Overly harsh and unfair ban.

bagoftaytos

I have been banned by lordgoat for "You made a smart arsed comment, not your first in the thread.

You got away with the first one, not the second.

By all means off to the DRP forum if you want.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1397"

He also noted:

"Your ban is going nowhere.

Here are some of the rules you broke.

1. Back seat modding - it's not your job to point out on thread where others are breaking the charter.

2. Making snide comments about music genres. - saying you can replicate music on a cheap laptop is completely unrelated to the thread and all it did was create a pointless debate.

3. Sarcastically thanking me.

You say you got no warning. We rarely give individual warnings. Had you read the charter and if you'd read the on thread warning as indicated in the title you might have realised not to post sarcastically and avoided a ban.

That's me done on the issue. I won't be replying to any other PM's.

Your options are to accept the ban or take it to DRP."

1. I was the second person to make this comment, but the other person was not banned.

2. This comment was made by another member and incorrectly attributed to me.

3. Moderators impression of sarcasm is completely unfounded, as can be seen by my address to another poster where I called him "boss". Colloquialisms may be a matter of interpretation, but here they have been misconstrued.

Apart from the use of bad language while dealing with issues being completely unprofessional, a 3 week ban for a new member hardly inspires confidence in using this site. Perhaps a more friendly approach would be appropriate when dealing with the public.

I ask for this ban to be lifted, and dealt with in a fair and honest manner, a manner which treats me as a respected customer of this site, and one that seeks to be impartial when looking at both sides of the problem. I would not expect anything less from a professional company that values its users. I am sure you will do your utmost to resolve this matter while treating me with dignity, refraining from profanity and using a tone that shows you believe your users to be of value (in this I mean a professional use of language without the urge to speak down to your members).

Thank you for your time, I look forward to your reply,

Regards,

Bagoftaytos (I realise that signing this post "bagoftaytos" may take from the importance of what I am saying, but hey, we can all have humour)

bagoftaytos

"Seeing as this was his first post on boards. He was fairly sharp to point out the rules. Could I ask for a muppetcheck?"

Although I presume a "muppetcheck" is something derogatory I hope it is not. I want this procedure to be one of mutual respect.

Being aware of the rules you laid down in post through the thread, combined with me following the options you gave me in a private message is the reason for me being "fairly sharp". If I was unaware of the rules before I was banned, I am now informed of what I am dealing with.

Perhaps this is where we should leave this debate, allowing for a third party to intercede.

bagoftaytos

My last reply was to a post by lordgoat, which seems to have disappeared, hence my second reply may make little sense. I have a copy of his reply saved if it is required by a third party, in the interest of impartiality.

Doctor DooM

Hi,

I'm one of the music cmods, I will be taking a look at this later today, just so you do not think you are being ignored.

I'll be back to you as quick as I can.

Thanks.

bagoftaytos

Thank you.

Trojan

Hi bagoftaytos,

While we're waiting for Doctor DooM to get back to you here, could you do me a favour and tell me what your previous boards username was? That will help resolve this issue more quickly.

Cheers.

bagoftaytos

Previous boards username? I've only had around 10 posts, so I wouldn't have changed my username. It's been bagoftaytos since I signed up.

bagoftaytos

I have now waited two days for a resolution on this issue. Can you please update me on where the position stands?

Trojan

Yes, you have waited two days for unpaid volunteers to look into this issues, and it's unfortunate that the process takes so long. But the upside is that if the process was shorter you'd also certainly have been permanently sitebanned already

As it stands, I've looked into this enough to avoid having our volunteer mod and Cmods spend further time on it. Here's my findings:

1) A short ban was deserved for your actions on the original thread
2) A 3 week ban is harsh if you were a genuine first time poster
3) A 3 week ban is not harsh if you are a re-reg user avoiding a previous ban

I realise that you are almost certainly a re-reg user avoiding a previous ban. However, William Blackstone said "better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer", and just in case this is the minutest of unlikely events that you are not a re-reg user avoiding a previous ban, I will treat you as a genuine newbie. I'm going to reduce your ban to 7 days (2 served +5 further).

Resolved.