Satan has been banned

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41

Damn right. It doesn’t matter how long you have been a member, how many posts you have to your name, or how well behaved you have been in the past. If you start acting like an asshole you can expect to eventually be banned.

I am going to disagree with you here. I am not talking about my own recent interactions with Brian on the board. They were far from upsetting to me. As most of you know, a lot of the people I counsel in my occupation are schizophrenics, psychotics, substance abusers, disabled veterans with severe PTSD, homeless, and your garden variety of assholes. I am screamed at and threatened on almost a daily basis. I have had to have armed guards stand nearby for my own safety. Brian’s hateful words to me on a message board were nothing more than a slight irritant and no skin off my ass.

HOWEVER - There are people on this board who ARE capable of being hurt by the vitriol Brian poured upon them without provocation, simply because they disagreed with him. There were others still who endured his wrath for what appeared to be no reason at all. If you want to use an analogy of high school kids, let’s use the analogy of the school bully who is constantly beating up the younger kids for their lunch money or shoving an innocent victim up against the lockers just because he is angry and needs to take out his frustration. Now that he has been kicked out of school, the other kids are standing around and letting their feelings be known. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with doing that. It is not gossip.

If it looks like Brian is getting kicked while he is down and it is hurting him somehow, maybe he can use this as a lesson learned and understand that you can be hurt by the words of others. I see nothing in this thread that even comes close to the hate he used to attack others, in fact, if you read closely, you will notice that almost every person, including myself, have stated that we used to like Brian. That we used to think he was a great guy. That it is obvious that something is in his life to make him miserable and that we hope things get better for him. That doesn’t sound like anyone is kicking him, it sounds like we are trying to understand.

As I said, Brian’s actions on this board appears that he is a very miserable, hateful individual. For that I am sorry for him and hope things get better. I don’t hate him and I do wish him well. However, that does not excuse his actions and the fact that we are all a part of this message board community and have been affected one way or another by Brian’s actions, we do have every right to say how we feel on the subject.

Excuse me? Brian was warned time and time again on the boards and I am assuming he was warned in private as well. Yes, the admin should hold Brian to the same standards expected for others, that is why he was banned. A large post count and an old registration date is NOT a license to treat others like shit. Period.

Yes it DOES matter what Satan did and YES he should get what he deserves. AGAIN, just because he is “Satan, long-time poster, high post count guy”, does NOT give him special privileges, especially the privilege to attack others as viciously as he did and without provocation.

I applaud the Admin of this board for being fair and not playing favorites just because someone has been around longer than someone else.

What I learned from Wally’s death and what everyone needs to remember, is that the people being attacked are real human beings with real feelings. They are not immune from being hurt just because they are behind a computer screen. It is very possible that the people Brian attacked were affected my his words and did feel pain.

Brian may have had something to offer the board and it is obvious that there are people here who consider him a friend and will miss him, but the fact remains that other members should not have to deal with the abuse he spewed.

42

Sure we do. He used to post just about everything he did right here on the Boards.

43

I’ve not really interacted with him, but he certainly was a known presence here.

the links from RTFirefly show recent posted warnings from moderators

OTOH, Danielinthewolvesden another prolific (if not as popular) poster, IIRC, got banned for comments he made in the pit, and right on the spot, in public.

Posted public warnings from mods ‘wearing their mod hats’ aren’t common, and should be taken seriously. warnings (plural) to the same person on the same topic during a short period of time should send up red flags.
The fact that the most recent and ‘last straw’ was a few days ago, leads me to think that the decision to ban was taken only after long consideration and probably with consulation with all the staff off the boards. The fact that Ed Zotti announced this with a new thread vs. other options (such as how DIWD was handled), demonstrates the level of respect that Satan generated.

However, none of us are above the rules. While we all may get testy every now and then, or in a specific area, the variety of threads where warnings were placed means something, too.

To me,

says it all.

44

Damn right. It doesn’t matter how long you have been a member, how many posts you have to your name, or how well behaved you have been in the past. If you start acting like an asshole you can expect to eventually be banned.

I am going to disagree with you here. I am not talking about my own recent interactions with Brian on the board. They were far from upsetting to me. As most of you know, a lot of the people I counsel in my occupation are schizophrenics, psychotics, substance abusers, disabled veterans with severe PTSD, homeless, and your garden variety of assholes. I am screamed at and threatened on almost a daily basis. I have had to have armed guards stand nearby for my own safety. Brian’s hateful words to me on a message board were nothing more than a slight irritant and no skin off my ass.

HOWEVER - There are people on this board who ARE capable of being hurt by the vitriol Brian poured upon them without provocation, simply because they disagreed with him. There were others still who endured his wrath for what appeared to be no reason at all. If you want to use an analogy of high school kids, let’s use the analogy of the school bully who is constantly beating up the younger kids for their lunch money or shoving an innocent victim up against the lockers just because he is angry and needs to take out his frustration. Now that he has been kicked out of school, the other kids are standing around and letting their feelings be known. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with doing that. It is not gossip.

If it looks like Brian is getting kicked while he is down and it is hurting him somehow, maybe he can use this as a lesson learned and understand that you can be hurt by the words of others. I see nothing in this thread that even comes close to the hate he used to attack others, in fact, if you read closely, you will notice that almost every person, including myself, have stated that we used to like Brian. That we used to think he was a great guy. That it is obvious that something is in his life to make him miserable and that we hope things get better for him. That doesn’t sound like anyone is kicking him, it sounds like we are trying to understand.

As I said, Brian’s actions on this board appears that he is a very miserable, hateful individual. For that I am sorry for him and hope things get better. I don’t hate him and I do wish him well. However, that does not excuse his actions and the fact that we are all a part of this message board community and have been affected one way or another by Brian’s actions, we do have every right to say how we feel on the subject.

Excuse me? Brian was warned time and time again on the boards and I am assuming he was warned in private as well. Yes, the admin should hold Brian to the same standards expected for others, that is why he was banned. A large post count and an old registration date is NOT a license to treat others like shit. Period.

Yes it DOES matter what Satan did and YES he should get what he deserves. AGAIN, just because he is “Satan, long-time poster, high post count guy”, does NOT give him special privileges, especially the privilege to attack others as viciously as he did and without provocation.

I applaud the Admin of this board for being fair and not playing favorites just because someone has been around longer than someone else.

What I learned from Wally’s death and what everyone needs to remember, is that the people being attacked are real human beings with real feelings. They are not immune from being hurt just because they are behind a computer screen. It is very possible that the people Brian attacked were affected my his words and did feel pain.

Brian may have had something to offer the board and it is obvious that there are people here who consider him a friend and will miss him, but the fact remains that other members should not have to deal with the abuse he spewed.

45

To me, a new user, this shows me that no one is above anything. There’s always the impression - mostly imagined - on the part of the newbie that those who have been here longer or who have posted frequently are given more leeway than those who are new or who post infrequently.

For example, if Poster A and Poster B are both behaving badly and Poster A has, say, 500 posts and Poster B has, say, 5000 posts, then the newbie might think that any wrath of the administrators will come down on Poster A well before Poster B, if at all.

But with these last two bannings - DITWD and Satan - blow this theory and impression to smithereens. If anything, it feels good to know that “longtime membership does not have extra privileges.”

Finally, this does not appear to me to be a case of personal vendetta on the part of the administration, which is how events like this can sometimes be perceived. Mr. Zotti (and you can tell I’m new, because I refer to him as Mr.) says he does this act with regret, and I believe him.

And regarding Satan as a person, I have no comment or opinion except to say that my impression of him is that he was/is an exceedingly intelligent person. He may be a hateful and miserable person, but I’d think lesser of myself if I could not see any good in him at all. Others here might know him a lot better than I do, and I respect their opinions implicitly.

I apologize if this appears out of line.

Dan

46

It’s been going on a lot longer than just since March 3rd and the patience of the administration here with regard to him has been next to godly IMHO. I think Ed made it pretty darn clear that he was not banning Satan for one infraction or “general crankiness.” Satan was finally banned because he’d been warned and warned and warned and warned.

It became clear beyond any doubt that no amount of warning was going to mean diddly squat to him, as he was just going to go right on posting whatever the hell he damn well felt like, wherever he felt like posting it, regardless of the forum rules he was in. Satan’s been around here long enough to know the rules. He just thinks they don’t apply to him. Well, I’ve got news for you, they do.

NO, we don’t all learn to live with it. Some of us are highly offended by having to put up with the jerks (all of them, not just Satan) who riddle these boards with their gratuitous insults and piss-poor behaviour. We cheer when the “newbies” who come in here thinking they can get away with anything they feel like are banned when they continually break the rules. Why on earth is it so hard for some of you to grasp the concept that this behaviour is unacceptable, regardless of standing here, PER THE RULES, and Satan violated those rules over and over and over and over, so he’s outta here?!

47

Satan has always been one of my favorite posters. He is intelligent and witty. He made positive contributions to the board and I’m not happy that he was BANNED. But this is not the first time that the powers that be have had a problem with him. (It’s not even the second time.) I’m not going to speculate as to what should happen if he apologizes. That is between him and the administration.

I’m not going to raise a glass to his memory. They didn’t kill him; he ain’t dead. They just banned him from SDMB.

Anyways, I’m sorry it came to this. I will miss him and I wish him all the best.

48

I didn’t see this until Shayna quoted it.

NO, we DO NOT learn to live with it. You may roll your eyes and think “there he goes again”, but the fact of the matter is that Satan needless treated others like shit. He acted like an asshole, a lot. There is no excuse for it and we shouldn’t have to learn to live with it. In fact, this sort of mentality that we should learn to live with other people’s abuse really pissed me off but I will leave it alone for now.

I also have to agree with Mr. Matrix. What’s up with all the drama? Brian didn’t die, he was only banned from a message board.

Mods - Sorry about the double post. I accidentally reloaded the wrong page.

49

I must have missed that entire post by DDG.

Why do I get the feeling that you would have claimed unfairness had Ed NOT referenced a specific exchange?

We do not know what goes on behind the scenes between Mods, the Admin, or other posters. We don’t know how many warnings Brian had in private, but he was warned many times in public.

Have you stopped to consider that the reason it took almost a week to ban Brian was that the Mods and Admins were putting their collective thoughts together and mulled it over to be sure they were making a right decision?

Why do I again get the feeling that had the decision been quick, you would have accused them of jumping the gun?

Sheeesh. :rolleyes:

50

Do you really think this is any different than Satan’s thread discussing how to classify other posters that have been banned? I would quote from it to illustrate my point, but I don’t think that kind of language is allowed in ATMB. I can certainly see why people might be upset that he is gone, but I think the negative responses in here are alot less insulting than the ones in the his earlier thread.

51

I think the thread Ed cited is a good example of how NOT to behave. Juts general lack of class on Satan’s part:

A bit strong for GD. And it’s a shame, b/c I think his frustration in this post was well-founded when you consider his complaint:

The fact that Muffin, and most others, never read the OP/linked article closely enough to realize that the chicks weren’t being slaughtered merely b/c they were no longer cute, but rather b/c they were supposed to be fed to lions and birds of prey.

It’s just a shame Satan couldn’t express that frustration in a constructive way.

The moral: Be civil and don’t get sucked into arguments that are beside the point.

52

It reminds me of Montfort, I used to copy things he wrote when he first came to the board. They were witty & clever writings to Anniz. Now that relationship is further along, I no longer see anything of his worth copying, remembering or quoting; as most of his posts, to, from or about me, become laced with anger, it appears.

But I always believe that a girlfriend/wife should make a guy happy, not angry.

53

I’m not sure that we’re reading the same thread here, Techchick. What I see here is people making comments within the bounds of ATMB about a board action of some significance. Satan was a long-time poster with many board and real life friends. It is because of his stature that Ed posted this announcement, rather than just banning him without comment or with a comment within an offending thread.

Nothing that I have read here is a “very negative thing about Satan.” For the most part, folks are expressing their disappointment about his departure, and some are noting that of late he appeared to be a bit more surly than he previously had been.

Your analogy of kids talking about a guy that got expelled is an apt one. If someone is expelled for breaking the rules, I think it is appropriate for the community to discuss calmly the reasons for the expulsion so we all understand how to avoid such transgressions ourselves and to make the community a better place.

This thread is not “kicking the fellow when he’s down.” Techchick, you’ve been on both the giving and receiving end of kicking in the Pit, and you should be able to see that this simply isn’t it.

I find this to be a respectful discussion about the situation, which of necessity includes some review of Satan’s actions leading up to the action. We all know the bounds of ATMB, and ff someone wants to comment on the action or Satan in stronger language, the Pit is just over there to the left. I find it significant, though, that no one has yet taken to the barricades there screaming that this is an outrage.

Put simply, Satan bent the rules one too many times. His last violation was a minor one, but it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Satan, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry to see you go, but I don’t see how you could be surprised by this action.

54

If there is any lasting value to the SDMB community as a whole, I would suggest that this is a thread which many new posters will read.

We all constantly rail about how we wish that new posters would read the rules before they start posting here, but, of course, they don’t.

But they may read this thread.

If even a small percentage of them read this thread and realize that banning for acting like a jerk is not just some term that applies to someone other than them, then maybe Brian will not have died in vain(Oh, wait! That’s another speech).

Newbies!! If a longtime respected poster can get canned, think about your chances. Shape up! Y’er welcome.

55

For the record, Satan left the Board for a while, right about the time things really changed around. Standards of what was acceptable in GD and the Pit changed while he was gone.

When he returned, he got in trouble for acting like things were the same as before, and let his damn pride get in the way.

For the record: Satan gave me a break. When I joined the Board, I had a different screenname, and everyone made fun of it. Satan told me he liked it and I should stick to my guns.

For the record: The thing about people who have been here a long time is, they tend to fossilize. They conform to an image of who they ought to be. I think Satan and Diane’s little clash is because both of them became so stiff in their roles here that they couldn’t back down. I bet Diane doesn’t agree with me. Boohoo.

I’ve fossilized too… hell, I signed on about the time Wally did. I’m the guy with the low post count who slids in and out of threads with the comments no one cares about and a list to organize his scattershot thoughts.

For the record: My computer at home is slow as hell. I didn’t log onto the Dope until today, because I got an email from Satan. I won’t be back until Monday when I’m back at school. Maybe I shouldn’t open my mouth if I’m not going to be here to take my shots.

Too damn bad.

–John

56

True, but over time, there will be other changes. I searched for Melin, who was banned a year ago, and found that beneath her name it now says:

Guest

Registered: Not Yet

Posts N/A

Her icon bar at the bottom of the post has only the “Search”, “Edit/Delete” and “Quote” icons. I don’t think her profile page even exists any more.

I might add that if you change your sig line, that change will also apply retroactively, though I’m not sure how far back. I can dig up old posts of mine and see old sig lines, but not always.

57

jab, that’s not quite it. The divine Ms. Melin got banned back in the old UBB days. The UBB software de-registers users. Remember my fun with Contestant #3’s name? Anyone banned back before the conversion is not slapped with the BANNED label, but as a Guest.

As to this issue of Satan. I can’t comment, since I don’t know any of the facts whatsoever. I haven’t looked at the threads since I can’t load the board well except at night, where my time is better spent sleeping.

58

:frowning:

I will miss him.

I can say too he albeit seemed more on edge/combative the past few months. And I don’t think I can buck against the administration on issue, I think they have warrented cause, even if the last draw -is- somewhat trivial. I’m sad to see it happen though.

Satan, in due time when things settle down for you, consider making a request to be unbanned. You are a part of the Teeming Millions and I hope to see you back around here someday in the future.

I think I’ll have a beer tonight.

59

I don’t have any desire to get into the whole issue of whether the banning was deserved, nor do I wish to analyze the mods’ actions. But just for the record, the “no direct insults in GD” rule predates Satan’s departure and return by quite some time.

60

Just chiming in to say I will miss Satan. I never clashed with him, in the Pit or in GD, and he never failed to make me laugh.

Having said that, I’ve seen bahavior that is far, far jerkier than Satan’s, all over the Board. I’ve been horrified at the way certain posters behave. I’ve debated e-mailing mods several times because I was shocked at the way posters launched uncalled-for attacks, usually in response to an innocent question.

I don’t know the answers. I’m feeling disillusioned that posters get away with much worse while Satan gets banned.

If you’re reading this, Brian, best of luck. I’ll miss your wit, humor, and kindness.