To the members of SDMB: Another one bites the dust. Are you next?

[robgruver]

::turns on a fan and starts throwing shit at it::

In yet another outstanding move by our lovely Moderators and Admin’s yet another poster bites the dust. Let’s all give our goodbye’s to Silo. Yes folks, you heard me correctly, but how did it happen you ask? In this thread (showing the second page only to avoid wasteful reading) Silo says the following about a work around on the search function of the boards:

Originally posted by Silo
Actually you can still do a search with “any date” and “all forums” … you just have to type in the URL coding, but it still does work.

Not to much information there. Matter of fact even after reading the entire thread could I quite grasp Silo’s meaning on how to do the work around. I consider myself an above average computer user. I work in the industry, have owned my own web design business, and am a general computer geek. So, since I have no idea what he is talking about then, we can safely assume that a majority of posters do not understand what he is talking about. No biggie really right?

Wrong actually. Our friendly neighborhood Moderators jump in their red, white, and blue spandex. First up to bat: Eutychus55

As long as you understand that trying to do this completely undermines what we’re trying to do here and might well end up getting the search function pulled altogether.

…then after Silo comes back with a pithy remark:

Well I seriously doubt many people know how to utilize what I’m talking about. So the limited few that understand it can have a little luxury. FTR, I use the search function maybe once a month, I wouldn’t be heartbroken if they eliminated it.

…most likely taken out of context. To which Euty replies:

<snip silly remark>
We set up the search function the way we did for a reason, NOT to be fucked with by a “limited few” with special knowledge looking for a little “luxury.” If we find people are going to be screwing with it in this way, then we may have no choice but to close it down. It does not make us very comfortable setting up things for a specific reason knowing that some clown is going to try to circumvent what we’re trying to do.
<snip the have some respect line that my dad used to say>

At this point, something is awfully screwy here. The mods/admins must think this is some really heavy shit for Silo to be throwing around because both Lynn Bodoni and manhattan jump in with their comments which I will only give manhattan’s:

What, now we’re cutting slack to mike fucking masterson? After all the shit he caused? If someone, anyone, uses the workaround, ban him.

(…and I won’t be the lamer who says that cussing isn’t cool outside of the pit… oh wait. They were Mods. They can do whatever they want including breaking the whole Cardinal Rule: Don’t be a jerk. But, that comes later…)

Now we all know the history behind Silo’s troubled beginnings on SDMB, I think (along with a lot of others I am sure) that the past is the past. Yeah, he fucked up. He learned, apologized, and moved on. If you didn’t want him on the boards, then why didn’t you ban him 2189 post’s ago? Seems logical to me.

At this point, it’s easy. Just delete the offending post, right? Wrong again folks. You see, there hasn’t been a good ole fashioned banning around here in a while. Seems since the Daemon/Origato bannings there hasn’t been much to do around SDMB central. So when Silo comes up with this statement:

Getting a little bent out of shape now, are we? … Then delete my posts in this thread, it wont bother me a bit.

Eh. Seems reasonable. Edit the posts so the offending material will not be shown. Fine. Easy. Done. Forgotten… but remember what I said about the boredom at SDMB Central?

Originally posted by Your Oh So Humble Administrator TubaDiva :rolleyes:
Wanna get smart with me, wiseass?

Try THIS on for size.

…and he was banned. The button was pushed, and now Silo has a big ole BANNED status.

As a member of this community this has me very, very worried. All the other bannings in the past I could sort of agree with. They were asshole’s, trolls, or just plain idiots, but Silo? A little strange at times, a checkered past that has been forgiven obviously by not banning him as soon as you found out that he was Mike Masterson. He gets banned for something that is VERY easily changed in vBulletin by editing the post, which the Mods are very good at when attacking Spam and other undesirable stuff on the boards. In this case it was easier to ban the man instead? I find no logic in this, and as a member of this community (notice how I use the word community here, as SDMB has moved well outside the boundaries of just this board even though no one wants to admit it) I demand an answer on this. Something. Some justification on why Silo was banned.

The biggest question is who is next? Am I going to post something that TubaDiva thinks I am being a wiseass on? Will I get gang raped by two mods and a couple of Admins? Perhaps you, genteel Pitzen. Perhaps you will say something out of line, or post something that shouldn’t be posted. Perhaps one to many bong questions in GQ might set Manhatten off. Will I piss Eutychus55 off by talking about my great sex life to much? Will this thread have all the Mods/Admins looking very closely at my posts just waiting for me to slip up? Oh… my sig could be considered advertising, but only if I say go to my webpage… oh no. I just got banned.

I think that the Reader should look a bit closer into the Administration of this board. Seems a bit stale and crusty to me. Time to wash those flakes off.

[manhattan]

Pfft.

Do you have any idea how many dozens and dozens of person-hours we surrendered to this guy and his antics when he was posting under several usernames? How much actual enjoyment of the boards and/or actual moderating and/or real life he robbed from us because he didn’t follow the rules? We used to be able to set our damn watches by when he’d start his shit.

And then we let him back!

You’d figure this would be one guy who knows to step lightly. Then he says, essentially, ‘I’ve found a way to thwart the administration’s attempt to speed up the board, and if it results in the search function being taken away for everyone else, well that’s just too bad.’

Told that he is out of line, he suggests deleting the post. No suggestion that he, himself, will not use the workaround. Again, if his desire to search means that everyone else might have the ability denied them, well that’s just too bad.

And you say we are interfering with or harming the community?

Eff him.

[malkavia]

I, for one, am saddened and sickened by the lack of control on certain moderators behalfs.

I realize that being here is a privilege, but what the moderators must understand is that US being here is a privilege to them as well. Without us they would have a barren and uninteresting site and thus… nothing to moderate.

I know that Silo seems to have alot of enemies here, but he truly does add color to the place.

And of all of the things you could ban him for… you ban him for stating a FACT!?

That’s uncalled for.

Your actions screamed “Keep the masses ignorant!!” which, if Im not mistaken, goes against everything the msg board stands for.

He found a flaw. He brought it to your attention. Where is the problem with that?

If it were that big of a problem, why dont you correct the issue instead of punishing him for being intelligent enough to circumvent the problem.

And yes… the lack of a search all function is a problem for those of us that relied on it.

I can’t say I blame him.

I’m terribly disappointed.

And rightfully so.

[Ad_Noctum]

well, Rob, I guess I really can’t add much more to your post. I’ll have to agree wholeheartedly with you. I guess that’s all I can say at the moment.

I can, though, also add that I am too Saddened and Sickened by this.

[mouthbreather]

Not falling on either side of this fence yet, I did find it very strange that Silo decided to bump one of his most trollworthy Michael Masterson posts in MPSIMS yesterday. I wonder if that had any bearing in this decision?

[UncleBeer]

Yes. That, too, was discussed among the staff today. And as you guys now know, there was more to it than even these two simple things. If you are still curious, do a search for the posts from the name “Michael Masterson,” or “Yamen_runner.” Frankly, after actually meeting him recently and given his rather genunine contrite demeanor, I’m surprised he’d choose to return to his old immature ways.

[Edited by UncleBeer on 07-02-2001 at 05:11 PM]

[porcupine]

mouthbreather, I was just about to post the same thing. I noticed the “Size Does Matter” thread that Silo bumped (and that was later locked), I noticed the circumvention of the search restriction, and I suspect both contributed to the administrations actions.

Given the trolling past, I’m not particularly surprised he wasn’t cut any slack.

[Monster104]

Fuck you, manhattan. Because YOU have a personal beef with someone is NOT grounds for banning. His past has absolutely NOTHING to do with it.

Look fuckhead, he apologized for his previous actions and they were forgiven, and he was allowed to resume posting. You and your posse of assholes jumped on him, and our Humble Bitch banned him without warning, BECAUSE SHE FELT HE WAS BEING A SMARTASS! That’s bullshit, and you fucking know it. Get off your high horse, and dig your head out of your ass.

You might need a shovel.

[MamaHen]

I totally support the OP. Manhattan, you say in the past SILO was trouble but he has come around and he didn’t do anything ban worthy. It appears you have previous hard feelings against him and that you took those hard feelings out on him when he made a mistake. I’ve read the thread in question, I have no idea what he meant. It does look like everyone just attacked him for doing what many others in the same thread were doing. I am also saddened today by the banning of Silo. It wouldn’t have taken alot to just delete his posts. You taught him a lesson, maybe you can teach us all one about compassion by letting it all go. I doubt you will though, seems like ignorance will win another battle today .

[Arden_Ranger]

:eek:

Silo’s banned?

Ho-ly merde.

I wasn’t around for all the Michael Masterson stuff, so I don’t know about all the shit, but I kinda liked Silo.

[robgruver]

*Originally posted by manhattan *
Do you have any idea how many dozens and dozens of person-hours we surrendered to this guy and his antics when he was posting under several usernames? How much actual enjoyment of the boards and/or actual moderating and/or real life he robbed from us because he didn’t follow the rules? We used to be able to set our damn watches by when he’d start his shit.

Poor manhattan. You live in the past my friend. You state yourself:

And then we let him back!

He got his membership back. Full and unyeilding. He stayed on the boards for well over a year with 2000+ posts. And now you ban him for a slight (if that much) transgression? Silly. On your part, and TubaDiva’s

You’d figure this would be one guy who knows to step lightly. Then he says, essentially, ‘I’ve found a way to thwart the administration’s attempt to speed up the board, and if it results in the search function being taken away for everyone else, well that’s just too bad.’

Then fix the problem! If you take your car into a mechanic with a problem does he not allow you to have your car back because you pointed out a problem? Do you REALLY beleive that he was serious on the whole luxury statement? If you do, you are to blind to see it and I think you should step down as Moderator.

Told that he is out of line, he suggests deleting the post. No suggestion that he, himself, will not use the workaround. Again, if his desire to search means that everyone else might have the ability denied them, well that’s just too bad.

Then delete the friggin post. Take it out of my post above with the reasoning behind it for all I care. Can you prove he used the workaround? Can you prove that anyone on the boards used the workaround? If there is a problem in the program fix it. It is very simple. F… I… X… Wow. Easy.

And you say we are interfering with or harming the community?

Yes, and I stand by my statement in the OP that the Reader should look into the Administration of this board. This banning was unjust, and wrong. Silo should be given his membership back with apologies from the four Mods/Admins in my OP.

[chique]

*Originally posted by manhattan *
Do you have any idea how many dozens and dozens of person-hours we surrendered to this guy and his antics when he was posting under several usernames? <snip> We used to be able to set our damn watches by when he’d start his shit.

The bolding is mine, of course. Just wanted to point out that his antics as Michael Masterson happend a long, long time ago, well before half (WAG) the current board was even here. If he was still pulling shit on a weekly, monthly, whatever basis I could understand, but he’s been a mostly-model poster since I’ve been around. About time to let years-old conflicts go, ain’t it?

Yeah, yeah … your boards, your rules. I still think Silo’s banning is bullshit, especially for the reasons specified in that thread.

[Upon preview I see that he bumped one of his troll-threads yesterday but I didn’t see it; was he warned for that?]

[yosemite]

Huh. I don’t get it.

M.Masterson was a royal pain in the ass. I remember him well. So when he came back as Silo, I figured there was a reason for that. And he’s behaved himself, as Silo, for all this time? At least I’ve never encountered any ban-worthy behavior.

I think the banning was a little knee-jerk. Not that I am aware of all the history behind it, but it would be SO much easier to delete the offending post, and warn him. I don’t get it. I think we’d all have not wondered about a banning had he been officially warned about such behavior, and then did it again. But I don’t believe that happened, so I don’t get it.

[Eutychus]

Fuck it.

I have enough real issues going on in my life right now to give this more than a blip on the “should I be concerned” scale. So he can’t post here anymore. Boo fucking hoo.

I say we rescind everything we’ve tried to do over the past few weeks and open up every forum to search all the time whenever. But I do not want to hear complaint number one when the board bogs down.

We try to make things better and then get shit on when someone tried to circumvent it. Well, shit on you then. Why the fuck should we even try anymore.

[UncleBeer]

He got his membership back. Full and unyeilding.

What gives you that idea?

[Monster104]

Sorry. Our Humble Bitch called him a wiseass, not a smartass.

It still doesn’t take away from your being an asshole, though.

[MikeG]

Hmmmmm…

Well, I will state ftr that I assuredly do not have all the information but here goes based on my limited knowledge.

I have heard of Silo’s untoward behaviour and his subsequent redemption. I have never seen anything but good behavior from him so I can’t comment as to Manny’s obvious contempt and dislike of him or what may have precipitated such vehement attitudes. However, as I have not seen anything from him in the 900+ posts I have made over a year and a half, I wonder what could have been so bad that such a long subsequent record of good behaviour would have such little impact.

As for this specific incident, I think it was handled badly.

Here is what I would have predicted based on what I know of the individuals involved.

1. Silo makes his post stating the fairly obvious weakness in the Vb code.

2. Tuba or another Mod deletes post with a small note stating that the info contained therein was not acceptable and was disruptive tho the boards continued smotth sailing.

3. Tuba or another Mod sends a email to Silo worded like this:

“Silo, we deleted your post. While we know that you can in fact get around this disabling feature, we have disabled it in order to make the board run more smoothly. Please refrain from further posts which may encourage others to make the board run less smoothly”
4) Silo says okily dokily, and life goes on.

Now, I am making a few basic assumptions here.

A)Silo is here to be a productive member of the board and wishes to continue to do so. I make this assumption based on my prior knowledge of him and the posting history of his which I am aware of.

B) Tuba is here to administrate this board so it runs smoothly and to maximize the enjoyment we get out of it.
I base this assumption on my knowledge of her prior posts etc. etc. etc.
Now, The only explanations I can see for what actually happened are thus:

1. Silo made some other heretofore undisclosed comments ( most likely via email) to Tuba or other Mod types which were unacceptable.

2. There is still a large built up feeling of dislike on the part of the mods from the long distant transgressions he admitted to, apologised for, and DID NOT repeat.
   Both are equally dismaying to me.

(remarks about how this should be justified deleted on review)

Wow, on review, I see that close to ten posts have been added since I started replying.
If as UncleBeer says, there were extenuating circumstances, then I am saddened. If the extent of the circumstances were Mike bumping a thread of his that demonstrates his use of his URL coding method, then I think it was overhanded.

Justifiable? techincally yes. Appropriate? I think not.

[robgruver]

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Eutychus55 *
**Fuck it.

I have enough real issues going on in my life right now to give this more than a blip on the “should I be concerned” scale. So he can’t post here anymore. Boo fucking hoo.**

So the board is not ‘real’ to you? These aren’t ‘real’ people? You have been given a duty by the Admin’s and the Reader. You have a job to do. You don’t want to do the job anymore, then don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

I say we rescind everything we’ve tried to do over the past few weeks and open up every forum to search all the time whenever. But I do not want to hear complaint number one when the board bogs down.

You are missing the point entirely. If its an issue with some weird URL coding, then fix it. If it can’t be fixed then shut down the search until it can be fixed. Simple. Easy. Find someone who knows what they are doing, and get it done. I am sure some of the coders on the board would have some ideas, as I am sure the Reader’s Web Master(s) would have some.

We try to make things better and then get shit on when someone tried to circumvent it. Well, shit on you then. Why the fuck should we even try anymore.

You are getting shit on because you (and the others) made a knee jerk decsion based on past actions that have been forgiven and forgotten (mostly). Fix the problem, and bring Silo back.

[TheLoadedDog]

I’m still pretty much a newbie, so I don’t have a clue about this Masterson stuff. I also spent the first month or so I was on here trying to like Manhattan (that was the time when he went a bit loopy and ended up taking a vacation from GQ). I even posted diplomatic responses to the Pit threads about him.

Is Manhattan an arsehole / nazi / fuckhead, etc? I don’t know. I do know that he is a loose cannon. His moderating is erratic. He bears grudges. The SDMB doesn’t need that.

I understand and accept that these boards are not a democratic environment, but I am idealistic enough to think the mods should at least make a show of impartiality. I don’t swallow the line that moderating is a boring and thankless task performed at the expense of having a life. If the mods don’t like it, then quit! I’m sure there is no shortage of willing replacements.

[Ad_Noctum]

I know I’m relatively new still (1year, 20 days), and my post count is also relatively low (something around 810). now, if I think about that, that would put my influentiality of the boards very low.

but I still wanna say that (and echo many more respectable posters with higher life here and higher post count) I think this is

** original poster Chique **
bullshit

** original poster Monster104 **
That’s bullshit

** original poster Malkavia **
I’m terribly disappointed.
That’s uncalled for
I’m terribly disappointed.
I, for one, am saddened and sickened

and finally—

** original poster Robgruver **
I think that the Reader should look a bit closer into the Administration of this board.