There have been several recent threads asking why a certain poster was banned, all with the same general explanation: that there will be no explanation for socks or spammers or whatnot. I was just curious, how regular is this? About how many socks/spammers/whatever do you get a week? Are they mostly disgruntled previously banned members looking to make trouble or people trying to sneak in under the radar? How many socks do you think we might have running around here undetected at any one time? How long does it usually take for you to find them out?
Well, I only need sixteen. See, you need two a day, and then you need an extra pair to wear on laundry day. Of course, I usually buy more than that, so all of them match, and if one sock of a pair wears out, I can just replace it and they’ll still match.
…Oh. You meant the other kind of sock. Never mind, then.
It varies from week to week, but the majority of bannings are socks and spammers and similar jokers, by a long shot. The number of people who deliberately misbehave is fairly small, but they take up an immensely disproportionate amount of moderators’ time. Gives us a kinda odd perspective on things, I daresay.
The finding out process varies, depending on the situation. Usually, it’s not long, but it’s sometimes long enough that they create a stir.
And, please note, it’s not that “there will be no explanation” for socks &c, it’s that there will be no public explanation. As we say, if you feel that curiosity is gnawing at you and you’re tossing and turning all night from the fretting, then email an Administrator, and we’ll tell you privately. It’s not secrecy – although respecting the privacy of those who can’t post in their own defense is part of the policy – it’s really just not wanting to give them more publicity.
Thanks for the info. Could you give me a general order of magnitude on what we are talking about here though so I can understand? It’s just that I seem to have noticed quite a few more recently and was wondering if you talking about one or two a week or a dozen or more.
And to say it yet again, we get mucho help from people who report bad posts and their suspicions. While we mods and admins are a highly evolved, well-oiled machine :::cough, cough, sputter, sputter ::::, we simply can’t do it alone. Any help we get make this a better place.
We quite often know that a poster is a troll/sock, but we can’t ban them simply on suspicion. And finding proof takes time. I’ll sometimes spend 3-4 hours reading posts, trying to connect posters. And I’m not alone. But that mug makes it all worthwhile.
I seem to recall some messages in here that said So-and-So has been banned. Any chance that could continue? No explanation needed, just letting us know that someone got whacked by one of The Fists Of Cecil?
They will still explain the banning of long(ish)-standing members. But if that member comes back as a sock, their sock won’t get an explanatory thread by the mods.
Just to let you know how uneven it is, we’ve banned four socks this morning… from two (or perhaps three) different persons. And it’s only 8 AM. Some days/weeks are worse than others.
I guess adopting Clothahump’s original proposal is up to you guys. I would really like to see you change your titles from “Moderator” to “Fist Of Cecil”. That would be cool.
Ever consider thinking of cute neames for various types of “socks”? Argyle? maybe for those that have one debate and have to come back? Hmm, Gym, tube (for those dudes that come back quicly over and over), black nylon…
I think that falls into the category of giving them too much attention. And frankly, the Powers that Be don’t care too much why or how a person is socking; all that they need to know is that they are. And then they ban that person.
