# Banned members and Dopefests **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 25, 2002, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738 "2002-11-25T19:19:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/1 "2002-11-25T19:19:34Z")
I was just thinking about things (mainly because DrainBead and Satan attended the recent Oh Dope)… What do most people think about banned posters being at dopefests? Personally, I think that just because you meet someone on a message board, that doesn’t mean that your friendship is terminated because that someone gets banned. And I don’t see a problem with groups of friends meeting each other for a gathering. But it occurred to me that it’s sort of a strange situation, and was curious about how people felt. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/2 "2002-11-25T19:23:40Z")
Eh. **Silo** was at DopeToberFest last year. He even met **Coldfire**. Astonishly, the world didn’t end. Peoples is peoples. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/3 "2002-11-25T19:25:14Z")
There has been at least one banned member at the Chance Estate. Mountain Dope I, I believe. AS the sticky thread says…there is NO connection between gatherings of members for recreational purposes (hereafter called ‘Dopefests’) and the SDMB, Cecil Adams, et al… Therefore all can be welcome. Could be different, I suppose, if the Reader through a Dopefest. But that would be silly. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/4 "2002-11-25T19:44:53Z")
It’s no big deal if it’s a larger fest. If it were a smaller fest, having a mod (or mods) and the banned poster there would probably be no more awkward than having any other people there who weren’t particularly fond of each other. At a big fest, it’s easy enough to avoid people; at a smaller one, it’s impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/5 "2002-11-25T19:46:45Z")
Oooh, how are **DrainBead** and **Satan** doing these days? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/6 "2002-11-25T19:50:26Z")
I met **Satan** at OhDope. He was quite interesting. He mentioned that he had been banned, I asked why, and he said it was a long story but basically he was a jerk. Refreshing attitude. He was NOT a jerk in person, quite the opposite. Had it been someone who WAS a jerk in person I might have had a much different opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Jessity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jessity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jessity)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/7 "2002-11-25T19:55:18Z")
Well said, **Shibb**. I think they’re both pretty neat and very kind people. I had breakfast with them before the game on Saturday, and they’re both doing well. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/8 "2002-11-25T19:59:01Z")
Ah, let 'em come. But I ain’t comin to any DopeFest where **Sweet Willy** (remember him, folks?) is going to be. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/9 "2002-11-25T20:09:09Z")
Satan and DrainBead are doing great 🙂 They’re gonna get married and all that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/10 "2002-11-25T20:46:25Z")
Maybe we will all get invited to the wedding! WedDope! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/11 "2002-11-25T20:52:52Z")
It certainly wouldn’t bother me to see banned posters at a Dopefest. **Satan** , **Silo** , and some others that I can’t think of right now, would be welcome at any party of mine. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/12 "2002-11-25T20:56:51Z")
Silo was at DaW 1, **JC**. And Satan and **Drain Bead** were at OhDope. FWIW, **Euty** was there as well and no sparks flew. Satan’s a different kinda guy in person. For anyone who’s met **pldennison** in person and on the boards, it’s kinda like that. Plus usually GD doesn’t spill over in person;) Newer members at OhDope asked why Satan had been banned, and the general discussion was “yeah, I was a jerk”. At one point someone (I honestly forget who it was) wanted to know what the thread was that broke Zotti’s back, but beyond light discussion of that, it was cool. Important thing to remember is that dopefests really are rather different from the way the boards work. It’s _VERY_ hard to keep up with every conversation that’s going on at a dopefest unless you’re one of two people there and the other doesn’t have a cell-phone. And the atmosphere is much more MPSIMS (sometimes a light IMHO) than GD or Pit. If people wanted to get together and trade ad hominems, we’d probably leave them to their devices and go do something else:) ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/13 "2002-11-25T21:03:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Important thing to remember is that dopefests really are rather different from the way the boards work. It’s _VERY_ hard to keep up with every conversation that’s going on at a dopefest unless you’re one of two people there and the other doesn’t have a cell-phone. And the atmosphere is much more MPSIMS (sometimes a light IMHO) than GD or Pit. If people wanted to get together and trade ad hominems, we’d probably leave them to their devices and go do something else Oh, I don’t know. I’ve had discussions about the US’s role in WW2, a priori knowledge and Conservative politics at dopefests. They’re just conversations I can think of off-hand. Us Londopers are a challenging bunch 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/14 "2002-11-25T21:16:07Z")
I’d be more than happy to see Satan and Drain Bead at a fest. And lots of other banned posters, too. There are some posters who were valuable contributors and community members, but ended up getting banned for one reason or another. Doesn’t mean I don’t still care about them. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/15 "2002-11-25T21:46:22Z")
I take the same POV as others. The Board is official (to an extent), and the mods and admins have the right to ban certain individuals for breaches of Board rules, etc. But these gatherings are different, mainly because of the disclaimer we all know and love. The Board and the Reader have distanced themselves from official sanction of the Fests, therefore they have no say in who attends. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, non-dopers (such as the wonderful **Mrs. RTFirefly** ) have attended Fests. So why not banned dopers? And, **Zev** , I don’t remember Sweet Willy. He must have done something pretty awful to make a nice man like you shun him utterly. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/16 "2002-11-25T21:48:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Silo was at DaW 1, JC. He was at Spiffled II last year, also. And I managed not to drown the little bastard in the hotel pool. Just barely, though. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/17 "2002-11-25T22:34:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UncleBeer \* > \*\*He was at Spiffled II last year, also. And I managed not to drown the little bastard in the hotel pool. Just barely, though. \*\* Yeah, 'cause **Silo’s** would have meant an automatic banning of you by the hotel moderato–er, management. And the chuckles of irony would have never ended. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/18 "2002-11-25T22:35:18Z")
I could have sworn that there was a “death” after **Silo’s**. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/19 "2002-11-25T23:57:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Francesca \* > Eh. **Silo** was at DopeToberFest last year. He even met **Coldfire**. Astonishly, the world didn’t end. Peoples is peoples. True. He even attempted to socialize. Asked me if he was the first banned poster I ever met. I said yeah. I think that was our entire conversation for that weekend. Just not a lot in common, I guess. Banned posters can go to as many DopeFests as they want, let me be clear about that. I don’t understand why they would, in some cases, but that’s another thing. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738/20 "2002-11-26T00:24:07Z")
Well, as some may know, all are welcome at the Chance estate. We’re planning Mountain Dope II right now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-members-and-dopefests/138738.md?page=2)