Not only do I have no official warnings, I’ve even got a “Get out of jail free” card. At this rate I’m never going to le
Well, this gets back to an issue i’ve raised before. I think it was when the late, unlamented milroyj was given the boot.
Whether a caution from a Moderator ends up as a formal warning or merely an “admonishment” seems, to me at least, to be quite arbitrary. Also, there seems to be some inconsistency in the type of moderator interventions that stay on record, to be dragged out at the time of a banning or suspension.
For example, here are two of the warnings that weirddave received:
and
Pretty clear and straightforward. Those were warnings.
Then there’s this:
No explicit statement that this is a warning, although it can probably be readily inferred. But then there’s this:
Well, if that’s a warning, it’s a pretty mild one. In fact, it looks just like an “admonishment” to me.
And then there’s this:
What the hell is that? It’s barely a remonstration, and certainly not the sort of thing i would expect to be stored away as evidence of one’s recalcitrance.
I know, i know. Your next argument is going to be along the lines of, “We decide each banning or suspension on a case by case basis, and we don’t have hard and fast criteria precisely because we want to be able to treat each case on its own merits, and taking into account the overall actions of the Doper in question.”
But you can say this as many times as you want, and it won’t dispel the impression that the whole thing is arbitrary at best, capricious at worst.
I say if you MUST get an official moderator warning, do so with a little panache.
I’ve been here since March of 1999 and I have over eleven thousand posts. I have not received one single solitary warning. But then again, I’m not an irrational, short-tempered prick. YMMV.
You know, I personally can’t stand Weirddave; I think he’s an asshole and I wouldn’t be too upset if I never saw him around here anymore. However, I have to agree with your assessment of the last two “warnings”. If those are kept on record, I have to wonder how many I have–or anyone else, for that matter. They really need to more clearly identify wanrings which are to be kept on record; otherwise, it’s bullshit.
This is a Warning, never get involved in a land war in Asia and never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!
Jim {sorry, I should know better and I still can’t help myself}
You might want to check that post again. The title of it says, “Mod Warning:”.
I usually title my moderating posts one of two ways:
1.) Mod Note:
2.) Mod Warning:
There was a request earlier this year for a way to differentiate between admonishments, rulings and other miscellaneous moderating posts and official warnings. I adopted this model (stealing it from xash – he didn’t get one cent) in response.
Hell, neither am I. And last I heard I had a couple. One for calling Lib a ‘weenie’ and one for slapping around London Calling, I think.
FREE THE BALTIMORE ONE!
But it would not be a good thing if all posters were like you. Or me. Or anybody.
–Cliffy
Registered here since Dec 1999. Over 11,000 posts.
And I’ve had, I think, one official warning. It was a fair cop, but society’s to blame.
OTOH, I see no reason/benefit from having short tempered irrational pricks around. YMMV
Make that over 13,000 posts. And I should also note that I have hardly been a voice for the Left in my history here.
While there’s no question that the membership of the board leans left, the moderation does not seem to be overly concerned with ideology.
Well, in all fairness, that’s just because I keep my keys in my left pocket. I really ought to go through and get rid of the ones I don’t use anymore.
Offer them on Freecycle, maybe someone will want them. It’s amazing what stuff people will take off your hands. Just in the last month I’ve unloaded a sheet of plywood, two rolls of burlap, a teakettle, a CRT computer monitor, wicker baskets, a bicycle helmet, cowboy boots, two umbrellas, a plastic bin with a cracked lid, and a little red wagon.
No one wanted the partridge in a pear tree, though. 
Askia, that was marvelous.
All to the same Freecycle user …?
You FOOL! You’ve doomed us all! Do you not realize that but for the lack of a couple antacid tablets and the string from a Duncan Imperial ™ Yo-Yo, Dr. Mortalus’ Cataclysmic Engine of Death and Stuff is now complete? The Secretariat may as well surrender us all into fearful bondage now, there’s no way Lance and his team can find the…
Oh, never mind.
Actually, in all seriousness, all my old stuff like that – from old clothes to old computer peripherals – goes to Goodwill, since they’ve got an attended pickup site about a quarter mile from my house.
I don’t think any of us are served by requiring that no one is permitted to post unless he can remain calm and rational at all times. Because there just aren’t that many of you. I’ve never gotten a warning or admonishment as I recall, but I have lost my temper and lit a few people up from time to time.
–Cliffy
Another poster who’s been here since 1999, with over 12K posts.
I think I’ve received a couple of unofficial admonishments, over the years, but to the best of my recollection, no official warnings.
And it’s not like I’ve got the world’s sweetest disposition, but I have a rough idea of where the lines are, and make a reasonable effort to stay on this side of them. If an acerbic grouch like me can stay within the rules here, anyone who has their sanity and doesn’t have serious anger management issues should be able to do so if they give it half a try.
I don’t think I’ve ever been warned. And I’ve posted some pretty acerbic stuff. At least I think it is.
I think my secret is that noone even notices me.