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Bannings
tmottes
Veteran
In light of recent bannings, would it be possible to have a set of guidelines to which we can refer regarding inappropriate behaviour? Perhaps this already exists and I am simply ignorant of it.
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Comments
We've been told in the past, that the admin doesn't like to post rules. If they wanted to, they'd have done it in response to recent bannings. So far, everyone's getting along.
There are also those who try to sneak back on after being banned, and are immediately banned again. That counts as the same ban, though it does add another offense to the list against the person (making it less likely they'll be un-banned in the future).
It is refreshing for a forum to expect people to know the difference between right and wrong, instead of telling them, isn't it? If it's an obvious attack such as spamming, that's a no-brainer. If it's something more subtle, the moderators or one of the admins will warn a person and edit or delete inappropriate content, with more potent counter-actions such as bannings being only a last resort.
There's plenty of opportunity for people who honestly want to be here and to contribute to correct their actions if they've mis-stepped. Those who come here only to cause trouble will not have so many opportunities, because they don't wish to adapt they only wish to wreck what we have, and they will be dealt with appropriately.
Your analogy of @Lincoln 's living room is more apt in my eyes.
@Mountains I don't believe in right and wrong. Just skillful and unskillful toward liberation
I must admit that when I join a forum of any kind, I don't think of it as owned by somebody as much as the community who uses it. People who are there to pester should be ignored and they will leave on their own accord. Just my own opinion on the matter: thanks for entertaining me.
@Mountains On a pragmatic level of course, but from a buddhist perspective right and wrong are judgements based on attachments to views, so to help me accept things as they are I try to not think in terms of right and wrong. I am not defending being inconsiderate to anybody and I am in support of some rules to ensure things don't get to a point where people aren't benefiting from the threads. By the way, using the majority as a defense for a position can be dangerous. I would say, obviously not in the case of murder, but then again people do go along with genocide because everybody else is. I prefer to think for myself and appreciate it when others offer me that same opportunity.
@Cloud and @vixthenomad thanks for finding it for @zen_world.
I felt bad for vincenzi. He was either speaking the truth or he needed some serious help. Hope he finds his way.
In a recent situation the person i was ignoring contacted me privately to continue a discussion that had been stopped on the boards. He responded to me asking him to leave me alone so I didn't bring it up to anyone at the time.
Moderating of course needs to be done in moderation. I get to know a board and see if I am comfortable with the reasons for bannings or requests for change and then I can choose to stay or leave. For the record I am comfortable with the level of moderation here and am comfortable.
@Aheerdt I agree, the level of banning isn't bad at all. I am part of a philosophy forum and they ban you if you don't use grammar in a manner that can be clearly understood. I wasn't intending to criticize the work our moderators do, just looking for clarification and posting a suggestions for the site. Actually, I think we have some very reasonable moderators and for that I am grateful.
To boil it down, only what doesn't belong here is removed (including members). We only moderate what we have to moderate. Above all, we are members as well, and we're upholding the same level of civility for this forum that we have ourselves enjoyed during our time here.
Of all the Buddhist forums I've visited, this is the most "congenial" and the least moderated. We all get along here, even when we don't see eye-to-eye, and that's all that we really expect... civility.
If there's anything else, if anyone steps out of line, we let them know. They then choose whether they will end up banned or not, by choosing whether to take the directions of the staff. We don't ban people as much as people "get banned", by their own actions. Karma at work.
Also is there a set number of complaints needed about a person before they are banned ?
Lastly any chance to appeal a ban ? I mean could a ban be overturned if enough members objected to it ?
sorry about all the questions
There's no set number of complaints, but the moderation escalates. Moderation can include warnings, editing content, deleting content, closing threads, and the like with bannings on the very end (out of a huge amount of members, we only have maybe 6 banned right now). It takes a good deal of minor things to cause a ban, or less if it's major offenses. Usually there's more than one instance of each type of action, such as multiple warnings or having to continually "clean up" after an offensive member.
As for an appeal, I'd say that's up to @Lincoln. There'd have to be a good reason for it, but he's the head honcho. It has nothing to do with the members... this is more a "private forum open to the public" than anything, not a democracy. Usually it's flagging of content by members that initiates moderation, telling us there's something inappropriate (which we then look into).
Ask away, I'm here all week.
They wouldnt be on a Buddhist site if they were BAD PEOPLE.
So banning people could come across as pretty harsh. Because i bet alot of the time people have just got caught up in the moment and come across arrogant or ignorant, but come on They probably mean no harm. Wheres the compassion? We are all here to express our opinions and ask questions. None of us are BAD MEN/WOMEN..im pretty sure an evil person would have better things to do other than cause arguments on a buddhist site...Jeeez!!!! Oh well...
Namaste people!!
No one is held here against their will. This is a place for people who want to be here, to learn and to help others. Anyone can come or go as they please, or may leave, and that's okay. We welcome all of it. We just don't welcome disruption to the forum, any more than the police welcome burglary or arson. In our world, the disruptions are smaller-scale and of a different nature, but they must be handled for this forum to continue to be a beneficial and positive experience for its memberbase.
When high-profile members get banned, I tend to make a closed announcement like the one linked above to clarify the situation. I understand it causes high anxiety to wonder about losing access to a place you've invested energy into. In short: if you're that worried, you care too much to ever be enough of a jerk to get banned.
A member was banned earlier today, but it was someone who was previously banned and had illicitly re-registered. This happens from time to time, and we constantly work to get better at detecting them. Some people we ban are extremely persistent.
If you ever have concerns about a particular situation, I encourage you to contact me via conversation here or email. I simply don't mention some bannings because I think it is distracting and useless, not because we operate particularly secretively or have a problem explaining.
I should also note that I have my email address posted at the top of the forum and yes, one of the reasons is as recourse for a banned member. We aren't infallible, and I've reversed bans more than once after an understanding was reached. One member at another site I run was banned as a teenager and emailed us 4+ years later to apologize and ask to come back. I met him in person for the first time in June and had a great time.
Though I have been here only a short while there are some very intelligent folks that can teach us a lot as "New Buddhists" - I suspect that not all of us are new judging by the anecdotes, and I am grateful that they take the time to chip in some of their experiences and wisdom.
Thank you Mods, and Namaste'
I should add at this point, that we are just as human, and just as subject to the variations of different mood swings and emotions as anyone else.
We're just really good at hiding it.
(That was a joke.....)