# talkin bout being banned **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 13, 2001, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312 "2001-05-13T12:56:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/1 "2001-05-13T12:56:34Z")
Is it considered bad form to discuss specific instances of people being banned? I ask because whenever I see someone who’s been banned recently, I’m always curious to find out **why** they got banned. I think it’s the same curiosity that makes us gawk at accidents. For example, with **YOZZER** recently, I want to know what thread(s) led to his banishment, so I can go see how they progressed. But for some reason, I get the idea that talking about this stuff at all is taboo on the boards. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/2 "2001-05-13T13:54:27Z")
Seems pretty obvious why he got banned. What isn’t so obvious to me is why he can’t be prevented from starting new accounts again. His latest account is still active. By now he should be a “kill on sight” user. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/3 "2001-05-13T15:44:54Z")
He got banned because he’s a jerk. And he’s had three names, none of which have posting privileges. If I notice him again, I’ll remove his privileges again. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/4 "2001-05-13T17:28:54Z")
oddly enough, pheonix’s posts don’t have BANNED next to them. Anyway, if you want to see why someone gets banned, just hit the search button next under their name, and pull a list of the threads they posted to. The evidence is usually quite clear. ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/5 "2001-05-13T23:11:01Z")
Well, it was quite obvious that YOZZER was going to get banned, but in general, my curiosity lies in whether or not there was a particular post which crossed the line and caused the admin to ban a particular person. There’s no way to tell from searches. All of YOZZER’s stuff, for example, seems equally jerky and annoying. Was it just a buildup, or did I miss someplace where he really blew it? Whenever I am searching archives and I run across a post from a banned poster, I can’t help but think, “ooh, I wonder what this person did…” I guess it’s the gawker in me. ---
**Author:** ![kellibelli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e480ec/32.png) [@kellibelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellibelli)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/6 "2001-05-13T23:37:18Z")
I do that too galt. Its like driving past an accident - you cant help looking! And those threads that are locked… I HAVE to read those every time! I am sick. ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/7 "2001-05-14T01:41:51Z")
I do it too, **kellibelli!** I’ve even done a “last 60 days” search on the BBQ Pit…weird. I feel that I’ve learned a lot of what not to do, simply by reading the locked threads and the vacant ramblings of a few BANNED posters. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/8 "2001-05-14T03:27:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chas.E \* > \*\*oddly enough, pheonix’s posts don’t have BANNED next to them. \*\* Either **Tubadiva** or **Lynn** explained this before. In order to ban someone, they merely have to change a selection the poster’s profile. This doesn’t automatically change the title, that must be entered in manually. The title is merely descriptive, and it isnt necessarily connected with reality. For example, they could also put “Sex God to all the lovely ladies out there,” next to my name, but that would not necessarily make it so. But it couldn’t hurt. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/9 "2001-05-14T04:37:40Z")
And Dr. Lao COULD send me a 50 pound box of Godiva chocolates, too. This wouldn’t automatically put “Sex God to all the lovely ladies out there” next to your name, but it couldn’t hurt. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/10 "2001-05-14T07:21:42Z")
Lynn, I think that the 50 kilos of chocolate would go stale before they got eaten. A weekly tribute of enough chocolate to keep you and TubaDiva happy would do the trick. Fresh chocolate, because there is nothing nastier than stale. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/11 "2001-05-14T11:23:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dr. Lao \* > [BIn order to ban someone, they merely have to change a selection the poster’s profile. This doesn’t automatically change the title, that must be entered in manually. > > The title is merely descriptive, and it isnt necessarily connected with reality. For example, they could also put “Sex God to all the lovely ladies out there,” next to my name, but that would not necessarily make it so. But it couldn’t hurt. 😃 \*\* I hate to nitpick, but that sounds like the hard way to do it, if that is what they are doing. What I did was create a new User Group called “Banned” that has no rights to perform any Board functions, and then if someone is banned I just click on the drop-down box in vBulletin and move them to that User Group. Then, they are banned, and their description shows up as “BANNED” on all posts they ever made within 1 second. I mean…you can edit each individual User’s profile, but why? It seems like extra work. Coldfire mentioned in another thread that Mods had their individual profiles changed one at a time, rather than being added to a “Moderator” group. Not to stick my nose in too much - I’m sure there must be a logical reason for doing these two things this way, but I am uncertain why. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/12 "2001-05-14T13:25:35Z")
Well, to address Galt’s OP, yes, Ed Zotti has asked us all to refrain from public discussion of bannings, trolls, sock puppets, the reason being that it tends to excite them even more (the attention) and ultimately makes the problem worse. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=855768#post855768](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=855768#post855768) > [@](#): > > 1. Please do not start threads accusing so-and-so of being a troll. This does nothing except encourage the troll (if in fact that’s what they are, which is no sure thing). Notify a mod or admin by e-mail. > > 2. While I don’t want to discourage anyone from sending me notes, I’m trying to stay out of day-to-day board administration. Except in emergencies I will merely forward complaints about trolls, etc., to an admin, usually TubaDiva. If you have a problem with a particular admin, send your complaints to a different one. We have three: TubaDiva, Lynn Bodoni, and CKDextHavn. Or try the moderator for the forum where the suspected troll is hanging out. > > 3. Various parties on the SDMB have, how shall we say, issues with various other parties. I do not want to get into a big discussion of who’s right and who’s wrong and I sure as hell don’t want to read about it on the board. All concerned are requested to refrain from any further postings along the lines of the above. And [TubaDiva](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=52737) said: > [@](#): > > There’s a type of poster that comes to the this board looking for attention. Good or bad, doesn’t matter, it’s all about getting some electrons tied up on their behalf. > > We really want to discourage this kind of poster on our board. > > We’ve also had some continuing problems with people that we have removed from the board for violations of forum rules. > > We don’t want those people around here either. > > The best policy is to give these problem children as little attention as possible. This is not only to thwart them but also because having the uproar that kicks in around discovering them and enforcement of forum rules is by itself annoying and counterproductive. > > If you want to know why someone was banned, drop an administrator an email and ask. Usually we’ll tell you. And if you think someone on the board is a returning PITA or if you see bad behavior before we do, drop us an email and tell us of your concerns. It’s better for the emotional health of the board that this sort of thing be confined to email, we prefer to handle these situations privately. > > Understand that we’re here to attract and keep visitors, not throw them out wholesale. When we ban someone from the board, it’s for good reason. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2001, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/13 "2001-05-14T15:39:25Z")
Well, I am not an administrator, and I’ve never seen the Holy of Holies board control panel, but I can take a guess at **Anthracite** ’s question. Perhaps we’re using different versions of vB? I know that the Powers that Be here don’t like to use the newest version of anything, until most of the bugs have been found (I don’t blame them). If you’re using the latest version, then this user group thing might be a recent addition. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2001, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talkin-bout-being-banned/65312/14 "2001-05-15T01:50:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Primaflora \* > \*\*Lynn, I think that the 50 kilos of chocolate would go stale before they got eaten. > > A weekly tribute of enough chocolate to keep you and TubaDiva happy would do the trick. Fresh chocolate, because there is nothing nastier than stale. \*\* First it was a one time shot for 50 lbs. now it’s 50 kilos a week? This is getting expensive. It will probably easier just to imagine I had a fancy title. _closes eyes_ ahhh…I feel better now. 🙂