Thank you for the "banned users"-thread.

Maz · 07-19-2017, 12:50 PM

I had noticed a few people getting banned recently. And was wondering what was going on. "Did something big drama go down?". "Did we get a new harsh moderater?". "Are there some new forum-rules I am not aware of?"

I noticed, probably, because a few of them were old-timers. Not any I know personally, but names I have seen across the (GURPS) forum from time to time over the past 10+ years.

But thanks to the "banned users"-thread I could easily see how, what and why.

So, thank you for the transparency :)

Note, no, this is not some sarcastic dig. I am honestly grateful. So many online communities lack transparency like this.

Randyman · 07-19-2017, 03:09 PM

This is the only message board that I frequent that has that kind of thread. I also appreciate the professionalism when reasons are given. No sensationalizing, just simple factual information.

Kudos to the mods!

adm · 07-19-2017, 05:09 PM

Agreed, I also like that you state how long, or permanent.

RyanW · 07-20-2017, 12:10 AM

This forum has some of the best moderation on the internet, IMO. They've struck a very good balance between keeping things open and keeping things civil. On a lot of forums, if you look at a thread from a few years ago, it seems like 90% of the posts are from users that have since been banned. I can only think of a handful of significant contributors here who have gotten themselves perma-banned. I think the mods here are very good at differentiating between disagreeing with a person who is a moderator and disagreeing with moderation.

GM Joe · 07-20-2017, 07:06 AM

Yeah, the first time I saw a post in the Banned Users thread, I was nonplussed. No system I'd ever been on had ever had anything like that -- all the way back to BBSes, including the BBSes I ran! What a great idea.

RogerBW · 07-20-2017, 07:46 AM

I've stolen the idea for a board I moderate. I haven't had to use it yet, but everyone there knows that abusive users will be called out in public rather than silently vanished.

johndallman · 07-20-2017, 02:48 PM

It's an excellent system. It seems to be part of the general SJG "We don't pretend to be perfect" philosophy.

pestigor · 07-20-2017, 05:57 PM

I can get nutty sometimes (ASD) and the banned users thread lets me know where the line actually is (not just by reading the forum rules) and I have an easier time trying not to cross it. Also, sometimes I see things that makes me shake my head and some times I see the poster here so I know I'm not the only one thinking that sort of thing.

Andrew Hackard · 07-20-2017, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pestigor

I can get nutty sometimes (ASD) and the banned users thread lets me know where the line actually is (not just by reading the forum rules) and I have an easier time trying not to cross it. Also, sometimes I see things that makes me shake my head and some times I see the poster here so I know I'm not the only one thinking that sort of thing.

That's an important note. We don't read every thread - even if we wanted to (AND WE DO NOT), there are too many of them and we have other things to do. But we DO take reported posts seriously and check them out, particularly when they come from lurkers or from posters who don't have a reputation of being easily riled. We would much rather get a good-faith report of something that we decide wasn't really a problem than have a bunch of people grumbling about a problematic post in a thread that none of us has read.

07-19-2017, 12:50 PM	#1
Maz Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Denmark	Thank you for the "banned users"-thread. I had noticed a few people getting banned recently. And was wondering what was going on. "Did something big drama go down?". "Did we get a new harsh moderater?". "Are there some new forum-rules I am not aware of?" I noticed, probably, because a few of them were old-timers. Not any I know personally, but names I have seen across the (GURPS) forum from time to time over the past 10+ years. But thanks to the "banned users"-thread I could easily see how, what and why. So, thank you for the transparency :) Note, no, this is not some sarcastic dig. I am honestly grateful. So many online communities lack transparency like this.

07-19-2017, 03:09 PM	#2
Randyman Join Date: May 2009	Re: Thank you for the "banned users"-thread. This is the only message board that I frequent that has that kind of thread. I also appreciate the professionalism when reasons are given. No sensationalizing, just simple factual information. Kudos to the mods! __________________ "Despite (GURPS) reputation for realism and popularity with simulationists, the numbers are and always have been assessed in the service of drama." - Kromm "(GURPS) isn't a game but a toolkit for building games, and the GM needs to use it intelligently" - Kromm

07-19-2017, 05:09 PM	#3
adm Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: MO, U.S.A.	Re: Thank you for the "banned users"-thread. Agreed, I also like that you state how long, or permanent. __________________ Xenophilia is Dr. Who. Plus Lecherous is Jack Harkness.- Anaraxes

07-20-2017, 12:10 AM	#4
RyanW ☣ Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Southeast NC	Re: Thank you for the "banned users"-thread. This forum has some of the best moderation on the internet, IMO. They've struck a very good balance between keeping things open and keeping things civil. On a lot of forums, if you look at a thread from a few years ago, it seems like 90% of the posts are from users that have since been banned. I can only think of a handful of significant contributors here who have gotten themselves perma-banned. I think the mods here are very good at differentiating between disagreeing with a person who is a moderator and disagreeing with moderation. __________________ RyanW - Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats.

07-20-2017, 07:06 AM	#5
GM Joe Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Chicagoland	Re: Thank you for the "banned users"-thread. Yeah, the first time I saw a post in the Banned Users thread, I was nonplussed. No system I'd ever been on had ever had anything like that -- all the way back to BBSes, including the BBSes I ran! What a great idea. __________________ GMing Since 1982.

07-20-2017, 07:46 AM	#6
RogerBW Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: near London, UK	Re: Thank you for the "banned users"-thread. I've stolen the idea for a board I moderate. I haven't had to use it yet, but everyone there knows that abusive users will be called out in public rather than silently vanished. __________________ Podcast: Improvised Radio Theatre - With Dice Gaming stuff here: Tekeli-li! Blog; Webcomic Laager and Limehouse Buy things by me on Warehouse 23

07-20-2017, 02:48 PM	#7
johndallman Night Watchman Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cambridge, UK	Re: Thank you for the "banned users"-thread. It's an excellent system. It seems to be part of the general SJG "We don't pretend to be perfect" philosophy. __________________ The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques.

07-20-2017, 05:57 PM	#8
pestigor Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: New Orleans, LA	Re: Thank you for the "banned users"-thread. I can get nutty sometimes (ASD) and the banned users thread lets me know where the line actually is (not just by reading the forum rules) and I have an easier time trying not to cross it. Also, sometimes I see things that makes me shake my head and some times I see the poster here so I know I'm not the only one thinking that sort of thing.