Members who are banned ?

[Blue Deuce]

Without me mentioning names and w/o the powers that be going into specifics I have noticed through some of the posts that certain members are banned from this site. Upon reading through their posts I havent seen anything that can be interpreted as offensive or in violation of forum rules. Have the offensive threads which led to the dismissal of the members been deleted ?

[defordphoto]

No. But, they have been removed from public view. We have space where we store offensive material for future reference if it's ever needed.

[Maureen Souza]

Sometimes it is the consequence of Private Message context as well.

[belmondo]

Upon reading through their posts I havent seen anything that can be interpreted as offensive or in violation of forum rules.

Good, aren't we?:lol:

Obviously we are not gong to leave unwanted content in the forum, especially if it was sufficiently offensive to cause a member to be given a timeout.

[Blue Deuce]

Thanks for the answers.

I hadnt considered that some folks might PM inappropiate comments.

I guess removing details of past transgressions could fall within the context of my previous post "Moderator Job Description".

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Have many people been banned for sending nasty private messages?

Have any moderators ever gotten any really awful PM's?

[Big_B]

Ron, you'd be surprised by some of the PMs we receive

[belmondo]

Have many people been banned for sending nasty private messages?

One is too many


Have any moderators ever gotten any really awful PM's?

Some of them are suitable for framing.

[Maureen Souza]

Some people PM a lovely hate letter and then say at the end "Please don't ban me for this".

Yeah, right.:) :) :)

[condyk]

We have space where we store offensive material for future reference if it's ever needed.


:lol: :lol: I need it! Boy, that would be fun to read ;)

[Maureen Souza]

:lol: :lol: I need it! Boy, that would be fun to read ;)

It's not as much fun as you think. Sometimes we spend days agonizing over the decision to ban someone and we spend a lot of time helping them prevent that from happening.

[Ronald S. Jr.]

I've noticed that, what seems like quite a few members, have been banned from the forum, but I never notice anything that would warrant banning. Maybe the mods just clean up that quick, and whatever they said was deleted very quickly..I'm not sure. Do these bannings generally result from PM's?

[Scottes]

...and we spend a lot of time helping them prevent that from happening.
And it's often crushing when that help is ignored or unwanted. We've spent days and days on a single person, handling complaints from several other members and talking amongst ourselves about what to do. And then we find out the problem person thinks they're innnocent and that we're a bunch of jerks. Funny when 15 people think someone's a problem, yet that person thinks everyone else is just being a jerk. It stinks, really.

[condyk]

Funny when 15 people think someone's a problem, yet that person thinks everyone else is just being a jerk. It stinks, really.

Brings to mind something Jonathan Swift said: "When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." (Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting)

Maybe all these banned folks are true geniuses :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: or maybe not!

[Maureen Souza]

I've noticed that, what seems like quite a few members, have been banned from the forum, but I never notice anything that would warrant banning. Maybe the mods just clean up that quick, and whatever they said was deleted very quickly..I'm not sure. Do these bannings generally result from PM's?

Please realize that a "banning" is often not permanent. Frequently is it is cooling off period and a time to think about their actions. While "Ban" is a harsh term, it is more like a 'time-out' and the person is allowed back in again.

It is not done lightly and most of the time there is a PM warning or two before the ban is initiated. Like Tom said, we try to clean up the problem before too many eyes have seen it.

[belmondo]

I've noticed that, what seems like quite a few members, have been banned from the forum----

Quite to the contrary.....

The numer of people banned for what I shall tactfully refer to as forum excesses is very low. People banned as a result of PM excesses is even lower.

A person will have to go well out of their way to get themselves ousted because of something they might say to a moderator in a private message. It has to be extremely argumentive, profane, or in some cases, both.

Long ago, the decision was made to lead this forum by example, and not with a bludgeon.

[Pekka]

About 250 members have been banned during forums existence. At least 90% of those are clear professional spammers who registered in only to post ads.

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Ok, I'll stop being nosey. Thanks for indulging me, guys. I appreciate the time you take for lil' ol' me. ;-)

[solinger]

Maybe the mods just clean up that quick, and whatever they said was deleted very quickly..I'm not sure. Do these bannings generally result from PM's?

Have you ever noticed how fast Tim gets to a post? He is lightning fast. Although, I can't remember a time that he was ever the first to post in one of my threads... I must either be boring or I only post when he is sleeping! (but I really doubt he sleeps :evil:)

[tim]

Have you ever noticed how fast Tim gets to a post? He is lightning fast. Although, I can't remember a time that he was ever the first to post in one of my threads... I must either be boring or I only post when he is sleeping! (but I really doubt he sleeps :evil:)

Heh heh. I subscribe to threads I find interesting.

[solinger]

:D:D:D

[Ballen Photo]

Maybe all these banned folks are true geniuses :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: or maybe not!My vote? 99.9% Not. ;)
-Bruce

[peterdoomen]

Ron, you'd be surprised by some of the PMs we receive

It would be interesting and informative to see some of that "offensive content" (without the name of the offender) as a warning to those who don't what is appropriate... Or is this just me being curious? ;)

PeteR.

[Scottes]

It was offensive then, it's still offensive now.

[kenyc]

I'll just say thanks to all the moderators for a mostly thankless job!!!

KAC

[Ronald S. Jr.]

It would be interesting and informative to see some of that "offensive content" (without the name of the offender) as a warning to those who don't what is appropriate... Or is this just me being curious? ;)

PeteR.

I think that we're operating on the premise that anyone who's on here knows how to act and what is or isn't appropriate. Those who don't, shouldn't be here.

[Maureen Souza]

I think that we're operating on the premise that anyone who's on here knows how to act and what is or isn't appropriate. Those who don't, shouldn't be here.

A lesson harder learned by some more than others;)

[alpineslide]

I'm new here, but I have a little moderator knowledge. I'm a MOD on a bodybuilding / fitness forum board and although we do ban people from time to time there are a few other fun tricks to make them leave on their own.

[Ronald S. Jr.]

oh hardy har har, maureen. Very funny.:rolleyes:


:)

[Moppie]

About 250 members have been banned during forums existence. At least 90% of those are clear professional spammers who registered in only to post ads.

Wow, that is a number to be very proud of.
It shows what a good job you and the mods do. :cool:

A mod with lots of spare time recently compiled a list of banned memebers with break down of how many each mod has banned, for a forum I mod on.
Over 2,600 members have been banned in 4 years, there are 7 mods with over 100 bans each, the most being 209.
I estimate maybe 75% of that is proffesional spammers, maybe 20% are trolls, and the rest are people who "just didn't fit in."
But then we have had several members who have re-registered and been banned over 100 times. 1 case where a Marine was disciplined, and several that have involved a members ISP.
Strangely enough I no longer enjoy that forum as much as I used to.


While every forum wants to grow, I hope POTN dosn't grow much bigger than it is now, its it a nice comfortable size, where a member being banned is something of concern, not a daily occurance.
And it's nice to see that the mods can still interact on the same level as the rest of the members, and I hope still enjoy the comunity and knowledge sharing side of the forums, with out haveing to get to hung up with administrative duties, or spend all day worried about how to deal with a member, or become totaly cold to just banning somebody.

And it is of course very nice to be able to post somewhere and just be a member, and not to have to worry about all the extra responisblity that comes with being a mod.

[belmondo]

And it's nice to see that the mods can still interact on the same level as the rest of the members, and I hope still enjoy the comunity and knowledge sharing side of the forums,

Speaking only for myself, but I wouldn't be a moderator if it meant I couldn't come out from time to time and play with my friends.

Those stats are pretty interesting, Moppie. I think we attract a somewhat more responsible, mature of people that a lot of other types of forums (gamers, car nut, gun nuts, etc.).

[Maureen Souza]

Speaking only for myself, but I wouldn't be a moderator if it meant I couldn't come out from time to time and play with my friends.


Absolutely. I joined this forum with no expectations other to post, learn and enjoy the friendly bantering I saw here.

That is still what I mostly expect to do here.

[tommykjensen]

Absolutely. I joined this forum with no expectations other to post, learn and enjoy the friendly bantering I saw here.

That is still what I mostly expect to do here.

Same here.

[Ballen Photo]

I came here mostly to learn from others, to post, and have fun while spending time with folks that share my passion for photography. :D
If I can help Pekka keep things running smoothly, then this is my way of saying THANKS for providing such a great place to hang out. ;)
-Bruce