IMO a ban and especially a permanent one would be more appropiate for orgers who are insulting others and they are not joking, but being serious. It's happening and IMO such behaviour is worse than stupid jokes.

Serious said:

exactly
i think the ban was careless... IMO.

Serious said:

" what if " there was prior history of insulting others in a non joking way ?

Mach said:

Was the person regularly notified of his/her 'breaking the rules' those times?

Mach said:

but the thing is that he wasn't this time. yes, directly attacking another orger with that comment would've been way out of line, but the thing is that the girl it's about isn't an orger, and we joke like that with her in real life all the time.

INSATIABLE said:

"what if" they were ... and " what if " they were not ?

evenstar said:

I understand

my other concern is that will this be setting a precedent for moderation? will everything said in a joking manner on the org in the future be treated as harshly? if "Any language which encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense is grounds for immediate account deletion", that means we can't discuss drug use, sex we had when we were underage, etc, right?

Mach said:

Typically, fairness would come into play a bit more if the person had to be repeatedly reminded for something they kept doing. If Ben just got permanently pulled out for saying this without a warning, I find it a bit unecessarily over the top. Just an opinion.

You guys devote a ton of personal time to this website, which is something i'd never do. I respect you and know that being a moderator is all about dealing with grey areas.

@ times like these i wish bucket was still around.
[Edited 2/1/08 13:53pm]

I've noticed, that at times, it is the choice of language that attracts attention...tons of colorful language is used here daily in both joking and non joking fashions...however, I've read some really nasty insults, some cleverly disguised-others rather blatant, that didn't use "offensive" language...but because a few "keywords" weren't involved, they basically go unoticed...
I know the mods have their hands full...and I'm not posting this as crtiticism of how they handle their business...some orgers are rather brash and outspoken in their posts, some are level headed and soft spoken...I think that the more outspoken orgers are easily noticed if they fuck up, which is totally understandable but not all together fair...
It's clear that Ben made a mistake and that he may have made other mistakes in the past...but were they all relative to each other?
Anyway, I appreciate that the set rule was enforced but I wish it hadn't been...Ben is a decent guy, I know he meant nothing harmful by his comment...
[Edited 2/1/08 20:19pm]

INSATIABLE said:

While I can't comment on this particular mod decision, I can say I have never seen anyone permanently banned from this site since I have been a moderator that hasn't had repeated warnings for rules being broken.

Whether this was "fair" or not... again, can't comment. I can understand both sides of the coin, though.

evenstar said:

CarrieMpls said:

don't all the moderators have to consent to permanently ban someone? and the thing is that this was a step down from what he's been banned for in the past- calling another orger a cunt when arguing in a thread. this was a joke, not aimed at another orger. i'm just not understanding. it's not as if he was perpetually causing fights here, and disturbing the org that way, or as if he specifically attacked another orger in this instance.

Mach said:

But then why would a "joking" insult suddenly invoke that previous history, Mach?

I understand the (necessay) provision about "don't expect other to take things as a joke," but since this is open for discussion, I would just like to put that out there. I understand there are things that you can't discuss.


I hope this ends well.

P.S. Dibs on DOOM!

2the9s said:

June.....i understand you have cut me slack and you have been more than fair to me and others but i gotta say i know why this went down and i know the history.....
seriously mate i report shit in P+R and here that gets nothing more than a snip and he gets banned for an inside joke?????

Tell me i am wrong and i will back off>?????

mdiver said:

i don't think pointing fingers is the right approach at all here

evenstar said:

NO - it isn't and it will do nothing but get the thread locked- if we can get past blame and just talk about the general Ban issues in a very respectful calm manner we may all learn something

Wow, I don't know word one about the history of this, but this sucks! And it doesn't help his campaign for Moderator one bit.

Thankfully, he photowhored himself enough to keep an avatar movement rolling for years.

I would think given his off colored humor as always been and has been allowed.... ( In near everything he posts) that it would be more logical to send a final and firm warning that it ceases altogether and or permaban.

Not just go right to a ban. ( The other offenses I take it were direct statements made at orgers not conversation between two)

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

If this warrants being permanently banned, then P&R should be empty right about now especially if history is a dominating factor. Because to me, this pales in comparison to the pervasive climate, attitudes, and free flying personal attracts that go on in there. I have to sadly say this puts the org in a whole new light for me and I would hope that ya'll take a second look at this whole thing.

@ this thread

REDFEATHERS said:

Moderation issues have always been a point of contention with me: I think most of the mods know this. I had to take a look at myself during my last break from here and decided it wasn't worth the breath I lost trying to speak up about things I considered unfair on here. Unfortunately, what is happening again is there are no uniform rules on this site. With each moderator, there is a different way to view an issue. We, the members of this community, are made to follow one set of rules, while mods get to follow their own. Because there is a disconnect, "chaos" ensues. I'm not bashing you guys: this can't be an easy thing to do but I am very glad that Ben is considering adding more mods for those of you who remind us that "you have a life" and can't contribute the time here that is truly needed to make this a better place. How someone feels about a person here personally, should not affect doing one's job.

As far as Ben is concerned, I think his being banned is laughable. We've had people poking fun of a picture of Holocaust victims for God's sake and no one as much as batted an eyelash at that. (for the record, I don't care about said picture. It was offensive to me but being part of this community means letting offensive stuff roll off one's back). We have people making fun of homosexuals, derrogatory things towards black and white people and most of these things with mods participating.

God, what was my point? Oh yeah. Mods have last say.

Stymie said:

i agree totally.

statuesqque said:

Yes!

Stymie said:

I see your point, and once again...YES!