Banned from NW forum

CountingCrows

Hello,

Yesterday I was banned from Region/North West/Sligo by muffler.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055202425

"You are banned for persistent off topic posting, arguing with a mod and generally acting the clown."

I accept the charge of acting the clown however I don't consider it a banning offence. Plenty of my posts are light hearted comments which hopefully make some people giggle while other posts are attempts to share information and help requests.

I have had a number of run-ins with muffler as I don't agree with his "iron fist" approach to moderating. A number of posters have had issues with the moderating of this forum and it was agreed to add a native Sligo mod to this forum (Gillie).

The "sligo" mod warned me not to go off topic which i accepted, issue closed.
Unfortunately not - after this muffler stepped in and banned me.

Can you please deliberate on this

togster

You deserved it. Iron fist or not muffler and gillie asked you to take it to feedback and you persisted in your jibes.

CountingCrows

After Gillie's warning, I didn't go off topic or argue with anyone.

biko

CountingCrows wrote: »

Can you please deliberate on this

Are you asking for Muffler? Did you PM him asking for a reason?
I think the reason is pretty straight forward "You are banned for persistent off topic posting, arguing with a mod and generally acting the clown." It seems to me you broke the camels back with that latest stunt.
Btw, I don't know you so can't say how much clowning you been up to in that forum.

jor el

CountingCrows wrote: »

I accept the charge of acting the clown however I don't consider it a banning offence.

You'll probably find that most people don't think that what they did was deserving of a ban. However, it's not up to you. If you accept that you were acting the clown then why shouldn't you be banned for it? You were even warned, so a ban is the next step.

You should PM the mods in question with a link to this thread if you want them to comment.

CountingCrows

jor el wrote: »

You'll probably find that most people don't think that what they did was deserving of a ban. However, it's not up to you. If you accept that you were acting the clown then why shouldn't you be banned for it? You were even warned, so a ban is the next step.

You should PM the mods in question with a link to this thread if you want them to comment.

As I said earlier, I have locked horns with the mod in question before so I thought by using this forum I might be able to receive an objective decision on my banning.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Yea the mods in the Sligo forum could relax on the rules a little, a little off topic conversation never hurt anyone, espically seeing as there is very little activity on the forum.

togster

Hail 2 Da Chimp wrote: »

Yea the mods in the Sligo forum could relax on the rules a little, a little off topic conversation never hurt anyone, espically seeing as there is very little activity on the forum.

Yes but then he should have started a thread in feedback about it (which he was advised to do). He's here complaining about the ban. That was deserved. The forum does appear a little strict though,

cornbb

I see no reason for banning people for joking around a little on regional forums, especially quiet ones. Seeing people banned tends to put off new posters. And the OP was quite helpful after the warning from Gillie.

jhegarty

it wasn't off-topic , it was humor about the topic , a very different thing.... seem a very harsh ban to me...

6th

jhegarty wrote: »

it wasn't off-topic , it was humor about the topic , a very different thing.... seem a very harsh ban to me...

Thats fair enough but when a mod has already asked for it to stop?

tallaght01

seems harsh to me too, but what would i know about the ways of Sligo people

Gone West

jhegarty wrote: »

it wasn't off-topic , it was humor about the topic , a very different thing.... seem a very harsh ban to me...

Ditto.
Someone didn't get enough hugs when they were growing up!

6th

It doesnt matter which forum it is really.

Arguing about moderation in the forum is a well known no-no. Then a mod says take it to feed back and another comment is thrown in .... thats a paddlin'

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Sligo beers coming up. I might just go along to stir things up between Muffler and Counting_Crows, every time the make eye contact i'm gonna shout "fight fight fight!"

CountingCrows

I'm afraid to comment on any of these replies in case it prejudices my case!

jhegarty

6th wrote: »

It doesnt matter which forum it is really.

Arguing about moderation in the forum is a well known no-no. Then a mod says take it to feed back and another comment is thrown in .... thats a paddlin'

It's a online message board, not communist Russia.....

It's not as if boards will descend into chaos because of posters like this....

6th

jhegarty wrote: »

It's a online message board, not communist Russia.....

It's not as if boards will descend into chaos because of posters like this....

Ok so lets just say fuck all the charters etc ... its only the internet? Should we over turn all the other bannings while we're at it too?

cornbb

6th wrote: »

Ok so lets just say fuck all the charters etc ... its only the internet? Should we over turn all the other bannings while we're at it too?

Charters are there to be interpreted, not enforced with an iron fist. A bit of common sense is vital. Maintaining the good humour, good nature and good conversation in a forum is far more important than smacking down on every perceived charter violation, IMO. Such bannings are necessary in places like PI or Politics all the time but should be reserved for proper outright muppets in quieter forums.

Having said that, how the Sligo forum is run is up to its moderators and I respect that, the rest of us can only add our 2 cents.

takola

It's a bit harsh IMO. I was reading the thread at the time, Hadn't realised you'd actually been banned CC. What was the point in Muffler replying if he'd already banned you? And in all fairness once Gillie gave the warning everything was kept strictly on topic.

It's a little off-putting and I tend to not post in the Sligo forum much as everything has to be kept so strictly on topic. I remember seeing a warning in the Clarence thread because the guys were discussing the Club rather than hotel. Which was ridiculous IMO and obviously the Mod wasn't familiar with it!

So I do agree with Hail and CC, It is ruled with an "iron fist" which does in turn takes any fun out of posting there. It's a quiet enough forum at the end of the day, and mostly it's the regular posters posting. There's no need to have everything serious at all times.

But that's just my 2cents!

Gillie

Look i'm not here to fight anyones corner but the Mod in question is following the rules of the Forum.

In the case of the Clarence Hotel Thread he admitted that he was unaware that there was a nightclub there and it was at that point that I was selected as a mod since I would be more familiar with Sligo than the other two mods.
In fairness the thread was not closed.

Now in fairness there is a lot of off-topic posting in the NW fora and according to the rules of the forum this is punishable by death err.. I mean infractions/bannings. The mods are simply following the rules laid out in the charter.

The Sligo forum has been really taking off as of late and we really don't need the hassle!
There's no reason why ppl can't start new threads if they feel they are going off-topic.
If we (the mods) feel that a merge is necessary we'll do so.

Comments?

Spades

a ban is OTT, the main reason i joined this site was for humor and to learn a little,for example i have picked up on usefull tips in motors , but honetly it was more for the humor. If every conversation stayed on topic it would be very boring.

6th

Spades wrote: »

a ban is OTT, the main reason i joined this site was for humor

Then may I suggest AH, Lolocaust & the humor forum? ...... or PI

Hagar

Gillie wrote: »

The mods are simply following the rules laid out in the charter...Comments?

The Mods wrote the Charter.

Spades

6th wrote: »

Then may I suggest AH, Lolocaust & the humor forum? ...... or PI

good man, thats more like it;)

DeVore

How long is the ban for?

DeV.

muffler

DeVore wrote: »

How long is the ban for?

DeV.

Until he gives me assurances that he is willing and capable of being a bit more mature and serious with his posts and stops the piss taking.

In saying that I will see how quickly I recover from the session on Friday next and I could be full of Xmas cheer and all that jazz

CountingCrows

muffler wrote: »

Until he gives me assurances that he is willing and capable of being a bit more mature and serious with his posts and stops the piss taking.

In saying that I will see how quickly I recover from the session on Friday next and I could be full of Xmas cheer and all that jazz

I suppose one mans "piss taking" is another mans humour

6th

CountingCrows wrote: »

I suppose one mans "piss taking" is another mans humour

Well then go use the humor forum will you are waiting out your ban?

Hagar

Thanks for the business, I'll drop the envelope over later.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Whatever the resolution here, I would like the mods to take a bit of a more relaxed position with the posts in future as the Sligo forum has seen a drop off in posts recently.
I'd like to see a lot more people posting / having the craic on the lead up to the Christmas beers espically.

Gazza376

Hail 2 Da Chimp wrote: »

Whatever the resolution here, I would like the mods to take a bit of a more relaxed position with the posts in future as the Sligo forum has seen a drop off in posts recently.
I'd like to see a lot more people posting / having the craic on the lead up to the Christmas beers espically.

Mods were put on here for a reason, to make sure everyone obeys the rules and stays on topic. If we let everyone go off topic there could be chaos.

But my opinion on the ban is that he was piss taking and going off topic, was asked to stay on topic and stop the piss taking, which he didn't, so he had the ban coming to him.

Thats my opinion.:)

CountingCrows

Gazza376 wrote: »

Mods were put on here for a reason, to make sure everyone obeys the rules and stays on topic. If we let everyone go off topic there could be chaos.

But my opinion on the ban is that he was piss taking and going off topic, was asked to stay on topic and stop the piss taking, which he didn't, so he had the ban coming to him.

Thats my opinion.:)

After my warning, I didn't "take the piss", I actually tryed to be helpful to the OP plus if you check you'll see that it was a mod who went off slighly off topic.

DeVore

muffler wrote: »

Until he gives me assurances that he is willing and capable of being a bit more mature and serious with his posts and stops the piss taking.

In saying that I will see how quickly I recover from the session on Friday next and I could be full of Xmas cheer and all that jazz

6th wrote: »

Well then go use the humor forum will you are waiting out your ban?

CountingCrows wrote: »

After my warning, I didn't "take the piss", I actually tryed to be helpful to the OP plus if you check you'll see that it was a mod who went off slighly off topic.

You know.... between those three posts, I'm beginning to formulate the basis for a brilliant solution...


DeV.

WhiteWashMan

annex sligo and let it drift out to sea?

Feelgood

Have to say also being a noob to boards, while the mods do a decent job and are fair in most cases sometimes it can feel slightly like a virtual Auschwitz, i.e. keep the head down and mind your tongue or Herr moderator will send you to the gas chamber..

I completely understand that the whole private site thing etc etc, but I think as we can gather that forums are generally a place to engage in conversation and to the best of my knowledge human interaction involves consistently off topic conversations, i.e. crap weather we are having, are you all set for xmas etc etc.

Are there not some instances were mods should just let us trod on and only intervene when it starts to get out of hand. In this instance the op was only really poking a bit of fun at the local nightclub, with a fellow sligo brother. Think we have all done that at some stage.

WhiteWashMan

Feelgood wrote: »

Have to say also being a noob to boards, while the mods do a decent job and are fair in most cases sometimes it can feel slightly like a virtual Auschwitz, i.e. keep the head down and mind your tongue or Herr moderator will send you to the gas chamber..

I completely understand that the whole private site thing etc etc, but I think as we can gather that forums are generally a place to engage in conversation and to the best of my knowledge human interaction involves consistently off topic conversations, i.e. crap weather we are having, are you all set for xmas etc etc.

Are there not some instances were mods should just let us trod on and only intervene when it starts to get out of hand. In this instance the op was only really poking a bit of fun at the local nightclub, with a fellow sligo brother. Think we have all done that at some stage.

I agree. But remember, not all mods have been here for a long time, and not all of them have been mods for a while. Some 'breaking in' time sometimes needs to happen.
The fact that the mods on the NW forum say they are only going by the charter may not be aware that they can in fact chuck out the charter, and create their own, may be an indicator that some leanring needs to take place. You do what you want in your own forum you mod, as long as in the whole it stands by the whole spirit of Boards.ie.

After a while, it becomes obvious which forums are are more easy going, and which arent.
Personally, im of the belief that the more you allow discussion to take place, and the more active you are in a forum, the more it grows. If you lay down rigid and unbending rules, you tend to find that many people drift away. Thats not to say they die, they could be replaced by 20 more people, but you get the idea.

In this instance, my advice to the moderators would be to rebuild the charter as a guideline, rather than a strict rule, and allow the users to dictate what is acceptable. They are usually vocal enough when they feel something is wrong
after all, we are only here to facilitate their discussions. Not curb them. I think the term moderator is incorrect tbh. Forum administrators would be more appropriate.

Feelgood

WhiteWashMan wrote: »

I think the term moderator is incorrect tbh. Forum administrators would be more appropriate.

I could think of at least 50 other things to call ye after my banning from AH tonight WWM....:D

nanook

DeVore wrote: »

You know.... between those three posts, I'm beginning to formulate the basis for a brilliant solution...


DeV.

we are intrigued, please elaborate, and hopefully it does not include nuking the NW

Hagar

DeVore wrote: »

You know.... between those three posts, I'm beginning to formulate the basis for a brilliant solution...


DeV.

Sorry boss, the Zyklon B is on back order and won't be delivered until after the Christmas.

Beruthiel

You've ruined his Christmas Hagar

muffler

Just a quickie on this. CountingCrows will have access again on Saturday. Despite what people may have thought there were and are no differences between us. We have reached an understanding and I think both his and my contribution to the Sligo forum will be be a bit more relaxed.

Merry Xmas folks.

Gillie

Glad to hear that it's been sorted out.

CountingCrows

muffler wrote: »

Just a quickie on this. CountingCrows will have access again on Saturday. Despite what people may have thought there were and are no differences between us. We have reached an understanding and I think both his and my contribution to the Sligo forum will be be a bit more relaxed.

Merry Xmas folks.

Amen

Hail 2 Da Chimp

muffler

Ah. It didnt come out did it. But i got it in the email alert and I thought it was a self portrait of you having just supped your 12th pint of Guinness

Edit: It did upload

takola

Glad to hear it's been sorted!