# Do Moderators Keep a list of Doper Warnings?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [October 8, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718 "2006-10-08T15:46:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/1 "2006-10-08T15:46:45Z")
Moderator says to Doper A “You have been warned about this once – don’t do it again”
Do moderators keep a list that says :
_“Doper A was warned April 6th about Copyright infringements told not to do it again_” or
Is it much more ad hoc and informal – and only if a particular Moderator notices the behavior close together in time and egregious (rather than spread out fairly low level spread over a long period of time) it is flagged?
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/2 "2006-10-08T16:09:37Z")
AFAIK, yes they do. There is a shared, discussed list of warnings and their seriousness. If a long-time poster gets banned, there is often a post in this forum listing their offenses and warnings, in addition to the straw that broke the camel’s back. In a previous discussion on warnings, a Mod (Dex?) checked the list about my status, so I know it exists.
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### Author:  [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/3 "2006-10-08T17:06:13Z")
[QUOTE=jimmmy]
Do moderators keep a list that says :
_“Doper A was warned April 6th about Copyright infringements told not to do it again_”
[/quote]
Yes, we have a list of all formal warnings issued.
When I post as a mod in GQ, if my subject line includes “Moderator’s Warning”, then I log the warning. If my subject line includes “Moderator’s Notes”, then I do not log the note. The latter is used to bring a thread back on track or to make a poster aware of a minor issue regarding tone, content, propriety, etc. and has no bearing on a poster’s permanent record except to the extent that if it becomes habitual I will subsequently issue a warning.
Sometimes I issue a warning stating “If you repeat this you will be suspended/banned”, so if you repeat it you will be suspended/banned because you were explicitly warned about that particular behavior. There is usually a lot of deliberation before a poster is suspended/banned, so it’s certainly not ad hoc.
A warning against your name does not preclude you from being a valuable and positive contributor to this comminity, and we recognize that. Heck, I was warned when I first joined this board, that too in GQ. We do not hold it against you unless it becomes a habit, and we will usually warn you multiple times before suspending/banning you.
- **xash**
General Questions Moderator
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### Author:  [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/4 "2006-10-16T20:26:08Z")
What’d ja do to get warned?
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/5 "2006-10-16T20:50:50Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya]
What’d ja do to get warned?
[/QUOTE]
I annoyed **Tuba**. A statement of my was unclear, and she took it as an insult to **Gaudere**. We clarified the matter by email, and there was no formal warning issued. **Dex** confirmed that I was of spotless virtue as far as the Mods were concerned.
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/6 "2006-10-16T21:25:03Z")
[QUOTE=xash]
When I post as a mod in GQ, if my subject line includes “Moderator’s Warning”, then I log the warning. If my subject line includes “Moderator’s Notes”, then I do not log the note. The latter is used to bring a thread back on track or to make a poster aware of a minor issue regarding tone, content, propriety, etc. and has no bearing on a poster’s permanent record except to the extent that if it becomes habitual I will subsequently issue a warning.
[/QUOTE]
It appears that \*\*xash is my role model, even to the extent that I have a warning too.
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/7 "2006-10-16T21:28:55Z")
Do these warnings stay in our permanent files? And how do I get a copy?
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/8 "2006-10-16T21:39:35Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas]
Do these warnings stay in our permanent files?
[/quote]
Yes. But warnings years ago don’t generally carry the same weight as recent warnings. We try to be fair.
> [@](#):
>
> And how do I get a copy?
Ask a mod. You don’t have any.
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### Author:  [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/9 "2006-10-16T21:58:07Z")
If a person were to (theoretically, of course), have a warning …
Well, have you heard of the concept of _indulgences_ … ?
😃
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### Author:  [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/10 "2006-10-16T22:13:35Z")
[QUOTE=Frank]
Yes. But warnings years ago don’t generally carry the same weight as recent warnings. We try to be fair.
Ask a mod. You don’t have any.
[/QUOTE]
II think I’ll email one of you tonight. I don’t think I have any but its always possible that I got one in a thread and missed it by not going back into that thread again.
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/11 "2006-10-16T23:09:14Z")
[QUOTE=Frank]
Yes. But warnings years ago don’t generally carry the same weight as recent warnings. We try to be fair.
Ask a mod. You don’t have any.
[/QUOTE]
Oh, thanks, Frank.
Folks, if you’re curious about your warning count, please email Frank. That’s F-r-a-n-k. Spelled with an “F.”
samclem, who is NOT taking emails about this, and who got at least two warnings, maybe three, as a poster.
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### Author:  [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/12 "2006-10-16T23:15:20Z")
[QUOTE=samclem]
Oh, thanks, Frank.
Folks, if you’re curious about your warning count, please email Frank. That’s F-r-a-n-k. Spelled with an “F.”
samclem, who is NOT taking emails about this, and who got at least two warnings, maybe three, as a poster.
[/QUOTE]
Heh. Actually that makes me think its not a good idea to email you guys. I can’t be the only who wonders, so in the spirit of not adding more to your workload I’ll skip it for now.
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/13 "2006-10-16T23:25:37Z")
[QUOTE=Antinor01]
Heh. Actually that makes me think its not a good idea to email you guys. I can’t be the only who wonders, so in the spirit of not adding more to your workload I’ll skip it for now.
[/QUOTE]
Check your registered email.
I don’t mind answering such questions. If I get deluged, it may take me a bit to get back to you, but I will. Be sure to include SDMB in the subject.
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/14 "2006-10-16T23:47:05Z")
[QUOTE=Frank]
I don’t mind answering such questions. If I get deluged, it may take me a bit to get back to you, but I will. Be sure to include SDMB in the subject.
[/QUOTE]
I should add, all I will do is tell you how many you have, if any. I will not hazard a guess on how many more you can get. Suspensions and bannings are a group decision, and I would be out of line to give you my personal opinions.
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### Author:  [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2006, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/15 "2006-10-16T23:58:23Z")
I’m pretty sure Cecil keeps all my death threats on file.
At least, that’s what it said in the restraining order.
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### Author:  [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/16 "2006-10-17T02:51:22Z")
The overwhelming majority of our posters never get as much as an admonishment from us, let alone a warning. So would everybody please calm the fu–calm down already?
If you’ve been warned by us, you know, you know. The rest of you can stop worrying already. And even if you DO have a warning (adn you do you know who you are), if you straighten up and fly right it’s not a problem. We want you to stay, we want you to post, we want you to have fun, learn, hang out, etc. We hate to ban anyone and only do it as a last resort.
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### Author:  [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2006, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/17 "2006-10-17T07:47:15Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya]
What’d ja do to get warned?
[/QUOTE]
I posted in GQ asking for a way to watch Survivor Season 2 online (this was before the days of iTunes, Slingbox, etc.). I lived in India at the time, and we were being shown Season 1 on TV when Season 2 was airing in the US. Ex-mod **Chronos** voted my thread off GQ island.
I now have the immunity idol, the goat, and fire. Tribe Cecil is safe for at least one more night.
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### Author:  [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2006, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/18 "2006-10-17T11:43:00Z")
Adding detail to what **TubaDiva** said: Yes, it’s possible that you got a warning in a thread that you didn’t go back and look at, so it’s possible that there’s a warning on record that you don’t know about. But don’t sweat it. Even mods have had warnings or official scoldings (even when they are Mods, for that matter.)
If you’ve got a pattern of warnings that you need to pay attention to, we email you. If you haven’t got an alerting email, don’t sweat it. Minor traffic violations now and again don’t result in arrests and prison terms. In our case, they mostly get ignored if you’re not a repeat offender.
Now, of course, if you’ve changed email addresses but didn’t change your registration, that’s a potential problem. … so, please be sure your email address is up to date, eh? See: [Technical Rules](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=384827), Post #4.
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### Author:  [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2006, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/19 "2006-10-17T11:52:43Z")
[QUOTE=TubaDiva]
The overwhelming majority of our posters never get as much as an admonishment from us, let alone a warning. So would everybody please calm the fu–calm down already?
[/QUOTE]
Everyone _else_ in this thread seems very calm.
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### Author:  [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2006, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-moderators-keep-a-list-of-doper-warnings/375718/20 "2006-10-17T12:29:55Z")
Wow, it seems having at least an official warning is a _prerequisite_ to becoming a mod. The vast majority of us who have no warnings, we’re just not trying hard enough 😃
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