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[JoshuaFH]

In light of the recent banning of Fobos, and seeing as how I have some questions, I thought I'd make this thread so as to not derail the piracy thread.

My only real questions are:

1) Do warnings go on to some forum permanent record?

2) I don't think I've ever gotten a warning, but I'm not sure. Are they like PM's from Toady saying "I'm warning you." or something along those lines?

[IndonesiaWarMinister]

2: yeah, something like that.
1: idk

[Broose]

Well, I just got a warning like 5 seconds ago, and he pms you telling you the reason you were warned and other details. I am not mad at his grace, though, his choice was for the good of The Collective.

[Toady One]

1) Yeah, it's how SMF works, but I tend to disregard older warnings unless they are particularly relevant.  Fobos had several warnings over the last 10 days, and the mute system was not useful for him (he just made an account to dodge it from another IP).

2) You receive a PM from the "Bay 12 Games Forum" or something, in which I try to clarify what went wrong, but sometimes I'm a bit grumpy and perhaps not as clear as I should be.  The sender of the PM is a little confusing, as somebody pointed out, so I've started signing them "Toady" now, or at least I try to remember to do that.  All warning messages come from me.  Also, chaoticjosh, you haven't ever received a warning.

[Akroma]

if he just made an account from a different IP, what makes you think he won't just rejoin, under a different name ?

[Gunner-Chan]

I have to ask, is banning really that rare of a thing here? I'm still sorta new here so it seems very strange to me.

[Dasleah]

I have to ask, is banning really that rare of a thing here? I'm still sorta new here so it seems very strange to me.

Up until recently I'd say 99% of all bans were for spam bots, at least from what I can remember. And even then, we'd get one a month at most. VN had seemingly attracted a certain... undesirable element to our forums, and I fear the fallout from closing it will take a while to get over.

[Emperor_Jonathan]

2)

I have no idea if I'm not allowed to do this, but I don't see why it would be disallowed.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Toady One]

if he just made an account from a different IP, what makes you think he won't just rejoin, under a different name ?

If he does and I don't notice, then that means he's readjusted his attitude and it's not that bad a thing -- if Fobos is verified as the new account holder though, of course I'll ban it immediately, whether the new account has been good or bad, as it's a ban-dodge.  If he keeps reregistering and causing trouble, then I'm not sure what the solution is.  It doesn't seem so common on the internet in general that it's an insurmountable problem -- if the IPs all come from the same family I can just keep banning wider groups of them until it's done.  SMF lets you see what IPs are shared by other members and so on, so there shouldn't be any innocent bystanders that also get banned, unless they are people that haven't registered yet, in which case they are welcome to contact me.

I have to ask, is banning really that rare of a thing here? I'm still sorta new here so it seems very strange to me.

I don't do it that often, and, yeah, it was mostly over spam bots and wow gold people in the past.  Temporary mutes have been a bit more common lately.

2)

I have no idea if I'm not allowed to do this, but I don't see why it would be disallowed.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

He he, yeah, I always feel weird when warning PMs are quoted, but there's no rule against it.  I guess there might be something about posting a PM, etiquette-wise, but I don't personally care for mine.

also: hmm, it is kind of unfortunate that SMF calls the Bay 12 Games Forum a "guest".  That's just bad, as it's the sender of the warning PM.  I wonder if there's a way to fix that.

[IndonesiaWarMinister]

I have to ask, is banning really that rare of a thing here? I'm still sorta new here so it seems very strange to me.

Up until recently I'd say 99% of all bans were for spam bots, at least from what I can remember. And even then, we'd get one a month at most. VN had seemingly attracted a certain... undesirable element to our forums, and I fear the fallout from closing it will take a while to get over.

I... remember...

Moin.

Oh man, that guy was... legendary...

@Toady One: How about registering the Bay 12 Games Forum as an account and make it an administrator?
Can it be done? Oh, and hide it in the member lists as well...

[Tormy]

I have to ask, is banning really that rare of a thing here? I'm still sorta new here so it seems very strange to me.

Yeah it's extremely rare right now. Toady is very light-hearted. If things are getting worse [example: the number of spammers/trolls/flamers will grow], he might have to get rid of this light-heartedness eventually.

[woose1]

Lets see, I got 3-4 warnings, and 1 mute.
I'ma baaaaaad booooooy....

[Sordid]

if he just made an account from a different IP, what makes you think he won't just rejoin, under a different name ?

If he does and I don't notice, then that means he's readjusted his attitude and it's not that bad a thing -- if Fobos is verified as the new account holder though, of course I'll ban it immediately, whether the new account has been good or bad, as it's a ban-dodge.

Isn't that a little counter-productive? I mean, the only thing banning his new account would accomplish is it would make him dodge the ban again. It's a vicious cycle, and there's no real reason for it either if he's adjusted his attitude. It all comes down to what you think the purpose of forum rules is. Punish people for wanting to be a part of the community or keep the peace? I'd say it's the latter, and if he's not disturbing the peace there's no reason to punish him further.

[Akroma]

I wonder, instead of just banning him, couldn't you use admin tools to "adjust" his avatar and/or signature to a big red "Idiot" ?

[Tormy]

I wonder, instead of just banning him, couldn't you use admin tools to "adjust" his avatar and/or signature to a big red "Idiot" ?

Why should Toady do anything like that? That would be childish and pointless.