Look, I wouldn’t be talking about it here if I hadn’t tried everything else. But I’ve been banned from TWoP after roughly two weeks. I’m not going to say why, because I know the SDMB rules about board wars, but suffice to say that it was (IMHO) a very minor infraction, and one that should rate a second chance…
…if I could plead my case with the TWoP admins! Which is just what I can’t do. I’ve sent them e-mails, and two out of the three have bounced back into my mailbox. I also can’t e-mail other members, because the e-mail links state that all such messages will be read by the admins, which led me to ask myself why I would say anything to a member that I couldn’t say to an admin. Plus, the page said “DO NOT include usernames”, whatever that means How can I ask someone for advice if I can’t tell them who I am?
So what I’m asking is, does anyone here know of a way to negotiate with TWoP after a banning? Or is it likely to be a done deal: cross them once and you never get another chance?
E-mail me if you can help. Pretty please? Rilchiam@hotmail.com (I was Rilchiam there, too, so hi to anyone I didn’t greet during my brief tenure.)
I go there for the recaps, and that’s about it. I used to post on the forums long ago, but like here, I lurked more than I posted. I saw people get banned and just come back with a new username(and there were actually posts like "Yeah, I’m Poster X, I got banned for blah blah so here’s my new name). Evidently that’s not against their rules, because this sort of thing went on all the time. The forum rules struck me as a bit silly, things like signing your posts and posting in succession(editing is enabled there) could get you booted. Not to my taste, and, frankly, it got very cliquish(though the mods did try make the forums newbie-friendly).
I don’t know that bannings are open to discussion w/ them- when I posted there I was under the impression that when you’re banned, you’re banned unless you reregister. You could probably just do that(unless the rules there have changed, which is possible).
Aha! Well, I’ll try that, then! D’you think I could get away with using my own e-mail addy, or should I register with Mr. Rilch’s, just to be sure?
(I actually rejected that idea, on the grounds that “They’ll just trace my ISP, and then I’ll be banned for life!” Now I feel a bit silly, trying to toe the line with such diligence. Still, the SDMB mods should be glad to know they’ve conditioned me so well.)
You got banned from Tw/oP? Bizarre. I’ve never been on their message boards, so I have no idea what kind of Peyton Place-like traumas go on there. I just drop in for recaps on the rare times they cover a show I watch—why the hell aren’t they doing Showbiz Moms and Dads?
Anyway, sorry, I have no “in” there. If your e-mails to the Mods bounce back, why not try to contact the Webmaster and find out why?
Those are amusing forums. I don’t post much, because generally by the time I look at the forums, there are 10 pages of comments on one episode, and everything has been said already. And really, it’s just TV. But they are very strict with some pretty random rules (like no sigs, and not starting a post with “Ummm…”) and people will junior-mod or rat you out without a second thought.
I don’t know how to get unbanned though. I know the admins over there have a reputation for being very dictatorial.
Are these arbitrary rules (no “Umm…”, posting in succession) in the FAQ? I haven’t read them in a while, maybe I ought to check them out again. Yikes!
I only post in the “Starting Over” thread. The other forums, like “American Idol” are a little scary. They say they’re all about the snark, but there’s a lot of fangirl/boy posts (not a bad thing, just not my cup 'o tea). Then again, I also hang out at planetsocks.com, which is way snarkier than TWoP, so I’m used to more vitriol.
I liked it because it was easier to navigate than a newsgroup, and it was a place where one could analyze TV shows down to a nub, because people were there for that express purpose. Well, I can still read even if I can’t post…
Although I spend more time at TWoP than anywhere else except here, I have never registered at their forums, because they seem so scary. Every time I read an anti-moderator thread here, I shake my head and thank Og that our rules are nothing like those at TWoP.
Aaron Sorkin, creator and former writer of The West Wing used to post at TWoP, and wrote a hysterical episode spoofing their mods and forum rules. Check out the episode The U.S. Poet Laureate to see his take.
I honestly don’t know why they even let mere mortals start threads over there. You basically have to ask permission of a mod, and if you don’t follow the proscribed format, you’re pretty screwed. Quite a difference from most places.
Eh, probably just as well. Maybe being allowed to reregister depends on what you got banned for? Who knows. You’re better off where the rules are a bit looser(one of their rules is based on an admin’s pet peeve, for pete’s sake).
If it’s like it was when it was Mighty Big TV, don’t even BOTHER pleading your case with the admins. THey just send you a form letter and tell you “too bad, so sad.”
I was banned from MBTV and Hissyfit way back in the day.
I knew people who were banned for starting list threads. And the whole “no talking about the boards on the boards-d’uh, you’re supposed to E-MAIL!”
I’ve posted a lot at TWOP and if you follow their rules, you are usually OK. I thought they had instituted a warning counter so that if you were getting to be in trouble you would know. I’m not defending the mods there because some of the rules are arbitrary, but if you read the FAQs and follow their (often insane) rules, you are less likely to be banned. I can’t believe they would ban somebody for editing too much; they love edited posts there. What I can’t deal with is the rule that states you must read everything before posting; there are threads I’d like to post on but I don’t dare because I haven’t read it all. The only thing I might suggest is try emailing a different mod or administrator who might be more sympathetic.
I’m trying to decide how to phrase this without coming off as bitter.
I used to post at TWoP. Got banned two years ago, right after the name change. You may be all right if you follow the rules. The problem is, they make the rules, and they don’t always tell you what they are at the moment.
I’m registered at TWoP and have posted there (mostly in JoA. Carnival & Enterprise forums), but frankly I mostly lurk. Some of the rules are a bit odd/bizarre, and other posters will sometimes feel the need to call posters on (in their eyes) infractions, no matter how minor. For instance, you’re supposed to read prior posts before making a post–supposedly to avoid asking about or discussing something that has already been asked/discussed. Sometimes, though, while you’re in the process of posting, several new posts will have already made it to the board. So in one post, I admitted that I had just “skimmed” the previous posts … uh oh, that was a NO NO. What’s worse, though, is when your comments just get ignored… which sometimes happens to me here. Ah well.
BTW, there are many shows that they’re not doing recaps on–like the new HBO series Deadwood. I’m not exactly sure why–maybe because there are just too many shows and not enough admins/mods willing to do recaps. I do like their recaps, though, especially if I’ve happened to miss a show. And I do like the participants in the JoA forum there, 'cause I just love that show.
How can I ask someone for advice if I can’t tell them who I am?