To the moderators of the Escapist:

[scotth266]

To the moderators of the Escapist:

I've had a load of fun with this site, no questions asked. However, today I must ask one majorly uncomfortable one: one that I think carries some weight here in the community.

People have been wondering about the acts recently committed by the BanHammer. While some were admittedly deserved, others have caused confusion, in particular the banning of NecroSwanson. Fire Daemon summed up most of what people are wondering about in his post on the previous page well: we're all sort of confused, scared, wondering what on Earth is going on. Therefore, I have this question to offer:

Can you make some sort of announcement about these bans, explaining the finer details? It would go a long way towards dispelling the bad feelings some of the community have accumulated over them, especially in the case of The Swanson, who was dearly loved here by many.

Another issue that users have voiced is with the apparent inaction that can be seen at times towards certain users: particularly ones that have made comments that have obviously broken the rules. We have reported these users at times to no avail, and we must wonder why this is so. Again, as Daemon said, a lack of moderators/use of the red button is no longer an problem...

Also, by request: some more information is requested about the bannings/moderation of Darth Empyrean, and Darth Mobius.

I, and the following users, thank you for your time.

Spoiler: A list of users, who also have these questions.

FlapJack452
sky14kemea
megapenguinx
Knight Templar
NoMoreSanity
orannis62
Calobi
Neonbob
Fire Daemon
Gormourn
ae86gamer
Vanguard_Ex
Haliwali
Chicago Ted
runedeadthA
Gxas
Ashbax
Mstrswrd
bluegriffin8
[Gavo]
LimaBravo
nathan-dts
ph3onix
Shapsters
ErGo
Hoxton
xmetatr0nx
SmartIdiot
crazyhaircut94
SakSak
pigeon_of_doom
Machines Are Us
UNKNOWNINCOGNITO
notoriouslynx
Psychosocial
razer17
EcksTeaSea
Bofus Teefus
AkJay
darksusano
Lexodus
tijuanatim
Resistance205
timmytom1
Zombie_Fish
nikosuave
Zeeky_Santos
Hollow Grimm

Updates/Reponses from the mods:

Spoiler: For those who do not want to read through 8 pages, here's the teal deer.

A response from Susan. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120751#2378817]
Another response from Susan. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120751#2379258]
A response from Virgil. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120751#2379262]
A response from the Funk. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120751#2379350]
Yet another response from Susan. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120751?page=4#2380004]
A response from Paul. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120751?page=6#2382232]
A response from Wilson. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120751?page=7#2384162]
Susan responds again. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120751?page=9#2387653]
Susan's fifth response. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120751?page=9#2387762]
Susan's sixth response. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120751?page=9#2390364]
A response from Alex. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120751?page=10#2395145]

It seems that the majority of the questions have been answered. Currently, what's going on is a request for the moderators to add a little detail to "ban posts" (the one that a user get the permanent ban on) so that we can avoid future questions about why someone was banned.

Also, I won't stick every response the mods make in here: just the ones I feel are the most important. There are several other user posts that are really interesting: I'd suggest reading though the whole thing if you want all the information.

EDIT: If you wish to be added to the list, please ask via PM. I won't respond, but I will add you to the list.

DOUBLE EDIT: Please, stay on-topic, and don't flame the mods. They're watching, after all.

 

[megapenguinx]

I, and the following users, thank you for your time.

Spoiler: A list of users, who also have these questions.

FlapJack452
sky14kemea

I would like to be added to that list as well.

Wordsmith Extraordinaire: 10,000+ posts. Only Indigo Dingo has achieved this, to my knowledge.

I believe Moonpenguin has also reached that point. They had more posts than Indigo last I checked.

 

[Knight Templar]

~snip~

I too would like more information, but isn't that question the kind to ask in the "Suggestions/problems/complaints with the Escapist forums" ( http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.64125 ) thread?

 

[scotth266]

Snip.

Snip?

I will add both of your names to the list: and to answer the question, this is listed as "community moderation discussion" in the Map. Therefore, I thought it should go here.

 

[Avatar Roku]

Spoiler: A list of users, who also have these questions.

FlapJack452
sky14kemea

I'd appreciate if you could add me. Not that I think Mobius's ban was wholly undeserved, but a perma may have been excessive, and I'm curious what the reasoning was.

 

[scotth266]

Snip.

Added to the list! That was rather quick: I didn't expect that many users that quickly.

 

[Calobi]

Spoiler: A list of users, who also have these questions.

FlapJack452
sky14kemea
megapenguinx
Knight Templar
NoMoreSanity
orannis62

Sign me up, kind sir. While some of the bannings I understand, I would like some clarification on others, as well as some insight into some of the (perhaps incorrectly) perceived inactions that have taken place.

And, if at all possible, would someone kindly inform me via PM if/when an answer appears, as I may not check this thread? Many thanks.

 

[scotth266]

Sign me up, kind sir. While some of the bannings I understand, I would like some clarification on others, as well as some insight into some of the (perhaps incorrectly) perceived inactions that have taken place.

And, if at all possible, would someone kindly inform me via PM if/when an answer appears, as I may not check this thread? Many thanks.

You are now signed up! When we recieve any sort of reply, I will message all those involved.

I also understand some of the bannings as well. I just want the users to (PEACEFULLY) concentrate their questions in an appropriate manner, instead of us having more unfortunate moderations.

 

[Neonbob]

I, and the following users, thank you for your time.

If you could throw my name in there, too, that'd be great.

 

[Fire Daemon]

Spoiler: A list of users, who also have these questions.

FlapJack452
sky14kemea
megapenguinx
Knight Templar
NoMoreSanity
orannis62
Calobi

I too would like to be on that list. I feel that there has to be moderation to community communication when someone as well known as Darth Mobius is perma-banned for no apparent reason.

The only reason I could think of for him receiving a perma-ban is some poor behaviour over the PM system with the moderators and/or the staff. However Darth Empyrean said in her thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.120671] that she has no idea whats going on and you would expect for her to know. This brings me to another point, why is it that she only received a week while TheNecroswanson who was much more 'easy going' received the full force of the ban hammer.

It doesn't make sense, it really doesn't. As I said before, steps must be taken to ensure that all the moderators are at the same level. That way we don't have to feel at risk of being perma-banned for a small infraction.

P.S Sorry for hijacking this thread Krunk. Hopefully things will sort themselves out soon.

 

[Alex_P]

Permanent bans of long-term users get reviewed by the actual staff. They're not unilateral action or whimsy on the part of volunteer moderators.

However...

Darth Empyrean

Does anyone here actually need a detailed explanation of why a post that ends with a list of personalized "Fuck Yous" to other users gets you a week off?

Also, please don't spam the thread with "Me too" requests. Use PM or something.

-- Alex

 

[scotth266]

-- Alex

I was asked to stick in Empyrean by request: since that post was inspired by Mobius's ban I stuck them in together.

I've edited the post telling people to send PMs instead of clogging the thread.

Also, as Fire Daemon said: sorry Krunk, that this has sort of hijacked your thread.

 

[Lord Krunk]

P.S Sorry for hijacking this thread Krunk. Hopefully things will sort themselves out soon.

Also, as Fire Daemon said: sorry Krunk, that this has sort of hijacked your thread.

That's absolutely fine; you were being on-topic and I'd like a few answers too.

As for what you're talking about: Mobius got banned? I mean, this is like the fifth time he's 'left us', so I guess it's about time people shoved him out the door. I'm not surprised that he did receive a ban though; I'm more surprised that Cheeze_Pavillion didn't get banned first.

Mind you, both he and Empyrean had personal vendettas against thebobmaster and Cheeze_Pavillion.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Let me step in at this point and simply say one thing -- when deciding what disciplinary action to take, we look at a user's complete ban history, as well as their general demeanor. So, if an individual infraction doesn't look like it justified a permaban, you're usually pretty safe in assuming it's a "straw that broke the camel's back" kind of situation. If you've been banned seven times for virtually the same offense -- say, making personal insults towards other community members -- it seems pretty obvious that you're not going to change your ways. Why would we want to keep that person as a member of our community?

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

-Thanks!-

Well that's my question(s) answered.

 

[Flap Jack452]

Permanent bans of long-term users get reviewed by the actual staff. They're not unilateral action or whimsy on the part of volunteer moderators.

So what your saying is that Necroswanson's post was reviewed by whole staff in three minutes, and in that three minutes they decided to perma-ban him?
Sorry but I just find that highly, highly unlikely.

 

[flare09]

I don't know who any of these people are. I didn't even notice they were gone...

 

[sky14kemea]

Let me step in at this point and simply say one thing -- when deciding what disciplinary action to take, we look at a user's complete ban history, as well as their general demeanor. So, if an individual infraction doesn't look like it justified a permaban, you're usually pretty safe in assuming it's a "straw that broke the camel's back" kind of situation. If you've been banned seven times for virtually the same offense -- say, making personal insults towards other community members -- it seems pretty obvious that you're not going to change your ways. Why would we want to keep that person as a member of our community?

so this is why Mobius was banned?

Ok, that's fair, I can't really argue with that reasoning, but admittedly Mobius' posts were just a joke gone way too far.
About the users not changing? Is there anyway someone could make an appeal and maybe get him a trial 'un-banning'? Because I know a lot of people liked him, especially in the RP forums.

 

[Therumancer]

Okay, I have mixed opinions about this (as you might guess from some other things I've said) but I will point out that part of what makes authority work is not explaining yourself. When an authority figure winds up having to justify or explain their every action to the community they act within, the authority loses a lot of it's power and abillity to make desicians.

Now, whether such authority should exist, or the flip side arguements of the benefits of accountability are other debates. However this isn't a goverment, but a private set of forums. Whether I agree with the very idea of private platform moderation or not, it exists, and when it exists it makes sense to do it right.

Everytime there is a ban, I do not want to see 16 pages of protests and people trying to play games with the mods and their reasoning because they disagree, then the mods will spend more time justifying themselves than you know... moderating.

>>>----Therumancer--->