DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). It’s us drivers against the police. The deck is stacked against us but that’s the system.
So, the DMV is sort of fair in that after usually two years the points drop off of your record. Also, in some states, if you take a safe driver course you can reduce your points. Both of these things can be very important in preventing you license from being suspended.
Are there similar things in place on the SDMB? I’ve had my dust-ups and I don’t think they are particularly severe but they remain on my record. I try to behave yet, sometimes I get a the flashing lights in my rear view mirror.
So, will a length of time of good behavior get my offenses expunged? Is there a course I can take to reduce the consequences of my misbehavior?
I’m trying to be a good citizen yet, a few times, I’ve found a way to fuck up. Shame on me. What would it take to clean my record?
Yes. Poor service, dingy digs, surly and hostile employees, and fights breaking out among the people waiting on line. Also, you go there and next thing you know it’s four hours later.
All that’s missing is a tiny, bad photo of yourself at the end.
The thing that matters is that you don’t repeat the offense. We don’t expunge your record in the literal sense of deleting your warnings, but they carry less weight over time. If you get a couple of warnings in a short time, you put yourself at risk for getting suspended. If you have a couple of warnings over several years of posting, it’s not a big deal. So we don’t wipe old warnings off your record, but if you got one warning three years ago and get another today, you’re not going to get banned or suspended for it.
If you realize you violated a rule, an acknowledgement of that and a promise not to do it again goes a long way to mitigating the offense (at least in my book). It doesn’t expunge it entirely, but at least it demonstrates you know what the rules are and understand them.
In my experience, the people who are most likely to get repeatedly warned, suspended, and eventually banned are those who simply ignore warnings. They don’t apologize, but neither do they offer any explanation or defense. (This is the case in probably 90-95% of the warnings I’ve issued.) They don’t care about being “good citizens.” So the fact that you say you want to be one is a point in your favor.
The other reason for the OP is that, at least in my state, a lot of stuff like registrations and license renewals are able to be handled online. That makes the SDMB a lot like the DMV.
If the Catholic Church and the DMV can absolve sins why can’t the SDMB? I’m looking for a plenary indulgence but I don’t quite know how to go about it.
“Dear Father, I have sinned, this is my first confession, I violated the rules of the SDMB. Will three Hail Mary’s get me out of this mess? I promise to go forth and sin no more, at least until tomorrow.”
