# Banned, reasons?



## DavyJones (18 Mar 2008)

Was wondering, when I read threads, some of the members seemed to be banned. what kind of thing gets you banned and do you get warned first?


----------



## NicolaM (18 Mar 2008)

I was wondering the same thing: and how come banned people can still post? Normally someone's banned, that's them off the website..

Nicola


----------



## DrMoriarty (18 Mar 2008)

They can't post after they're banned, but their existing posts don't disappear.

Banning is usually a last resort for when — despite warnings — posters persistently breach the  or otherwise abuse the forum. 

Blatant spamming along the lines of _*"60GB iPod for $299 ...LOOK NOW!!!'*_ will obviously incur an immediate ban.


----------



## Sn@kebite (19 Mar 2008)

DrMoriarty said:


> They can't post after they're banned, but their existing posts don't disappear.


I've seen a few post from a couple years ago where the user was not registered and still posted (?). 
If someone was banned, couldn't they just post without registration?

Or is that discontinued nowadays.


----------



## Satanta (19 Mar 2008)

Sn@kebite said:


> If someone was banned, couldn't they just post without registration?
> 
> Or is that discontinued nowadays.


Answered your own question there.

The ability for unregistered users to post was removed some time back.


----------



## Brendan Burgess (19 Mar 2008)

One important thing to remember is that the offensive posts are removed. So you see the acceptable posts. 

Brendan


----------



## Bronte (19 Mar 2008)

I asked the same question once and apparently some banned posters are alowed to post if it's not rude or offensive. I guess their posts set of a red light or alarm or something to the moderators.


----------



## Conshine (19 Mar 2008)

DrMoriarty said:


> Banning is usually a last resort for when — despite warnings — posters persistently breach the  or otherwise abuse the forum.


 
So are records kept when a user breaches the posting guidelines?
Are we able to find out how many black marks are next to our names?


----------



## davidoco (19 Mar 2008)

Conshine said:


> Are we able to find out how many black marks are next to our names?


 

Usually you'll post to a particular thread.  It will be deleted.  You'll forget about the thread unless you come across it again and notice that your post was deleted.  Stealth moderating.


----------



## davidoco (19 Mar 2008)

YOBR said:


> What annoys me is when a thread you start is closed and you dont get a reason why....


 
To be fair to the moderators they will usually post "closed" and link to the particular part of the guidelines or the other thread of relevance. 

like this http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=75832&highlight=closed


----------



## DavyJones (19 Mar 2008)

I've noticed that some posters that have been banned have lots of posts to their credit, would they have gotten a few warnings?


----------



## DrMoriarty (19 Mar 2008)

Possibly. 

Having lots of posts to your name is no guarantee of immunity from the banning stick. On a particularly bad day, I've been known to ban myself.


----------



## Brendan Burgess (19 Mar 2008)

The purpose of banning and moderating is to maintain the quality of Askaboutmoney.

brendan


----------



## MandaC (20 Mar 2008)

I can understand the significant time taken in moderating this board and can only imagine the hassle involved.  Think that the mods do a great job in general and I know I would not have the patience for it.

However, I feel lately that its quite difficult to ask a question without being subjected to "harsh" replies.  I posted a question recently about TUPE which concerns me at at the moment.  I was at the stage where I was starting to think, will I post this, or will I just leave it and search the info on the web myself. 

Anyway, posted the question among my numerous questions on the topic and sure enough "is that really high on your list of priorities",  type of reply. Then felt very foolish for asking the question.

In my next post, voiced the fact that my initial fear about asking the questions were those type of remarks.  I was then given a black mark or whatever that is for off topic remarks.  

Just a couple of days later, I then read the thread on magic mum where various people stated that they dont use the forum any more for fear of being made to feel stupid for asking basic questions.

I think thats a real shame and defeats the purpose of the forum.  I am an ordinary joesephine soap and have down the years got access to some really beneficial information because of AAM.  

Thinking about it,  this is probably off topic too, and will probably get me a belt of the banning stick too, if I am not careful.

To quote Mr. Ian Dury......hit me with your banning stick.....hit me....hit me...(thats a joke, I just dont know how to insert the smiley face thingy!)


----------



## Sn@kebite (20 Mar 2008)

MandaC said:


> Just a couple of days later, I then read the thread on magic mum where various people stated that they dont use the forum any more for fear of being made to feel stupid for asking basic questions.


In fairness to the Mods, if it really was a basic question, the probability is high that the answer would easily be found via the search function or google.

It can be very tiresome for members on this site to answer the same question 400 million times to different users.


----------



## MandaC (20 Mar 2008)

Yes,  totally accept your point.  Some of the very basic questions being answered a million times before and titles like "question",  or rambling incoherent posts are annoying to read and must be 10 times harder to moderate.

What I don't like the sound of, however, is cases where people feel they should not contradict answers given, even if in their experience, the advice is not correct.  In a shared forum like this, that can be dangerous.

I also think that some answers in a very cutting manner, "is that really important to you" or "why do you want to know" are unhelpful and would put people off asking questions in future. 

Just my tuppenceworth anyway.


----------



## Brendan Burgess (20 Mar 2008)

Manda C

One thing which is very annoying for users of Askaboutmoney is where an important topic is dragged off topic. Suddenly you find people arguing about something else. This is clear in the Posting Guidelines and is respected by most people. 

You dragged an important topic off topic. A moderator has to spend time editing your post. We would much prefer to ask questions and answer them to dealing with people who think that AAM should allow the free association type posts which are allowed on other forums.  Your post was left but the off-topic bit was deleted. Personally, I think that the Mod was lenient. It is much easier to delete whole posts than to edit them. That is what I would have done. 

Most people read the Posting Guidelines and adhere to them.  But our Posting Guidelines don't suit everyone.

Brendan


----------



## MandaC (20 Mar 2008)

We will have to agree to disagree on this one.  

Again, you are right not to waste time arguing over nothing instead of spending time answering relevant questions. I am just making the point that some of the sharp replies may and do indeed appear to put some people off asking questions in the first place.


----------



## truthseeker (20 Mar 2008)

YOBR said:


> I would agree..........


 
Do you mean the mods give sharp replies that are off putting or other users make sharp replies that are off putting?


----------



## Miles (20 Mar 2008)

Sn@kebite said:


> In fairness to the Mods, if it really was a basic question, the probability is high that the answer would easily be found via the search function or google.
> 
> It can be very tiresome for members on this site to answer the same question 400 million times to different users.



In fairness you could apply that logic to any question asked on the AAM forum.


----------



## DavyJones (20 Mar 2008)

Sn@kebite said:


> In fairness to the Mods, if it really was a basic question, the probability is high that the answer would easily be found via the search function or google.
> 
> It can be very tiresome for members on this site to answer the same question 400 million times to different users.


 

In that case, don't answer it. Let somebody who wants to reply, do just that. As my Ma always says "if you can't say anything nice and helpfull, stay silent"


----------



## Brendan Burgess (20 Mar 2008)

I think it's very tiresome for users of the site to see the same question asked repeatedly whether they decide to answer it or not. 

We moderate to make AAM a better place for everyone not for the craic of moderation. 

A lot of the rubbish is removed before many people see it. Users often report posts which they think are inappropriate. 

Brendan


----------



## Sn@kebite (20 Mar 2008)

Miles said:


> In fairness you could apply that logic to any question asked on the AAM forum.


I think that's a hell of a generalisation!

Most of this forum deals with situations and queries of a more personal nature.

I think you are correct if relating to (particularly) the I.T. section and I many times see mods and regulars linking to google pages in their reply.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think people who disagree with mods have a point that moderators choose to be moderators (?), If they tire of moderation/moderating of the _BB_s they can step down. However, the boards here would be a total mess without them as I've seen on forums I now moderate. You would have offensive spam everywhere etc... Maybe that's why I understand the "attacks" on users a little more?

But if the frequent posters on this site were to be mods for a month or so there is a huge possibility you would start to act rudely (as messiahs or whatever) howevr this is always a minority. You may feel victimised now but it is not a personal attack on you.

It's just my opinion here, I am not saying the OP is wrong or anything


----------



## jackswift (13 Apr 2008)

I am new here but I had a friend who was banned a while back he got no warnings.


----------



## ClubMan (13 Apr 2008)

jackswift said:


> I am new here but I had a friend who was banned a while back he got no warnings.


Not everybody gets a warning. A single gross breach of certain posting guidelines could lead to an immediate ban without warning depending on the circumstances.


----------



## Peeete (13 Apr 2008)

ClubMan said:


> Not everybody gets a warning. A single gross breach of certain posting guidelines could lead to an immediate ban without warning depending on the circumstances.


 
In what way are warnings usually issued - is it written publicly or sent direct to the user?


----------



## ClubMan (14 Apr 2008)

Peeete said:


> In what way are warnings usually issued - is it written publicly or sent direct to the user?


Normally by _Private Message_.


----------

