What's with all the ban requests?

[BloatedGuppy]

It's adding an element of suspense to the forum. Who's going to flounce off next?

It's like the last seasons of Lost where the characters started dropping like flies.

A poor analogy. If it were like the last season of Lost, it would turn out those posters had actually quit years ago.

OT: As always, making a long angry diatribe about why you are never ever ever ever ever going to visit these parts again puts you in the running for...

People are permitted to come and go as they please, of course, and their reasons may vary from spiteful and supercilious to heartfelt and justly motivated. It's just very difficult to depart with dignity when you make a big spectacle of yourself in the process.

Of course, simply having a snit and then leaving a website because it no longer parlayed the kind of content you found enjoyable isn't really enough to put you in the winners bracket for a Golden Flounce Award these days. To do that, you'd need to drum up a grassroots consumer movement, target their advertisers, and accuse them of corruption and covert attempts to control the narrative.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

To me, it's the same type of behavior I see at my work all the time.

"I swear to God, I am NEVER shopping at Target again!" The customer will yell, scream, threaten, and turn to other people around to vent, hoping to get some sort of support or acknowledgement. This does nothing but make them look like a child to everyone, and it's the same thing here.
Just leaving, logging out and never coming back, sends a stronger message I feel. It's akin to standing up and walking out of a meeting as opposed to shouting and throwing a chair when you leave the meeting. People realize how serious you are when you act cool and calculating, not like a two year old.

 

[Silvanus]

I guess? I dunno, personally I think the more effective way to make your dislike of a situation known is to...you know...tell people regularly about it, in a public forum...like this place. But taking your voice out of the discussion seems contrary to that result. *shrugs*

Presumably, people asking for a ban aren't willing to commit themselves to trying to affect the course of the forum. I can't honestly blame them; I came here because I felt the place suited me, rather than because I wanted to change it.

Just leaving, logging out and never coming back, sends a stronger message I feel. It's akin to standing up and walking out of a meeting as opposed to shouting and throwing a chair when you leave the meeting. People realize how serious you are when you act cool and calculating, not like a two year old.

Without a message, those forumites who they've come to recognise them will take notice, but others-- and management, who want a lively community too, but may not actively engage too often-- most likely won't.

 

[CrystalShadow]

I've seen it before, and it may not be quite what you think.

Not everyone has a huge amount of self control, so if they aren't banned, they have a hard time resisting the urge to come back to the forums and repeating whatever actions made them feel they needed to get away from them in the first place.

Not saying that's everyone's reasons, but it's been the reason for most of the people I've known personally that did it.

 

[chadachada123]

The attention-whoring is my biggest issue with it. If you simply never wanted to come here again, it'd be a lot simpler to just alter your HOSTS file to prevent The Escapist from even connecting to your PC. THAT'S the way to do it.

 

[Jonabob87]

People loooooooooooooooove drama, and people who love drama also tend to over-estimate how many fucks people give about their stances on things. It's just attention seeking, at heart.

 

[snekadid]

I don't know, it seems like the internet forum equivalent of the Buddhist monks self-immolating. Protesting in something that has more power than just walking away. I mean I don't see this site caring about a whole lot more than advertisement credit.

To be fair, they have a point. I haven't seen much improvement on this site, actually competent people making the "top 8 lists" was a nice touch, and the over all quality has dropped like a stone.

 

[Evonisia]

Because instead of just leaving and not coming back, these people want us and the Escapist to know how much they don't care anymore.

'I AM NEVER COMING BACK... EVER!!! *slams door*'

Look at Zachary Amaranth... He just left in the quiet of the night without saying a word. That's how you leave.

Though one of his last posts was about account closure or something like that, before deciding to sod it and disappear. Still, his is one of the more tragic ways to go. I actually thought a few weeks back "hey, where's he gone" and then I was like "Oh. Oh damn."

OT: Attention seeking. Personally if I were to go I'd just stop posting and if the site got better I'd still probably have my account. Plus I'm incredibly disillusioned to it as I am a member of the EU WoW Forums, and you get an "I'm quitting" thread every few days.

 

[happyninja42]

I guess? I dunno, personally I think the more effective way to make your dislike of a situation known is to...you know...tell people regularly about it, in a public forum...like this place. But taking your voice out of the discussion seems contrary to that result. *shrugs*

But by continuing to come here, the Escapist still gets the ad revenue for their clicks. So they are protesting by not financially supporting the website any longer. Obviously, they feel that the site will do whatever it wants so what's the point in continuing to try?

But you dont have to get yourself banned to stop giving the site ad clicks, just stop going to the site. xD

 

[FirstNameLastName]

Why walk away with some dignity when you can stamp your feet like a child and slam the door on your way out?

 

[Kajin]

I'm gonna have to disagree with people who think it's incredibly stupid. The best way to get a business to change it's methods is to just stop patronizing said business. These users disagree with the direction the Escapist is heading in. Publicly requesting a permaban is the best way to go about it. Sure it's dramatic, but it gets the point across better than simply no longer visiting.

Call it stupid or petty or infantile all you want, but it's the right of the consumer to let their feelings be known when they feel a business is no longer performing to the standards they feel it should.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

There's a user named "CumWaffles" hahahahaha.

Anyway, It is a bit melodramatic but I don't really have anything against it. I just find it funny. And as Kajin said, everyone should have the right to protest whatever they want in the way they want.

 

[JoJo]

It's adding an element of suspense to the forum. Who's going to flounce off next?

It's like the last seasons of Lost where the characters started dropping like flies.

That or the film Downfall, we must be at the stage where people are starting to give up hope and are committing forum suicide in their droves while the top continue to plan new manoeuvres in vain

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Sounds to me like the internet equivalent of throwing a temper tantrum and storming out. Now I've noticed a number of you have said that it's supposidly the best way to get the message accross that you're displeased with the what's happening to the Escapist and content and policies and whatever. Ok, so what happens if the Escapist gets the message and once again becomes the site we all want it to be with excellent content and whatever, then what? You're still banned. You can still lurk I suppose, but it's still going to severally limit your ability to enjoy the fruits of your protest.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

The attention-whoring is my biggest issue with it. If you simply never wanted to come here again, it'd be a lot simpler to just alter your HOSTS file to prevent The Escapist from even connecting to your PC. THAT'S the way to do it.

I don't understand how or why you mock loud protests when you have a Vivian James avatar, the mascot of a large and loud internet protest.

Sounds to me like the internet equivalent of throwing a temper tantrum and storming out. Now I've noticed a number of you have said that it's supposidly the best way to get the message accross that you're displeased with the what's happening to the Escapist and content and policies and whatever. Ok, so what happens if the Escapist gets the message and once again becomes the site we all want it to be with excellent content and whatever, then what? You're still banned. You can still lurk I suppose, but it's still going to severally limit your ability to enjoy the fruits of your protest.

Same can be said of destruction of property during protests in real life. It makes people pay attention when they otherwise wouldn't have.

 

[babinro]

Internal metrics will show the flow of traffic.
Simply not visiting the escapist anymore sends the message more so than a ban.

Bans might reflect loss of numbers for a different internal reason which then goes against what the person is trying to accomplish. Permabans will statistically put you on the same list as spammers, sellers, etc.

Bottom line: Best way to send a message is to post a thread about why you're leaving then actually leave. Internal stats monitor activity so saying that you'll leave only to keep coming back will either accomplish nothing or send the message that you're now happy with the site since you've returned.

 

[Areloch]

Of course, the other option is to just simply make a post calmly and rationally going "Hey, I'm not satisfied with where the site is going anymore, so I won't be coming back"

That's a perfectly acceptable method to voice your displeasure. Throwing down a post horrible enough to suicide-by-mod, however, is sad and childish.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Well it's not like these people actually leave. With no offense to the Escapist, all the new, created in the last few weeks accounts aren't new people, especially with so many top tier shows leaving.

It's the same now banned people starting over, hoping their politically inspired forum suicide rustled a few jimmies.
But its not like they're gone. BilltheExample89 is still here, he's just going by 89ExamplesofBill now.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Ok, so you don't like the way the site is going any more, and you don't "want your voice to be heard here any longer".....ok? So...just stop coming to the site? Seriously, I don't understand the requests to be permabanned I'm seeing all over the place now. Is it some attempt to show them how many people are directly leaving so they have some metrics of lost members? 'Cause I don't think they're really going to care. Is it some form of protest? Odd format, since it removes your ability to have your voice heard in protest on the site that you have issues with.

Seriously, I just don't get this bit of intentional internet drama.

It's not so much drama as really a point of interest. Look, if I were to leave this site anyone who cared could look upon my departure in a number of lights: Maybe I'd simply run short of cash and couldn't renew my Pub Club. Maybe I'd moved house to an area without reliable Interwebs. Maybe I'd recently got married or had a kid or done one of those pesky family orientated magubbins. Or maybe I'd become dissatisfied with the way the site was being run. The point is no-one would know for sure why I'd left. But if I made a formal request saying "please ban me" I'd be saying I no longer have any wish to come back here.

TL;DR: It's kinda the difference between not voting and placing a vote of no confidence.

 

[RanD00M]

Sites gone to shit and when you're banned there is nothing to draw you back to the forums.

I'm guessing it's a last attempt to get some attention seeing how the people wanting the banned were nobodies on here.

Furburt was not a nobody on this site.