I can’t see it in my profile but it would be nice to know just how thin is the ice on which I am skating.
Surely the best way to do it would be to check the e-mail account you’ve got linked to this board for e-mails from moderators? I figure if you see three or more from Lynn Bodoni, Cecil’s own Angel of Death, you might be in trouble. That or you could always e-mail her or another mod, although in that case I’d suggest offerings of humility and chocolate.
CJ
I don’t think one gets an email when they get warned. I think I was warned once, and I was simply informed of it in the thread where I made the offending post. No email.
Do the Mods really have some kind of demerit database for these things?
Yes, we do. We’ve even got a primitive filing system going. In addition, we email each other a lot. Becoming a SDMB moderator means never having an empty email box again. I don’t know about the other mods, but I personally keep some staff emails and notes in my personal computer document file as well. Since I think that ALL of the other staffers are more organized than I am, I’m sure they also have their own personal files. I know that TubaDiva,, for instance, has a lot of ZIPPED files containing the old threads from the AOL SDMB. She wants to put them online sometime.
So yeah, if you get a warning, it’s going on your Permanent Record. 
Well, hopefully, such a thing might make an impression on you, you know.
Kinda like being memorable, in a way.
“Hey, fuck nugget, you keep this up and we boot your ass all the way to AOL chat.”
If this sort of correspondence is unremarkable in your normal internet intercourse with the world at large, you probably got worse problems than the precise number of warnings you have on this board.
I think.
Tris
I asked the same thing a while back.
Did I tell you I’m impressed?
Is there a statute of limitations on warnings? There doesn’t appear from what I can tell a “x strikes” rule and IIRC handy got banned for violating an edict that was handed down months (years?) earlier (although it was a serious edict about giving false medical advice). And of course if one is violative enough of a rule there are no second chances. I’ve had a couple of “knock it off” type things over my four years’ tenure but no AFAIK “one more and you’re toast” sorts of things so I’m kinda wondering if there’s a file with my name on it (and if it’s in the “thin ice” or “rubbing hands together in gleeful anticipation of Otto’s next fuck-up” list).
If I’m in some sort of jeopardy, an email would be graciously accepted. Otherwise, any general information?
I once had the wrath of TubaDiva fall on my head.
It was after the Diaspora. I returned to find that my old password didn’t work, so I re-registered as my own sock puppet so I could post in ATMB and find out how to re-register with my old username. TubaDiva spotted a new registrant with the words “sock puppet” in it, and sent me a very frightening e-mail. I explained the situation, she e-mailed back and said “yeah, that sounds like something you’d do”, fixed my password and all was forgiven.
But, I can’t help but wonder if there’s a file somewhere…
Lynn, was I correct that people do not get an email with just a warning?
Do warnings expire after a certain amount of time? I got a warning once, like three years ago. If I did something naughty again*, would I be On Thin Ice, even though several years had passed between warnings?
*I’m not actually planning on doing anything naughty, but I wasn’t the first time either. Damn “no personal insults outside the Pit even when you’ve lost your temper” rule.
Fortunately, I anointed Mozilla with the blood of a chocolate rabbit, so the The Angel Bodoni will pass me by.
Warnings tend to lessen over time, and someone who has had a warning for a mild offense a long time ago is not really in danger of getting banned for committing another mild offense. Almost all warnings are made on the message board, in the thread where the offense occurred. This is done partly so that others can see what someone has done wrong (and hopefully learn from it) and partly because a lot of y’all don’t keep a valid, current email address, even though you are supposed to.
If you get warned for being a jerk and then continue to spout excessively rude remarks, even though some of the remarks are not warned, the rude remarks can count against you if you have several warnings for the same behavior. It’s viewed as evidence that you cannot or will not change your ways. As someone else said in another thread, some people love to skate as close to the edge as possible. It’s like a game for some people, and the moderating staff has no wish to play that sort of game.
I got a warning once.
Didn’t see it for three weeks because I didn’t revisit the thread it was posted in. Which kinda defeats the purpose, if ya asks me…
Of course, it’s theoretically possible she emailed someone to do something other than warn them
Well, I don’t see how there could be. There are too many different kinds of misbehavior that could lead to banning. For some just one or two violations are enough to get someone banned. For others, there would have to be a pattern of less serious misbehavior that, taken together, is enough for banning.
I have a special folder for my warnings, indexed and cross-tabbed by moderator, violation type, date, and a few other categories. (I want to be able to organize my crimes efficiently.)
I would like to know what happens if you do not agree with a warning and explain why the moderator has it wrong.
Is your (mailed) explanation also “filed” or is it your rule that a Moderator is Always Right. Like in a good simple dictarotship.
And what can you do if you gained the clear (or even confirmed) impression that a moderator developped a prejudice against you personally?
Salaam. A
What the hell could you possibly get warned for?
Being too levelheaded?