This is the third current thread on this very issue. Coincidence? Or is it finally becoming a matter of serious concern?
Correction - fourth current thread; one seems to have been removed. So, more accurately, fourth recent thread, as the expunged one isn't current.
One moderator has spoken up and she did a very good job. I'll explain some more that I hope will help. What gets you banned.
1. Underage - I haven't gone through the log and done a mathematical accurately statistic, but over half of those banned are under aged.
2. Spamming - The second largest group of people being banned are spammers. Spammers are people who come here to sell a product. Here is where the problem lies. A member who makes seemingly good points on several forums to cover for the big spam thread on another forum and gets banned. if you didn't read the post with the incriminating evidence, you don't know why this particular person was banned.
3. Trolling - This is where I sympathize with the members who don't have all the information. Several have been banned for trolling, not on the public forum, but in the chat room, which is a place I never visit. Some have been banned for trolling through private messages. The membership would not know that information.
Is the problem solvable? Depends on whether the owner, the mods and the members want public disclosure on why each member is banned. Do we want or how easy would it be to put in the avatar, I was banned for trolling. I was banned for being underage. etc.
Those banned get a message which they can retrieve that tells them why they have been banned.
As long as there is no public disclosure listing those banned and the reasons for the ban, I don't know if this perception can be fixed if you are one to automatically assume the worst for those of us who are moderators.
I am a human being. So are the other mods. Those being banned for trolling are the ones that I believe have the membership wondering. Why? The definition of trolling requires a study of evidence and a ruling. It is not like underage which is cut and dried. We know the guy is 16, there is nothing to do but ban. But trolling. Is John Doe trolling or not? Again, if you don't know about the private messages, the chats or you missed the posts where the trolling was done, you have to wonder. And I do understand why sometimes you look up and think, "Why in the hell was John Doe banned? He was always so nice in the Healthy Penis Forum." But over in ETC where maybe you never go, it is a totally different situation.
I don't know if this helps. I don't mind discussing this with the members who will really read what I have to say and will with an open mind discuss pros and cons of how to moderate the board.
As a mod, my concern, is that while some have consistently complained and BD you are one of them, I haven't read solutions to how members believe moderating should be done. Complaints about the present system don't mean much without dialogue on how moderating should be done.
If it is just a bitching party, I don't think any mod is interested in attending such a party. But a true dialogue is something I will participate in.
I will close with this one last thought. This board is not ours. We think it is ours. We act like it is ours. It is not. The board and everything printed here is the property of Rob E. the owner. The rules changed when Mark sold this to Rob E. I am not trying to pass the buck. I am stating the obvious. Rob E. can relieve any mod anytime he so wishes. He is the owner. All mods serve at the pleasure of Rob E.
I am not in the least implying that Rob is ruling this place with a hard thumb. Far from it. I am stating that he apparently is pleased with the job the mods are doing. Rob has not complained once in the way we have handled the banning of members. I don't recall him even making any suggestions. I am strongly suggesting though that he is pleased with how the mods are running this forum.
This is a long post. And I may not have answered your questions. I hope though that you can see that I truly am interested in how you feel about the board and more importantly your suggestions on how to make it better. Again, a complaint without giving a possible solution doesn't carry much weight. Better to suggest a solution that won't work, then to complain and offer no solutions at all.
