# Explain the KGS banning to me. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 23, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021 "2009-07-23T17:58:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/1 "2009-07-23T17:58:20Z")
Using small words. I am sure I am missing something glaringly obvious. Tuba’s note says he is banned for threatening legal action but provided no link. I then found what I believe is the offending thread, but he seems to be threatening Frank and Dripping with legal action not the board. Then he mentions something about being in contact with Tuba and backing off on the legal threats thing. Then he is banned without further ado. What did I miss? I don’t know the guy from Adam and TLDRed out of that thread halfways through the OP. I am just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/2 "2009-07-23T18:02:11Z")
[Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11364139&postcount=161). Threatening legal action against an anonymous poster on the internet? That makes no sense whatsoever\*. Allowing one’s emotions to escape to the point of screaming lawsuit over words on the internet means time to walk away from the keyboard. \*The threat, not the banning. The banning makes total sense. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/3 "2009-07-23T18:17:10Z")
I agree that threatening legal action over the internet is crazy, but if crazy were a bannable offense… Seriously, he wasn’t threatening legal action against the SDMB and said he was in touch with Tuba and backing off from the legal threats. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/4 "2009-07-23T18:30:29Z")
Wild claims, when the conversation gets heated, aren’t unusual on this or any other message board out there, but in this case he later threatened to sue the SDMB in an e-mail he sent to several staff members. Would he have? Dunno; however, it’s been clear for years–even before I became a mod–that threats of lawsuits against the SDMB will earn you a one-way ticket off the island. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/5 "2009-07-23T18:33:25Z")
Oh, so he did threaten to sue the SDMB. Asked and answered then. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/6 "2009-07-23T18:34:24Z")
As I said in my MPSIMS post, I thought that the banning was completely reasonable, but I liked the guy. He has a history of going off his rocker, if I recall correctly, and he’s obviously off his meds. Any chance of revoking the banning if he ever gets it back together and asks nicely? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/7 "2009-07-23T18:49:09Z")
> [@Risha](#): > > As I said in my MPSIMS post, I thought that the banning was completely reasonable, but I liked the guy. He has a history of going off his rocker, if I recall correctly, and he’s obviously off his meds. Any chance of revoking the banning if he ever gets it back together and asks nicely? If he has a history of going off his rocker, what would be the point? It’ll just happen again eventually. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/8 "2009-07-23T18:51:39Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > If he has a history of going off his rocker, what would be the point? It’ll just happen again eventually. The irony of the whole thing being that the sudden left turn into idiocy resulted in a thread in which **KGS** talked about not needing meds any more, because everything was going fine and there was no more need for them. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/9 "2009-07-23T18:58:45Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > If he has a history of going off his rocker, what would be the point? It’ll just happen again eventually. And I’m sure it’ll be entertaining then, too. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/10 "2009-07-23T18:58:47Z")
If the guy had sued **Frank** , for instance, and his lawyers had contacted the SDMB to demand **Frank** ’s IP and anything else that might identify him would the board be forced to comply? ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/11 "2009-07-23T19:11:38Z")
Seems to me that the board is getting more and more willing to feed trolls lately. I don’t think that thread was going to end until there was a banning or a closure. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/12 "2009-07-23T19:13:37Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > Seems to me that the board is getting more and more willing to feed trolls lately. I don’t think that thread was going to end until there was a banning or a closure. They closed that thread a couple of days ago. ---
**Author:** ![Dripping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dripping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dripping)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/13 "2009-07-23T20:52:02Z")
> [@Risha](#): > > They closed that thread a couple of days ago. I was surprised that they allowed him to splutter threats and lies for that long. I personally got a chuckle out of him accusing me of being a child molester and possessing kiddie porn, but I was troubled that the mods allowed that to stand. If **I** had had the stupidity to post something like that about another Doper, I would totally expect to be banned on the spot. Even when he went completely postal and was slinging impotent legal threats, all that happened was a bland statement from the mod who closed it, that said “Closed, at least for now” . For now? I can’t see any reason why anyone (except KGS of course) would want that trainwreck of a thread to ever be re-opened. But anyway, I guess I am wondering why it took three days ban him? Why not do it immediately when he posted the legal threats? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/14 "2009-07-23T21:02:14Z")
> [@](#): > > I guess I am wondering why it took three days ban him? We were discussing whether to ban him or just suspend him. It takes a while to get a consensus, even if we all agree that he needs at least some time off the boards. For various reasons, I almost never do any public moderating these days, I only remove spam posts and the like. So there’s effectively only one mod in the Pit, and receiving reports. If he’s slammed, then stuff gets backed up. ---
**Author:** ![Dripping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dripping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dripping)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/15 "2009-07-23T22:27:44Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > We were discussing whether to ban him or just suspend him. It takes a while to get a consensus, even if we all agree that he needs at least some time off the boards. > > For various reasons, I almost never do any public moderating these days, I only remove spam posts and the like. So there’s effectively only one mod in the Pit, and receiving reports. If he’s slammed, then stuff gets backed up. Ok, thanks for clarifying, that makes sense. One question, if I may: As I said, I was not personally offended nor concerned when KGS accused me of the crimes mentioned above, since he was obviously a mentally ill person who was frantically trying to goad me into a response. However, what exactly are the rules here about this type of thing? I mean, the guy publically asserted, multiple times and as a statement of **fact** that I was a child molester and a possessor of child pornography. He even provided a somewhat detailed description of the alleged kiddie porn. Is this actually permitted here? I would not have thought so, but if the reason for KGS’s banning is the legal threats, not the rest of his behavior, then I’d like a bit of clarification if possible. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/16 "2009-07-23T22:44:16Z")
Those accusations were among the things we were discussing. No, making such accusations is not acceptable behavior here. Although **TubaDiva** didn’t mention that – or any other particular behavior that **KGS** engaged in during the period immediately before his banning – this does not mean that we would permit others to do anything similar without either a warning or an immediate banning. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/17 "2009-07-23T22:48:28Z")
> [@Syntropy](#): > > Threatening legal action against an anonymous poster on the internet? That makes no sense whatsoever. What makes even less sense is legal action by an anonymous poster (assuming his identity has not been disclosed). What damage could he prove when he is anonymous? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/18 "2009-07-24T02:24:13Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > If the guy had sued **Frank** , for instance, and his lawyers had contacted the SDMB to demand **Frank** ’s IP and anything else that might identify him would the board be forced to comply? IANAL, but in discussions of this topic on another board, it was asserted by several people that IF a legal case is filed AND a request is made for content – posts on the board – in discovery, the entire board would be shut down and its database put into discovery, and it would REMAIN shut down until the court disposes of the case. Some cases take years. The implication is that the entire site could be “disappeared” by the authorities for months or years despite its involvement in the case being only tangential. I don’t know if that’s accurate, but it sounds scary, and it caused policy changes on the board where I read it. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/19 "2009-07-24T02:27:51Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > IANAL, but in discussions of this topic on another board, it was asserted by several people that IF a legal case is filed AND a request is made for content – posts on the board – in discovery, the entire board would be shut down and its database put into discovery, and it would REMAIN shut down until the court disposes of the case. Some cases take years. The implication is that the entire site could be “disappeared” by the authorities for months or years despite its involvement in the case being only tangential. > > I don’t know if that’s accurate, but it sounds scary, and it caused policy changes on the board where I read it. That makes no sense, which is not to mean it is not true. Why would they need to freeze a site while the case is in court? Why not work on a copy of the relevant posts? Would the site be allowed to run from a backup? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021/20 "2009-07-24T07:06:09Z")
When someone with bi-polar disorder is in a manic phase and off of meds, she or he can be literally brain-damaged. Unless he is faking the symptoms, he is not a troll and he is unable to look objectively at his own situation and behavior. People who amuse themselves by poking fun at the mentally ill are shallow. At the same time, I can’t imagine that it’s healthy for him to be subjected to sometimes ruthless comments (moreso in the past) and certainly his threats to SDMB were way out of bounds. The relationship just didn’t seem to be good for anyone anymore. I wish him peace. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-kgs-banning-to-me/504021.md?page=2)