The Ban Policy Sucks

[Maverick]

I've just returned from a 30 day ban. I made one flame-ish post calling someone an idiot after he tried to make me look like one. I was warned by an S-Mod for that post, fair enough really. I then go about my normal business, posting in threads I like and think nothing of the warning. Then, two days later, I was banned for an entire 30 days for the exact same post! No second or final warning, no 5 day ban, no 2 week ban. An entire month ban for a post I had already been warned for. On my return, I PMed several higher staff members, and not one has offered me a real reason as to why I was punished twice for one offence.
All I want to know is what I did wrong, is that asking too much?

 

[Arcanine]

You're totally right, we ban members we don't like without a reason. That's why you were banned for 3 weeks. We are so unfair to everyone on PC.

Whatever you may think, we don't ban without a reason. You may not like the whole ban policy, but it's still there. And you might not know the whole reason behind your ban, but there is a reason.

 

[Ryoutarou]

This, this, this, and this are all more or less why you were banned I'm guessing. I wasn't the one that banned you, but being on a forum geared towards children most of the time...I'm gonna say you probably should have known better.

 

[Guest123_x1]

at risk

I'm going to defend Mavey here, so don't pull a listenbuddy and accuse me of thread wrecking or other irrelevant crap like that.

I don't care what age group this board is intended to target. Children see and hear swearing almost every day. Besides, what if somebody is so pissed, and they are forced to bottle it up further, eventually to the point where they end up committing a crime, wether it be rape, robbery, or even murder, rather than just letting them vent it out and no lives are physically/directly harmed?

Sorry to say this folks, but the policies here are very similar to what can be found in CIPA (Childrens Internet nonProtection Act) and other censorship laws.

I've run my own boards intended for very similar target audiences, and I've never been very strict. This includes I never had any thread revival ban, double posting restriction, asterisking being censor bypassing, prohibiting links to other forums used as source of information, nor minimum post lengths. Perhaps that is why I've failed to get any members. I'm sensing anti-competitive practices being excersized on here (that's what it is, sorry)

-ottermi619-
Perhaps maybe my rear is being tracked by the Feds (or the UN) for making child-targeted message boards not strict enough for CIPA standards? Then again, in these politically correct times, everything's screwed over.

 

[Arcanine]

ottermi I don't know if you knew this, but a forum isn't IRL. IMO I'd love to drop the whole "kiddy" thing. But that isn't going to happen, so rules are still rules. I don't care who likes or hates the rules. Rules are rules, if they are broken that member gets a warning or a ban out of it.
And I really don't care about your oppion on our policies or rules. If we didn't have "censorship" or rules I could call you and others all sorts of "nice" things and I know you guys would just love me for doing it. You may call it "censorship" or "anti-freedom of speech" or whatever you want, because I don't give a flip. A forum is NOT IRL, whatever you may think.

Edit (Might as well add this): "Besides, what if somebody is so pissed, and they are forced to bottle it up further, eventually to the point where they end up committing a crime, wether it be rape, robbery, or even murder, rather than just letting them vent it out and no lives are physically/directly harmed?"

If they are stupid enough to go out and do some crime over nothing then they don't need to be on PC. If they do it then I hold no blame if I'm the one that locked/banned/deleted or whatever. Because that person was stupid enough to do that. We are not going to let every person vent out their anger all over the forum and and go "Well I might have hurt someone in real life". That thinking is just plain stupid. If they want to vent their anger get a blog and do it on there. Not here.

 

[Rukario]

unfortunely we have to strike a sorta middle ground when it comes to what we allow here..
we have users aged from about 7 years and up..
we try to allow as much freedom of speech as we can with offending the younger ones or their parents (especially)..
if that means censoring 'colorful' words and limiting sex or simlilar topics then thats what we do and how it is..

you can either follow the rules and go on posting, enjoying what we offer, or not come back. the choice is yours..

 

[Maverick]

This, this, this, and this are all more or less why you were banned I'm guessing. I wasn't the one that banned you, but being on a forum geared towards children most of the time...I'm gonna say you probably should have known better.

That first post, how was that ban worthy?
Those other 3 posts were jokes, the first two were innuendo jokes too. You know innuendo? You only understand the jokes if you understand the meanings, so if younger kids understood the joke then they're mature enough to not be offended. Also, there were no little kids in the DCC at the time so no one inappropriate was exposed to it and when the mod came in and told me to stop it, I did instantly. I also cooled off another member who was also making similar jokes and was beginning to flame the staff.
The third joke was out of order, I accept that I shouldn't have posted that but, as I said, I stopped as soon as I was told to.
Also, I received a warning for those by Morkula.
And since my "bad behaviour" was in the DCC, why was I not just banned from the DCC? Wasn't that the point of putting it in it's own forum, so you could ban people who miss-use it

You're totally right, we ban members we don't like without a reason. That's why you were banned for 3 weeks. We are so unfair to everyone on PC.

Whatever you may think, we don't ban without a reason. You may not like the whole ban policy, but it's still there. And you might not know the whole reason behind your ban, but there is a reason.

What's the point in banning someone without telling them why they're banned? How are they going to know what not to do next time if they don't know what they did wrong?

 

[Maverick]

It matters not on the post's location - it is dependant on its severity.

But it seems you're going to kick us around until there's justice. What can we do about it? What should you do about it?

I'll tell you - you shouldn't be publicly posting this! What you should be doing is right here, asking to have it brought up!

Thanks, you're a great help >.>
I PMed 6 higher staff, yourself included. Only 3 replied to me despite all 6 being online, and each person gave a different, vague, reason for my banning. So that tells me that even the leaders of this forum have no concrete reason as to why I was banned. And I've still yet to receive an explanation from 3 staff administrators as to why I received such a harsh ban after being warned for my actions when a more sensible punishment could've been given.
Thank God you people aren't judges. The death penalty's would probably be handed out to petty thieves.

 

[Ryoutarou]

Thanks, you're a great help >.>
I PMed 6 higher staff, yourself included. Only 3 replied to me despite all 6 being online, and each person gave a different, vague, reason for my banning. So that tells me that even the leaders of this forum have no concrete reason as to why I was banned. And I've still yet to receive an explanation from 3 staff administrators as to why I received such a harsh ban after being warned for my actions when a more sensible punishment could've been given.
Thank God you people aren't judges. The death penalty's would probably be handed out to petty thieves.

To be fair, not many of us bother checking our PMs that often. You can't expect a reply right off the bat.

That first post, how was that ban worthy?
Those other 3 posts were jokes, the first two were innuendo jokes too. You know innuendo? You only understand the jokes if you understand the meanings, so if younger kids understood the joke then they're mature enough to not be offended. Also, there were no little kids in the DCC at the time so no one inappropriate was exposed to it and when the mod came in and told me to stop it, I did instantly. I also cooled off another member who was also making similar jokes and was beginning to flame the staff.
The third joke was out of order, I accept that I shouldn't have posted that but, as I said, I stopped as soon as I was told to.
Also, I received a warning for those by Morkula.
And since my "bad behaviour" was in the DCC, why was I not just banned from the DCC? Wasn't that the point of putting it in it's own forum, so you could ban people who miss-use it

Swearing on the first one, it is against the rules, innuendo is still unacceptable for this type of forum, the joke's aren't that hard to get and just because younger members weren't in there doesn't mean that it's okay to post something like that. The reason you weren't banned from DCC and PC in general was because of the other posts that were made outside of the DCC area. Like I said, those aren't the exact reasons for your banning, I wasn't the one that banned you so you'd probably have to ask whoever did it.

 

[Espy Psyche]

Some of the swearing, flaming, etc. is excessive here. We need strict enforcement to stop it. I run Pokemon Defender and I know about SPAMming, flaming, etc. It must stop because it annoys the entire forum, whether it be a 17 member forum like Pokemon Defender or a 10,000+ member forum like Pokemon Community.

People should be told why they are banned though.
I don't want to fight staff, staff are my friends and I am probably close to becoming one myself.

 

[Supreme Edgeboy Max]

Hey, nobody's really flaming anyone here. >.< You guys are just snapping back. Look, just give Maverick the rightful reasons he's been banned for, and that'll be the end of this.

Like the staff said, nobody is banned without a reason.
Eh, isn't there usually a PM or email sent to a banned person stating the reason why they were banned? o_o

 

[Live Update King]

I like the rules. Just to cheer the scaff up.

 

[Supreme Edgeboy Max]

I like the rules. Just to cheer the scaff up.

That wasn't needed Philip .. and the staff don't need cheering. They're already lively enough. :3
You typoed staff.

 

[Maverick]

It's because the whole thing was brought up and we're discussing it right now? Apologies for the lack of notification and the fact I'm real close to warning you because it's almost blatantly flaming us as a whole?

I'm sorry, but I have better things to do in my life than deal with a bunch of messages I received in my inbox because I'd rather be working on my homework!

You're a high staff member, is it not your job to deal with the problems and/or complaints of the members? I mean, you go around posting on PC, is it so much hard work to look at your PM box to see if anyone needs help? No offence, I don't want to get warned or banned again, but you really are no help at all and I'm a bit curious as to how you've gotten so high up the ranks of PC with an attitude towards members' issues like that.

Swearing on the first one, it is against the rules, innuendo is still unacceptable for this type of forum, the joke's aren't that hard to get and just because younger members weren't in there doesn't mean that it's okay to post something like that. The reason you weren't banned from DCC and PC in general was because of the other posts that were made outside of the DCC area. Like I said, those aren't the exact reasons for your banning, I wasn't the one that banned you so you'd probably have to ask whoever did it.

First of all, Thank you for at least trying to explain things. You've been the only one so far to do so. For that I commend you. But that first post, please allow me to bypass the censor this one time, I used the word "b1tching". As far as I'm aware, "b1tching" in that context is not constituted as a swear word. Apologisies if I'm wrong and, if I am, that was a genuine mistake on my part. I didn't mean it in a malicious or offensive manner.
I accepted that the jokes were unacceptable once it was pointed out. When I went in there, people were telling jokes and nobody was complaining about those jokes so I thought nothing of it. But once somebody asked us to stop I did. As I said earlier, I even calmed down another member who was telling similar jokes and stopped him from bashing the staff and other members.
I'd like to point out, I'm not trying to cause trouble or insult any of you. I just think I deserve an explanation as to why I only received one warning and then banned afterwards. Is there not a 3-strikes-and-you're-out system here?

I don't want to fight staff, staff are my friends and I am probably close to becoming one myself.

I very much doubt that. If you did have a chance of becoming staff, you just blew it.

 

[Chase Leader]

Even though I don't know much about either side, I might have to side more on Maverick on this one. I mean, you guys banned my friend (Dakota) not too long ago, and he won't stop complaining about it. Even though he's whining to me, I can see his point of view. You guys (the high mods) are lazy. Instead of dealing and working with a member, you'll just do the easy thing and ban him/her. That's how I see it.

 

[Maverick]

Even though I don't know much about either side, I might have to side more on Maverick on this one. I mean, you guys banned my friend (Dakota) not too long ago, and he won't stop complaining about it. Even though he's whining to me, I can see his point of view. You guys (the high mods) are lazy. Instead of dealing and working with a member, you'll just do the easy thing and ban him/her. That's how I see it.

To be honest though, I'm sure Dakota received 3 warnings before he was banned. Didn't he used to be staff?
My beef was that I received only one warning but was then banned for the offences that I was warned for.

 

[viridian doubletongue]

I have my own point to make on the subject of unfairly banned members.

My cousin Chris, also known as 'Tamagotchi Master' online was banned when he had only made two posts that I had seen one was a spammy post, he was warned & I talked to him about the rules & explained in the thread that he hadn't done it knowingly of wanting to break rules. He made another post in a hack thread that was perfectly within the rules, but then a few months later was banned without explanation.

Why did that happen?

 

[Drummershuff]

I've just returned from a 30 day ban. I made one flame-ish post calling someone an idiot after he tried to make me look like one. I was warned by an S-Mod for that post, fair enough really. I then go about my normal business, posting in threads I like and think nothing of the warning. Then, two days later, I was banned for an entire 30 days for the exact same post! No second or final warning, no 5 day ban, no 2 week ban. An entire month ban for a post I had already been warned for. On my return, I PMed several higher staff members, and not one has offered me a real reason as to why I was punished twice for one offence.
All I want to know is what I did wrong, is that asking too much?

From those posts. Joke or not they still should have not been posted. As many others have said its a child's forum. Whether they know of the adult words from home experince or not, that is not the point and should not be posted here. I'm sure that the Staff have a very vaild reason for you ban. I'm sure that if you contact a member of staff now they will give you the reason, to why you have been punished.

 

[Lily]

Don't get the wrong impression of higher staff members; they do try, perhaps not in the same sense/effort as you'd see it.

As for your ban, I'd love to explain it, but due to the lack of information, I can't [sufficiently]. I'm assuming your previous posts were considered ban-worthy pertaining to respect/offensive posts and whatnot (according to the rules)... but didn't receive a specific warning. o_o;

 

[Freenaturearts]

I agree with arcanine, this is quite a childish subject at times and this may be a place where things happen in your life, but that doesint meen this is reall like opinions O_o. Irl your actualy lucky you didint get a IP ban, I've been watching this forum and though a post is small, the words themselfs where major and could have cause a TON of flaming in the time that you would have stayed, at least with you banned for that short time no flame happened causing one of Pc's most famus rules to actualy work! ^_^ So though you thought the bann was unfair there was something about yout post or posts that possably cause this to be liable.


And why in the world is the rules being bombarded again for ?! O.o just cerios. I meen in real life there fought by higher ups all the time, if you want this to be IRL guys. You should just leave it to the higher staff to fight out these conflicts without US the members of the community. Making it more petty and downgrading the Forum... We have 40 staff strong at least in seniors and staffs of the new days O-o leave it to them to fight this out.. Though I myself think people who do such chain flaming should get banned like you did.

Gosh this place is lucky to even have staff o.o Many sites like this are falling by now cause they dont have people that give a care, they try there best guys and if you had one ounce of smarts to do what they do on a daily base with this forum as staff admins/mods O-o You wouldint be complaining about these rules . I've learned threw my 7 oekakis&forums that forums at this size should really have even more then this one has, * 1 mod to every 500 people and one admin /super mod to every 2000 people.* And should have a long list of rule sheets like seribi O-o and that place is JAIL to peopel who want to lay back and have fun eveywhere! So your lucky your alowed to have the huge banners avy's and SEVERAL hundred areas to talk about stupid or unneaded/wanted posrs.

And hey even in all but one of my forums you would be IP banned for half a year trying to downgrade the mods like this O_O so your even lucky to eb standing right now with this plight.