Mistreatment

I'm not one for rocking the boat on this board. but it has been brought to my attention and i find it foul so i'm going to address it or attempt to address it.

I personally haven't had mod problems, but some folk here have suffered a different fate. some members post have been stalked and ridiculed until they leave or are banned. this has happened to a certain, i believe, misunderstood newbie Rascar aka Karl.

while, i know some of the problems folk had with his post being short and under-defined was an issue i don't think that calls for banning. i have done it and many others have too. is it annoying, yes. but not destructive.

nor do i think being deemed anti-american is cause for banning as evident by YCon's avatar of an upside down US Flag.

at any rate, this is prolly a fruitless exercise because mods here have the right to exclude anyone they want but on the basis of what i have seen, Karl didn't get a fair shake. he was pounced on from day one. and with the new influx of pro-war newbies it got ugly. it takes a while for someone to mesh into a community and especially ats. i have been offended here and joked on just like i'm sure all of you have. but, some of the mistreatment Karl recieved was out-of-hand. i even felt sorry for him sometimes. and i truly don't understand why he would want to stay here. but, i'm quite fond of ats so...maybe it's a little understandable.

at any rate, there was a point when everyone stop addressing the thread and started addressing Karl only not for his opinions but because he was Karl and he said it. it was a bandwagon thing. it truly sucked. and i hope it doesn't happen again.

and that's my say folk...


[Edited on 24-3-2003 by Saphronia]

Saph, you are totally entitled to your opinion, but I'll give you mine. It seemed totally obvious to me that his purpose here was to oppose and provoke. He very rarely (I cant remember ever but) expressed his own independent opinion, instead opposed every other view in a way that I felt was intentionally to provoke and cause a stir. I know this site is all about opposing views but it should be done in an adult way. When he did post his one-line provoking statements, he was never able to provide a link, much less any proof. One time when he was asked for a link to back up something he said that seemed totally incorrect, he provided a link that took you to a story that was written in Italian. This post was in the war forum and when myself and another member used a translation site to understand his link, it was about a chimpanzee stealing telephones. I dont see how a person is an asset to this site if their one and only purpose is to make other members who are carrying an adult debate mad, and that is what he did over and over. One of the mods even asked others in one of his silly threads what others thought about him and it was unanimous that he was not contributing, so I wouldn't say the mods just banned him on their own. I would invite you to read some of the posts he made in the "War" forum and see what you think. I thought it was justified but that's just my opinion and I'm new here so I'll shutup now.

I can't recall seeing anything that warranted "banning", but then, I haven't been on over the weekend... I will agree that his intentions seemed more to provoke, but I am one of those that is fine with that. When provoked, you are forced to stand up for your convictions, and defend your position. If you can't take the heat, you should get out of the kitchen... That said though, the mods certainly have the right to remove anyone they deem as disruptive. For me, the disruptive ones though, keep things interesting and entertaining... If I truly think they're being annoying, I can always simply ignore them, and not respond....a far better solution imho....

From the Terms and Conditions of this board:

By using this message board, you agree to the following:

You will not post any material that is knowingly false, misleading, or inaccurate.

He was constantly providing false information and would not provide any ways for us to validate it. The whole purpose of us here is to find the truth, and Karl wasn't helping out very much, especially if you go to the thread PA was talking about. What does a monkey stealing phones have to do with anything?

I wouldn't worry about it though, I think he is already back in another form..........

i'm gong to submit two threads that were just mean and uncalled for...one is directed at Karl personally. this was a childish display by grown member/mods. only to say that being mean isn't funny or clever. we all have strong opinions here and we don't always agree but to taunt someone because you don't like the side of the issue they take is immature.

Beligum warns the US

Dennis Miller's letter to Karl

please let's respect each other whether we agree or disagree...this type of activity is what ruins a board.

I've been asked to give my 2 cents too. And I'm afraid to say that if Karl had decided to be pro-war, and ignorant in that stance, he would never have been banned.

There is a definite feeling on these boards that the moderators are overwhelmingly anti towards people who oppose military action.

I share Saphronia's view that some of the personal attacks on Karl were unwarranted, and in quite a few cases were down to misinterpretations of someone who's native language obviously isn't English.

Fact is, a lot of the statements Karl made were not backed up by evidence, but were no more extreme than un-verified comments which have come from other (un-named) pro-war activists on these boards...

Saph/dom

Many of the Patriots have nothing to add to the debates here but excess testosterone.

I don't mind listening to their views,it is their right to express them but not over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.................................................................. ............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Rascar Capac was banned after these two threads :

xmb.abovetopsecret.com...
xmb.abovetopsecret.com...

He told me his email adress was modified after being banned ... thats kinda morbid ..

Well Saph if you are going to post links to threads, here is the thread that destroyed his credibility: xmb.abovetopsecret.com...
I admit I was a little harsh but he pushed me and I felt it was intentional.

ProudAmerican - If some of us anti-war folk reacted to all provocations from the pro-war fanatics this board would become the start of WW3.

I think the pro-war people just need to listen, and if they disagree, to politely decline to get drawn into a slanging match.

Rascar, Karl, Rudra? is just a fanatical anti-war person, although we have far more fanatical pro-war people on this board.

i have read that thread already. while this isn't about Karl the attacks on him started way before that thread. my intention was not to single any one person out for poor behavior. just to point out that certain folk constant mistreatment of those they disagree with is uncalled for. when one is being verbally attacked by every poster on a thread it is understandable that they go on the defensive in every thread we have seen it happen to Nans. if you can't control your anger then maybe you shouldn't post to that thread maybe you should move on...there is plenty here to comment on and read that doesn't send folk into an uncontrollable rage.

ah, well. like i said before i just hope this never happens again.

I know what you are saying Saph and Dom, and I try to be open minded and understand both sides. My point was that I felt he was intentionally provoking me as opposed to debating. I will take your advice and ignore posts that I find provoking and hopefully we can all get along.

Gee.........I wondered why there was silence..........
there are many boards out there. Join one adhere to the rules.

Afterall, ATS is just another part of the internet.

Deal with it.....if you want your hand held, find another place to go. The mods I agree keep this place respectful.
NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. Other wise this place would be another porn posting station. I've been to boards where all they do is curse you when you say hello. I had my attitude curbed here and admitted to it.

Other wise this place would be another porn posting station.

GO AWAY MOD'S !!!!!!

JK

If people were banned on their stance to the war then Nans would have been banned a long time ago.

NoN,

Well ... that would depend on the view's of the mod doing the banning at the time... Yeah, guess your right

Personally I have no problems with the way we are modding this site, although I do miss Lupes input he was aggrivating to some.

With karl/Rascar, there were many yells in the threads to ban the troll with an almost public uprising in one thread I read.

I think that many of the people quick to respond here don't see all the posts that cause the aggrivation, the mods do, as they are posted in cosmic ... and we are utued by members complaining about posts.

Still I was unaware of the extent of the Karl backlash and suprised at the number of people who wanted him out.

Look at it this way, at this time of high poster numbers and rising emotions if the forum had been in its pre TBATS state it would be almost unreadable. At least we have threads that stay often on track, posters who refrain from abuse, and conflicts out in the open.

What would you rather have?

So does that mean you'll be banning "US Patriot" then for his comments in this thread? (about post 38 I think)

xmb.abovetopsecret.com...

I doubt it.

Particularly as there isn't a vocal anti-war group who will shout him down and demand that he's banned... I still think Karl didn't deserve to be banned. His statements were only as inflammatory as the one I've linked to above...

BANNING IS NOT MY WAY OF LIFE.................I COULD CARE LESS. YOU ARE SO HARD UP FOR NOTHING DOM.


GET A LIFE

... any mods care to comment?