Let's talk about bans, warnings and closure of accounts, something that I try not to discuss as members are not always aware of what has gone on so a public court is not the way to determine if any warning/ban should be issued.
I just wanted to be transparent about a few things and it will be a lengthy post, sorry.
Now you may have noticed Bris Vegas has returned to the forum tonight following a permanent ban, he's not the first to have done and he won't be the last.
Not all members that are banned permanently will be allowed to return, this all comes down to the offence and how you react and handle yourself.
Without sharing Bris's message, he made a request through another member on Twitter, polite, no insults, that was then forwarded to the moderators room where a discussion is had an a vote. Including myself we have 10 moderators, I abstained from the vote to allow for a majority and as a result Bris was reinstated.
This is not a well don't blame me, but it's a point that I wanted to share as I have another member later where I have been accused of having an agenda.
We have had no issues during Bris's ban, there hasn't been an influx of emails and abuse through other platforms.
The next member I will show you was banned for something that went beyond the forum and a moderators personal life, a member that would never be welcome back on the forum regardless of how they behaved.
I have received hundreds of emails from all different email addresses, tonight I was given this screenshot as I have the user banned on Twitter, as I have all his previous accounts.
As you can see, he still regular reads the forum to be that quick on Bris's ban being retracted. Now, look, I find this funny to be honest, given all the communication we have had, I've warned him that the Police would be contacted which I was serious about, he must think this tweet would somehow change my mind.
Sorry but no.
Putting the offence to one side, sadly we do see this level of response far too often to warnings and bans.
Absolute full transparency, if you react with any kind of insults, profanity to the moderator or via email to myself following a warning, you will receive another warning immediately which will trigger a ban. And if it's in response to a ban, don't ask a week later to be reinstated whilst it's fresh in our minds.
All we ask is for some respect, we understand the majority of members will disagree with their warnings and bans, believe me, I wish we never had to give any, but if we are to keep running a platform that welcomes all views (within forum guidelines), from time to time we must issue warnings to remind users of the guidelines, or bans where members have behaved in a way that we do not think are suitable for this forum.
Whilst I understand we are the most popular forum, and I say this not bragging, but calling it as it is, but we do not hold any members hostage here, there are other forums out there you can use if you do not agree with our forum guidelines or have issues with any of our moderation team.
Recently we have seen an increased amount of members that have recently requested to close their accounts, this is usually following some disagreement with another member and made in the heat of the moment, tired of the negativity or following a warning.
In most cases members are given a 30 day cooling down period where if they change their mind, the request is forgotten, However other cases where requests are accepted with immediate effect for a variety of reasons.
We do not appreciate members that have closed their accounts to return under different usernames shortly after. We understand at times frustrations boil over and I would advise all members that get a little tired of the forum, want out, to just logout, take a few weeks away before deciding to close your account.
This is not just a forum, but now a community that has been built over a number of years, a community that has seen real friendships that have extended outside of the forum. Having members that have basically given themselves a clean slate, know all the personalities and inside jokes go "undercover" goes against what we are trying to achieve here.
For those that have made it this far into the post, thank you, I appreciate it as it's been a difficult year for the moderation team as I'm sure you can imagine. I have asked earlier for respect and that works both ways, so when I can be transparent and feel it's important, I will be.
With that I am working on a system where members are made aware when their posts have been hidden which will be left with the reason by the moderator. I have been and on forums myself, there is nothing more frustrating when a post is removed and you have no idea why. I get it, and I'm working on it.
If you have any questions or feedback on any of this, I'm happy to read and respond where I can.
tl;dr Take your warnings and bans on the chin, don't abuse/insult moderators and you will be fine. And don't close your account unless you have absolutely no intention of coming back.
I'm looking forward to going back, my heart isn't in it as much as it has been due to the many off field issues but I'm sure that'll come back in time.
I'm looking forward to going back, my heart isn't in it as much as it has been due to the many off field issues but I'm sure that'll come back in time.
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