# Old timers: Tell me about the Great Banning... **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 13, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269 "2013-12-13T20:39:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/41 "2013-12-15T03:25:28Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I was so much younger when it happened. It was a more innocent time, and we’ve lost a lot of that innocence since. I threw up in my mouth. A little bit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/42 "2013-12-15T03:33:42Z")
You have to admire the way that **Marley** , upon realizing that he was wrecking all the fun for all the mods, undid it and went back to the old traditional mod method - ban everyone, but one at a time. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/43 "2013-12-15T03:36:38Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > You have to admire the way that **Marley** , upon realizing that he was wrecking all the fun for all the mods, undid it and went back to the old traditional mod method - ban everyone, but one at a time. You can’t suck up worth shit, can you? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/44 "2013-12-15T04:03:51Z")
This thread cannot continue without a musical interlude - > [@What should we call the recent super-ban?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-we-call-the-recent-super-ban/595736/33): > > Oh, thanks so much. Got an earworm from that one, which resolved itself into song lyrics that may be appropriate for the circumstances: > > “A Marley Can Ban,” with apologies to Don McLean > > \*A long long time ago, > I can still remember when the MB used to make me smile. > And I clicked each and every link > Some made me laugh; some made me think– > And they all kept me occupied for a while. > > But all the newbies made me nervous, > With all the spam that was their purpose. > A new Admin took his place, > And said that he would give chase. > > I do remember I felt damned, > Insulted, lost, and yes, shitcanned– > I wondered just what flame was fanned > The day we were all banned. > > Oh, man, man, you know a Marley can ban, > Clicked the link, but I think, that was not a good plan. > With Dopers all looking at the new hatchet man, > And singing, “This’ll be the day I’ve been banned– > This’ll be the day I’ve been banned.”\* ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/45 "2013-12-15T04:08:00Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Close…what I was going to say was: > > Oh, I don’t think he much about it. The SDMB members are pretty quick to let things go. Ok, so I had to go all the way to deep research and after googling forever I caught a lead (actually it took me one click, just so you know, \*\*Hal). \*\*The reputable internet meme repository TV Tropes does _not_ (yet?) have The Great Banning, but it does have [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=333640). Now, notice: six years and a day. And the first post on 9/7…? That \*\*Hal’\*\*s name and exploits would be linked forever. Close coincidence. Maybe _too_ close. I’m interested in why **Twickster** , of all people, locked that thread, when she herself said it should stand forever–a perpetual zombie?, nay a perennial. So if this thread gets locked, I’ll get suspicious, particularly since I’ve pointed that unlikely coincidence. Maybe Jerry is Hal’s colleague and had him commit this heinous act and be blamed but Jerry got **Marley** as his patsy, or the other way around. Eventually this all might be revealed to be part of one event, The Great Baanning. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/46 "2013-12-15T05:21:33Z")
Now, the old-timer event I’d like to hear more about is the Winter of Our Missed Content. Was that 2000 or 2001? The board software crashed and several months of posts were lost. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/47 "2013-12-15T05:56:50Z")
Winter of Our Missed Content: Someone (Tubadiva, I believe) set up an alternative board (I want to say it had “Bboard” in the web address?) for us to get our Dope fix during the repairs here. From thence came Og, who smashed-- an animated smiley so obnoxious and beloathed it is talked about yet today. Lucky for everyone, Og didn’t make the leap back to this place. If I remember correctly, he also took the name “Smashy” from time to time. I think the bulk of the outage took place during the first few months of '02. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/48 "2013-12-15T12:45:15Z")
The smiley was Smashy. Og is a separate entity, though I suppose that Smashy might have been an Earthly avatar of Og, much like Krishna and Vishnu. Og originated from a short-term poster who was proselytizing but had a habit of mis-typing “Son of God” as “Son og God”. And I’m still curious about what actually happened in the Great Banning. Even if we accept that **Marley** was responsible, _how_? I find it hard to imagine that the board really does have a “ban everyone” button. Who undid the banning, and did the undoing of it show any clue as to how it was done? After the mass banning was undone, were the Indian spammers who were the original target still banned? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/49 "2013-12-15T13:12:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The smiley was Smashy. Og is a separate entity, though I suppose that Smashy might have been an Earthly avatar of Og, much like Krishna and Vishnu. Og originated from a short-term poster who was proselytizing but had a habit of mis-typing “Son of God” as “Son og God” You’re absolutely right. I completely misremembered that. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/50 "2013-12-15T17:05:34Z")
“The Winter of Our Missed Content.” There’s a script that runs in the middle of the night that backs up the message board. The script got corrupted somehow and for a few months it backed up the day’s posts by overwriting previous postings. By the time we found this problem, the board had lost approximately three months worth of posts that could not be recovered … lost forever. And there you have it. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/51 "2013-12-15T19:18:06Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > I tried to log in and noticed I was banned. Exactly how did you notice you were banned? Did it prevent you from logging in or was there a “you’ve been banned” pop up? Or did it let you log in, then the word “Banned” was underneath your name? Was there anyone who was in the process of posting, only to find him/herself banned? How did that go down? It’s important to record these details for posterity. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/52 "2013-12-15T20:11:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The smiley was Smashy. Og is a separate entity, though I suppose that Smashy might have been an Earthly avatar of Og, much like Krishna and Vishnu. Og originated from a short-term poster who was proselytizing but had a habit of mis-typing “Son of God” as “Son og God”. > > And I’m still curious about what actually happened in the Great Banning. Even if we accept that **Marley** was responsible, _how_? I find it hard to imagine that the board really does have a “ban everyone” button. Who undid the banning, and did the undoing of it show any clue as to how it was done? After the mass banning was undone, were the Indian spammers who were the original target still banned? [hijack] Waitaminnit, didn’t **Chronos** have a cool new sig about Time from Shakespeare originally here? I’m pretty sure he did, because I was going to PM him about it… Hmm… [/hijack] ETA: Hmmm, similar prob with member agnomens that can be changed instantly back in time. Raises issue of SD historicity. Which actually is considered in OP (and above post). ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/53 "2013-12-17T00:38:19Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > **Marley** has accepted responsibility, and certainly no one else is stepping up to accept credit, so … Not to be persnickety but did he? On page 2 of that announcement thread I suggested that he probably did it while banning a single person and he said flat out said no. ---
**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:** [December 17, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/54 "2013-12-17T01:15:37Z")
To this day we don’t know the precise mechanism. We may never know exactly what happened. We’ve all been very careful since. ---
**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:** [December 17, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/55 "2013-12-17T01:25:52Z")
**Leo Bloom** , I’ve had my current sig for many years (dunno exactly how many; however long ago it was that Montana Shakespeare in the Park presented _As You Like It_), and it does in fact show up after the post you quoted: > [@](#): > > Time travels in divers paces with divers persons. > –_As You Like It_, III:ii:328 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/56 "2013-12-17T03:08:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **Leo Bloom** , I’ve had my current sig for many years (dunno exactly how many; however long ago it was that Montana Shakespeare in the Park presented _As You Like It_), and it does in fact show up after the post you quoted: Forgive me, the Bard did not write that? Someone added it? ---
**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:** [December 17, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/57 "2013-12-17T03:14:48Z")
I’m not up on the latest authorship disputes, but so far as I know, William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote every word of _As You Like It_, including the line in my sig. I don’t understand the confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/58 "2013-12-17T03:25:45Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > FTR, it appears **Musicat** was first with “banned name.” {sigh} I guess I’ve used up my 15 minutes of fame. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/59 "2013-12-17T03:30:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m not up on the latest authorship disputes, but so far as I know, William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote every word of _As You Like It_, including the line in my sig. I don’t understand the confusion. Your reference to Montana Shakespeare in the Park made me think it may have been ad libbed. I am glad to be mistaken. 🙂 ---
**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:** [December 17, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269/60 "2013-12-17T04:44:57Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Your reference to Montana Shakespeare in the Park made me think it may have been ad libbed. > I am glad to be mistaken. 🙂 Did you think it was perhaps a production in which Miley Cyrus played Rosalind?😉 **Chronos** lives in Montana. I imagine that Montana Shakespeare in the Park might be put on in an outdoor amphitheater in Glacier National Park. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-tell-me-about-the-great-banning/676269.md?page=4)