Originally posted by ChickenLittle:
IzzyR
Thank you for posting this. I realize it is a charicature sketch, but it does reflect many of my own feelings, speaking as a newcomer to the SDMB. It does seem to me that many of the mod’s responses to certain psters are far in excess of the messages to which they are responding. It has, in fact made me nervous, a feeling not at all conducive to the constructive effort to do away with ignorance.
I really enjoy the exchange of ideas and words here, and I think that Moderation is a good thing. I also think that there could be moderation to some moderation.
Oh yeah? Well I’ll have you banned for that. You’re violating the “Don’t be a jerk” rule. Or maybe the “don’t insult the moderator” rule. Or maybe… - Manservant Hecubus, as my RHT, you may take action against this offender.
Nacho4Sara: Do you know why Chicken Little was banned?
well, thank goodness I got here in time. As the mother of a teenager [sup]TM[/sup], I can assure you that the only legitimate proof that you are indeed making your own decisions and are a free thinker [sup]TM[/sup] is to disagree with those in authority.
Criminy.
There’s the vast amount of space between the ‘gee, what happened?’ politely asked and the typical response here of "well, you know they only ban those not in the clique and [dire warning voice on]you’ll never know who’s next [dire warning off] as a matter of fact, there was a recent thread asking politely and a mod answered politely, pointing out that it can be done.
all of this breast beating gets tiresome IMHO. and
FTR:
phbllllllllllt Fenris’ thread was funnier
Leander, I appreciate your posting your response…I don’t agree with it (see below 
) but it’s a clear, concise well-written explanation
I really like the analogy of the classes=threads, but I think the analogy needs to be extended. While the classes are run by students, the building belongs to private owners who can throw anyone out that they want to. The fact that they rarely do speaks well of them. But it’s their building. If they don’t want (say) file sharing discussed, they have that right. Ultimately, despite the fact that the “school” couldn’t function without the students, and the students are an integral part of the school, it’s not the student’s building.
**
But again…you’re not a citizen here (and neither am I). This is a benevolent dictatorship. Technically, we’re serfs 
, and our only right is the right to leave. We’re given lots and lots of privliges by the Admins, but they’re given to us and can just as quickly be taken away.
We do not have equal say in how the boards are run, we don’t have an equal voice in the banning or not of people.
I appreciate the reason that you want to know why people were banned, but I’m curious as to why (or if) you think that e-mail wouldn’t be a better option?
Fenris
I’ve seen this damned debate going on since I became a member over a year ago, and I’m sick to death of it. This is just a message board, people. If you don’t like it, sign off and go have a real life. If you don’t like what the mods or admins do, sign off and go have a real life. If you think there’s a clique and you’re pissed off because you’re not a part of it, sign off and go have a real life.
You wanna see free speech trampled on? I think the mods should just delete every thread that complains about them banning people. Just delete them; no warnings, no explanations. Just…gone. Buh-bye, and nobody’s going to miss them.
Thank you.
Now I’m just waiting for a pit thread ranting about anti-moderator-sycophant sycophants. 
Um…“To get to the other side”?
Fenris
Since I’m clearly being targeted in this thread, I was tempted to not say anything. But I re-read the thread you’re “poking fun” at, and I second-guessed myself for about an hour before posting.
You know what? This is not accurate:
This is more accurate:
THAT’S what happened in the thread you are making fun of. If pointing out that this sort of mass-hysteria reaction is old, tired, and pointless and saying that the Mods do NOT answer to us makes me a sycophant, then so be it.
I’m a sycophant who is sick of all this anti-mod bullshit that’s a ridiculous waste of time.
Hmmm. You should have seen how interesting life was when we were on AOL and the only way to get someone banned was to incite them to violate the Terms Of Service and have AOL revoke their membership.
One year? This stuff has been going on for longer than some folks would care to think about.
I sometimes suspect that arguing over who should be allowed to post is the only thing that keeps some posters coming back.
Fenris - thanks for your thoughts. You’re right, of course, I was mixing metaphors a bit. Should have stuck with “school” and not “America.” Cause this certainly ain’t a democracy.
As for why I don’t e-mail the mods, frankly it’s because I don’t know any of them (or the banned person, for that matter) and I don’t like e-mailing people I don’t know. Simple as that.
One last point, though: the board exists for us and without us it would not exist. If none of the students showed up for school, it would simply have to shut down and all the adminstrators would go home. I don’t know if they care or not, and I’m not trying to blow self-important smoke up your ass. I’m just stating the obvious: A society does not exist without its members. A king is not a king without his kingdom, i.e. his subjects. If he kills them all or sends them away, he’s just a little guy with a funny hat.
Well, the good news is that I know I’m never going to be banned. See, I’ve personally gone down on every single moderator and administrator on this board. Well, all of them but one.
[sub] so if you’re a mod or admin reading this thinking “well, Ender hasn’t gone down on me yet,” that’s because you’re the one.[/sub]
Well, if they banned us all at once the Board would probably die. But if they banned us all at once, they’d be trying to kill the board.
Turnover is huge here. There are some perennials, but quite a few of the bigshots weren’t bigshots when I left the SDMB for summer vacation and a slow slow computer. Ginger? Rue De Day? Fairy Chat Mom? Never heard of 'em before September of this year.
Aw shit, now I’m getting all nostalgic… hands up, who remembers Palidors? Krusty getting banned like 15 times before his current, apparently more long-lived incarnation? AuraSeer? ARG220? And Phaedrus*. Oh man, Phaedrus and his cash prize to anyone who could prove that Gaudere, andros and Clark Kent (I think those were the victims) weren’t the same person… and his posts in ‘Cherokee’…
Ooh, ooh! The Finder? and then The Finder in the role of The Finder’s Boss, the enigmatic man in black… my memort blurs, The Finder was the one whose computer that forced him to type in ALL CAPS, except when he used the one in his superspycar, right?
Hell, today’s antimod flameouts aren’t even that great these days… in the old days there were people leaving in huge swathes, and lawsuits, and… just wild and crazy things.
Ahhh…
–John
*Yes, I typed his name, you pansies. I’ve always found the He Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken stuff silly. He’s gone for good by now, folks. If he was coming back, things would have gone wahooni-shaped by now already.
Esprix
You’re right, of course, that I haven’t been here long enough to see all the REALLY interesting stuff, but a year of seeing the same tripe over and over is still, well, a year of seeing the same tripe over and over.
It’s a Pratchettism. Means the same thing as “pear-shaped” (the wahooni being a Discworld fruit), which essentially means “all to hell” in this context.
Heavens no!! :eek: Those are the good sycophants!
Ah, that’s what it may seem like. The reality is a lot more complex. A lot of factors were considered…
Yes, thank you Lamia. A wahooni is fifteen feet long, tastes awful, and is covered in spikes the color of earwax. “The Big Wahooni” is the nickname for Ankh-Morpork, the city twinned with a tar pit. Public health laws in Ankh-Morpork would be as useful as smoke detectors in Hell. The city is ruled under the ‘one man, one vote’ system; Patrician Havelock Vetinari is The Man, and his is the only vote that counts. There is a story that all roads lead to Ankh-Morpork, but this isn’t true; all roads lead AWAY from Ankh-Morpork, but some people walk along them the wrong way.
And so on.
–John
Scrue Han
Personally I am waiting to be banned… Then I will know I said something other posters noticed…