# On “crime and punishment “ **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 2, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295 "2018-10-02T02:46:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/41 "2018-10-02T11:10:27Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > I know that. > > Maybe the premise is dumb or too subtle. I just think that the severity of the punishment can lead to too much reluctance and that more granularity and speed, especially if the summary suspension wasn’t considered as serious as a warning then suspension, would lead to a better overall outcome for all considered. I think this board is already far too tolerant of trolls and giving them even more rope is the last thing we need. SA trolled for over a decade here, I’m hoping we go in the opposite direction and don’t wait ten years before we ban the other racist, sexist obvious trolls here. If you’re an adult and can’t take you’re own break from the internet, you need therapy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/42 "2018-10-02T11:50:43Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > I found it!! > > [Happy Fucking New Year](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=232300) > > Where 'ere you are Lynn, I shall always remember you. 😃 Happy Fucking New Year! Cheers. On topic: Suspensions used judiciously are a fine thing. But I see them useful in situations where a quality poster is drunk off their ass and posting in a way that suggests suicide by mod. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/43 "2018-10-02T12:11:40Z")
The search for the proper balance between allowing all parties to be heard and curtailing trolls is a never ending one. I’ve always believed that, when dealing with the application of censorship, it is better to err on the side of free speech. The ultimate truth is that, “You can’t legislate morality.” No matter what kind of system is in place, there are always going to be problems if you have participants who have no desire to exercise a code of behavior that is not divisive and destructive . A good team is made up of good players. A bad team isn’t. It’s on us, not “rule makers”. More rules or different rules aren’t going to change anything. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2018, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/44 "2018-10-02T12:17:06Z")
Sure, free and breezy short suspensions can be useful but I don’t see them as a replacement for things in your list and think having no record of them is ridiculous. A topic ban, to take one example, comes after a history of a noticeable pattern. If the mods have to give you a week long suspension every time a declawing thread comes up then a topic ban seems the wiser option. On the other hand, there’s a poster or two who could use a daily 10pm-3am EST suspension. Could that be automated? Lol. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/45 "2018-10-02T15:26:32Z")
The OP isn’t proposing anything much different than what we do now. Each circumstance is different and we reserve the right to deal with it in the best way possible at the time. But we are not going to be giving our consequence free suspensions. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/46 "2018-10-02T15:29:53Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Happy Fucking New Year! > Cheers. > > On topic: Suspensions used judiciously are a fine thing. But I see them useful in situations where a quality poster is drunk off their ass and posting in a way that suggests suicide by mod. It’s happened. One of those things where we reserve the right to handle it the way a situation dictates. We have placed people in a short time out. It’s infrequently needed. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/47 "2018-10-02T15:50:31Z")
To the timeout issue, another message board I frequented had a special method for handling that. The poster was blocked from posting to the main board, but they had their own little forum where they could rant to their heart’s content. The timeout usually lasted 12 hours. When the timeout was over, the special forum was simply deleted, and the poster returned to full posting status. Most of the time, people came back apologetic and thankful that their ranting wouldn’t be seen by all and sundry. A very few came back madder than ever. As I understand it, the staff here don’t have permissions to implement such changes, but a simple 12 hour suspension would accomplish much the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/48 "2018-10-02T16:40:01Z")
The more rules there are, the more there are opportunities to complain about the rules. Currently it appears the Mods have some sort of group discussion before implementing serious measures such as suspensions. IMO unilateral insta-suspensions will surely result in loud complaints of suppression of speech, favoritism by certain Mods toward or against specific posters, etc. Hell, there’s more than enough of that already in the current system. Maybe one of the Mods can confirm this, but my impression is that most suspensions don’t have that much of an effect anyway. That is, a large proportion of suspended posters, if not a majority, fail to modify their behavior and end up permanently banned. Since **S\_A** ’s case was mentioned, he seems like one for whom such a suspension would be unlikely to be effective. IIRC, he had repeatedly stated that he supposedly didn’t care what anyone thought about his posting habits and that he was constantly being singled out solely for being on the “wrong” end of the political spectrum. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/49 "2018-10-02T16:45:59Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The OP isn’t proposing anything much different than what we do now. Each circumstance is different and we reserve the right to deal with it in the best way possible at the time. But we are not going to be giving our consequence free suspensions. Thanks for the response. Consequence free was not to be consequence free in all cases. It was more a mechanism to allow mods to not worry about having a heavy hand on borderline cases or just in terms of general annoyance at the moment. That’s why I brought myself up. There are times I get persistent on a topic but not to the point a warning is justified. Yet my persistence can be perceived as detrimental. The increased speed of action due to less long term ramifications is what I was thinking as being of utility. Sometimes you just get a bug up the butt and need 12-36 hours to crap it out away from the forums. Again, thanks for the response. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/50 "2018-10-06T00:17:00Z")
I dunno, seems to me that when an adult comes to realize he has been “fatiguing” people, the onus is on him to change his behaviour, not suggest others change theirs. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/51 "2018-10-06T01:42:45Z")
I dunno, back in my day you wouldn’t bump a 3 day old thread with such lame snark. Gee whiz. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/52 "2018-10-06T03:16:45Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > It was obvious in the my OP. I’m honestly not sure what is difficult about this. There is no way I can write “decide and act quicker in order to defuse but with less long term ramifications” than I already have. > > And when e\_c\_g told Drunky to stop posting for the night after a, and this might be a record, triple-triple post I doubt he was memeing. But I’ve been wrong before. We already do this. When someone is going off the rails with anger, posting wildly while drunk, getting themselves worked up and upset a mod will unilaterally suspend them for a few hours or overnight to break a bad cycle or diffuse the situation. These rarely result in warning or banning. It is a useful tool when used judiciously. Too often and it will become background noise. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/53 "2018-10-06T03:51:33Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > bump a 3 day old thread Huh, you’re right. I gather the slower pace of this forum led me to choose an action I would not typically perform. In any case, I disagree with the assessment and stand by my comment. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/54 "2018-10-23T21:00:30Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > We already do this. > > When someone is going off the rails with anger, posting wildly while drunk, getting themselves worked up and upset a mod will unilaterally suspend them for a few hours or overnight to break a bad cycle or diffuse the situation. These rarely result in warning or banning. > > It is a useful tool when used judiciously. Too often and it will become background noise. So basically a Drunk Tank. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/55 "2018-10-24T12:45:08Z")
Octopus, the best form of discipline is that which is self-imposed. Responsible, mature adults do just that. Criticizing a process because it doesn’t MAKE you do what you already know you are supposed to do isn’t the right approach and will yield no satisfactory results. Many people decry the fact that our society is far more undisciplined and lawless than it was in the mid twentieth century but, yet, we have far more laws and far more police officers than we had at that time. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/56 "2018-10-24T14:24:37Z")
Another case of “Let’s make another set of rules to apply to 0.01% of posters who choose to disregard the rules already in place.” ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/57 "2018-10-25T04:11:28Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > On the other hand, there’s a poster or two who could use a daily 10pm-3am EST suspension. Could that be automated? Lol. Shit. I’ve been exposed. Yeah, that probably applies to me. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295/58 "2018-10-25T17:28:32Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Octopus, the best form of discipline is that which is self-imposed. Responsible, mature adults do just that. But we are talking about Dopers. Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-crime-and-punishment/822295.md?page=2)