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Banned from Conspiracy Theories

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  • 07-03-2015 1:26pm
    #1
    RecordStraight
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,292 ✭✭✭


    Hi there - I've been banned from Conspiracy theories for 'personal abuse' for the following comment at the end of a post:
    You have to laugh sometimes at the absolute rubbish people post here that they must know is rubbish.
    Note that:

    1. This was a criticism of posts, not posters.
    2. No particular post was singled out.
    3. No poster was mentioned, quoted or indicated.

    I fail to see how criticising (nonsense) posts is 'personal abuse', which, by definition requires that I abuse a person.

    I contacted Degrassinoel immediately I received the ban and pointed this out, but he has failed to reply for whatever reason, so I'm moving to the DRP.

    Thanks.

    Edit: Degrassinoel has replied, noting that this dispute has been opened, and I have encouraged him to take the opportunity to address the issue at hand. With luck, this dispute may be closed.

    Edit 2: Ok, he has indicated he has no interest in dealing with the issue, and has basically indicated I'm wasting my time opening this dispute. Probably he knows something I don't, but I'll see if there's any pretence of fairness in this system anyway.


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    #2
    Tokyo
    Politics Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,655 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tokyo


    Hi RecordStraight,

    Thank you for informing me that you have taken the steps to try and resolve this with the moderator in question. I'll take a look into this later today and get back to you. Please bear in mind however that it's the weekend, and it may take some time to get in contact with the various parties involved.

    In the meantime, can you forward me the relevant PMs that you have exchanged with the moderator in question?

    Regards,
    Mike


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    #3
    RecordStraight
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,292 ✭✭✭RecordStraight


    The relevant PMs have been forwarded.


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    #4
    Tokyo
    Politics Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,655 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tokyo


    PMs received, thank you. I'll look over them, and I'll post back here as soon as I have heard from all parties and have the full picture. Until then, I appreciate your patience.


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    #5
    RecordStraight
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,292 ✭✭✭RecordStraight


    Incidentally, I've looked over the PM where I was told of the ban and realised I forgot to mention this bit:
    This is personal abuse, you were warned previously about this. If it happens again it's a permanent ban. Post Deleted.

    This is a lie. I have never been warned for personal abuse on the CT forum.

    The only issue I've ever had on the the CT forum was having a thread locked because Degrassinoel was not happy with the tone of it, as it pointed out that one event subject to many conspiracy theories (the Boston Bombing) was indeed a conspiracy, but it was a conspiracy involving the Tsarnaev brothers rather then the US government.


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    #6
    Tokyo
    Politics Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,655 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tokyo


    Hi RecordStraight,

    I have spoken to Degrassinoel who also forwarded on your PM exchange, and have read through your posts in the Conspiracy Theories Forum, and have a better picture of the situation now, and the events leading up to your ban.

    To address your argument as to why you feel a moderator action wasn't warranted.
    1. This was a criticism of posts, not posters.
    2. No particular post was singled out.
    3. No poster was mentioned, quoted or indicated.

    I fail to see how criticising (nonsense) posts is 'personal abuse', which, by definition requires that I abuse a person.


    Unfortunately, I disagree. While we can argue around the wording of what you said all day, what your post in that thread basically boils down to is this - you stated your opinion on thread, and then followed it up with your closing sentence, "You have to laugh sometimes at the absolute rubbish people post here that they must know is rubbish.", effectively rubbishing other posters opinions on the thread. It most certainly is a criticism of posters who have posted opinions in the thread that you don't agree with. And you don't have to single out a particular poster or quote a post when you are applying such an opinion to an entire subset of the forum.

    This is in direct contravention of the forum charter, which explicitly states:
    "This isn't a competition. If you're here to win arguments, you're probably in the wrong place. If you're here to mock or antagonize others for what they believe, you're definitely in the wrong place."

    and
    "Please don't use sweeping generalisations which indirectly attack or belittle other posters here."

    A similar style of posting was brought to your attention in this thread where you posted to call into question other people's theories without presenting an argument of your own, so was Degrassinoel correct to action it this time round - yes he was. As to the wording of the reason behing the ban - personal abuse - moderators are limited to a short list of offences to choose from when issuing an infraction or ban (there is no custom option). I might have chosen 'Breach of Forum Charter' myself, but I can see why the moderator in question felt that 'personal abuse' was an appropriate card to issue here. It was a dig at other posters whose opinions you didn't agree with.

    I have spoken to Degrassinoel via PM about the ban and its length. While I don't have a problem with a moderator applying a week long ban to a disruptive poster to let them cool their heels, you have a quite low post count in Conspiracy Theories and just one moderator warning under your belt, and as such, I am inclined to err on the side of caution and believe for now that rather than being disruptive, you may simply not get the spirit of the forum yet, and what is an acceptable posting strategy within it.

    That in mind, myself and the moderator both agree that the ban can be lifted, and replaced with an infraction on the post in question. Because there is no doubt for me that it was an actionable statement.

    If you are agreeable to this, let me know, and I'll lift the ban immediately, and if you wish, I will change the wording of the infraction to 'Breach of Forum Charter' rather than 'Personal Abuse', if that's what you prefer. If not, then as always you have the option of escalating this to an administrator.

    Regards,
    Mike


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    #7
    RecordStraight
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,292 ✭✭✭RecordStraight


    Cheers Mike. I'll happily take the correct infraction for the post. I still disagree that there was any personal abuse involved (unless we broaden the term to a degree that it becomes meaningless) but I can accept that it was in breach of the forum charter based on the moderator's interpretation of same.


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    #8
    Tokyo
    Politics Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,655 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tokyo


    No worries, RecordStraight, and I appreciate you seeing things from the moderator's perspective too. I've lifted your forum ban, and infracted the post in question. I would however suggest, taking a read of the forum charter before posting in Conspiracy Theories in future.

    I'll ask admin to mark this as resolved.

    Regards,
    Mike


This discussion has been closed.
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