# Why was Seven banned? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 28, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610 "2009-07-28T22:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Rolken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df788c/32.png) [@Rolken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rolken)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/301 "2009-07-29T18:01:35Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > The mods do not (and cannot) police private messages or emails. We couldn’t read your PMs even if we wanted to. This seems like a copout. Surely as administrator and representative of the board, Tuba should police _herself_ in her PMs for the purpose of maintaining good relations between the leadership and membership. Whether the letter of the law requires her to isn’t even really relevant; a higher standard of conduct is rightfully expected of those who make and enforce the rules. They set the tone for everyone else. If she isn’t inclined to go above and beyond in that respect, I’m not sure why she wants to be an administrator. ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/302 "2009-07-29T18:01:39Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Is that written down somewhere? I was going to ask that too. I just read the Registration Agreement and the Rules for Posting that are stickied in this forum and I didn’t see that anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/303 "2009-07-29T18:03:11Z")
> [@Syntropy](#): > > FWIW…however much that may be… > > Marley; > > I mean this sincerely. Please do not read any snark into it: I am sorry, VERY sorry, that you were placed in the position of arguing with some 70 people and delivering an unpopular decision without any recognizable support from your administrators. Although I disagree with your reasoning and everything you have said in this thread, I do believe that you care about this board and want what is best for it. I find it entirely unconscionable that you have been designated to defend what is (yes, IMO) an indefensible position without at least one post of agreement from another moderator or administrator, and I am offended on your behalf that at this point, you have been made to look like a mouth piece. I would never leave my employees twisting in the wind in the way you have been made to. I wish you luck. Meh, this is SOP around here. Someone screws up and someone else is sent to pick up the pieces. If the going gets too tough, the chosen escape goat can just wash his hands with the old “it wasn’t me”. At that point a new one is chosen and sent in to look uninformed and innocent of the wreck up to that point. Lather, rinse, repeat. Plus, I think Marley likes it (or at least doesn’t care). I have seen some other mods really twist in pain trying to defend some right out ridiculous decisions. Marley looks just as cool and refreshed in page 17 as he does in page 1. I mean that as a sincere compliment. You just cannot take any of this stuff to heart. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/304 "2009-07-29T18:03:53Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > It is against the rules to post private correspondence from anybody without their permission. > > . Bullshit. Or at least it’s never been enforced before - there’s been any number of threads where folks post all or part of emails they’ve gotten from wide variety of folks. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/305 "2009-07-29T18:07:55Z")
> [@lightingtool](#): > > Not really, sorry. (Curse you, public education!!) If I had to guess, I’d say it’s something about taking a statement to the extreme to show how absurd it is. In my opinion (and your mileage obviously does vary), that only serves to make the person saying it look absurd, and ignoring the problem that’s right in front of them. > > Sorry for the hijack. Yup, that’s a good guess on the meaning of the term. It’s just the way my mind works, I always carry things out to all possible logical conclusions and construct parallel examples to test the underlying logic of a position. The more exotically bizarre an example that can be constructed without having the basic congruency fall apart, the more likely it is to me that the initial statement has some significant problems with it. I lose sight of the fact that others don’t process the way I do and therefore will often focus on the bizarre aspects of my analogies, kinda losing the forest because that ‘ere tree is so freakin’ weird, man. > [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > It is against the rules to post private correspondence from anybody without their permission. Link to the rule, please? ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/306 "2009-07-29T18:08:09Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > NOTE: I was not there when the decision was made to ban **Seven** , so I cannot address the banning directly. I will, however, answer some of the specific questions I think need to be answered: > > The mods do not (and cannot) police private messages or emails. We couldn’t read your PMs even if we wanted to. > > It is against the rules to post private correspondence from anybody without their permission. > > No. > > Members of this board are free to own, operate, moderate, participate in, and read any message board they so choose. > > We don’t allow recruiting and we don’t allow inciting board wars. That said, if you want to go over to Giraffe’s board or the snarkpit and post that I’m a twit, have at it. So, basically admins like **Tuba** can send whatever they want to members via PM, no matter how obnoxious and abusive, and if the member on the receiving end of the PM makes it public, said member will be banned for posting private correspondence? Nice. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/307 "2009-07-29T18:08:26Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > It is against the rules to post private correspondence from anybody without their permission. Wait, when was this rule published or posted? I never saw it or heard of it before. It is usually the polite and proper thing to do, but an actual rule? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/308 "2009-07-29T18:08:50Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > It was fairly standard policy back in the day. Even with banning threads in the Pit, calling the departed names was…considered being a jerk. It wasn’t enough to get you an official warning that I ever recall, but it would get mods telling you to back off. You could talk about the various ways you disagreed with the bannee and found his views/behavior distasteful, but it Wasn’t Done to call him, say, a useless douche. Thanks. > [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > One more moderator note: > > Directly insulting another poster is not allowed in ATMB, and YES this includes posters that have been suspended or banned. > > Please stop doing it now. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/309 "2009-07-29T18:12:18Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > So, basically admins like **Tuba** can send whatever they want to members via PM, no matter how obnoxious and abusive, and if the member on the receiving end of the PM makes it public, said member will be banned for posting private correspondence? > > Nice. What are we up to now, Catch-25 or 26? I can never keep them straight… ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/310 "2009-07-29T18:13:25Z")
> [@wring](#): > > Bullshit. Or at least it’s never been enforced before - there’s been any number of threads where folks post all or part of emails they’ve gotten from wide variety of folks. And it’s not like **Seven** was snooping on a private e-mail conversation and revealed what was said. He was part of said e-mail conversation. If he wants to make the e-mail conversation known publicly, it’s his right to do so. He has no obligation whatsoever to keep that conversation private. That was such a ridiculous statement by **InvisibleWombat** that it’s not even funny. The bottom line is that if \*\*TubaDiva’\*\*s a little embarrassed that her nastiness was made public (yet again), she shouldn’t have wrote it. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/311 "2009-07-29T18:15:33Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > It is against the rules to post private correspondence from anybody without their permission. Why? Wasn’t it HIS message, sent To him to do with it as he wanted? And is this applied only to PM’s or to any sort of correspondence? If I’m asking for financial advise, would I be banned for quoting a letter from my bank? Or from a friend? And if it’s only appliable to PM’s, am I disallowed to quote any PM? At all? If, let’s say, another poster sends me a terrific recipe for cookies, would I be banned for giving that poster credit when sharing it with anybody else? These are fairly important questions. I wouldn’t like to be banned by accident here. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/312 "2009-07-29T18:17:31Z")
I have rarely\* commented on the administration/moderation of this board and I don’t feel that this particular banning was without merit based on the poster’s behavior over the past several months, but count me among those who think this rule about quoting private correspondence, if it is indeed a rule, (a) is capricious, arbitary and idiotic and (b) needs to be included in the “Rules for Posting at the Straight Dope Message Boards” if people are going to be banned over it. > [@](#): > > Surely as administrator and representative of the board, Tuba should police herself in her PMs for the purpose of maintaining good relations between the leadership and membership. But it was private! If she read what she wrote, she’d be violating her confidentiality. Or something. - I would say never, but it’s quite possible I’ve posted something in the past eight years that I don’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/313 "2009-07-29T18:18:58Z")
So someone cannot share a PM received, on pain of banning, without the consent of the sender. 1. Harass someone in PMs. 2. When they complain, get them banned for sharing confidental correspondence. 3. Profit! I figured out step 2, everyone! Also, for what it’s worth, I evidently think this is a foolish administrative decision, and it was enough for me to dig out my password and post for the perhaps the third time in the last four years to say so. ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/314 "2009-07-29T18:21:09Z")
Pi Post!!! (Oh, and the banning was BS, just to stay on topic and all) ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/315 "2009-07-29T18:23:15Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > N > It is against the rules to post private correspondence from anybody without their permission. Cite? I’ve never seen that rule written down, and the one time it was addressed by [John Corrado back when he was a mod/admin](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=512750&postcount=5), he disagreed 100% with you. [quote] Legally, IIRC, once a letter is received it becomes the property of the recipient, thus allowing people to sell or re-distribute it at will. While the writing inside is still the intellectual property of the writer, the actual letter itself is the property of the recipient. By that same standard, I would believe it to be perfectly legal to re-distribute a received e-mail. The ethical and moral issue is entirely different; while I don’t particularly _understand_ TVeb’s reasons, I think it is completely her choice as to whether she should post the information contained." If there’s a cite for a newer rule, I’d love to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/316 "2009-07-29T18:23:55Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > It is against the rules to post private correspondence from anybody without their permission. I’m not trying to jump on you, but I’ll echo other people’s confusion that this is a stated rule here. I honestly don’t remember it ever coming up or any official intervention when it comes to PMs, but I don’t have a great memory. In any case, this is an argument for someone sitting down and writing down the rules of the SDMB in one easy to find place so people don’t have to be historians to follow them. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/317 "2009-07-29T18:24:08Z")
Prediction: **Tubadiva** will post to this thread in the next few pages. Her post will say something like, “I think this thread has run its course.” It will then be locked. Oh, and bullshit banning, incredibly lame after-the-fact justifications, and amazingly rude message from **Tubadiva** to **Seven** in the first place. I really hope that she does not have a real life job that in any way involves customer service, because her skills in that area are nonexistant. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/318 "2009-07-29T18:26:19Z")
> [@lno](#): > > So someone cannot share a PM received, on pain of banning, without the consent of the sender. > > 1. Harass someone in PMs. > 2. When they complain, get them banned for sharing confidental correspondence. > 3. Profit! > > I figured out step 2, everyone! > > Also, for what it’s worth, I evidently think this is a foolish administrative decision, and it was enough for me to dig out my password and post for the perhaps the third time in the last four years to say so. You are still missing 2.5 where banning everyone makes profit but A+ for effort. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/319 "2009-07-29T18:28:56Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > \ > No. > > Members of this board are free to own, operate, moderate, participate in, and read any message board they so choose. > > We don’t allow recruiting and we don’t allow inciting board wars. That said, if you want to go over to Giraffe’s board or the snarkpit and post that I’m a twit, have at it. Thank you for your response. ---
**Author:** ![Xploder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a183cd/32.png) [@Xploder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xploder)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610/320 "2009-07-29T18:31:38Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > Prediction: **Tubadiva** will post to this thread in the next few pages. Her post will say something like, “I think this thread has run its course.” It will then be locked. > > Oh, and bullshit banning, incredibly lame after-the-fact justifications, and amazingly rude message from **Tubadiva** to **Seven** in the first place. I really hope that she does not have a real life job that in any way involves customer service, because her skills in that area are nonexistant. You just made the list buddy-boy. Welcome to the club!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-seven-banned/504610.md?page=17)