Harsh ban in Airsoft forum

gerrowadat

I got banned for 'Personal abuse' for 7 days for this post : http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=62846230&postcount=92

I called a person a 'clown'. A pretty mild insult, but given that the person was describing inflicting pain on people on purpose, called for I reckon.

The mod involved then banned me for 7 days with no warning, and actually swore at the OP in his message : http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=62852853&postcount=95

I think it's a bit rich not only that I got banned for even the tiniest and mildest of insults, whereas, the mod came stomping in swearing at the same person bold and all caps.

I wouldn't say I'm a troublemaker at all on the board, in fact quite the opposite, so this heavyhandedness does seem a bit much coming straight out of left field, and double standards to boot. Disappointing :-(

BuffyBot

Well first off, the mod wasn't swearing at anyone. We don't operate a Disney Channel style policy, so I have no problem with that.

Now, with regard to your ban: it's not your place to decide on what's "called for". If you have a problem with a post, report it. If you want to reply to it, do so civilly.

A week seems a bit harsh, but have you PM'd the mod to discuss it with him?

gerrowadat

BuffyBot wrote: »

Well first off, the mod wasn't swearing at anyone. We don't operate a Disney Channel style policy, so I have no problem with that.

Now, with regard to your ban: it's not your place to decide on what's "called for". If you have a problem with a post, report it. If you want to reply to it, do so civilly.

A week seems a bit harsh, but have you PM'd the mod to discuss it with him?

I'm pretty sure I've seen someone being called a clown in a disney movie :-)

I've PMed the mod in question, but from their "be thankful it's only a week" post, it seems I've somehow been an awful lot more offensive to somebody than I meant to be (or was, objectively, to be quite frank).

BuffyBot

Sometimes a reasonably toned PM can make the world of difference

gerrowadat

BuffyBot wrote: »

Sometimes a reasonably toned PM can make the world of difference

Sadly, the response amounted to along the lines of "It was personal abuse, therefore you are banned, QED".

Personally I'd rather the mod had thought things through before reaching for the banhammer as option one for a long-time trouble-free contributor to the board.

I'd have happily edited the post if told it had actually caused genuine offense (it wasn't meant to), so I'm failing to see how banning me for a week without warning is in the best interests of the board.

It's not so much that it couldn't be argued that I deserve a ban, it's that this came completely out of the blue, when I see ten times worse on the board regularly. I know that's not an excuse when you read the charter and it's there in black and white, but a bit of consistency would be nice.

BuffyBot

Actually, I just realised: you also have a recent infraction in that forum - so it's hardly "out of the blue".

gerrowadat

The infraction was my first on boards in my 4 years here, and was caused by someone selectively taking offense at me using a well-used nickname for them.

But, an infraction is an infraction, and the charter is the charter, and it's clear I'm not getting anywhere. I'm gonna quit while I'm ahead before the "modding is hard, you don't understand" argument gets wheeled out. Seeya in a week I guess.