# warnings - eventual expiry? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 16, 2017, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361 "2017-07-16T01:15:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/41 "2017-07-17T18:12:56Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > That’s great to know - is there a reason it can’t be removed so the poster doesn’t see it every time they log in, though? It’s the default and it takes more than a newton of energy to modify it which would yield less than a newton’s worth of energy of benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/42 "2017-07-17T18:31:41Z")
Nobody appreciates sarcasm anymore. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/43 "2017-07-17T18:32:12Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > A five year old warning, if there has been nothing since, is not going to figure into a current discussion about sanctioning a poster. Why would a five year old warning figure into a discussion, even if there has been something since? ---
**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:** [July 17, 2017, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/44 "2017-07-17T19:39:40Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > It’s the default and it takes more than a newton of energy to modify it which would yield less than a newton’s worth of energy of benefit. So you think his complaint is based on his user CP is his default login page and the infraction list is the default user CP display? If thats true then disregard my earlier suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/45 "2017-07-17T20:59:53Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have asked what purpose really old warnings have, but have not got a satisfactory answer. Anthropological data for moderators of the future. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/46 "2017-07-17T22:16:01Z")
A really old warning serves as a reminder that really old behavior was unacceptable. Is the post that earned a warning still there? Then why shouldn’t the warning be, as well? ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/47 "2017-07-17T23:12:14Z")
Not to mention, any violation of rule breaking usually has data about it existing somewhere. If you get a traffic ticket or break the law, there is going to be SOME paperwork about it SOMEWHERE, no matter how mild the cause. In the SDMB, see “mod notes” as “being let off with a warning”, “mod warnings” as “being given a ticket”, and “being banned” as “having your drivers licence revoked”. In that sense, mod warnings are going to be written about somewhere, regardless of how old it is. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t really contribute toward or wager in with new warnings years later…there is nothing wrong with having “all warnings ever gotten, period” on record. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/48 "2017-07-18T01:48:43Z")
Well that really depends on the jurisdiction. Some places expunge various levels of offense history after a certain amount of time. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/49 "2017-07-18T03:06:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Every decision to topic-restrict, suspend, or ban anyone is made by us human moderators (well, mostly-human, at least). The warnings are just a convenient way to keep notes about past behavior. Are you saying that the squid is a mod? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/50 "2017-07-18T03:45:47Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Are you saying that the squid is a mod? No. But the goat may be. (We ain’t sayin’.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/51 "2017-07-18T13:10:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have asked what purpose really old warnings have, but have not got a satisfactory answer. Why would they have to have a purpose? As noted, the offending post is still there as is the moderator’s post that indicated a warning was given. Those aren’t going to be deleted for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/52 "2017-07-18T17:40:26Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have asked what purpose really old warnings have, but have not got a satisfactory answer. What, you think they should delete them? Automatically or manually? Obviously manually deleting them is a lot of work for no purpose. What would be the purpose of automatically deleting them? So that when the mods are discussing your posting privileges, they aren’t biased by old warnings? But the thing is, your banning or not banning is not an impartial mechanical process. It’s a subjective decision by the human moderators as to whether your continued presence is a positive or a negative. So show me in the rulebook where it says the moderators can’t consider your complete posting history when deciding whether to ban you or not. Also, I’d like to see the page in the rulebook that prohibits donkeys from kicking field goals. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/53 "2017-07-18T18:03:54Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > What, you think they should delete them? Automatically or manually? Obviously manually deleting them is a lot of work for no purpose. What would be the purpose of automatically deleting them? So that when the mods are discussing your posting privileges, they aren’t biased by old warnings? Warnings show up in an infractions tab in your User CP so any time you go to [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/usercp.php](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/usercp.php) to see if anyone has posted in threads you are interested in or you want to update your signature or whatever, you also get reminded of all the times you fucked up. I imagine DrDeth is merely human and would feel better if when he checks his subscribed threads, he’s not reminded of 5 year old events that he’s not perhaps proud of. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/54 "2017-07-18T22:09:59Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Warnings show up in an infractions tab in your User CP so any time you go to [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/usercp.php](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/usercp.php) to see if anyone has posted in threads you are interested in or you want to update your signature or whatever, you also get reminded of all the times you fucked up. I imagine DrDeth is merely human and would feel better if when he checks his subscribed threads, he’s not reminded of 5 year old events that he’s not perhaps proud of. This is pretty much my view on the subject too. I don’t think anyone’s asking for the original warning posts etc to be erased from history, but basically being reminded every time you log in/see if any of your threads have updated that “You did a bad thing years and years ago!” is not great, especially if said alleged bad thing was not particularly contentious. Rather than expecting the mods to keep on top of all this stuff themselves, surely a poster should be able to PM one of the mods and say “Hey, I’ve got this years-old warning on my file; I’ve behaved since then, can you scrub it?” ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/55 "2017-07-18T22:20:13Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Rather than expecting the mods to keep on top of all this stuff themselves, surely a poster should be able to PM one of the mods and say “Hey, I’ve got this years-old warning on my file; I’ve behaved since then, can you scrub it?” See post #36. A user can make it so they don’t see the warnings in their CP. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/56 "2017-07-19T03:17:49Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > See post #36. A user can make it so they don’t see the warnings in their CP. Also, to stop getting the pop-up warning, you just need to go in and actually read the warning. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/57 "2017-07-19T14:52:41Z")
I was warned for disobeying mod instructions in around 2003 (one of the European mods I think but I can’t recall which.) There is absolutely no sign of the warning anywhere in my User CP presumably because, as **Colibri** points out upthread, the SDMB only started automating the system in 2009. If my infraction is still visible to the mods could one of them tell me which mod did warn me? Don’t worry, I have not suddenly decided to demand satisfaction in the only terms fitting between gentlemen, it just bugs me that I can’t remember his name. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/58 "2017-07-19T15:17:55Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > If my infraction is still visible to the mods could one of them tell me which mod did warn me? It was 2005, and you were warned by **xash**. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6350727&postcount=11](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6350727&postcount=11) ---
**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:** [July 19, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/59 "2017-07-19T15:26:05Z")
Who is Indian, not European. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361/60 "2017-07-19T15:52:03Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > It was 2005, and you were warned by **xash**. > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6350727&postcount=11](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6350727&postcount=11) That’s the guy! And I do remember now that he was indeed an Indian as **Chronos** says. I just had a vague notion that he wasn’t American. Thank you both! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warnings-eventual-expiry/791361.md?page=4)