It wasn’t 6 out of 60,000. It was a lengthy pattern including suspension, 15 warnings by 10 different staff members, and some unknown (but large) number of mod notes, private messages, and gentle corrections. I don’t even know how many times people have said, both publicly and privately, that he was getting special treatment; that he should have been banned long ago; that others weren’t allowed to push the envelope as he did.
If rules aren’t enforced, why have them? We tried to work with Dio. Really we did. But it was ultimately his decision not to work within the rules and guidelines that govern the SDMB.
What I don’t think some people in this thread are getting is that Dio wasn’t banned because of the way he usually posted, but because of the relatively few times (compared to his overall posting history) he stepped over a line (e.g. by egregiously insulting other posters outside the Pit).
At least, that’s my impression; if that’s not the case, I’d join you in protesting his banning.
Yes, that’s correct. As I tried to imply in my last post. Althought “relatively few” is a relative term; it was actually fairly many on an actual count basis, but “relatively few” as a percentage of his posts.
Well, I seem to recall his oldest daughter is 11. In two years, she could have a membership, and we’d get to see the practical results of Dio’s child-rearing philosophy.
Sorry if I’ve missed it in this thread and in the years of interactions with Dio, but people keep talking about his valuable contributions in areas he had knowledge and expertise in.
Legitimate question: Could someone tell me what areas those are, so I can understand why I never saw any of it?
Yeah, the Dio Show frequently put me in mind of that sketch. An argument could be made for that style of uncited, bald assertion, posting if the poster is right 99% of the time. In my experience that was not the case with Dio.
Sorry to see him go, but it will probably be good for him, and while a bit of rule bending is okay for special posters, there has to be some hints of evenhandedness as well.
Maybe it says that this isn’t a popularity contest, and even if lots of people like you, the rules still apply and you need to follow them. Or maybe it says some other thing. You tell me.
I missed that gem from PRR. Surely it was made in jest? No one could think it was rational? Either the premise that several nominated members vote who stays or goes or that that would serve the purposes of the other members?
He had a lot of knowledge on the New Testament and the Old Testament. He also knew some Koine Greek. He clearly knew a lot with regard to those subjects - was he an expert, a la Bart Erhman? No - but on this board he would be a ‘go-to’ with regard to these subjects.
As to why you didn’t see it - did you frequent Christian threads in GD?
I’ve gone back and forth on whether I should participate in this thread or not. Think I’ve typed and deleted half a dozen different comments. Finally, I’ve boiled it down to two points:
I think the mods are fully justified in banning Dio. He was given multiple warnings, a suspension, and then more warnings. The pattern of insulting others outside of the Pit continued.
While I understand that this case involves a particularly high profile poster, and some degree of a post-mortem was needed, I think this thread has run its course. Some people liked him and/or appreciated his contributions to the board. Other people did not. Dio is not able to defend himself here, and I really don’t know what else needs to be said on the matter.
Thank you, Meatros. That explains perfectly why I never had any cause to think of Dio as a valuable resource. Almost any time I’m in GD at all, it’s because I clicked on the wrong link.
Not successful? He hasn’t been banned again since then, although I see that he was suspended later and hasn’t posted since sometime last year. But saying that it wasn’t successful seems a bit unfair, given that he is (in theory) still here.
Of course, lissener’s ban came before the policy of suspensions was established, so that’s why the experiment probably won’t be repeated.
I believe other posters were reinstated after a ban, but shortly rebanned, but I couldn’t give you a name. It’s just something I heard.
