# Why are people being banned en masse? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2000, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031 "2000-10-31T02:57:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/1 "2000-10-31T02:57:53Z")
Just curious. In the last week, I’ve seen a number of people with post counts under 50, with BANNED under their names. The posts I read by these people didn’t seem objectionable, but I only hang out here, in IMHO, and occasionally the Pit. Another question, and one that I probably should ask in ATMB, but I’m on the subject now, is, what could a poster do that’s less offensive than spamming, trolling, or unprovoked flaming, but could still get them banned? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/2 "2000-10-31T02:59:43Z")
Being the same person who was recently banned under another username always does the trick. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/3 "2000-10-31T03:09:14Z")
Have no idea of the specifics, **Rilchiam** , but no one gets banned on a whim. The mods/admins may _seem_ to gather over a bubbling cauldron, peering into the hideous green mist–but that’s probably just the Chicago Reader staff room, with the fridge offal glowing in the dark. Seriously, banning doesn’t happen lightly and I’m willing to take the actions on faith. The Powers That Be keep this place workable, so I don’t need–or want–to know their arcane methods of identifying clutter. Probably–definitely–didn’t answer your OP, but I go by results and, yes, faith. The mods/admins are SDMB animals, actually the tough, funny bouncers who keep this place liveable. (It can’t be the pay!) So be it. Veb ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/4 "2000-10-31T03:18:01Z")
In at least one case I know of. It walked like a duck, talked like a duck but was a statue. \< read into that what you will \> ---
**Author:** ![That\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@That\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/5 "2000-10-31T03:20:17Z")
I was kind of curious about chrome-something-guy. But not enough to ask. They won’t say, anyhow. There’s a thread about it here, that seems to be about chrome-something-guy. \*\* [Thank you mods for lowering the volume of the troll wars.\*\*](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=44224) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/6 "2000-10-31T03:26:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TVeblen \* > **Have no idea of the specifics, Rilchiam, but no one gets banned on a whim. The mods/admins may _seem_ to gather over a bubbling cauldron, peering into the hideous green mist–but that’s probably just the Chicago Reader staff room, with the fridge offal glowing in the dark.** No, I didn’t think it was a whim. And I am aware of the people who keep rising from the dead. But I just wondered, since there was an unusual number of bans last week, of people who I hadn’t seen do anything controversial, and who hadn’t been here long. I wondered if they’d stirred up trouble in GQ or GD, or if there was a more subtle code of conduct that I wasn’t aware of. For instance, Copper Tears posted that essay about the evolution and demise of phone booths…and then turned up banned. I was curious as to what someone so eloquent could do to get banned. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/7 "2000-10-31T03:31:28Z")
Hey, Piano, I happen to know for a fact that the thread in ATMB has nothing at all to do with “chrome-something-guy,” whoever that may be. The thread as quoted was about me. Ogre. There was a question about whether I am the returning spirit of some previously banned troll (FadingOgre-something) about whom I know nothing. I jumped in to defend myself, but I was too late. The moderators were already perfectly aware that I am not FadingOgreWhatever. With no fireworks, hoopla, or raining fireballs, they calmly defused the situation, much to my delight. As a relative newbie, and an easygoing, laid-back kind of fella, I had no desire to contend with days upon days of defending my honor. Luckily, the mods and admins took care of the problem quietly, and with a minimum of fuss. Quite simply, they publicly declared that I’m a member in good standing. Nuff said. I don’t know about this concrete character, however. ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/8 "2000-10-31T03:51:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by techchick68 \* > \*\*In at least one case I know of. > > It walked like a duck, talked like a duck but was a statue. > > \< read into that what you will \> \*\* Is that ALL you’re going to say, oh what happened to the techchick of old who was valiantly opposed to people smoking concrete, so much so, that she started HER own Mothers Against Smoking Concrete Group??? YOU aren’t sniffing that stuff, now are you??? 😉 I’m willing to start the intervention at the first sign of any of that drying concrete 'round your pretty nose!!! I’m serious, here! ---
**Author:** ![Fillet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@Fillet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fillet)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/9 "2000-10-31T03:51:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rilchiam \* > \*\*For instance, Copper Tears posted that essay about the evolution and demise of phone booths…and then turned up banned. I was curious as to what someone so eloquent could do to get banned. \*\* I could be wrong about this, since I didn’t actually see any of the mods comment directly… but Copper Tears had a prose style that IMHO was kind of Serlinesque in tone. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/10 "2000-10-31T03:54:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by techchick68 \* > \*\*In at least one case I know of. > > It walked like a duck, talked like a duck but was a statue. > > \< read into that what you will \> \*\* Explain, please. I don’t understand. (No mock-innocent coyness, just limited time on the boards lately.) On second thought, if it’s a case of mistaken identity or interpretation, email the mods, **techchick** , instead of answering this. No one hereabouts has claimed perfection, but the Powers That Be have proven to me to be fair, funky, human and humane. As a matter of record, and personal opinion, I appreciate the venue and the voices here. It doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Actually, truth to tell, the second-guessing pisses me off. _If_ you have a valid problem and complaint, then email it to the mods. That’s the stand-up way to handle it. Innuendo and passive-aggressive hints are cheap shots. Veb ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/11 "2000-10-31T03:58:42Z")
Veb, I take the Fifth. ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/12 "2000-10-31T04:43:47Z")
**Veb** , I feel confident in stating that **techchick** was referring to concrete’s latest incarnation: Lloyd. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/13 "2000-10-31T04:43:51Z")
I suspect the long-suffering mods/admins don’t just take it by the Fifth. They probably take it by the case. Veb ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/14 "2000-10-31T04:46:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TVeblen \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by techchick68 \* > > \*\*In at least one case I know of. > > > > It walked like a duck, talked like a duck but was a statue. > > > > \< read into that what you will \> \*\* > > Explain, please. I don’t understand. (No mock-innocent coyness, just limited time on the boards lately.) > > \*\* Veb, Jim Lloyd [aka, concrete, TooSexyformycomputer, lloyd, something to the bone…I forget what] brags over at the 3F about loving to get banned here at the SDMB, how he hates the mods and loves trying to fool them. He KNOWS how to [possibly] get accepted, is to apologize for acting like a jerk, but he refuses. He also loves getting discussed, which is…I think…why techchick didn’t want to even say his name, other than obliquely. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/15 "2000-10-31T04:47:58Z")
I’m not going to have to get understanding and consensus-building on you two’s asses am I? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/16 "2000-10-31T04:50:52Z")
Veb, This is MPSIMS, I don’t have to explain anything to anyone. Also, read your email, I said more in there than I wanted to. K? I am taking the Fifth… ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/17 "2000-10-31T04:53:49Z")
Real convinent to make a tantalizing comment and then plead the fifth. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/18 "2000-10-31T04:55:52Z")
Just for the sake of completeness, let me also say that the person who originally suspected me of being a troll also publicly withdrew his charge. ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/19 "2000-10-31T05:02:33Z")
Here’s the deal folks, if I wanted to expound upon some recent events I would have, in deatil. I made it clear you can read into it as you choose. If you don’t like it, fine. Like I said, if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck but was a statue…usually this means it’s not a duck. DUH Sheesh, is it all that important that you know or even have an idea of what I am thinking? Reminds me of a Pit thread where I was accused of potentially protecting a troll…which I clearly wasn’t. I help one reformed troll and everything I say is some hidden meaning of some sort. Gotta love it. Even if I have a hidden meaning, it’s none of your business. Look I do what I can within my means to keep the boards a fun and happy place. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031/20 "2000-10-31T05:06:53Z")
That does it! **Ogre** , you take **techchick**. Apparently it does as little good when I yell at her as it does whe I yell at my kids. I’ll take **Veb** and **PLG**. There’s gonna be no more catiness on this board as long as **I’m** awake! Wait, **Ogre** , when I said “take” I meant for you to “take her aside and explain that ther is a forum for this sort of thing.” I didn’t mean it the way you apparently understood it. 😉 I’m going to bed. You kids play nice. I don’t want to have to get up again, you hear? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-being-banned-en-masse/39031.md?page=2)