Sorry if I misunderstood what you said.
In My Opinion, as a Moderator, no legitimate poster, whether Dex as an Admin, or you as a poster would have been formally warned for that post. There was never a hint that any action was contemplated to go to another board and act upon such a thought.
Why would you get banned?
Nope, and sorry for having been unclear. The “this” I was referring to as not being fair was the general situation, not the lack of a warning specifically. I feel that Dex’s post there should be treated in the same way any long time poster with a similar record to his should have been, and I don’t think that a defence of their actions would be the modly reaction were such a poster to post that. And beyond this specific example, it doesn’t seem all that fair to me if mods alter their modding based on the poor behavior of the poster in question if something that might be taken into account for a poster’s record isn’t for a moderator’s.
This. Pay non-sexually-explicit-emphatic-participle-ing attention to this.
What may make perfect sense when you’ve seen the discussions back in the Moderators’ Fortress of Solitude does not when you’re a member not on staff and have no clue what went into a discussion. That’s a real easy mistake to make – I’ve been there. I not only moderated but managed the moderation staff on another forum, though one of our Admins. made it quite clear to me that it would be a waste of my time to apply for SDMB staff – my first clue that all was not ideal in Doperland.
Whether or not it’s true, Ed is perceived as having mutated from King Log to King Stork – and asking any five Dopers will give you six reasons why. Skip Magic, Lynn, and Marley are perceived as acting pettily and capriciously. Even Dex is misperceived – and knowing all of them but Marley from private communications of one form or another over the years, I can actually see both sides. You staff are not seeing the discontent of many members because you’re in siege mentality – “We’re right, goddammit, why can’t they see that?!” Dex’s befuddlement as to why people might be upset is instructive – Ed’s actions, minor as they are, are perceived as being a top-down arbitrary ruling that has suggested a total disinterest in whether long-time members that have contributed a lot to the community stay or go – or even total lack of caring as he wields the Ban-stick at random.
You guys know that’s not the case. But from the perspective of the guy who can’t see those back-room discussions, who’s not privy to your e-mails and chat sessions to resolve the crisis du jour, it damn well appears to be.
Not a whole lot any of us can do to fix those perceptions. The ball is in your court, Ed. and yours, Admins. Fix it.
Again, not to repeat myself or other people, but You [collective ‘you’ as in Staff]. Are. Not. Listening.
The capriciousness with which the slew of New Rules were decided these last couple of weeks has put most of us posters in a tizzy. We don’t know whether we’re going to get banned, warned, or nothing for anything we say. A few days ago, I retracted a question directed at Ed because Ed said he was getting exasperated. I didn’t want to get banned, so I withdrew my question. He called me silly.
I can’t believe how otherwise intelligent, rational human beings can be so fucking dense.
I really don’t get it.
Sorry, but I’m just not understanding what your saying. And I’m trying.
I try to tread any poster as an individual. If you’re a long-time poster, you probably get cut a bit of slack, more so than a person who just hit the boards last week. Modify that–I’ll probably give you more leeway. But I certainly don’t think I, or most of the other mods, go out of our way to play favorites. Having said that, I’ll probably confess that I’m more tolerant of posters who have never come to my attention, when a confrontational situation arises. If I’ve noticed that you got a few warnings lately, or if I, on my own, know you to be a confrontational asshole, well I just might go out of my way to make sure you understand that you’re pushing the limits.
If what you’re saying is "Sam, you wouldn’t defend an ordinary poster in this situation, so why are you defending Dex, then the answer is–
Fenris suggested that Dex was trolling the Boards. I know Dex. He would be incapable of this. If someone had suggested that polycarp was trolling the Board, I’d probably be right there posting that it couldn’t be possible.
Am I off-base with my reading of this?
I’m willing to concede this point, given some off-board communication saying the same thing, plus you and Veb’s comments.
Dex I retract and apologize for the accusations of trolling.
That said, I would very much appreciate if you would not characterize the position of those people who are unhappy with the current state of affairs as “saying that they can’t have a conversation without using the word “cunt” or being threatening and abusive”.
I, and most of the mods, understand how confused you are. But, when it comes to banning, and only that, please take a deep breath and then exhale. That was all I was trying to say.
No one is getting banned through all of this. You don’t get banned for posting your opinions.
You get banned for being a repeated jerk. And you’re not. And 99% of the posters here aren’t.
*Note–I assume you’re talking to me, samclem.
I’m not sure I ever said that. I think you’re conflating Dex’s post with something I may have copied and replied to in this thread. If I actually characterized the unhappy people on the Board this way, then my bad.
I think there should be a plethora of unhappy posters here. You’ve a perfect right to be unhappy and confused. Hopefully, things will get better. I’m just trying, in my unofficial way, to proved a perspective from the standpoint of someone with perspective from both sides. Nothing I post is to be construed as the position of the Admiistration of the Board.
Apologies for being unclear. I’m trying very hard to not appear unnecessarily confrontational or accusative in this recent atmosphere of weirdness, which may be making me more unclear than even normal.
My problem isn’t in that treating posters based on their history is unfair. I mean, it is, to an extent, but it’s a necessary evil. One poster’s “I hate all of you” can be as obviously a joke with some as it is obviously honest with someone else. To judge intent, you need to know the poster. No, my problem is that if those are the rules, those are the methods of the mods, then they should be applied equally. Not including a particular unpleasant, rule-skirting act on the record of a poster, or even just noting that it has occurred and giving a wrist-slap, isn’t applying the rules differently but excepting someone from them altogether.
Ah, this would be a case where I’ve misread you, then. I thought your defence was not just of the idea that Dex was trolling, but of his words - that his poor phrasing should be to an extent excused because of the poor treatment he’s recieved in the past. That because the targets of his ire were deserving of his ire, that he said those things was understandable. IOW, not a defence of “he wasn’t trolling, and this is why” but “he did say something rule-skirting/nasty, but it is understandable because”. Not a denial that something had occured, but an acceptance that it had occured along with a suggestion that that something was ok.
To go with your example of Polycarp, if he said something that skirted the rules in ATMB, I would not expect a mod to come and defend those particular actions, as I believed you were defending Dex.
Yep, you misread. I was only defending Dex against an accusation of trolling the Boards. Inconceivable! 
Heh–he actually must be a hell of a guy. I’ve had at least 3 other people tell me that. In just about those words.
I wasn’t sure my new place fit me very well. I mean, at my old place, I usually stayed out of the basement - it’s unfinished and full of dust. Why would I need a new house just for a leak in the basement?
But I see more problems cropping up. Any the new pad really feels like home. You should come see me some time. I’ll visit my old stomping ground often, but for only day trips - no overnighters, I think…
Joe
Since when is threatening a cross-board war not actionable?
This demands a warning at least, I would think.
samclem has addressed this point several times. See upthread.
I haven’t said much on this whole issue so far, but I have to respond to this post.
Dex, I’ve always had a very high regard for you. I’ve known you for many years now and have met you in person, and I believe that you’re not trolling. But I also believe you haven’t grokked the current situation.
I can only assume that you haven’t read all the posts in ATMB for you to have drawn the conclusions you’ve drawn. The issue is less about (1) and (2) as stated (although they are an issue), but more about how some of the mods and admins have reacted since the new pit rules changes were first announced.
The “outrage” is NOT, in my opinion, “out of proportion to the stimulus”. The “outrage” is due to the fact that the recent actions have, to a large extent, killed the boards as we knew it. The “outrage” is because we are seeing the board disintegrate. The “outrage” won’t last much longer, because people who are “outraged” will just move on to the other boards (as many have already done), and those who prefer to stay here will stay, and some will move back and forth. The “outrage” is from people who haven’t yet given up on the hope that Ed will understand how and why what he and the other mods/admins did, and continue to do, have affected the community.
It is a “community-breaking” deal, because many of us cannot continue to post here with the constant uncertainty, ambiguity and arbitrary nature (perceived or otherwise) of the recent rules and actions. Others just wholly or partially disagree with the new rules/actions.
As a former mod, I am saddened to see the administration handle these issues with such incompetence, and in such a defensive and dismissive manner.
What the posters want at this stage is clear communication (which includes listening). Mod/Admin notes and warnings are being handed out for breaking minor rules, but these actions are instead just breaking the boards right now. I say to all the mods and admins, please stop doing that. Ask yourselves, which of these is of greater importance to you: posters breaking minor rules, or you breaking the boards? Even if some of the posts break the rules, at this point I’d just say suspend the rules in ATMB, or at least use a common sense approach (spirit of the law vs. letter of the law), until the larger issues are sorted out and we come to a conclusion, one way or the other. Ed has just opened the lines of communication with his latest posts. It’s a thin line, so please don’t add static to it.
And just as a disclaimer, I’m not saying that all of you (mods/admins) are breaking the boards through your actions. There are mods and admins who are just caught in the crossfire, and still trying to do the best they can under the circumstances. So I apologize if I offended anyone to whom this post was not intended.
I hate these sort of posts…I always stumble upon them too late, when there are no links left about and it just leaves me sitting here with a puzzled expression on my face.
I have no desire to leave the SDMB (it’s not like I’m a prolific poster!) but I am curious where people are off to…new ways to pass some time online are always appreciated. To continue on with the metaphor, I feel like I’ve woken up in my town, half the population is missing and no one will tell me where they’ve gone!
grumble
Since the rules keep changing, I don’t know if it’s ok to post a couple of links or not, so I’ll send you a private message with three boards I know of.
You’re leaving … and yet you’re still here …
My irony detector just exploded.
Who, me?
I never said I was leaving. I’m hoping things get better here. That said, new boards have sprung up and I’m fine being on them too–if things get too noxious here, I’ll just post less and less.
If you were referring to the OP or someone else, then nevermind. 