Bannings

[PoorOldSpike]

Banter and goodnatured ribbing enhance any forum, that's what I fostered when I was Administrator and Moderator at Timebombers Philosophy Forum a few years ago and the atmosphere was terrific.
My rule was basically "say anything you like providing it doesn't have a nasty spiteful sour-minded cutting edge, or you'll find yourself automatically banished to 'The Box' for 3 months at a time, every time.
(The official phraseology was - "A 3-month suspension of posting privileges")
My attitude was "If they put their head in the noose, i'll warn them just ONCE, then if they do it again i'll happily spring the trap with the farewell words 'Hasta la vista baby, see you in 3 months"..

But amazingly I never had to ban a single soul for the simple reason everybody enjoyed being part of the forum and soaking up its great friendly vibes, great chat, great repartee and banter; the last thing on earth they'd want to risk would be 3 months in a cold lonely box..

PS- Writing in his autobiog "My Early Life", about his time as a young cavalry officer in India, Winston Churchill says how he enjoyed "the keen intellect of the mess", and that's the sort of atmosphere any forum should aim for too, it's not rocket science, just a bunch of decent regular guys chatting among themselves, and I'm sure we all support the Blitz brass in their desire for that..:)

[Der Kuenstler]

Lads for goodness sake play the bloody game

I agree - just play!

[Kelen]

Thanks SG for taking the time, and having the coutesy, to give a bit of background to the bannings, (hopefully it put a stop to any rumour mongers and theorisers out there).

We've have been extensive discussions, (and related trauma), in recent months around moderation, bannings etc; and therefore I would have hoped that everyone was clear as to what was acceptable standards of behaviour, and what would happen if they were breached.

As such, I really don't see a need for another round of discussions over this, or comments on how other sites were/are moderated, (actually I didn't think that this topic was indeed open for discussion).

The rules are there for anyone new to the site who is not aware of them, (ignorance is NOT an excuse), and I'm sure the mods would be happy to clarify anything which people are unsure of, or to address any suggestions that they have.

[Maakt Droog]

Ok, I'll first apologize for bumping this thing back up; I know folks just want to get down to the gaming. But, this decision really got under my skin and while I figured I'd give it some cooling-off time (plus I was super-busy at work until yesterday and decided to put my energies there), it still bothers me, so, I'm going to toss in my two cents and leave it that. I'll not debate anything, and I'll accept all comments and criticisms without any fuss.

As I'm sure you've gathered by now, I think that banning these members was a poor decision, to say the least. It reflects badly on the club and prolongs, rather than ends, animosity.

There is only one CM community and we are all part of it. People interact on various boards, and some don't really "speak" that much with others because they only visit one or a few boards. Some of that is due to language barriers, some of it to time differences, and the rest just to habit and familiarity. Maybe some to comfort and a desire to avoid conflicts, too.

But even so, as far as I can tell, the entire CM community is populated by adult men. We ought to be able to manage our differences with something better than "banning." In almost all cases the relationships that are formed in this CM community are accomplished largely or even exclusively through written text. In such an environment, "banning" is nothing more than attempted censorship. And censorship is a lousy practice for settling differences.

To be sure, there are times when banning may be necessary. Such as when someone acts dishonestly (cheats) or where their conduct is utterly disruptive to the board. That was not the case here. As much as folks may not have condoned the behavior that led to this decision, it certainly was not taking place in this corner of our little CM world. That's not optimal -- to have none of it would be optimal -- but it was confined to somewhere else. It could be ignored.

Not that ignoring the behavior was required. I think there are a lot of things that could have been said about "Rulk TV" and its attempt at satire. Certainly by those who found themselves its target. Legitimate critique on the content of "Rulk TV" and the character of its authors would have been an appropriate response. There is no obligation to abide mutely criticism or unfavorable comments. I would have much preferred to hear about that, and I think it would have achieved a lot more good.

"Banning" doesn't accomplish anything; it just builds thicker walls.

Those now-former Blitz members are very active in the CM community. Maybe they do not amuse you or don't really like them, but they're here just as you are. Much better to settle differences (whether you do it publicly or privately doesn't matter) and come up with a way to co-exist. I think that that obligation is incumbent on both "sides" of this "issue", and it is something a community would rather expect its members to do. Especially where those who are mixed up in this conflict are such prominent members.

That doesn't mean you should become friends, but it does mean that you should come up with something you can all honor. Saying you've tried something and it didn't work and "banning" is all that you can do now is BS. Get up off the mat and try again.

I've gone on a bit now, and I'll apologize also if I have taken undue advantage with such a long-winded post. I'll aim now for something more positive.

The Blitz is an excellent site. My gaming experience here has been awesome. Steel God, RedDevil and many others have earned my gratitude for making that experience possible. Thank you. I hope that the site continues to remain a vibrant part of the gaming community and that we only continue to have the simple pleasure of whiling away our pastime with this hobby.

[Copper]

To be fair... I appreciate your comments but the time has come to move on.... whats done has been done. It wasnt a spur of the moment decision but something that had been thought long and hard about.

Also why have people being nice to your face when you know fine well they are sticking knives into your back... doesnt matter if the knife twisting was on this site or not.

It isnt that hard to abide by a message board rules, some didnt, some moved on. End of story.

[Steel God]

David;

Thanks for your opinion on the subject. I'm all for free speech, and against censorship. But as I view it, the right to free speech is a right to put forth ideas and engage in reasonable debate, with respect for other points of view. It doesn't give the right to attack, endlessly, and cruelly. I don't associate with people who do that in the outside world and I don't want to associate with people who do that at the Blitz. That's not the type of environment we wish to offer. I will hold the Staff to that as well, and if something happened in my absence I was not aware of I apologize for it, and assure you, no endless, cruel, bashing of people and places will be tolerated here.

Also, I know you view this as a "CM Community" issue, but my responsibility is to the Blitz as a Club, not to the CM Community in the WWW. I felt obliged to act because the CM ladder at the Blitz was taking up more than it's fair share of Staff time. It's unfair to the CS ladder, the SP ladder, the SqB ladder, the OpC ladder, etc etc. Far too many people have always looked at this from a CM -centric view point, and for me it has never been one. I look at it from the Blitz-centric viewpoint, because that's my job.

If your anger of this matter compels you to leave us, I understand completely and wish you only the best in gaming and in life generally.

[Stryker]

Consider this analogy;

I frequent a local pub, I play for the darts team and we all have a good bit of banter and enjoy playing the game.... as time goes on, I realise I don't really get on with the landlord of the pub, he always seem to be niggling me and criticising in my opinion.. but we go on for a while, then I get fed up and niggle back a bit, we argue a little and it gets a bit out of hand. Eventually the landlord suggests I take a bit of time out and give the pub and team a rest for a while, I agree and go to a different pub and have a few games there... I come back and we agree we'll try to get on and just play darts..... but after a while, it all starts again.. niggles here, niggles there.. other people in the pub are getting a bit pissed off with listeneing to it all the time and there's getting to be a bad atmosphere, the darts are taking second place to the constant bickering.. so again, the landlord suggests I leave and cool off.... again I start frequenting the other pub and play a little bit for their team.... but I'm still pissed off, so I start slagging the landlord of my local pub off, calling him names and saying he's an arsehole and I can't stand him.... presently the owner gets to hear about this and decides to put a stop to it, he calls me up and says it's probably better if I don't come back and play darts at his pub any more if I don't like it so much, so why don't I just keep playing for the pub I went too...(it doesn't even matter if the landlord was at fault, or even wrong, it's his pub!)... then everyone will be happy and can just get on with playing darts in a team they enjoy playing with, with people who understand their sense of humour....
Seems pretty straight forward to me... applying this to a real life situation makes it far clearer in my view.... the guys in the other pub don't seem able to let it go... but they will.... eventually.....

So the upshot appears to be, if you like playing darts in this pub and you think the landlord and owner are OK, then stay and enjoy the atmosphere.... otherwise, I'm sure you'll be welcome in the other place....


I know it's none of my business, and I don't play CM very often.. but I felt a little support for the people who try to run a decent place wouldn't go amiss... people fall out in life, it's a fact and we need to be adult enough to recognise that, get on with it, get over it , and move on.....

OK?

[Mad Russian]

There seems to be some polarization going in the CM Community. For quite awhile now but of late in particular.

Blitz in one corner and everybody else in the other corner.

I'm not saying it's good, bad, or indifferent. I'm just saying that's the way I see it. For the most part, I think Blitz perpetrates that. Like it here, or leave.

Some stay, some leave, some are asked to leave.

The community goes on.

I think there will always be at least two sides to each issue. No matter what it is. Blitz supplies one of those sides and as such is a valuable asset to the CM community. The rest supply their assets and they too are a valuable asset to the CM community.

What surprises me, is that the general consensus seems to be that we all have to be in all the same sites as members. That seems an impossibility for alot of people, because of philosophical reasons if nothing else. Some personalities bounce all over and others stay put.

Why is that a problem?

I agree that if you don't like where you are, move on.

Good luck with the future of the site. It's a big part of the world's greatest hobby.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Jobu88]

I will add another perspective. I could not possibly care less how or why they were banned. I come to the Blitz to find opponents first and foremost, and to exchange thoughts on the bulletin board. But I have never and will never lose a minute of sleep about anything posted at the Blitz. If I don't like it I ignore it. If I can add to it with a photo or a joke or whatever, I do. If I can't, I don't. Especially since I expect I will meet very few if any of the other members in real life, why on earth get excited about anything posted here??

[Der Kuenstler]

Well I read the extensive "Rulk TV" thread as long as my rear end could hold out, and I must admit that Leto and his banned buddies are extremely skilled at CM, funny, smart and witty.

However, they all see themselves as "outlaws" and enjoy that image. For example, they enjoy meeting at the "saloon" where they can freely curse and abuse others, and call themselves "evil sith lords" and such - that should give you a hint of the role they enjoy playing. (If not you can just read their threads and see the abundant potty humor and lack of any moral compass there.) I would call the constant repeated and ruthless satirical attack on Randy and others in the "Rulk TV" thread immoral. I can't imagine worse words than were used - nothing was held back - absolutely nothing. It started out cute, then got ugly as the mob egged it on, then became just plain wrong. (I'm sorry but nobody I know here deserves that kind of treatment.)

They like to be outlaws and were banned as such. This is still the best CM club and may continue to pick up members, even as the game grows older - but members that actually like to play the game more than they like to squabble.