Suggestion Bannings...

[The Chairman]

OK gang... give me some input.

What should (if anything) warrant a temp ban (5 day suspension)?

What should (if anything) warrant a perm ban?

 

[WreckWriter]

Is that a specialty course?

Aren't you an instructor for it?

 

[Natasha]

Please... hand all the respect over to Natasha and the rest of the mods. I definately don't deserve any! If I was still up there, I'm sure I'd be main-lining Pepto by now.

Jeff, even if you're not 'up here' with us anymore, we miss, and respect you very much.
You and some others know how this all works.
NO single Mod ever makes any decisions. (WW I did not make any decisions on my own)
We talk, and talk some more, and vote.
When happened on this board never happened in the past.
It was hit.
When any community takes a hit, whether it's a flood, or an earthquake, they need to ban together. People lose friends in a 'hit' or an eathquake or flood.
This hurts.
I hope we can all get through this, and the board will not suffer forever because of it.
So many of us have given our blood, sweat, and tears here. We don't want to see it be for nothing.
At some point we will need to move on.
For now grieving is good.
We can recover!

 

[Ted S]

They would have been accused of trolling and some mod would have removed the thread and the member banned by that mod.
This is the problem.
Who Polices the Police. In this case No One.
If someone reports an abuse by a Mod they get targeted by the Mod and if they step out of line their silenced with no recourse.
As I said banning the customers is not a good thing. Hard to make money when you stop the customers from entering the store.
Fred

This board is not here to make money; if we wanted the cash you'd have 5 popups and 7 flash ads all over your screen right now. The ad revenue we have now helps the board cover its costs. I'm not too worried about loosing a few "customers" if they break the rules because again, we are not here for the money. Shops have a similar policy, hence the "right to refuse service" signs... clearly some shop somewhere at sometime kicked someone out and that person was probably a paying customer, they still felt the need to tell them to go.

As for policing the police, you are right; there are users, moderators and admins, all of whom are part of the same “group”. However, NetDoc and myself are here to police the police. I'm not a regular user, I rarely post in general topics and since this board has opened I've pretty much been here to a) make sure things work and b) keep things in line. Of course if you take the negative look at everything you could say that there is no one to police me and NetDoc, we could create our own little conspiracy and ban everyone in this thread, but if that was the case, it would already be done!?! Why don’t we ban everyone disagreeing with us? The simple answer is we have no reason to. The TOS isn't around to give us a list of ways to kick people out; it's around so people have a general idea of when they cross the line and what is not acceptable. This is a private forum community, sometimes things will cross the line and they will get banned, sometimes similar minds may disagree on where that line is, but there is always a line. It is true that no one can stop the Admins as we own the board, but the moderators are watched, the moderators watch us and you watch everyone, if we were really being that bad the board would have cleared out and closed up long ago. As for the moderators, we put a great deal of faith in them and they have done very, very well, they are an amazing group and it is through their diverse opinions that they succeed. However, if you find a problem with their actions it is on you to tell Pete or myself -- it's not different than seeing a cop beat a suspect and not reporting it -- how else is anyone going to find out unless you report it?

 

[Bob3]

... several moderators who are outstanding. Uncle Pug is my favorite...

Hey, I miss the "Old Pug". His new job has him holding back too much, he ain't nearly as "entertaining" as before.

 

[Natasha]

Also WW..since you seem to think my being in the travel business influenced anyone, I think I need to address that.
I have never swayed anyone, or said I would leave the board if something wasn't done my way.
Threats do not work.
If I was using threats to KN, or Pete, I would have been gone long ago.
You of all people should know that.

 

[cornfed]

For one thing I tend to speak my mind in what I consider a straightforward fashion but which some tend to consider as a mean-spirited way.

What? How could anyone ever get confused!?

 

[IndigoBlue]

Now that Pete owns this place a few things are sure to change.

I hope so.

For openers, if Pete reserves to himself the ability to permanently ban people, that would be a good start.

 

[cornfed]

Aren't you an instructor for it?

No, but I did have a pet rabbit when I was younger. Does that count for anything?

 

[IndigoBlue]

As for policing the police, ...

That is always going to be the hard part. The best way to succeed is to limit the power of "the police" here and elsewhere.

 

[ckharlan66]

For example...

"Cornfed was banned because he violated our policy regarding the consumption of corn-on-the-cob. Scubaboard is a family forum and it is our intention that it remain as such. We do not feel that having corn kernels stuck between your teeth is inconsistent with values of the forum staff nor with the majority of our members. We appreciate your understanding in this matter."

Using your hypothetical. The problem with this (and I am speaking for myself here and not necessarly for any other Mod or for the Board as a whole) is that at this point Cornfed is already been banned for allegedly having the kernels between his teeth. He no longer has the ablity to defend himself to the members of the board. Making public allegations can cause problems, especially if they are not allowed the opportunity to defend themselves.

As it is, an announcement of sorts is made in that the title under the members name changes. No allegations as to the details are provided since no defense can be mounted.