To the moderators of the Escapist:

[theklng]

Forum ecology? The biggest fish have to get caught eventually so others can step up to take their place.

I don't know any of these banned people. I also look forward to not knowing whoever fires off those ~50 posts/day to become the new Fat Fish of the Escapistpond.

Those people were never "famous" due to their post counts, they were "famous" due to their posts.

i disagree. they were famous due to the network they created on the escapist. very few people here post good posts; don't soil those that do with calling the escapist famous people's posts good.

Funnily enough I haven't even read the guide lines yet. I'm generally going to assume they're exactly the same as they are on every other forum.

• No spamming
  Trolling
  Flaming
  Being a moron
  Making repeat threads
  Harassing other members
  Liking 4chan etc

Just to be safe I'll go read them now, though.

i'll openly admit this: i've never read the rules. why? because i think if you're a rational human being (like most of us are), you'll stay on the good side. i've made bold statements before, but i've argued for their validity. if you know you're doing something right, then you don't need to be afraid of the banhammer.

 

[Pimppeter2]

Have any mods or rearguards ever been on probation? Before or after they got that tittle.

1 more problem I have. I was on probation for saying "HHAHAH XD" to a really funny completely okay comment. It said "Useless post" on my message. Now I don't really care seeing as I had been on probation 1 time before that but still. I don't think posts like that should be punished.

 

[lilnorris64]

Forum ecology? The biggest fish have to get caught eventually so others can step up to take their place.

I don't know any of these banned people. I also look forward to not knowing whoever fires off those ~50 posts/day to become the new Fat Fish of the Escapistpond.

Those people were never "famous" due to their post counts, they were "famous" due to their posts.

i disagree. they were famous due to the network they created on the escapist. very few people here post good posts; don't soil those that do with calling the escapist famous people's posts good.

Funnily enough I haven't even read the guide lines yet. I'm generally going to assume they're exactly the same as they are on every other forum.

• No spamming
  Trolling
  Flaming
  Being a moron
  Making repeat threads
  Harassing other members
  Liking 4chan etc

Just to be safe I'll go read them now, though.

i'll openly admit this: i've never read the rules. why? because i think if you're a rational human being (like most of us are), you'll stay on the good side. i've made bold statements before, but i've argued for their validity. if you know you're doing something right, then you don't need to be afraid of the banhammer.

agreed 100%

 

[Pimppeter2]

To the moderators of The Escapist: WAAAAAAAAH!

Hmm. I've never thought of it that way

/epiphany

 

[PurpleRain]

*Puffs Ultrapipe*

Hey? Is that my dead sea scroll! You little rapscallion!

As for Necro getting banned: I really liked that guy! I'm going to miss his devil worshiping, hate mongering ways.

This is what I like about he community. We have right wing, left wing, fanboys and not, relgious folk of different natures, homosexuals and the lot. It's a jumbled mix of fun and great people.

Also, good to see you back mshcherbatskaya. I've missed you!

 

[FrossetMareritt]

I will say that I've avoided posting more than I already have since I've noticed a slew of people being banned and put on probation left and right for (what seems like) seeming simple stuff.

In fact I'm actually nervous about posting on this thread and voicing my opinion with the rest of you. It feels like one might get banned if you question the powers that be. Kind of reminds me of the Spectres from Mass Effect, where they have so much power and no can really regulate them but themselves.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Also, good to see you back mshcherbatskaya. I've missed you!

Why thank you, Purps! It's good to be back.

 

[Radelaide]

Mods
-When you Ban someone, please leave an excuse. Mostly, as I see it, people get banned for the whole "straw on the camels back thing". When people see a post that they don't think deserved a perma-ban, they get confused. The forum I was on before here did this. Sure, it was a much smaller community but still. When 'bid-wig' posters get banned we need an explanation, even just a sentence, or else we get threads like this.

The reasons for banning are between the admins/mods and the ban-ee. The community can speculate all they want, but when it comes down to it, it's not the community's business. The only time I've ever been disciplined was when I was a new kid and got done for pyramid quoting. I read the guidelines, and accepted my punishment.

If you get banned, probation'd or suspended, you've done something wrong. Go and read the guidelines and see if your post complies with them. If you think it does, appeal the mods. If it doesn't, shut the hell up and deal with it. Don't ***** and moan about the mods/admins being unfair and acting like a two-year-old, act like a grown up and deal with it.

 

[scotth266]

To the moderators of The Escapist: WAAAAAAAAH!

You know what? THIS IS THE REASON I DID NOT WANT TO MAKE A THREAD FOR THIS.

I knew that stuff like this would happen. Already, three people have gotten themselves moderated in this thread.

Attempt to start a discourse between the moderators and community in order to relieve tension caused by recent posts, and someone will call you a whiner. Great.

...Alright, now that my head isn't throbbing with anger, let me respond properly. You seem to be under the misapprehension that we're whining to the mods. We're not. We're asking them to consider changes in moderation policy in the most appropriate fashion possible.

In fact I'm actually nervous about posting on this thread and voicing my opinion with the rest of you. It feels like one might get banned if you question the powers that be. Kind of reminds me of the Spectres from Mass Effect, where they have so much power and no can really regulate them but themselves.

It's not an issue. If the mods felt it was inappropriate, they would have deleted these posts instead of moving them into a new thread. They want to hear our opinions, and that's excellent. In fact, several mods have already posted in this thread, responding to the various questions that we have raised, which is the whole point.

 

[PurpleRain]

To the moderators of The Escapist: WAAAAAAAAH!

I'm willing to back this only because it is pretty obvious most times why someone is banned. I've never needed explaining to.

 

[Syntax Error]

Why is everybody saying Necroswanson's ban was unjust? I liked the guy and all but his post was wrong. He could have just explained himself better but he just bashed the community. I think Mobius should have been banned long ago. A lot of his posts crossed the line. I'm not sucking up to the mods, I want to tell them this.

Mods
-When you Ban someone, please leave an excuse. Mostly, as I see it, people get banned for the whole "straw on the camels back thing". When people see a post that they don't think deserved a perma-ban, they get confused. The forum I was on before here did this. Sure, it was a much smaller community but still. When 'bid-wig' posters get banned we need an explanation, even just a sentence, or else we get threads like this.

Necro's a cool guy, but in that one instance, I think he just lost it, and decided to go out with a bang. We may never know for sure.

As for the second paragraph, I seem to remember Nilcypher banning Richard Groovy Pants, not for an offending post, but he did leave a note that he wasn't bad for that post, he was banned for generally being a dick (sorry for the term), and it just so happens that that was the firs post Nil saw. Though I really give props to Richard, he made that Pimp My Sackboy gif of my Sephiroth Sackboy during Xitel's Christmas Rush (the Holiday Thread).

 

[Ghostkai]

To the moderators of The Escapist: WAAAAAAAAH!

I'm willing to back this only because it is pretty obvious most times why someone is banned. I've never needed explaining to.

Indeed, gotta be one of the fairest moderating staff I've seen to be frank. Defending people who've had 7-8 chances to change their ways isn't really gonna hold up, whether they're popular or not.

 

[scotth266]

To the moderators of The Escapist: WAAAAAAAAH!

I'm willing to back this only because it is pretty obvious most times why someone is banned. I've never needed explaining to.

Indeed, gotta be one of the fairest moderating staff I've seen to be frank. Defending people who've had 7-8 chances to change their ways isn't really gonna hold up, whether they're popular or not.

We weren't defending them: we were asking for more info on WHY they got banned. Now that we have it (for the most part), we're asking for the mods to leave messages on future bans in order to prevent future confusion.

 

[tsb247]

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--->

This is probably the most intelligent post I have seen all day.

 

[Bofus Teefus]

To the moderators of The Escapist: WAAAAAAAAH!

I'm willing to back this only because it is pretty obvious most times why someone is banned. I've never needed explaining to.

Yeah, but I think this was done respectfully enough by the OP to where the flamage is a bit misdirected, don't you think? I was one of Glefistus' whiners on the petition. I had a few questions, and thought they were articulated nicely by the OP. They were answered by the mods, who, as mentioned earlier, didn't seem to see anything wrong with the inquiry. End of story. No crying from me.

I'm not going to disagree with you that it's usually pretty obvious, but I do get curious when some of the larger players, like yourself, meet the mighty banhammer. It's because they're part of what draws me to the site.

 

[Brockyman]

Please could I be added to the list.

I was recently also wrongly put on 'Probation' for commenting on a video before watching it.
I had watched it and my comment was posted over 40 mins after the video was uploaded.
I think the moderators need to get better at their job.

This post [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.120562#2371219]? "First!" posts are strongly frowned upon by the staff.

I believe it says more than just that.

Doesn't matter. "First" posts get you disciplined.

It's days like this I'm thankful that society isn't like an internet forum... I wonder what reporters and editors would think of a some higher power came in and "disciplined"

Please could I be added to the list.

I was recently also wrongly put on 'Probation' for commenting on a video before watching it.
I had watched it and my comment was posted over 40 mins after the video was uploaded.
I think the moderators need to get better at their job.

This post [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.120562#2371219]? "First!" posts are strongly frowned upon by the staff.

I believe it says more than just that.

And yet it was the first post made after the video was published, which more than likely means you posted before watching it the whole way through.

Whether or not you chose to familiarize yourself with our forum guidelines (they're at the top of this very forum, also check Lord Krunk's helpful guide) is ultimately irrelevant. "First" posts will be penalized; this holds for every single piece of content we publish. If you chose to not familiarize yourself with these rules, it's... really not our fault.

I'm saddened to lose both Darth and Swanson but their banning posts were a little un-necessary (what they wrote).

Necro's rant on the human psyche was uncalled for - personally I would have liked to see a 30 day suspension or something similar (I know he has/had a history with moderation) but I still feel a perma-ban was a little harsh. But I suppose weight of time & posts shouldn't count for much - it's a question of post content.

Darth's last post was just stupid; I can't understand what he was trying to say (something about using christian instead of retarded), he must have known that the mods would have had a thing or two to say about that - not to mention he has/had been playing with fire more and more in his recent posts.

I can understand why the mods banned them - in all honesty they had little choice but to do it - but nevertheless I would like to see them back amongst the community. Can the mods do a perma-probation or something like that - of course it would assume that all parties are happy with the arrangement, and that they can actually be 'un-banned'.

Also in certain circumstances I would be all for a community appeal if that were possible.

As a side note, can the mods put a quick sentence at the end of a banning so as to remove any confusion. Even one like with RichardGroovyPants would be O.K. if not a little vague.

Unfortunately, popularity has no bearing on our moderation policies. If you are a repeat offender, have been warned repeatedly to stop doing something, yet persist despite all prior punishment, we must assume that you will not learn from your actions, have no desire to abide by our community forum guidelines, and as such we do not want you as a member of our community.

I think the major compliant is that we don't see what and why moderators and administrators do what they do. In the real world, if someone breaks the law, not only are they told, but the offense is on public record for everyone to see and for an example to be made.

If you place the ban on a single post that doesn't seem like it's a "big deal" without a valid explanation, you'll continue to get threads like this. A quick note on the post like "This Ban was placed after 5 probations" or "This Ban was placed due to a history of doing ______"

Honestly, many of your explanations sound more like "we did this because we said so, and if you don't like it, shove off", which really isn't a great way to address anyone. The reason I chose to quote this exchange was this was the worst example of "talking down" to someone. I agree the guy was stupid to post "first". That isn't my beef. My issue is the way this quote was stated sounds more like "do this or else" and semi-insulting speech instead of a rational and adult conversation of the issue. When I first joined, I didn't see the rules section he mentioned until a bunch of posters flamed me (none were punished by the way) for an honest mistake for not seeing something that wasn't in plain view. It could have been worded nicer, without giving the impression of superiority.

I agree we need rules, order, justice, and standards to provide civilized conversation and a successful forum. However, you have to realize that forum members are you customers, we use your product, provide traffic for you to sell advertising, and we buy from those advertisers. If you want these good people to stay, you need to be more open to their ideas and requests; such as providing reasons for a members banning. I've noticed that all admins and mods that have posted haven't address why they can't/won't post a reason. If you're never going to give us what we want, you at least need to explain why, otherwise it appears that it's more about a power-trip for mods and admins, and a lack of true customer service on your part. I don't believe that is true, but it looks that way sometimes.....

 

[Fire Daemon]

To the moderators of The Escapist: WAAAAAAAAH!

I'm willing to back this only because it is pretty obvious most times why someone is banned. I've never needed explaining to.

Indeed, gotta be one of the fairest moderating staff I've seen to be frank. Defending people who've had 7-8 chances to change their ways isn't really gonna hold up, whether they're popular or not.

7 to 8 chances? I'm pretty sure that neither Darth Mobius or TheNecroswanson had that many chances, public anyway. They may have had many warning given over private message. Even Eggo didn't have that many probations/suspensions... at least I'm sure they didn't. I remember Richard Groovy Pants having maybe 3 or 4 tumbles with the ban hammer, but not 7-8.

See, this is why I've been slightly confused about this entire thing. Darth Mobius was put on a 3 day suspension originally and then given a perma-ban for the same post, which seemed really strange to me. I did some poking around and found some other posts that were in poor taste,a nd they must have built up. Still, I wonder why they were left to build up when a moderator could have given a suspension or probation for those posts rather than letting them slide and hitting him harder later on. As he was suspended for three days and then perma-banned it may have been that a moderator noticed those posts later, and decided to add on to the punishment. Bad luck for him I suppose. This is why a reason given by the moderators would be a good thing. A simple line or two explaining what warranted Mobius' departure would have removed any confusion and this discussion wouldn't have been needed.

Still, I suppose this discussion is a good thing. The moderation team and the community need to be able to communicate every now and again for things to run smoothly. If the mods are up in the sky, people might not feel the need (or even realise) that they can be communicated and reports can be put in, reducing the moderators power and making the forums a worse place to be.

 

[PurpleRain]

To the moderators of The Escapist: WAAAAAAAAH!

I'm willing to back this only because it is pretty obvious most times why someone is banned. I've never needed explaining to.

Yeah, but I think this was done respectfully enough by the OP to where the flamage is a bit misdirected, don't you think? I was one of Glefistus' whiners on the petition. I had a few questions, and thought they were articulated nicely by the OP. They were answered by the mods, who, as mentioned earlier, didn't seem to see anything wrong with the inquiry. End of story. No crying from me.

I'm not going to disagree with you that it's usually pretty obvious, but I do get curious when some of the larger players, like yourself, meet the mighty banhammer. It's because they're part of what draws me to the site.

Oh, especially to the Escapist 1.0 crowed. Having known these people for longer like Mobius and Necro, it is more of a bigger impact to see them leave how they did. Mobius seems a nice enough guy but was homophobic and a bit egotistical which led to his banning.

The point I was agreeing with Glefistus was, most posts that you see get banned are indeed quite clear on why. Someone is casting a hate speech or making a racist/sexist/etc remark, you can't still wonder why they are banned. Other bannings are not as apparent, but a read through the rules shows clearly why. Lists and verses threads are common probabtions as well are Flamebate threads such as 'Xbox is betterer' or 'Religion sucks' etc.

 

[JC175]

To the moderators of The Escapist: WAAAAAAAAH!

You know what? THIS IS THE REASON I DID NOT WANT TO MAKE A THREAD FOR THIS.

I knew that stuff like this would happen. Already, three people have gotten themselves moderated in this thread.

Yes, I hold one of those positions, for an unfair reasoning I might add (derailing the thread, apparently) but I'm prepared to take it as its an insignificant punishment in the scheme of the moderation of the whole website.

I just hope people judge my contribution here as my first post, which was a significant contribution to the discussion, and not my second, which was intended as a lighthearted joke as a follow up to the first, aimed at the people who seemed to be taking all of this way too seriously.

 

[Deef]

I understand why Mobius was banned, he was a bit... extreme when he got angry.