way to add drama as you stomp your feet and leave the room.

The one time I think it was justified was someone who decided to request a ban because they needed to spend less time on the site for the sake of finding work.

 

[Olas]

And so what if the site has less content, less of a good thing is still a good thing, it's not a reason to avoid the whole site. I don't visit the site as frequently as I used to, but I still come by because I still like what remains.

The argument is that they don't want to visit the site at all, as the site will still be paying the person they find objectionable. It doesn't matter if they find some good content there, because the ad money goes into the Escapist's coffers and is divvied out from there, and not visiting at all makes a bigger financial impact than just not going to a specific weekly column.

What am I missing here? What are people so angry about that they'll give up something they enjoy just to deprive someone else of money? I assumed people were leaving because the site was starting to become barren of content, but an active boycott only makes sense if people are protesting something.

 

[The Lunatic]

It's basically just The Escapist's equivalent of those people sending emails to advertisers.

It's kinda silly, but, I suppose it's nothing new.

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

Spoiler: Semi-related explanation for OLAS, but obviously not necessary reading

@OLAS (the ability to quote posts seems to be coming and going recently, I hope it's not a sign that I'm about to break some rule and get banned. I'm just trying to explain another person's point of view in as neutral a manner as possible, please don't hurt me nice mods!)

Recently Brandon Morse was hired to do some work for the Escapist. I don't know how much, only that he's going to be starting in March, but I assume it's probably going to be a weekly column or something similar. Some users on the site took umbrage with this as they say that Morse is transphobic (pointing to this tweet as evidence (Morse denies that he is transphobic and says that he disagrees with the idea of transidentity but doesn't hate trans people, though all this is culled from tweets so I may not have the proper understanding). Archon and others at Escapist HQ have said that they are going to keep him on and judge him by his work, not his personal politics. Accordingly, a lot of the people leaving have cited Morse as the reason, saying that they can't support the Escapist if the Escapist supports Morse.