Banned from Soccer forum

DB10

I was banned today from the soccer forum for one month which is a ridiculous punishment for something I'm not sure I even did.

I have been told it was for trolling and was given this post as evidence.

Mitch Conor why are you ignoring my posts again?
Tad hypocritical to say it to me and then do it yourself.

I don't understand how this could be misconstrued for trolling?
The same guy said the exact same thing to me twice and he wasn't banned.
I was branded "childish" by the same person.

Now I know I don't deserve this punishment and I'm hoping for a reprieve.

I have more to add about the moderator in question if that is needed.

WhiteWashMan

117 posts in and banned for at least a second time?

Not a good stance to begin with, and to state that there is an issue with the moderator, is not a good way to end.

PM the moderator in question to sort it out. If they will not let you in, then there is no reason why an admin would look at it tbh.

DB10

I PM'ed the moderator and he pointed me in this direction. I have not even been given a proper reason for this. A 1 month ban is ridiculous.

Also what about moderator bias? He supports Spurs and I support Arsenal, so it is blatently clear why he wanted me out so quickly without explaination.

Asiaprod

DB10 wrote: »

Also what about moderator bias? He supports Spurs and I support Arsenal, so it is blatently clear why he wanted me out so quickly without explaination.

Is an even worse way to end.

DB10

Not sure what the problem is with pointing that out. The others involved were cautioned and I was banned. Strange.

And this is the first time I was banned bar a 1 day ban from GAA for a mistake.

All I'm asking is for a reasonable explaination and since I can't get one, I have my suspicions of the moderators motive.

therecklessone

As the mod responsible for the ban, I advised the OP to post here because he stated quite clearly to me in his PM that he intended to take his complaint above my level as forum mod.

I also informed him that if he wanted my input to this thread he need only ask, the same applies to any Admin who wants to make a call on this.

WhiteWashMan

DB10 wrote: »

Not sure what the problem is with pointing that out. The others involved were cautioned and I was banned. Strange.

And this is the first time I was banned bar a 1 day ban from GAA for a mistake.

All I'm asking is for a reasonable explaination and since I can't get one, I have my suspicions of the moderators motive.

How the mods deal with things in their forums is their domain.

While you may not agree with either the charge or the length of the ban, it will stand unless the moderator decides differently.

Moderators are not here to provide you with a 'reasonable explanation' that will satisfy you. They are there to ensure the forum runs.

If this means you take a month off, perhaps you will learn how the forum works and wont do anything to get you banned next time.

therecklessone

I have been asked by the OP to comment here.

Firstly, let me deal with the suggestion that I am biased because of the team I support. Until yesterday, I had banned as many Blackburn Rovers fans from the forum as I had Arsenal. I was not aware the OP supported Arsenal until I searched for all of his previous posts on the forum, at that point I was already 90% certain of his intentions on the threads in question. Reading his contributions on other threads confirmed my initial suspicions, but not in the manner which he is suggesting, and I'll expand on that later.

It is worth noting that I am the moderator who granted him access to the forum in the first place. When doing so, I added the following message to the generic PM issued to all new entrants:

Please take the time to get a feel for the community before you throw yourself in feet first, have a read of a few threads perhaps to see how other users interact. Feel free to PM me if you have any queries re. the forum rules, as a general rule of thumb if you have any doubt as to whether a post is a breach of the charter then it's best not to submit it until you have clarified the rules.

Two days after approving his access request, I received three reported posts related to his posting on two separate threads:

Will MICHEAL OWEN be a success at Man Utd ?

Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

I examined the OP's posts on those two threads, and quickly deleted all but the first two. Examining the deleted posts, I concluded that the OP was not interested in debate, despite clear and concise replies from other users refuting his claims he continued to repeat the same points, accusing users of ignoring his posts while doing exactly the same himself, then dragged the same behaviour from the Michael Owen thread to the Manchester United thread. Meanwhile, his posts on the Arsenal superthread, and the thread related to John Hartson's illness suggested to me that he is perfectly capable of reasonable contributions to the forum, the contrast between the two types of contribution highlighting for me the inflammatory nature of his input to the threads in question.

I considered the behaviour inflammatory, and issued a red card infraction for trolling. I applied the infraction to one specific post, but explained in the infraction PM that the red card was for a combination of all his posts on the two threads.

All new applicants to the forum are required to read the following thread before requesting access:

Soccer Requests Charter & Mechanism - Read this or you WILL NOT GET ACCESS TO SOCCER

which states clearly:

If a user is banned within the first month of having access to the soccer forum, a one months ban will be imposed.

Now I'm all for giving people the benefit of the doubt, but the combination of that warning, the welcome PM guidance, and the OP's behaviour within 48 hours of being granted access helped me arrive at the decision to issue a red card infraction, and the mandatory one month ban.

The only question the OP asked me was what I had done about the other posters involved in the exchange. I don't make a habit of passing on that info unless issuing an infraction or ban in public to remind users of the forum rules, but if an Admin wants to review the follow up then have a read of the following:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=61120789&postcount=366 (not viewable by anyone except Admins and soccer mods)

Thank you.

DB10

Well I must say I am suprised I was reported 3 times from what I suspect was the same person. This person has attempted to give me reasons for doing so by PM but I'm not having any of it.

It looks like there is no moderator bias, but I was just putting it out there as a possibility.

I'm very unhappy at the manner of this ban and the severity of it but I'm not sure I have any alternative but to take it on the chin so to speak.

therecklessone

DB10 wrote: »

Well I must say I am suprised I was reported 3 times from what I suspect was the same person.

I can confirm that is not the case.

We encourage posters to report behaviour they believe to be contrary to the forum charter, and actively punish those who choose not to do so, but instead respond on-thread.

In each case the reporter did exactly as we expect.

WhiteWashMan

DB10 wrote: »

Well I must say I am suprised I was reported 3 times from what I suspect was the same person. This person has attempted to give me reasons for doing so by PM but I'm not having any of it.

Ive looked at the reported posts and they are not the same person.

DB10 wrote: »

It looks like there is no moderator bias, but I was just putting it out there as a possibility.

Actually, you made a pretty clear and blatant accusation of the mod in question.

DB10 wrote: »

I'm very unhappy at the manner of this ban and the severity of it but I'm not sure I have any alternative but to take it on the chin so to speak.

Indeed. IF I felt it was not justified, then I would mention it to the moderator. However, thats the way the soccer forum runs, the users in the forum have all agreed to the rules, and the mods simply ensure that things run smoothly. Unfortunately, if you get caught on the wrong side, you take it, you get over it, you carry on a wiser person.