You must be new here. 
It was a different poll.
It asked a very simple question of the board. Do you want Avatars? What upsets you is that you wanted the poll to be more specific so that you could lead people to the “correct” answer. Paraphrased:
“Remember people, before you vote, this is only…if…etc…”
I just wanted to know the general tone of the board towards avatars. Thats a different question to, “Do you mind if us lot over here are allowed avatars”.
Do ya think czarcasm would have even opened the thread if it was bowties pro or anti? It’s ridiculous that he decided there should be no arguing in a thread in IMHO. Besides, the idea in ATMB is that you’re talking to the admin about shit. IMHO is just poster v poster. Two different flavors and ideally two different aspects to talk about. And anyway, I read lone cashew as remarking on the inanity of kiboshing discussion in an IMHO thread so as far as I’m concerned, he’s correct in his summation of the situation.
Thanks, Inner Stickler. That forum should encourage discussion, not confine it elsewhere - just like Giraffe said much more eloquently than I ever could. I am weary enough of this kind of nitpicking and pecking that I think I’ll do something else with my 15dollars next year - rather than donate it to the SDMB. This whole thing is beyond absurd.
Czarcasm: want to treat everyone here like children? Fine. Read my lips. “No! New! Membership!”
Didn’t mean to use you to justify my opinion. Apologies.
In fact, I still haven’t as much as opened the poll thread in question, let alone read anyone’s comments. Having read the OP in this thread, I responded that I often behave exactly as the OP did in opinion polls. I don’t really know or care what anyone else says, and I usually don’t read the other posts. I just answer, (maybe) post an explanation of my answer, and leave. I suspect a lot of people do the same, and perhaps you did as well.
My intent was to say that you wouldn’t knowing violate a mod dictum, so there was something wrong going on in that thread. However, since you’ve since admitted accumulating some warnings, I must acknowledge that perhaps I’ve misjudged you. Maybe you are a well-disguised flaming asshole.
The only thing Czarcasm did wrong was to not close the thread when it became obvious that it was not serving it’s purpose. If people disagreed with his mod note, fair enough, but this thread wasn’t started until people were warned for ignoring it. I doubt there’s a message board on the internet where ignoring direct instructions from a mod won’t get you some form of sanction.
To reply directly to your comment, at first I did think his action was over the top. Then I read some of the ridiculous things posted in this thread, along the lines of “How dare this Moderator moderate? The horror… the horror”, and I’ve come to think he’s been tolerably lenient.
So, do you think people should ignore moderator instructions simply because they dislike them, and get away with it? I doubt that would make for a particularly good board.
The problem with that is that nobody read his mod note. Nobody ignored it, nobody explicitly disagreed with it–nobody knew about it.
Speaking of flaming assholes, I will fully admit to playing one in real life when the time is right. Let’s recap, shall we?
•This thread hit multiple pages in less than 24 hours.
•Not one single other mod has come in the thread defending Czar. Not one. I’ve never seen this before (admittedly I’m pretty new in the grand scheme of things, but this makes me go :dubious:–or it would if I could raise one eyebrow at a time :().
•The people who posted substantively similar comments in that thread after I started this one have not received warnings.
•That thread got locked.
I doubt my warning will be officially rescinded (have they *ever *done that?), because to do so would weaken public perception of the moderation team as a whole. However, I strongly believe that on the great memo-pad in the sky, there’s an asterisk next to mine saying this one’s a mulligan. My thanks to everyone who backed me up.
And Czarcasm, about whom two days ago all I could tell you was, “I recognize that name from somewhere…” has since distinguished himself through repeated flailing incompetence. I’ll be paying more attention from now on.
This situation is currently in discussion in the mod loop.
While this discussion is ongoing I am going to close this thread – at least temporarily.
Please do not start another thread expressing your displeasure – we get that.
We’ll get back to you soonest.
Okay, here’s what we’re going to do:
- We are keeping the original IMHO thread closed. If you wish to comment about avatars on the SDMB, please go to the ATMB thread on the subject.
You are invited to make your comments/state your opinion in this thread, as was requested to begin with.
Please remember that ATMB is not the Pit; personal insults and intemperate behavior will not be appreciated.
The purpose of the thread is not to bash other people who hold differing opinions nor to slap at management for how they run things. If you feel that way, open a separate thread in the appropriate forum as necessary.
- The thread in IMHO will not be reopened. We need to figure out how to set up situations where there can be polls and not posts – it works the other way around but apparently with our current software you can’t just have a poll without supporting postings.
In retrospect, we should have policed that IMHO thread stronger and more aggressively earlier. We’ll try to be better about that in future.
- The warnings issued in IMHO will stand.
Refusal to read all relevant posts in a thread and being ignorant of posted moderator instructions is no excuse.
Posters are obligated to read and comply with moderator instructions, even if they disagree with them. If you have a problem, complaints can be made in ATMB.