Is DA getting boring?

[oki]

I liked having ras here, and hope he will start posting again as his new self.

[Red]

The point that hasn't been adressed is... Mandrake's last stay here was fine, there were no problems with him, and you guys (at least Red) knew who he was and said he could post as long as he was good... So why is it that when he stopped posting for a while (due to probably being busy in his own life) when he was away someone banned him when he didn't even have any warnings? It's not like he came back here and started being a big problem, he was contributing to good debates and being low-key.

Anything to say about that?

Boe harrassed me when i banned Samson's 3rd? 4th? multi signup about other multi's being active, so i banned Mandrake's as well. ppl had bitched and moaned and whinned like children when he was banned, so i said wth, i'll leave him be. my mistake.

Oh, and i'll second Optimus' idea!

Optimus' idea can/will never happen. the namecalling/harrassment would only escalate to a point where the ITN forums would turn into another low class cesspool of children.

and before you say, "that won't happen, we're better than that," we tried exactly what optimus came up with a couple years back... but only in a single forum. i don't recall the name of the ITN forum, but we didn't moderate it. it last less than 2 weeks, IIRC.

[Java_man]

Boe harrassed me when i banned Samson's 3rd? 4th? multi signup about other multi's being active, so i banned Mandrake's as well. ppl had bitched and moaned and whinned like children when he was banned, so i said wth, i'll leave him be. my mistake.

can you clarify that ?

[Rayney]

Red - are you talking about the Fight Club?

[Red]

can you clarify that ?

we let him hang around a little after he back with his 5th? 6th multi signup. in the past we've let some members comeback, nothing new really.

but since i had to ban Samson multi, i banned Mandrakes as well. it was only fair.

[Red]

Red - are you talking about the Fight Club?

as yes, Fight Club. that was the original flame forum. that didn't last either.

but we tried it again, only in a politican debates function, and that didn't last either.

[Geoffrey]

not fight club... that was WAY back in the day. It was "Heated Debate"

it was pathetic, but we tried

[optimus]

Optimus' idea can/will never happen. the namecalling/harrassment would only escalate to a point where the ITN forums would turn into another low class cesspool of children.

and before you say, "that won't happen, we're better than that," we tried exactly what optimus came up with a couple years back... but only in a single forum. i don't recall the name of the ITN forum, but we didn't moderate it. it last less than 2 weeks, IIRC.

No, you didn't try my idea. You tried an unmoderated forum that was basically anarchy. Here it is again:

Personal attacks will be mostly allowed, such as in defense, as long as you are contributing in a constructive way. If a member starts to get out of control and the attacks outweigh the constructive posts, it's a 2 week temp ban. If it happens again, it's a 3 week temp-ban. If it happens again, it's a 4 week temp ban, and so on. But no perma-ban as the result of insults or attacks.

It's a built in moderation system that encourages constructive debate, but allows for the occasional "sin." We're only human.

I'd put money that this would work out pretty well. Kind of like how in Holland, when they legalized certain drugs the crime rate went down.

[Red]

No, you didn't try my idea. You tried an unmoderated forum that was basically anarchy. Here it is again:

Personal attacks will be mostly allowed, such as in defense, as long as you are contributing in a constructive way. If a member starts to get out of control and the attacks outweigh the constructive posts, it's a 2 week temp ban. If it happens again, it's a 3 week temp-ban. If it happens again, it's a 4 week temp ban, and so on. But no perma-ban as the result of insults or attacks.

It's a built in moderation system that encourages constructive debate, but allows for the occasional "sin." We're only human.

I'd put money that this would work out pretty well. Kind of like how in Holland, when they legalized certain drugs the crime rate went down.

members banned for 2, 3, 4 weeks tend to create more accounts and pick up where they left off. extending the length of temp bans was discuss earlier, but we feel ppl will get around it.

[Red]

not fight club... that was WAY back in the day. It was "Heated Debate"

it was pathetic, but we tried

yup, that was it. how long did that last? 1? 2 weeks?

[optimus]

members banned for 2, 3, 4 weeks tend to create more accounts and pick up where they left off. extending the length of temp bans was discuss earlier, but we feel ppl will get around it.

So they create another account, big deal. You run them through the same program until you confirm it's a multiple sign up, then you perma-ban the multiple sign up name, not the original.

[Red]

So they create another account, big deal. You run them through the same program until you confirm it's a multiple sign up, then you perma-ban the multiple sign up name, not the original.

and what stops them from creating another? and another? and another?

we had one member create 5 different accounts because they had a 5 day ban.

puts a lot more work on us. easier to perma ban if they cannot follow the rules.

[optimus]

and what stops them from creating another? and another? and another?

we had one member create 5 different accounts because they had a 5 day ban.

puts a lot more work on us. easier to perma ban if they cannot follow the rules.

Ok good point. But what percentage of members are that mental? 1%? 2%? Martin's the only one I know that was that crazy. And would that really make that much more work for the mods? It's not like you guys are overwhelmed with this board, let's be honest here.

The point of my idea is that it assumes that people can act like adults as long as they have a certain amount of freedom. It may work well, it may not. But what I do know is, the current rules obviously do not deter anyone from personal attacks, etc. And the current rules have resulted in a lot of good, intellegent members being lost because they happened to let their emotions get the best of them, unfortunately.

[Red]

Ok good point. But what percentage of members are that mental? 1%? 2%? Martin's the only one I know that was that crazy. And would that really make that much more work for the mods? It's not like you guys are overwhelmed with this board, let's be honest here.

i can think of 5 off the top of my head with more than 5 signups after their perma bans. multi signups while on temp bans? i don't have enough fingers and toes.

and you've never help run a dicussion board, have you? some days we get 50 reported posts in our mailbox.

The point of my idea is that it assumes that people can act like adults as long as they have a certain amount of freedom. It may work well, it may not. But what I do know is, the current rules obviously do not deter anyone from personal attacks, etc. And the current rules have resulted in a lot of good, intellegent members being lost because they happened to let their emotions get the best of them, unfortunately.

Heated Debates was pretty close to what you are describing. and it went over like a tird in a pool. we let ppl have some freedom and they went rabid. i'm not saying your idea is a bad one, i just think it still won't work a second time around. maybe Kraw has some input. i was away during the whole HD thing (yes, my vacation was longer than the forum lasted. ).

[angelone]

I thought about this question, and thought, are we boring, do we suck. Do I suck. I mean, if I wrote what I wanted to right, how long would I be allowed to post. I have had two post deleted because they were insulting, and had one locked because it talked about, sex and condoms. So I feel, hey, I better watch myself, watch how I write, and draw a boring audience, or no audience,or a selective audience. And, honestly, coming up with something very interesting all the time is impossible. When I read a post, I try to keep an open mind, and go from their. I have been insulted at DA, but so what, maybe I was asking for it, maybe I wasn't. But the point is, its a part of life, being insulted. I also understand the need to keep thousands of people under control, So, their will always be drama, and their will always be sucky stories.

[boedicca]

Boe harrassed me when i banned Samson's 3rd? 4th? multi signup about other multi's being active, so i banned Mandrake's as well. ppl had bitched and moaned and whinned like children when he was banned, so i said wth, i'll leave him be. my mistake.

What a crock of excrement. I requested that Samson's banning be reconsidered given that it was due to a cooked up lie on the part of one emotionally disturbed member. A lot of people here like Samson/Bogey. The banning has gotten out of hand. Mandrake should not have been banned - and to blame it on me is chickenshit.

[jojo]

Samson was funny. I miss him.

[boedicca]

I miss him, too. I also miss Thumper, MamaG, RBH, Janus, and the host of other active posters who were summarily banned for flimsy reasons - and the scores of members who have lost interest as the modding has become increasingly heavy-handed.

[fat mike]

I dont think any of those were all that vitriolic

[jojo]

I never understood Thumper. The man had a sense of humour though.