How to Avoid Getting Banned

[Mounds]

With the recent banning of a couple active members, I think this thread is timely.

As a former moderator on this board, I'll let you in on a few secrets:

1. No one gets banned for nothing

2. Active members who get hit with the ban hammer tend to accumulate A LOT of warnings

3. When you create an account, you agree to the rules

Bans fall into several categories:

Spamming - by far the most common. There were days where I'd ban three or four spammers as I was having my morning coffee.

Chronic pity partiers - I've only ever seen one banned.

People who forget there's another person on the other end of the computer - this is where the controversy starts. At this point, please reread the three secrets and continue.

The internet has created an environment where it's easy to say things you'd have a hard time saying in person. Some of those things can be quite hurtful or offensive. If you wouldn't be able to say it in person, don't say it on the forum.

I know a storm is brewing, so keep those three points in mind. No one is forced to leave; they all leave on their own accord. Sometimes people ask for assistance in ways we can't understand.

-Tim

[raykilleen]

I prefer the Wild West but being human I understand the senseless act of wanting to control an environment, warnings are nice.

[Curtis2011]

I think it would be useful to have a thread or some sort of page that kept track of every username that has been banned, with a one-line explanation or reference to the reason they were banned.

There have been a few times when I recognize a person's username then see "banned" under it, and have no idea why it happened. In those cases, I would definitely like to at least know a basic explanation of why it occurred.

[supertom]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

I think it would be useful to have a thread or some sort of page that kept track of every username that has been banned, with a one-line explanation or reference to the reason they were banned.

There have been a few times when I recognize a person's username then see "banned" under it, and have no idea why it happened. In those cases, I would definitely like to at least know a basic explanation of why it occurred.

I think the "reason" would be not being respectful to other members, I doubt the mod will be able to elaborate on what was said without breaking the rules themselves.

[Mariana Trench]

Originally Posted by supertom

I think the "reason" would be not being respectful to other members, I doubt the mod will be able to elaborate on what was said without breaking the rules themselves.

It would also be extremely impractical because 90% of it would look like:

SUPERWEIGHTLOSSOMGRAW.COM banned for spam.

[Cado]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

I think it would be useful to have a thread or some sort of page that kept track of every username that has been banned, with a one-line explanation or reference to the reason they were banned.

There have been a few times when I recognize a person's username then see "banned" under it, and have no idea why it happened. In those cases, I would definitely like to at least know a basic explanation of why it occurred.

I propose that we post a link to this picture next to the name of everyone who's been banned: http://www.underconsideration.com/sp...beingadick.jpg

[cacheborn]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

I think it would be useful to have a thread or some sort of page that kept track of every username that has been banned, with a one-line explanation or reference to the reason they were banned.

Usually, if the ban is not for spamming, then it's safe to assume it's for breaking rules repeatedly. The ban is never for a single instance, in case of senior members.

I think the key thing to remember is to have mutual respect for other person and not to forget the main reason why we are here. To have intelligent and inspiring interactions.

[Cado]

Originally Posted by cacheborn

Usually, if the ban is not for spamming, then it's safe to assume it's for breaking rules repeatedly. The ban is never for a single instance, in case of senior members.

I think the key thing to remember is to have mutual respect for other person and not to forget the main reason why we are here. To have intelligent and inspiring interactions.

I originally read that as intercourse.

Although it was an error I have gotten a lot of that from these forums.

[wanzulfikri]

Well...in every forum there will be banned members.

But it is enlightening to see the mods of a specific doing their job greatly. I salute you Mods.

[cacheborn]

Originally Posted by Cado

I originally read that as intercourse.

Freudian slip occurs much more frequently than one expects.

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by raykilleen

I prefer the Wild West

The thing is, Steve doesn't. In fact, he doesn't want this forum, which bears his name and the name of his book, to degenerate into a "lowest common denominator" type of site, like so many others out there. If you really prefer a "no holds barred, anything you can get away with, post first and ask questions later" type of discussion board, then this site is probably never going to be entirely to your taste. There are plenty of sites out there that will suit your desire for more chaos, though.

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

I think it would be useful to have a thread or some sort of page that kept track of every username that has been banned, with a one-line explanation or reference to the reason they were banned.

There are literally THOUSANDS. I'm not kidding. Most are spammers, of course, but there are not only privacy considerations, there is the time and bandwidth consideration involved with posting thousands of banned usernames for the general public to view.

Originally Posted by supertom

I think the "reason" would be not being respectful to other members, I doubt the mod will be able to elaborate on what was said without breaking the rules themselves.

Exactly.

To repeat what Mounds noted, no user ever gets banned for no reason. There is always a reason. There is almost always a discussion prior to banning (not usually with spammers, of course). Generally when a well-established member is banned, there was a detailed discussion and the person has a string of warnings and misbehaviours on their record. The notion that mods just go willy nilly banning people for no good reason is absurd.

And, frankly, the idea that the forum members at large need to know the details of other peoples' transgressions and warnings strikes me as just a little voyeuristic.

[BillyTheAdult]

Originally Posted by Mounds

I know a storm is brewing, so keep those three points in mind. No one is forced to leave; they all leave on their own accord. Sometimes people ask for assistance in ways we can't understand.

-Tim

No storm was brewing for me until this. Now, I understand completely what you are trying to say. I understand the meaning as you would say in NLP, but it seems to me it is a subtle way of twisting words around. If they left on their own accord there would be no need for banning because they would voluntarily not come back, it would be their choice to do so. The fact that a banning is required to prevent the further usage of the forums is a clear indication that it was not in fact voluntary. This is analogous to the school yard bully (not comparing the mods to bullies, just a comparison of word usage) who says something like "don't make me hit you." If you don't want to hit me, don't hit me, I'm not forcing you to do anything.

[moonrambler]

Originally Posted by BillyTheAdult

No storm was brewing for me until this. Now, I understand completely what you are trying to say. I understand the meaning as you would say in NLP, but it seems to me it is a subtle way of twisting words around. If they left on their own accord there would be no need for banning because they would voluntarily not come back, it would be their choice to do so. The fact that a banning is required to prevent the further usage of the forums is a clear indication that it was not in fact voluntary. This is analogous to the school yard bully (not comparing the mods to bullies, just a comparison of word usage) who says something like "don't make me hit you." If you don't want to hit me, don't hit me, I'm not forcing you to do anything.

It's not like that at all. It's a person making a conscious decision to do something he knows has great potential to get him banned. So it is indeed that person's decision to leave. It's about the individual taking responsibility for his actions.

[Midnite]

Originally Posted by wanzulfikri

But it is enlightening to see the mods of a specific doing their job greatly. I salute you Mods.

We salute you too wonderful little forum-goer!

[Brutha]

I prefer the Wild West but being human I understand the senseless act of wanting to control an environment, warnings are nice.

Than go to /b. There you find the Wild West.

If they left on their own accord there would be no need for banning because they would voluntarily not come back, it would be their choice to do so.

This forum can be a bit addicted. We get specific request to ban people (now it's called retired) because people lack the willpower to stay away.

[Cado]

Originally Posted by Brutha

This forum can be a bit addicted. We get specific request to ban people (now it's called retired) because people lack the willpower to stay away.

In a PD context I wouldn't even call it lack of willpower, I'd call it conscious allocation of resources. Willpower is finite and thus it's unwise to use it where you don't need to. If you're banned here then staying away is automatic; the willpower that would have gone to this is free to use elsewhere.

[Vaganova]

Something else that would be really nice: a more user-friendly method of getting your password back when you forgot it!! I spent the last hour and a half trying to track mine down... then ended up deciding to just create a new account... and THEN it gave me the option to get my old name back... gerrr....

[Moriarty]

Originally Posted by Mounds

With the recent banning of a couple active members, I think this thread is timely.

As a former moderator on this board, I'll let you in on a few secrets:

1. No one gets banned for nothing

2. Active members who get hit with the ban hammer tend to accumulate A LOT of warnings

3. When you create an account, you agree to the rules

Bans fall into several categories:

Spamming - by far the most common. There were days where I'd ban three or four spammers as I was having my morning coffee.

Chronic pity partiers - I've only ever seen one banned.

People who forget there's another person on the other end of the computer - this is where the controversy starts. At this point, please reread the three secrets and continue.

The internet has created an environment where it's easy to say things you'd have a hard time saying in person. Some of those things can be quite hurtful or offensive. If you wouldn't be able to say it in person, don't say it on the forum.

I know a storm is brewing, so keep those three points in mind. No one is forced to leave; they all leave on their own accord. Sometimes people ask for assistance in ways we can't understand.

-Tim

As a fairly new member to the boards, appreciate your tips. Have yourself a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by Vaganova

Something else that would be really nice: a more user-friendly method of getting your password back when you forgot it!! I spent the last hour and a half trying to track mine down... then ended up deciding to just create a new account... and THEN it gave me the option to get my old name back... gerrr....

The board should give you the option of resetting your password, and as I recall, it's a pretty straighforward process, though you do need to make sure you have a valid email address or it can't mail you.

But, essentially, the password retrieval is completely built in to the board software, so it's not likely to change unless there's some major update to vBulletin.

[frajilthunder]

elucidate? None of mine or anyone else's business of course, but I just noticed she was banned.

[Agota]

Okay, I was mainly away from the forums this week, but what's up with elucidate, angela and supertom, if mods don't mind me asking? I'm just confused

[st33med]

Originally Posted by Agota

Okay, I was mainly away from the forums this week, but what's up with elucidate, angela and supertom, if mods don't mind me asking? I'm just confused

Look at the General Introductions thread about Angela being banned.

[Acting Like Godot]

Angela and a whole bunch of other people.

[bluestar]

What?? These guys got banned? (Supertom...? Angela...? Elucidate...? )That's weird, can't imagine what they did wrong, but I haven't been here for ages so lost track of stuff

[Lioness]

It's worse than that. It seriously looks like the end of these forums. Steve wants to shut it down.

[st33med]

I'm going to miss this place. It was the start of a good place of growth.

I really love all the people here, even the people flaming. It was so fun.

[Dimitri]

Although mods give a few warning before the ban, I have the impression that Steve sometimes bans people for one "wrong" message. Is this right?

[ButterflyWoman]

Concerning Angela and others, there's a long and rather exhausting thread on the topic, and Steve was posting in it, himself.

Angela banned?