# If you see someone is BANNED... **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 21, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349 "2011-06-21T22:43:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/41 "2011-06-22T22:39:50Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > There is, in fact, such a board. Not for the internet in general but specifically about the SDMB, whose membership consists, in large part, of people who have been banned from this board. It’s not the first such board to be created by SDMB malcontents, either. > > And no, I’m not going to give anyone a link to it. > > Yes, they do. They really do. You guys have no idea how much shit gets filtered out before it hits the boards, including an ungodly number of socks of previously banned posters. There’s a trio of threads in the mod forum, altogether consisting of some thirty pages, that’s just a huge list of banned socks - _from one person_. > > Obviously, that’s an extreme situation, but there are a ton of people cut from the same cloth, just on a smaller scale. These people are obsessed with interacting with the SDMB in some way. The most effective means we’ve found of making them go away is to ensure they do not get any of the interaction they so crave - to make trying to post on the SDMB, for them, the equivalent of shouting at a wall. For most of them, it’s effective, sooner or later. Ever use Tachy goes to coventry? Because that is literally equivalent to shouting at a wall. It’s a way of banning someone without them knowing they were banned, so they don’t know to create a new sock. ---
**Author:** ![Rain\_Soaked](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rain\_Soaked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rain_Soaked)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/42 "2011-06-22T23:03:33Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Ever use Tachy goes to coventry? Because that is literally equivalent to shouting at a wall. It’s a way of banning someone without them knowing they were banned, so they don’t know to create a new sock. For those who, like me, wondered what this was: [Tachy Goes to Coventry](https://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php/39499-Spammers..-mmmm?s=) Global User Ignore. The spammer sees his posts when he looks but no one else can see them. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/43 "2011-06-22T23:48:55Z")
> [@Rain\_Soaked](#): > > For those who, like me, wondered what this was: > > [Tachy Goes to Coventry](https://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php/39499-Spammers..-mmmm?s=) > > Global User Ignore. The spammer sees his posts when he looks but no one else can see them. We have the ability, we don’t use it. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/44 "2011-06-22T23:59:20Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > There are actually multiple secret Mod forums. > > One of them is titled, “How much does **Boyo Jim** suck?” He _is_ the Best of The Worst. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/45 "2011-06-23T00:47:23Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > We have the ability, we don’t use it. At first I thought it was something special about our vB setup, but no; it’s a standard feature of the software. I get the “Coventry” part, but I wonder why “Tachy” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/46 "2011-06-23T00:50:56Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > There is, in fact, such a board. Not for the internet in general but specifically about the SDMB, whose membership consists, in large part, of people who have been banned from this board. It’s not the first such board to be created by SDMB malcontents, either. > > And no, I’m not going to give anyone a link to it. And it’s boring as shit. Meanwhile, you’ve got juicy lulz in the mod forums and denying us the pleasure of needling them? Not cool, dude. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/47 "2011-06-23T00:59:22Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > You are aware that by posting this, you are just giving “them” what “they” want. Personally, I’d bet most of “them” are just doing it to yank “your” chain. It upsets the mods, not the posters, and that’s what “they” want. Not sure what your point is. They know we know. And the objective is to yank everybody’s chains, not just the mods. (And some of it is really fucked-up shit, like harassing bereaved family members.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/48 "2011-06-23T01:23:05Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > We have the ability, we don’t use it. I’m glad, actually, since it seems like kind of a dickish thing to do on the part of the mods, and basically results in the user in question wasting all of his time on the board while he posts into a void. I wonder how long it would be before someone noticed that nobody was responding to them? ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/49 "2011-06-23T01:33:41Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > At first I thought it was something special about our vB setup, but no; it’s a standard feature of the software. > > I get the “Coventry” part, but I wonder why “Tachy” That’s the username of the first user it was ever enacted on, when it was being developed. Essentially if I recall correctly “Tachy goes to Coventry” was just a working title for the mod, but when they released it everyone liked the name so much they never bothered giving it a “professional” name like Global User Ignore or something like that. I like Tachy. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/50 "2011-06-23T01:36:13Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I’m glad, actually, since it seems like kind of a dickish thing to do on the part of the mods, and basically results in the user in question wasting all of his time on the board while he posts into a void. I wonder how long it would be before someone noticed that nobody was responding to them? I believe that one of the rare times it was used was on a serial sock(maybe 50-100 socks)–he caught on within a day or two. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/51 "2011-06-23T01:38:45Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I’m glad, actually, since it seems like kind of a dickish thing to do on the part of the mods, and basically results in the user in question wasting all of his time on the board while he posts into a void. With any of the people we might ever think of using it on, it would be better for him to waste his own time rather than everyone else’s. > [@](#): > > I wonder how long it would be before someone noticed that nobody was responding to them? I guarantee that some of these folks would never, ever notice. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/52 "2011-06-23T02:57:45Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I’m glad, actually, since it seems like kind of a dickish thing to do on the part of the mods, and basically results in the user in question wasting all of his time on the board while he posts into a void. I wonder how long it would be before someone noticed that nobody was responding to them? A user on a board I used to frequent didn’t notice for about 2 weeks and 80 posts (mostly LOOOOLLOOOOL or goatse pics). People who flameout aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/53 "2011-06-23T05:30:40Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I have no idea. I guess they think there’s a Troll Forum somewhere where bored teenagers get together and share lists of the latest websites that disappeared their leet trollery and warn the others not to bother with that site. You’re thinking of 4chan, right? Specifically /b/? ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/54 "2011-06-23T08:23:16Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > A Zombie is a thread that languished and is posted in again, months, years, even decades later, thus brought back from the dead: an undead thread. > > As for banned posters, only if I recognize them. Ok, I only asked because sometimes how codified standards of a society are interpreted and inforced may not be what is expected by a newbie (such as myself) yanno, “we both type english but are you typing the same english I am?” scenario ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/55 "2011-06-23T10:12:47Z")
Yeah, the worst thing is when you open a thread… and it’s a zombie… and you see a familiar poster… and he’s banned… It’s like the trifecta of being bummed out. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/56 "2011-06-23T14:58:58Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > We have the ability, we don’t use it. We tried it a couple of times and all it did was aggravate the user and make them more disposed to come back under other user names and be annoying back at us. So we don’t use it, it’s just not helpful to us. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/57 "2011-06-23T15:33:28Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Not sure what your point is. They know we know. And the objective is to yank everybody’s chains, not just the mods. (And some of it is really fucked-up shit, like harassing bereaved family members.) The ones that do it dozens of times are yanking the mods’ chains. The occasional ones that drop by to harass members are in a different league. I know you don’t have any choice but to ban them again, but “bragging” about it in a post by a mod is giving them the attention they want. **THAT** was my point. Just don’t talk about it if you really don’t want to call attention to it. I know that will never happen, though, just like DFTT is dumb advice as well. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/58 "2011-06-23T15:59:29Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > The ones that do it dozens of times are yanking the mods’ chains. The occasional ones that drop by to harass members are in a different league. And you know this, how? You don’t see what we see. In any case, the ones that do it dozens of times are often mentally ill. > [@](#): > > I know you don’t have any choice but to ban them again, but “bragging” about it in a post by a mod is giving them the attention they want. **THAT** was my point. Just don’t talk about it if you really don’t want to call attention to it. I know that will never happen, though, just like DFTT is dumb advice as well. I don’t see anything like bragging in **Miller’s** posts. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/59 "2011-06-23T16:30:04Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I don’t see anything like bragging in **Miller’s** posts. That’s why I put the word in quotes. Trolls could see it as a way of one mod sticking it to them. You know that some are like this, just as I “know” that some do it just to yank your chain. It isn’t secret behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349/60 "2011-06-23T16:32:45Z")
Usually, when I stumble across a zombie thread containing someone I didn’t know was banned, I do remember them well enough to recognize them as a general malcontent or annoyance, and so it’s not all that much of a surprise. I’m not really much interested in finding out what, specifically, was the last straw. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-see-someone-is-banned/586349.md?page=4)