Stronzo was banned?!

[naughty]

THank you, Dee.

Folks this too shall pass. Ride the storm out and see what comes on the other side....

I think what we're dealing with isn't all that far off from the ebb and flow of this place. As a former moderator, a poster of some regularity, and now more of a ghost, I just don't think this board was ever truly cut out for a strict system of moderation. If anything, I think your average everyday poster was pretty good at dealing with an unwanted troll. Either the more vocal, dominant posters would try to rout the individual, or people would just stop paying attention to the drivel, or the troll would naturally burn themselves out.

I certainly think it's helpful to have a few standards. Certainly no one appreciates Photoshopped or stolen pictures claimed to be legitimate, or a bunch of spammed messages popping up across several categories. And those are fine, but I think moderators certainly get a bad name and find their patience stretched when dealing with extra rules, guidelines, protocol, etc. That's just taxing to begin with, and that might account for the recent increase in "Shut up!"-esque type responses.

Are the moderators literally being that draconian? I'm not sure, but if it's being perceived by a fair number of people on the board, there's a problem to deal with.

That said, no easy solution exists. I wouldn't overhaul the entire moderator system, but I certainly would advise a few folks to sip on some iced tea, beat the heat, and just relax around here. Ease up.

This board has withstood many reincarnations, server problems, transfers of ownership, a variety of trolls and liars, burgeoning civil wars of sorts, and grossly exaggerated dick. I am confident that this place will continue to stand, that dissatisfied people will get over the unnecessary and move on, and that we'll all stand to learn something.

Personally, when it gets a little too hectic or crazy, I just take a break. I'm working a couple of jobs anyway and my time is limited enough as is. When I hear that a lot of silly shit is going down, I just kinda roll it off of my shoulders. The good lot of it doesn't involve me, and I don't care to involve myself in it. That, and as of now, I've grown accustomed to not sticking around the site for all that long a time per session anyway. I occasionally pop in the chat room and people aren't talking, so, hasta la vista there. I glance at the new posts and I'll comment if something strikes me. But that's basically it...

One more point to consider, and probably the hardest to consider at all.

LPSG isn't the place we've grown to love, at least not right now. Sure, some of that is just "the way of things," but maybe it's because as our membership time increases, our needs and wants and desires for this site change, too. What started out as a source of amusement for me way back when became a good place to share information -- particularly about my own developing personal views on human sexuality. That's just priceless to me, being able to learn something new and to credit that to people who have opened up my mind and shaped me in some sort of way.

So, ask yourselves that: What do you really want out of this place? What is here for you?

Whatever the answer, make that your cause for sticking around instead of blaming it on trolls or politics or whatever. When you start focusing on what matters to you more, naturally, the petty stuff can't help but fall by the wayside. And if you decide that LPSG is just too much for you to tolerate, then by all means use your Web time elsewhere (because there's a lot of good stuff out there). That's cool. You won't be blamed for doing so.

Of course, it's very much possible to say to hell with the board and to still keep in touch with people you like. Between hiatuses, I try to keep up with board friends through IM and e-mail. Naturally, I'd get a bit disinterested if we were still talking LPSG stuff -- and, of course, we'd talk on other things -- and that made me realize that the friendships established are more than just pertinent to dicks and pics.

 

[Heather LouAnna]

It's called The Large Penis Support Group.


Many of you will find it a simple messageboard, and some find it as simple jerk off material, but the name suggests that everyone should be supporting each other. Creating entire threads directed at specific members to call them out and continue arguments which will never come to solution is assinign.

 

[DC_DEEP]

A greedy old hooker named Sue,
Filled up her vagina with glue.
She said, "It's no sin,
If they pay to get in,
They'll pay to get out again, too!"

 

[Lex]

Spladle told me he doesn't know why he was banned.

On another note: when a member is banned, there is a reason listed. The Moderator Team has, up until now, assumed that this reason is what the member sees when they try to log onto the site. I am planning to test this to see if it works or not.

We sent a message to each of the members explaining the reason for the ban and the length of the ban (we do this with every ban). I just tested this functionality and there appears to be a problem with the board code. Thus, members have not been receiving notifications of a ban (along with terms) when they attempt to log in the site.

I will report this to Rob_E.

 

[Shelby]

Politics on an imaginary community. Interesting and funny.

 

[Matthew]

I'm dropping it, but it just seems if things were applied fairly, that either this would also be closed, or mine would be opened. However, not really caring for redundancy, I don't really see much point in opening mine, I'm just outlining what I again see as an arbitrary application of "fairness".

I really do understand how you would feel that way, Novice. But at this point, given the discussions that have followed about "transparency" and the like, what do you think the reaction of the board would be if this thread was now closed?

And that's a question for everyone, not just for you.

 

[B_gagger]

I just tested this functionality and there appears to be a problem with the board code.

I applaud anyone with this type of scientific wisdom in today's world. The results were well worth your effort. Continue with the clear thinking.

 

[Shelby]

Close all the threads! Now!

The world is coming to an end!!!!!!!!!!​

 

[Lex]

Close all the threads! Now!

The world is coming to an end!!!!!!!!!!​

Thanks for the thoughtful contribution, Shelby.

 

[B_Hickboy]

He NEEDED bannin'.

 

[CUBE]

Oh man, just got through these five pages. I was away for a week. ...guess I missed whatever went down. So many people on here that I enjoy reading. After last years Double Meat Whopper "death," I just did not have energy to see everyone at each other's throats anymore...maybe it left me dulled to the subtle stuff people seem to be enlarging. At any rate, after that summer, I decided there are people I just need to side-step because they don't seem to have positive comments (ever)...but such is life.

As an invisible member here who goes by without much notice, the only time I want someone to be reminded about manners is when the hate words spring up. Other than that I guess I can view a wide range of comments as the nature of a forum.

I hope the fellows come back and others move on past this fatigue. I'm getting back to the cock stuff now...that is why I came in the first place. Hugs to you all. CUBE

 

[ManiacalMadMan]

We sent a message to each of the members explaining the reason for the ban and the length of the ban (we do this with every ban). I just tested this functionality and there appears to be a problem with the board code. Thus, members have not been receiving notifications of a ban (along with terms) when they attempt to log in the site.

I will report this to Rob_E.

Well isn't that sweet? No offense meant here; but, wouldn't someone of you in the upper levels of management had the common sense and foresight to have at least tried out this code nonsense? Just try it out by having a fictional moderators only account which only moderators and the owner could ever post in and which would have but one purpose, wherein you could test all manner of things including whether or not banning messages get through. What you are in essence telling us is that Stronzo, Spladle and any others are being blocked with no real idea just why

 

[ceg1526]

...this too shall pass. Ride the storm out and see what comes on the other side....

Dee, that was an excellent post, and a good comment Naughty. However, once the storm has passed, you go out, observe the damage, and repair what needs to be fixed.

This particular storm seems to have unearthed the need for a Sticky with the bannee and the reason for his/her banishment, particularly for someone with numerous posts. A simple one liner would suffice, and the Sticky can come down in a week or two. I work three on and four off, and often miss whole threads when I don't check in daily. I was surprised to see Stronzo banned, and the first thing I thought of was "Why?" Mods, please keep us informed. I understand the decision is final, and I accept that, but I'd like to know the rationale.

I don't want to see Alex or Bronxy go, but it's always their choice. I encourage them to stay and work within the system, to try and change it. At the minute, just like the next chapter in a novel, I want to see what happens next, so I plan on staying.

Take care

Ceg

 

[Lex]

Well isn't that sweet? No offense meant here; but, wouldn't someone of you in the upper levels of management had the common sense and foresight to have at least tried out this code nonsense? Just try it out by having a fictional moderators only account which only moderators and the owner could ever post in and which would have but one purpose, wherein you could test all manner of things including whether or not banning messages get through. What you are in essence telling us is that Stronzo, Spladle and any others are being blocked with no real idea just why

There is a Mod Forum and a Trash Can--both of which are invisible to you.

Rob_E handles the technical stuff (mods don't have access to the board code) and since this is the FIRST time we've heard of this, we assumed with 130 previous bannings that things were working. We can only know that something is not working if someone says so.

I am sure that anyone with any real ability to self-reflect can look back upon their actions on the board see why they were banned.

I heard there was a problem. I tested the problem. I have reported it to the owner. That being said, the broken code would not have changed any of these decisions, nor will it prevent other decisions from being made. We will fix it and move on.

Thanks for your constructive feedback.

 

[novice_btm]

... We can only know that something is not working if someone says so...

Um, devil's advocate... How, or for that matter why, would a banned member notify someone that this feature wasn't working. And until now, I don't know how many people knew that there was such a feature to do any notifying if they'd been banned. Not being a smartass, just an observation.

 

[AlteredEgo]

By the way, BBS, I can't believe you didn't take him to task over his "porch monkeys" comment.

Never saw it.

 

[B_big dirigible]

And the mass exodus begins...

We've seen it before. The last time, a bunch of the loudest to embark on their personal hegiras immediately reappeared - as moderators. So in a very real sense, the current crisis is merely a perpetuation of the previous one.

 

[D_Sheffield Thongbynder]

I debated whether I would voice an opinion here, but after reading this thread, I feel I need to comment. 1) There's no doubt that the issue of banning and how it is implemented needs to be reviewed. Without pointing an accusatory finger or defending any banned posters, it has to be clear to everyone that the process needs tweaking (some good suggestions were offered); the amount of gnashing of teeth here verifies that. 2) Some posters want nothing more than a "look-at-my-big-cock-let's-suck/fuck" site. There's something to be said for that. This site, however, is much more than that, and I wonder if people realize just how good this place was. I have not encountered on the internet or in real life any other forum in which gays/str8s/men/women of varying ages interact so interestingly and fluidly. To make sarcastic comments that it's not real life diminishes the friendships I have formed here and the amount of personal growth I have experienced. There is an amazing number of articulate, witty, informed, intelligent posters here who, while they may joke around and prefer a lighthearted tone to the site, offer insights and knowledge that reveal they actually want more from the site. 3) To say that this is just another cycle and that it will reinvent itself may be true. I am relatively new and don't know about the past problems. I do know, however, that Alex8 and MZ will not be replaced; others may try to live up to their standards, but they won't for me. Personnel makes businesses run. 4) This isn't a democracy no matter what some posters want. It's a privately owned business. It's Ford Motor Company's management that decides what it wants to be. I may prefer an Explorer to an Escort, but if Ford decides it wants to make Escorts instead of Lincolns, I have no choice but to look elsewhere. If this site wants to be nothing more than a Squirt.org or any number of other sex sites, no one is putting a gun to my head to stick around if I want more from it. To want more from this site is MY expectation, not Rob's. Last) I have lived with Big Brother for some time. If an email comes with this sentence -- "The Pope decries rape" -- it is quarantineed. I loathe censorship. This place is not guilty of that level of intrusion, but it seems to be increasing judging on the latest bannings. To ban pedophiles, outrageous trolls, and underage members is prudent; to ban members for disagreeing with one another or using heated language is too Orwellian, IMO.

Ok, done venting. I feel saddened by the changes occurring here.

 

[ManiacalMadMan]

Um, devil's advocate... How, or for that matter why, would a banned member notify someone that this feature wasn't working.

That is an interesting point considering that a banned person no longer has the ability to send any PMs out and since we have now been told that names and home addresses of persons are in the hands of moderators through the whole IPO stuff it means the person would not even be able to re-register under a new identity. This gets better all the time! Well, I guess we will now have to wait and see if the whole broken code thing Lex_Moderator has spoken of will at least for now fix the problem...

 

[Lex]

That is an interesting point considering that a banned person no longer has the ability to send any PMs out and since we have now been told that names and home addresses of persons are in the hands of moderators through the whole IPO stuff it means the person would not even be able to re-register under a new identity. This gets better all the time! Well, I guess we will now have to wait and see if the whole broken code thing Lex_Moderator has spoken of will at least for now fix the problem...

We do not have your names and home addresses. Nor do we want them.

Think back: Did you submit your name and home address when you registered here?

Let's try not to be histrionic, okay?