Thread about why a member was banned


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It was suggested a while back that a thread be made where mods would comment on why a member was banned.

Did this ever go ahead?

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If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide not to?

I understand you already have a policy against 'hanging out the dirty washing' so to speak, I imagine you wish to keep in practise with that??

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If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide not to?

I understand you already have a policy against 'hanging out the dirty washing' so to speak, I imagine you wish to keep in practise with that??

Pretty much, yes. Whilst it seemed like a good idea at the time, drilling down to the practicalities of it made it somewhat difficult to implement.

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At one point we were thinking "Oh, if you only know what lengths we go to in order to retain members!". We don't ban people over trivial matters and even if it appears that they were banned over a relatively small incident (and if you talk to them offsite they will make it sound that way), they likely had a huge warning history with us and they told several Administrators to do something anatomically impossible. You guys never hear the full story.

So it was considered because it would give us some sympathy. Most reasonable people would go "Ah, I see now".

However, we did realize that it is fundamentally incompatible with our "no dirty laundry" policy. We do not want to diminish the reputations of even our banned members. That means, we are at a disadvantage when they go around spreading their version of the truth. I can only hope that people realize that there is more to their story.

We try to eliminate petty personal squabbles. Most bannings are extensively discussed. Members are often given more chances than most people would think necessary. We do value due process.

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That's really nice. I'm on another forum where suspensions/bannings are given out for seemingly the smallest of things - there isn't any warning system either. This system is so much better. :)

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That's really nice. I'm on another forum where suspensions/bannings are given out for seemingly the smallest of things - there isn't any warning system either. This system is so much better. :)

And fairer :D

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I can't argue with that, seems the most professional way. Even though you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. I've seen a few high profile members get banned and like others have read about their grievances elsewhere. I think we can all understand why and even though such members get banned, hanging out the washing could cause all sorts of problems, including possible legal issues (?).

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That's really nice. I'm on another forum where suspensions/bannings are given out for seemingly the smallest of things - there isn't any warning system either. This system is so much better. :)

I'm a member of SA, the ban capital of the internet and it's still not as restrictive as the policies here.

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I'm a member of SA, the ban capital of the internet and it's still not as restrictive as the policies here.

The amount of time we spend discussing each difficult member (when there is an issue) and with the multiple chances we give many trouble makers, I find the above statement very difficult to believe. Once someone has been restricted or banned from this site, it is after we've warned and PMed that individual multiple times. These final actions are no surprise to the individual in question.

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I'm a member of SA, the ban capital of the internet and it's still not as restrictive as the policies here.

I doubt that after the amount of times I've seen

"Thread Cleaned"

Posted in a topic before it's shut or people are warned.

Pretty damn lenient at times I think, for better or worse.

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The amount of time we spend discussing each difficult member (when there is an issue) and with the multiple chances we give many trouble makers, I find the above statement very difficult to believe. Once someone has been restricted or banned from this site, it is after we've warned and PMed that individual multiple times. These final actions are no surprise to the individual in question.

Unlikely, I've been a member of SA for 7 years and have been probated once, and they BAN people there for merely posting in the wrong thread. Here is ridiculous, between the thin-skinned members and uneven moderation this place comes off like a nazi gulag. It's a constant walking-on-eggshells routine around here of worrying if even the most light-hearted or innocent, throw away comment will be seen by the kommandants around here as the most evil and hurtful comment ever typed on a keyboard and I'll be throw in the box.

The problem here is there is no system for regular users to see if someone has been disciplined or not for their actions. I can get a warning/ban for "trolling", yet another user in the same thread, as far as we can tell, gets away with doing the same type of thing. That creates an environment where the moderation is seen as uneven or unfairly applied. Also, it seems that mods/supervisors can break all the rules they wish...then punish others for doing what they're doing.

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The problem here is there is no system for regular users to see if someone has been disciplined or not for their actions. I can get a warning/ban for "trolling", yet another user in the same thread, as far as we can tell, gets away with doing the same type of thing. That creates an environment where the moderation is seen as uneven or unfairly applied. Also, it seems that mods/supervisors can break all the rules they wish...then punish others for doing what they're doing.

You read my mind. Sometimes it does seem OK for others to do what you got warned for.

How long does it take for a warning to go away? I've been good for MONTHS and still none have been removed? Why is that?

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20% every six months, it sucks, my warning level is 100% and I really want to change my username but it'll take 2.5 years before I can.

Most of my warnings were for fairly small things :(

Tempting to just make a new account :D

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I think the mods are the bosses and whatever decision they make is final and should not be questioned.

There should be an acceptable use policy (AUP) that members have to read and agree to at sign up.

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Yeah, no wonder you have so many warnings with an attitude like that.

Way to assume. :rolleyes:

Just because I think a policy is a bad one, that means I have a bad attitude? You might want to ditch that extra chromosome.

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I think the mods are the bosses and whatever decision they make is final and should not be questioned.

There should be an acceptable use policy (AUP) that members have to read and agree to at sign up.

Things can be questioned, it's just how you go about it that matters.

Be respectful and calm, and you'll potentially get somewhere - Not always but, some things ARE just unquestionable.

However chuck your toys out your pram and act like a baby, and you'll potentially only worsen things.

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Way to assume. :rolleyes:

Just because I think a policy is a bad one, that means I have a bad attitude? You might want to ditch that extra chromosome.

I think he means the comments like "You might want to ditch that extra chromosome." and "That's retarded." signal you have a bad attitude.

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I think the mods are the bosses and whatever decision they make is final and should not be questioned.

There should be an acceptable use policy (AUP) that members have to read and agree to at sign up.

An AUP beats the purpose... you aren't paying for Neowin, they do not have to make any guarantees and they have the sole discretion of restricting your access... fair or not. Neowin is a community, not an ISP :) There is no contract.
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LMFAO! 2.5 years is bad, makes the warning system TOO heavy. I dont like the Policy, but I put up with it simply because I like Neowin. However I do think that some of the mod pick on me sometimes, I do find my posts getting deleted a lot these days for NO reason what so ever.

Besides, if I get banned i'll just make Neowan.com :D Neowin without rules :D jokes before I get another warning :D

An AUP beats the purpose... you aren't paying for Neowin, they do not have to make any guarantees and they have the sole discretion of restricting your access... fair or not. Neowin is a community, not an ISP :) There is no contract.

I pay for Neowin... <-- points at name

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