Banned Member (quickest one i`ve seen so far)

Good to see a man who can speak up, make his point, and then get back in ranks before making a spectacle of himself. Way to go soldier! You're a bit wordy for my tastes, but competent, and cogent.

Carry on.

Nowhere near as much. Its that simple.

I must say its admirable how free members are to express their opinions over the running of the board while still happily admitting they are not at intellectual level of the mods.

Remember the rules of a good functioning society, "You have the right to debate and disagree with the leaders just as long as you do what they want."

With the growing realisation among the ranks that indeed the mods do know what is best for the board, I am sure that the members can rest assured that their best interests are cared for.

Members can return to their assigned duties of posting quality information and know that the modding of the board is in competent hands.

We can now focus on the important task of improving grammer and developing a healthy lifestyle off board.

The next task for our board will be to wean the posters in the conspiracy forums and particularly the Aliens and UFO forum off illegal drugs and anti psychotic medications, and back to healthy food and exercise.

You are now dismissed, return to duties.

And your evidance for this statement is?

I am sure that if the moderators didn't know what they were doing, this site would not last that long. I have seen quite a few forums crumble due to poor leadership. Good job, Mods.

~crawls back under rock~

That's it, weirdo BANNED, just kidding.
Banning is a last resort. Do you think that we go out of our way to "ban" people? Without the members, it's just another board. Rules are rules though and they're there to protect everyone, from member to admin.

Perfectly said!

Imagine if the staff was to ban everyone but themselves. How boring would that be? The staff has shown dedication to making ATS a bigger and better site, and the evidence of that is everywhere! Spinoff boards, chat rooms, a MILLION posts, the list is endless.

It should be obvious to everyone that the staff are not out to make this into a private club, but quite the opposite. So if they see evidence that there is someone who wishes to disturb the community, misuse the community or whatever, bye bye. So much work goes into this place, and no one has a right to be abusive on it etc.

I can solve this entire question (which has appeared in numerous threads) for everyone in a simple statement:

Look at what this site has become and remember it wouldn't have gotten that way without competent and qualified staff doing what they have to do.

I would have thought 600 pages by now.

GeneralDilemma ,you got my 'WayAbove Vote'

Majic your querry is a perfect example of why children shouldn't watch violence on TV, or adults argue. They always think they'll be next.


[edit on 12/5/2004 by bodebliss]

Now that's just plain silly. We're on a conspiracy board. How the heck can we keep up the conspiracy fodder if we have transparency every time some one gets banned or warned.

bah - I'm all for wondering, but I'm not all for these types of threads. You guys need to get over thinking you have a say in anything on this board.

After all - the dues to play here really don't buy you much, do they?

Yeah... What She (Valhall) said...

(Skeptic or Kano, please one-line warn me)
m...

Always good to see universal dissent amongst the masses, it reassures me in an odd way. I think the unspoken thought is "what if something is being hidden by banning a member" or "what if they were banned unjustly?"

I’ve have yet to see an example of an unwarranted banning, but I have definitely seen cases of extreme tolerance (painfully so), where an obvious plea to be banned went unfulfilled.

ATS Monkeys, not just for banning anymore…

I think that people sometimes forget that this board is offered "free" and it runs and is moderated by, volunteers....they don't reallly owe anyone an explanation about bannings.....nuff said

[edit on 12/5/2004 by LadyV]

Maybe we need an area of the site that always over 18`s to access.An area were adults who can take a little abuse could go

and how would you regulate that, weirdo? How do you prove the posters are over 18. *shakes head*
I got a better idea:
Let's leave the running of this place to those who are currently running it. They are human, but are doing a very good job. Show me a better run forum!

I know what you mean. But, there's certain people who are VERY good at taking it right to the edge, then knowing when to back up and blend into the background. It's extremely hard to fire or get rid of them. Ususally, others buttons are pushed and the others get let go.
IRL, I worked with some like that. I've seen the instigators still have a job and the others get fired.
*shakes head some more*

I understand what your saying, I have one that works for me that way...all in all though, if one is smart enough to "know" exactly where that line is that you do not actually cross over, though they may stick their foot over it but not let it touch the ground......there's nothing you can do, plus it does show that they have good control, thought process, etc.....

I just slipped over to the Terms & Conditions page. I have only been here since July, but I read the rules every couple weeks. ALL members ought to try it. There are things you can forget or skim over. I reprinted the last part. Sure hope I'm not breaking any rules pertaining to Copywrites.

This is the first Board I have joined, although I visited a little before I did. I joined because I liked what I saw. The rules did not seem too cumbersome to me. It certainly seems better than a Board of Anarchy, which would be ATS without those rules. Even civilized people need rules, and from what I see, we all are civilized. Well, you all are, and with your help, I'm getting close.

Board Information--Terms and Conditions of Use
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Violation of any aspect of the Terms and Conditions of use are subject to our Actions for general abuse and violations. Or, in extreme cases, immediate banning of your username and IP from the discussion board. In all disputes, the decisions of myself and administrative staff are final.
Lastly, and most important, this is a privately owned discussion board community. The administration and senior moderator staff reserve the right to take action against any member who is deemed to be devoted purely to disruption or whose actions represent behavior contrary to community building.. This action may include complete banning of your username and IP address.
Simon Gray - Webmaster and Founder of AboveTopSecret.com
(These terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Please refer to them often to stay up-to-date with our current board policies.)

I really dont think that would work AT ALL. There are plenty of mature people on this site(possibly even some moderators) that are under 18 and dont whine or question the moderators decisions, while some that are older are sore thumbs about everything.

Also,Ilike DontTreadOnMe said, how would you regulate it? When i was under 18 posting on message boards, when they asked for my birthday i would always make myself over 18 out of habit..looked down upon less for my age, and also because then if it had an area later that only allowed 18+, i wouldnt have to start all over with another screen name.

---pineapple

There is an organisation that you input your personnel details and they check your age via the election index that is used to send out your card that allows you to vote.Please don`t insult my ideas if you don`t no something excists doesn`t mean it isn`t around.
Once you have been id you get a pass code.Granted its not going to be 100% but if porn sites use it and once you agree to a disclaimer that would protect the web owners.Its not that porn or any gross misconducts would be allowed just disscussion that could allow intelligent people to argue and make the nutters look stupid.
One of the best things about disscussion boards is making other peoples arguements look stupid and seeing them rant, rave and stick you on ignore
I suspect that alot of members getting banned are teenagers who less face it cannot really contribute much to a site such as this anyway


P.S. incase any over power crazed mod thinks l am advocating against the terms of this site my intention is not to troll or disrespect other members who contribute intelligent posts and threads just the ones that deserve a little leg pulling.Especially members such as Italiano who since threatend my life in a U2U will not get any respect from me

[edit on 5-12-2004 by weirdo]

This is a discussion board.

Mature people, under or over 18 years of age make their arguments by reasoning and facts. There is no need for the quality of making people look stupid or ranting, raving or obscene language.

I don't believe any of that has any place on this board. BTW maybe you should make an effort to listen to some of the intelligent young people who are posting on this board. You might learn something. IMHO