Given an 'infraction' I feel was unjustified.

RealJohn

I was given an 'infraction' on Sunday that I feel was unjustified. I have discussed it at length with the mod in question and was given several reasons for the 'infraction' via pm, none of which were actually valid in my view.

The thread:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057371540

RealJohn

Any update on this?

spurious

Sorry I missed this.
Thanks RealJohn for bringing it to my attention.

D4RK ONION

Having looked at some of the past threads where you were asked to stop insisting that Irish is banned outside of the Irish forums (which it is not, you must simply also post a translation), the wider context of the infraction is now abundantly clear.

The infraction stands, Spurious supports me in this decision.

RealJohn

Thanks for your time.
I don't remember stating it at all prior to the thread in which I was given the 'infraction'. I not denying that I might have (I don't remember everything I've ever posted) but I don't think I did and I don't think I was warned for it in the past. Again, I'm not 100% sure but I don't think I did. The mod told me in pm that it was the third time I'd stated it. I don't think this is the case but if it is, I'd appreciate it if someone could link the other two posts.

I'd also like to point out that the first thread you linked to essentially supports what I said. The thread was started in Irish but only one reply was in Irish even though I think it's safe to assume that all of those who replied were Irish teachers and therefore, presumably fluent in Irish.

Then the second thread you linked to was the one I started on the subject in feedback, which is what was suggested to me by a mod so I don't think it's reasonable to then use it against me, not least because I never stated that Irish was forbidden in the thread which is supposedly what I've been 'infracted' for.
When I asked the mod what I was 'infracted' for, the reply I was given was

Problems with posts/posters
Paragraph 2, first sentence

Posting in languages other than English
First sentence, second sentence.

Also last section
Usual boards rules apply

Ill do out an Irish version of the charter later on.

When I went to the charter (which for some reason, I cannot find now for the life of me - a link would be greatly appreciated) I found that the first two rules quoted did not apply. If I remember correctly, the related to criticising the mods or the moderation (I did neither) and posting in a language other than english (which I didn't). The mod was unable to point to any 'usual boards rules' that I'd broken either when I questioned that one, initially avoiding the question and then eventually

Ok scrap the first one. Ill add a different one,

flaming:
By deliberately repeating untruths you are flamebating the mods into arguing on-thread.

which also wasn't the truth as the comment was on topic in the context for the thread.
The mod then fell back on the 'don't be a dick' rule, which really felt like I was now being punished for pointing out that the mod was wrong and/or that the mod felt like I should be 'infracted' but didn't actually know why.

Finally, I was given a "One time only offer" of

... On the whole you are a good contributor to the forum and I wouldnt like our interaction to leave a sour taste.

If you are willing to forget about the ' Posting Exclusively in Irish' debate in this forum , then I'll annoy the admins and ask them to reverse the infraction, (it takes much computing and reverse engineering). It might take a day or 2 once the request is put in.
...

which felt to me that the mod in question actually realises that they were wrong to 'infract' me and wanted a way out while still saving face. I replied that since I hadn't been informed of any rules I'd broken, I was unwilling to accept a conditional reversal. I'd also point out that there hasn't been a "debate" on posting in Irish on my part, other than the occasional off-hand comment. I feel that that point paints me as someone who is continually banging my drum about posting in Irish which is simply not the case.

I fully appreciate that you are volunteers and I appreciate that you have to do this in your own time but I really don't feel that I've been given any genuine reason for this 'infraction' and as such, I maintain that it is unjustified. As the mod said, I feel I'm a good contributor to the forum (and the handful of other forums I contribute to from time to time) and I haven't been 'infracted' in the past. I have received only two warnings in the past (judging by my pms anyway) and both were cases of simple misunderstandings (which the mod in question accepted on both occasions, while I also accepted that I might not have been clear in how I phrased them and that I could see the confusion). I'm not someone who disputes things like this purely for the sake of it. I just genuinely feel that in this case, the punishment was arguably completely unjustified and definitely disproportionate to the crime.

RealJohn

No further comment on this? Should I just appeal to an admin at this point?

D4RK ONION

I've already brought this to the admin's attention. They'll be back to you ASAP.

Zaph

The exact line you posted was this:

Hadn't heard that before but it is true (except on boards.ie where Irish is forbidden outside of the e-Gaeltacht).

which came a mere 11 days after both the T&L mod and I explicitly told you that any posts in any language other than English must have an English translation. At no point were you told that posts in Irish were banned, but you felt it necessary in your post above to ignore that fact. The first part of the sentence above stated a fact, however the part in parentheses adds absolutely zero to your reply, so the only logical explanation is that you were trolling and it was added simply to get a dig in. On that basis I can see no reason to overturn the infraction.