Daft question i know, but how do we know when a member has been banned?

Is there a list of banned members and why they were banned?
It would make interesting reading.

Their names disappear and get replaced with ''Banned Member'' or something similar can't remember exactly.

Theres no list though.

Shame about that.

Hell of a good read about why they were banned.

How about the mods make "banned thread" ?

I think they usually get warns, not the red warns but actual u2u's to warn them and inform them when they are banned.

Tho sometimes what happens is a jerk gets banned. They come back later under a new name, or some such, and eventually are found out. I wouldn't be too surprised if repeaters like that are just banned without warning.

It would be nice to be able to find out why members were banned tho, if for no other reason than to say 'ah, so that is unacceptable.' And also, well, drama.

SO thats why there's not goign to be a list and reasons.

From time to time, members have complied such lists... No problem there, should be found with some searches. We don't compile them as staff for reasons of avoiding board drama.

Bans happen for many reasons...

Instant Bans: usually for aliases of formerly banned members (confirmed in a variety of ways), those posting porn or porn links who then don't remove them after a warn (as this hurts our kid-friendly google rating), hack attempts of course, and so on...each case is different, but these are some of the baddies... At times, this has even covered the posting of actual classified information that could cause the authorities to shut us down...

More normal Bans: after a number of Warns from staff, things like harassing members, promoting related forums, trolling, repeated violations of the terms and conditions, etc. Note that U2Us and chat are likewise covered under the TOS... In these cases, you'll usually see a few of the little red warns prior to the banning, but yes, a U2U is generally sent as a last ditch effort to change before the ban goes into effect. In many cases a posting ban happens first (a cool off period), and then the ban is either made permanent or the member is back in full standing.

Like many things, there is no black and white, and each case is handled on it's own. None of us enjoys losing members, but if it improves the site, well that is the end goal... We've lost some valuable members because of a lack of their ability to adhere to the rules the rest of us follow. It's a shame really, for some of them, but without such order, well, you've seen those kinds of forums....

I hear the word "trolling" used a lot. What does it mean?

My banned list was comprehensive to a date in late 2003, then it was banned. It grew from a 'guidebook' to an 'encyclopaedia' in scope.

I'm not aware of any other such lists mentioned by Gazrok.

The reasons for banning of members are diverse but relatively uninteresting.

i propose a list / thread of ALL members banned and WHY they were banned...

this will end questions like these and annoying u2u's to mods...

I would counsel against starting a thread on banning, based on the treatment of this issue in the past.

Originally posted by MaskedAvatar
I would counsel against starting a thread on banning, based on the treatment of this issue in the past.

i guess that is a good point..

maybe mods love to "ban and not tell"...

There is no way that there will be public debate or excessive explanations on banning.

In the past we tried to walk that path and ended up with power blocks trying to impose their beliefs on the board.

We tried to be open and all we got was to engender anger and abuse towards mods for doing their jobs.

The decisions of board are discussed fully in the appropriate forum. There is usually a strong debate until consensus is reached on the banning of a member. others are faster when it's obvious to all whats gone wrong.

At the end of the day you have to trust mod decisions, this is not a democracy, but a private board. This is the only way a place like this can function.

Ok point taken about the banned members list.

The reasons quoted are valid and i respect them.

My banned list was comprehensive to a date in late 2003, then it was banned. It grew from a 'guidebook' to an 'encyclopaedia' in scope.

Yes, it was quite an impressive list, but alas, board drama....it's inevitable.

I'm not aware of any other such lists mentioned by Gazrok.

There have been others. I'm not so sure all such lists were trashed, but now that you mention it, likely they were...

The reasons for banning of members are diverse but relatively uninteresting.

That's pretty much true. Heck in many cases the membership at large have requested a member to be banned via complaint after complaint of violating the terms and conditions.

I think, given Bikereddie's response, that he understands why there is no such official listing, so closing the thread in the interest of avoiding said drama....