thespian86

I'm a rookie and today i was looking at a post by a guy named fooseballwiz53 or something like that. I was wondering how this happened to him/her and other cases. Thanks

__________________
EX: Whats new?
ME: I officially love coffee more then you now.
EX: uh...
ME: So, not much.

SecretMethod70

Read the notices and use common sense and courtesy when posting and you should be fine. In my opinion, it's pretty difficult to get in trouble if you do that.

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

thespian86

where are the notices?

__________________
EX: Whats new?
ME: I officially love coffee more then you now.
EX: uh...
ME: So, not much.

thespian86

scratch the last one i just said... i want to know why this person or any person would be banned? i would really love a responce from a moderater

__________________
EX: Whats new?
ME: I officially love coffee more then you now.
EX: uh...
ME: So, not much.

Cynthetiq

can be any reason, such as flaming another user, spamming the board, harassing another user, posting in the Ladies Lounge... anything that goes against the TFP charter.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Kaos

I'm assuming he probably broke a rule that is posted.

And SecretMethod70....Nice Avatar! Is there a video of that somewhere? Kazaa maybe?

RelaX

You're making the mistake of thinking TFP is some kind of democracy where there are set laws that can be argued over, it took me a long time to discover it, but TFP isn't.

TFP is more like a community run by the 'influential' (moderators, super moderators and admins) who can ban and alter anything they want.

Off course there exists within the community a set of social rules, and they are largely those you will find on other forums and in RL. Though they are seldomly written they are known by all to some extent.
And as for minor offences, the mods are pretty tolerant. It is merely the 'capital' offences you have to be weary about... but obey common sense and don't be TOO hasty with posting and you'll be fine.

On a sidenote, I do admire the power structure on TFP, on a medium of chaos they have managed to create a place of social structure and a spirit of cooperation and acceptance. to the mods and Halx.

BTW: Anything I have said is written at 1 am and while slightly inebriated, spelling and grammatical errors are to be excused, if you would.

__________________
The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents.
- Nathaniel Borenstein

bernadette

i've seen other boards go straight to hell because of fuckwits & asstards.

i'm quite impressed with how tfp keeps the peace with such a large user base.

__________________
.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

numberfive

'Cause we're all adults here. Or at least the general populace.

__________________
P.S. Always remember: to forget is a form of suicide. (If I could only remember to forget myself.)

Halx

I dunno.. that sounds a little power trippy compared to how I like things. We have discussions and debates amongst the staff on how to handle certain situations. We have rules that we enforce uncompromisingly and I also give my staff the ability to use their best judgement on non-personal issues. We've dealt with abuse of power in the past, and I wont deny that it can't happen again, but we give you guys the ability to call us on it. If you see a moderator blatantly altering "anything they want" then you come to me.

Now, about the influence, forgive the grandure, but all these rules that I've set are designed to keep those who care about the TFP happy. You're all here for any length of time because what you see interests you. The moment you start to think that things are shaking apart, we could possibly lose you. That's why we keep things tight around here. It may be a sharp learning curve compared to the rest of the internet, but that just ensures the quality of the crowd.

I can't stress enough that I need to know what's going on around here. If you are concerned about something, send a PM my way and let me know about it. I gather vibes and I take action on them. So, you won't influence me by staging a vote, per se, but if you give me the impression that my goals aren't being met at the current pace things are going at, you can do so much with one little message.

As far as the banning goes... someone fucked up. It doesn't take a lot to fit in here, but the law of averages provides us with several dimwitted individuals that we would rather rid ourselves of.

__________________
You have found this post informative.
-The Administrator
[Don't Feed The Animals]

Locke

It's one of the most sane places on the web because of these rules and the reason why I keep coming back.

__________________
CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN!!!! - Pat Hughes
"Don't surround yourself with yourself." Yes

Lestat

TFP Rocks! Everybody is pretty laid back here so I'm sure the person really screwed up to get banned. I don't see any power tripping mods here like I see on other boards.

__________________
I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it. - Jack Handy

jimk

i've seen some fairly heated debates and never noticed any type of mod intervention. seems to me one would have to get pretty far out of line to get banned.

__________________
raw power is a guaranteed o.d.

raw power is a laughin' at you & me

-iggy

Bill O'Rights

Exactly! It is possible to have a "heated debate" without resorting to personal attacks. Rest assured that if someone is banned from the TFP...he/she has proven him/herself to be a pretty major fuckstick.

__________________
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." - Susan B. Anthony

"Hedonism with rules isn't hedonism at all, it's the Republican party." - JumpinJesus

It is indisputable that true beauty lies within...but a nice rack sure doesn't hurt.

Redlemon

For a board to be as sexual as this one is and still be as respectful as this one is must require a firm hand. Halx and the mods, thanks for all of your efforts.

__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry.

Thraeryn

This is, wonderfully, a place of tolerance and inclusion.

Except for certain things. Anyone banned just doesn't have two brain cells to rub together. Thanks for weeding them out, mods.

joe100

Just don't question the morals of a moderator.

God of Thunder

The rules are not the only reason I stay here. The fact that they are enforced is what keeps me here. It is very easy in an on-line community for users to get out of hand. The anonymity of the web gives some users the feeling they can write whatever they want without repurcussions.

I was a regular poster on a couple of different boards, who shall remain nameless because I don't care about them amd it just doesn't matter. They preached rules and continuously "warned" several users, but never did anything about it. The constant cry of the users was "Come one mods, can't you do something about ...". Since nothing was done, the user got a cheap thrill off of it and continued their behaviour.


TFP has proved to me that users can post together in a community and still be respectful. Being a mod must be tough at times, I respect the job all of you are doing.




PS -- I'm not just sucking up to prevent being banned. But in the future, If I step slightly out of line, would you please remember this compliment? (Hey it never hurts to have an ass-kiss in reserve.)

__________________
I reject your reality, and substitute my own

-- Adam Savage

Batman976

This board is definitely a breath of fresh air compared to the other boards I visit. There are about five or six different message boards I visit. This one and the Home Theater Forum are the only ones where I expect to see a reasonable amount of intelligence in just about every post.

When I visit the other boards, while oftentimes I enjoy myself and the discussions, I expect to see childish behavior, people trying to act superior to others rather than making them feel welcome, and entire threads essentially turned into chatrooms.

I usually come to the TFP last after those other ones to return my sanity.

thespian86

Thanks for the answers everyone! i really am quite happy with the answers! Way to rock! lol

__________________
EX: Whats new?
ME: I officially love coffee more then you now.
EX: uh...
ME: So, not much.

oberon

Amen. I'm glad I'm here.

__________________
"There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught." -- Irish proverb

WhoaitsZ

like any other place. you have rights and worngs, some great mods, some crooked mods, some things go well, sometimes things are fucked.

the main reason most are banned (from personal experience and eavesdropping in the background) is for good reason.

if user a is rude to user b, user a will most likely be warned and chastised. thankfully some mods do more than just say 'nay!' and tell you to shut up. many will explain it. they understand people carry different perceptions and explain the error.

then if person a flames person b again action is taken, and rightly so.

we try beyond all reason to show proper respect to each other, even if we get pissed. look at some notices where Lebell gives out wisdom of.... if you can't say something nice or productive then do not speak.

another reason many are banned are for a very good cause. this is a community. it's not a pay site where you sign a contract and are allowed to post such and such so much, period. you have to contribute (post), join others boards and maybe irc.

in other words.. we are social. if you are not (this goes to no one person) sociable then you are wasting resources and it is simply unfair to us who do produce more material/ideals for one another.

those who do not contribute are weeded and cut out. and considering my best friend has posted only six times but has an account proves that he isn't the biggest poster, but it is because he rarely has time to join. when he does, he contributes.

i'm not saying you're in heaven. that illusion was raped from me shortly after joining. such is life. you have good and you have bad.

all that goobly gosh said all you need to know for sure is this:

Contribute. Socialize. Post. Be good to your neighbor. Do not flame. sometimes invisible rules pop up but can be straightened out with patience and time.

also remember a basic common sense rule. you don't do anything rude or obsceene, you're not in trouble, not reprimanded, not assosciated with negativity, you are good to go. you are socialable or you aren't.

-Z

viveleroi0

I would die to me a mod. I'm here all day anyway at work and I love communicating, reading peoples posts etc. I know I keep up with everything, I love posting and interacting.

Now that I have my avatar... I'm not checking my post count for weeks on end.

I love the TFP... and I'm happy my suggestion for Tilted Knowledge made it through the ranks.

__________________
"It's not that I don't understand, it's that I don't care"
- Homer Simpson

giblfiz

I still have mixed feelings about the moderation here at TFP. It generally seems to be done quite fairly, and I am forced to assume that those who are banned usually deserve it.

One of the things that has always disturbed me is that the control is quite opaque. You don't know all that much about who is in power, and why they did what they did.

When I first came here I was _very_ bothered because comments which were offensive were simply removed without notice. I wrote to halx about it, and found that within the week moderation had changed its style. (or perhaps I just started looking for what was already there, I can never quite trust myself) This gave me a great deal of faith in the system because it reacted to user (my) input, and because it cleared up my primary concern.

as for being banned... well just don't be a dick and you'll be fine.

__________________
Use the star one and you'll be fighting off the old ones with your bare hands
-A Shoggoth on the Roof

WhoaitsZ

halx, you just made a very, very big decision for me that will go unnamed but a couple of friends are aware of what I had in mind. now I am smiling and am happy.

the thing that gets to me a lot of times is the way many mods do the 'it never happened' bit. i know it is a great way to go at times, you know uh 'all is good' and such, but i think we all learn from mistakes and if we ever mention anything most of the time we are jumped on.

example: I wondered how one certain user had been doing. i noticted the person vanished a few weeks back so i went into chat and asked if anyone had heard from this person in awhile. i get concerned when people vanish more than two weeks. anyhow, a mod told me that i could maybe get info from his profile. nothing else said.

i do this. i see banned and think 'oh well, the user fucked up i guess.' on this banned user i had no idea (and i shouldn't know in a sense) why but i figured it could be just cause. when back in chat i typed 'banned?' and before i could finish typing 'the user must have slipped up' one mod went fucking coocoo. the same one who said 'read the profile' told me quite shortly to "never mention (said banned user) again, EVER and keep it to yourself!"

i understood i should not had put a question mark bye 'banned' because it show i am asking or wished to know what happened. i did not. but i never had the chance to say such; but that happens.

however, if i said that this mod was 'having a bad day' would imply that he jumps on people every two days. i am not trying to be 'smart', i just think it is highly unproffesional to be downright rude when a person has no clue whatsoever.

another example is IRC. you can ask about any user (if they will be honest) about 'invisible rules' or 'my day sucked so i'm enforcing a rule and if you don't like it tough' without stating the rule once. this happened just last night.

i don't get it.

for the sake of all we have rules we abide by because, as you stated, we want everyone as happy as possible. so rules are strong and should be. but these 'my day sucked' invisible rule things is out of hand, especially in IRC.

btw, the bold command on my screen makes the word you do in bold become, well, bold. dark. i stated one sentence in room in bold because i was cautioning a friend on something we were discussing. everyone was chipping in. and bam. again, invisible rule broken, i get bitchslaped.

partially my fault for not PM'g you these things. i try to now bother since you are so busy and normally do in chat, which irealize may be worse cuz you go there to have fun or observe, not be bothered.

i will do my part better.

one other thing. i do not like naming names because it is so easy to forget one, but i give a special bow and thanks to Spectre, Redraven40, Cynthetiq (ya dork), Phredgreen, Cheers, Hanxteer, and Jad.

i have had spectre and phred remove a post because i rule slipped my mind. both were very cool about it and they simply said 'this had to be removed because...' instead of the normal power trip 'do not do that again if you don't wanna be banned.'. that kind of treatment makes all of us look like dipshits. it's like saying 'come here because every respects each other' and the it is a mod who does the opposite. it makes tfp look bad.

i yes i know people are human. i fuck up. you fuck up. he fucks up. yadayada

i am fairly content here right now. besides one mod needing to chill the hell out life here as been good.

and after ten years of being on-line, this is the best handled forum or bbs i've ever been in. period. i would hate to see it go to hell.

thanks for listening.

oberon

Opaque enforcement bothers me too. How can you trust people who enforce a rule if you can't see for yourself what happened? How do you know they broke a publically-announced rule (all of which are perfectly reasonable) or if they just pissed off somebody?

I'm personally still a bit paranoid about my participation on TFP for these reasons. I can tell you this is not true in other groups that I am part of (they are mostly orthagonal in purpose, don't worry).

__________________
"There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught." -- Irish proverb

Skettios

I realize that this isn't a democracy.

However, when I read threads and see that someone got banned, I'm always curious as to why they got banned. I'm especially curious because his name stays up and so do his posts, with a banned tag, in the virtual world, it's the same as putting someone's head on a stick. The thing is, we're never told why...

It gives the TFP a normally extremely friendly place, a dark and sinister feel when I see stuff like this, especially when I search the board for the 'body's posts, and don't see anything they did wrong (with the exception of being cheerfully obnoxious, like the banned person that was mentioned at the beginning of this thread).

So my request to the mods, is if you're going to virtually banish someone, either get rid of the body, or leave a forum post somewhere, so we know why they are gone.

If I see that so and so was in the ladies lounge making a fool of himself, or in Tilted Philosophy blasting others religion in favor of his own, it won't feel so creepy.

thanks.

__________________
Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.

Frederich Nietzsche

Halx

We're not asking for trust or faith, just confidence. I think that's a pretty reasonable request. We use the current state/mood/vibe of the board as our proof that we do our job well. So, without disclosing too much about our actions, we can't expect you to blindly trust us, just have confidence that we can do our job.

There are no unwritten rules that common sense can't take care of, so enjoy yourself.

If you're out of line, you'll recieve ONE notice from a moderator.

__________________
You have found this post informative.
-The Administrator
[Don't Feed The Animals]

SecretMethod70

When a person is banned, typically what happens is that the post or posts that were the cause of the banning are removed. Obviously, if they're cause for a ban, the less people that are forced to read the posts the better. But that doesn't mean every single post by this person is necessarily a bad post and didn't contribute to the board in any way. So, other posts are left up for the good of the board. And sometimes, for example in the case when we discover someone is underage, there's no reason to remove any posts but they simply need to be banned.

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

gonadman

IMO, If someone puts up a post offensive enough to get banned, then I have no interest in reading it. There are plenty of other places on the web to be insulted and watch people flaming each other. To leave the offensive post up would seem to draw more attention to the banned poster rather than just having him quietly disappear, which is better for the community as a whole. As far as a mod having a bad day, well we all have bad days, but as long as I'm not being an asshole, I don't have to worry about it do I?

__________________
For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel, looking, looking, ...breathlessly.
-Carlos Castaneda

spectre

We are not opaque in how we enforce the rules. It's very difficult to not know the rules here. There are threads marked "Notice:" in every forum. Most of the board rules can be found in a couple of the notice threads in "Tilted Newbies." If someone is banned, they have violated these rules. In most cases, they have violated these rules on multiple occasions. No one is banned for having an opinion that isn't liked or that pissed someone off. People are banned because they don't follow the rules that are stated in the notices. Most (if not all) of the rules are simple common sense. People are always warned before they are banned. Some people choose not to listen when they are told that they are doing things that they shouldn't. Those people get banned. The main thing that we ask for here is civility. In real life, you don't go into someone's house and start a brawl. All we ask is that you don't do the same here. No need to worry about anything else. Just read the rules and you'll be okay.

__________________
"Fuck these chains
No goddamn slave
I will be different" ~ Machine Head

oberon

Halx: Well, would it be a bad thing to tell the community why somebody got banned, explicitly? Maybe it would encourage less paranoia & more openness. Conversely, why would it hurt anybody to see enforcement notices?

spectre: I never said the rules were opaque, just the enforcement. Somebody's banned and you don't know why. That's opaque. Although, from reading some posts by banned people, I can see why they might have been banned. But it's not the same thing.

all:
Regardless, I recognize that we are perhaps getting a little too political here. I want to clarify that I like TFP very much as it is now, and I'll respect whatever the mods & admins decide as far as my opinion about enforcement goes. Thanks for listening, that's all I ask.

__________________
"There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught." -- Irish proverb

spectre

But, like I said before, in general, these people were warned before. They were told not to repeat some action and were likely linked to the notice thread that contained the information regarding what rule they didn't follow. Some people just don't want to follow rules sometimes. We really don't ask for a lot here, just civility is all.

__________________
"Fuck these chains
No goddamn slave
I will be different" ~ Machine Head

Halx

If we had to answer on every one, we'd be booked. Let's all know our roles here. We are the staff. We watch over everyone and worry about all the drama. We absorb all that crap so you guys can enjoy yourselves. We've only had a couple exposés on serious offenders, but the rest of the ban list is usually idiots/underaged/people who are best left without their 15 minutes.

__________________
You have found this post informative.
-The Administrator
[Don't Feed The Animals]

oberon

Fair enough. I'm done. Let's get back to the fun stuff.

__________________
"There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught." -- Irish proverb

Baldrick

I understand the curiosity for wanting to know. But personally, I don't give a flying rats ass why someone was banned.

And honestly, I know there would be several (many?) people that are banned who would not appreciate having their ban posted publicly. And if they started posting everyone who got banned, you know there would be a line-up of people who would criticize them for "publicly flogging the dead".

Hal and the admin'/mod's have a thankless job. With the size of a community like this, and the vast number of differing opinions/morals/philosophies/etc, they truly are damned if they do, damned if they don't. I'm sure that every decision they make, or the way they communicate the decision leaves some people happy, and some people frustrated.

__________________
You can be young only once, but you can be immature for the rest of your life...

Holo

neddy65

Sorry, maybe this has already been answered, but, how does someone who has been banned continue to post?

__________________
If you're travelling at the speed of light, and you turn the headlights on, do they do anything?

My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die!

Drink Dickens' Hard Cider because nothing makes a girl smile like a Hard DIckens' Cider!

Lebell

They can't.

They'll try to login and the system won't let them, just like an expired password or admin lockout on a network.

__________________
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis

The ONLY sponsors we have are YOU!

Please Donate!

marcopolo

The name ' BadGirl ' suddenly comes to mind . Heh .

__________________
Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others.