# Why was Zhen'ka banned? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 5, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655 "2010-09-05T02:13:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/81 "2010-09-08T18:50:43Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Well seeing as it is a preference, hey Gfactor, why were you banned? I think you misheard. I’m bland, not banned. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/82 "2010-09-08T18:52:30Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > > [@Gfactor](#): > > > > It’s a preference. > > This has been going on for years. It’s moved from the Pit to over here but it’s always the same. A poster asks the question, a Mod comes in and sighs and rolls their eyes and says to please take it to email or PMs and then answers the question anyway. If you guys really don’t want people to ask, then don’t answer the question. Failing that, just tell them without the preamble about preferences. This is a fair criticism. We’re moving closer to the first option. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/83 "2010-09-08T19:01:33Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > > [@Gfactor](#): > > > > As elmwood indicates, we do this to get them to email us.) Out of curiosity, **elmwood** , do you post an announcement when you suspend a poster as you’ve described? > > We usually do it on a case-by-case basis. If they’re fairly active, we’ll make an announcement, because most regular users follow the monthly ban threads. Once they’re reinstated, we’ll remove the announcement. Thanks. We’ve decided to use a user title that explains the situation–based on **hajario** ’s suggestion. > [@](#): > > It’s not so much a ban or suspension, but rather a “soft suspension” of sorts. We’ve got an inactive group, where users can’t post or subscribe to threads, but there’s no ban notice that will appear when they visit the site. I’ll send a PM first and give them a chance to respond before we move them to the inactive group and make an announcement. Right. We don’t view it as a true ban or suspension. We actually hadn’t had much cause to discuss it because it seldom goes this far. Usually we PM the user, and they say “oops. Sorry. Fixed it.” When the user fixes the problem, we reinstate them. And we also send PMs first, as I did here. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/84 "2010-09-08T19:40:25Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > > [@Muffin](#): > > > > Well seeing as it is a preference, hey Gfactor, why were you banned? > > I think you misheard. I’m bland, not banned. Thus your issuing blandishments rather than banishments. A very tactful tack to take. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/85 "2010-09-08T21:13:05Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > > [@Gfactor](#): > > > > I think you misheard. I’m bland, not banned. > > Thus your issuing blandishments rather than banishments. A very tactful tack to take. ::Breaks into song:: Something sweet, Something sort of bland-ish. . . . ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/86 "2010-09-08T22:10:47Z")
**MeanOldLady** said: > [@](#): > > I don’t care about the e-mail address thing, and never stated or suggested that everyone should feel free to ignore that requirement (although I would imagine many posters here have outdated e-mail address, likely by accident, or use spam-catcher e-mail addresses that they never check for their SDMB account, but that is beside the point). I just didn’t realize that if a moderator sent you a message, failure to respond can result in banning or suspension. I don’t know the details of the PM, but I don’t respond to every note or message I get. It’s not that I’m being a bad little girl and am Breaking The Rules; it’s that I don’t really have anything to say, and so I don’t say anything. Unless someone is asking me a question, I’ll probably see a note and think “Okay,” then say nothing. > > But that’s against the rules or something, I guess. I don’t know, whatever. Seriously, I don’t really care. The email thing was just one example of an administrative email that a Mod might send. It was certainly not intended to be the only thing that could cause a person to get in trouble for not replying to. That said, I thought my description was pretty clear. Feel free to ignore a Mod who sends you a “WAZZUP!” or whatever. But if they send you an instruction or question, then yes, you do need to respond. It’s all a matter of if the Private Message falls into the realm of “note from another board member” or “administrative action”. Ignore the former at your whim. Ignore the latter at your peril. > [@](#): > > My guess is the initial PM (you know, before they discovered the invalid e-mail) contained instructions of some kind, otherwise, I can’t see why anyone would care whether or not he responded. That’s how I interpret it. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/87 "2010-09-08T23:04:30Z")
I can’t get into the email I originally used - so I’ve updated. (Its not dead but I’ve been having trouble with it for a while) So this thread was a good idea after all! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/88 "2010-09-08T23:06:17Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Ignore the former at your whim. Ignore the latter at your peril. Something so darish So “I don’t car-ish” ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/89 "2010-09-08T23:20:38Z")
> [@maplekiwi](#): > > I can’t get into the email I originally used - so I’ve updated. (Its not dead but I’ve been having trouble with it for a while) > > So this thread was a good idea after all! 😛 I’ve had two good ideas in this thread so far so I am going to push my luck and try another suggestion. Once a year, make a sticky/announcement thread that lasts for a week reminding everyone to make sure that their email is current. Sometime in March might be best because that’s right before the original Charter Memberships expire. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/90 "2010-09-09T13:20:11Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Feel free to ignore a Mod who sends you a “WAZZUP!” or whatever. Err, yes, thanks for clearing that up! Because _that’s_ what I was talking about: messages from mods saying “What’s up?” ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/91 "2010-09-09T15:16:17Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > > [@Irishman](#): > > > > Feel free to ignore a Mod who sends you a “WAZZUP!” or whatever. > > Err, yes, thanks for clearing that up! Because _that’s_ what I was talking about: messages from mods saying “What’s up?” You know, generally I think you’re pretty cool, but it might help if you explain just what the fuck you’re talking about, then? Did you think that if a Mod sends you a PM that contains something like “You and crazyjoe seem to be crossing swords a lot lately. I am PMing both of you to let you know it’s getting distracting, so please try to avoid each other or address each other civilly,” that you are free to just ignore it? PMs and e-mails are how the mods send instructions to posters who they want to keep around, but want to place additional restriction on, such as lissener and comments about Showgirls, or Evil Captor and pr0n, or Cesario and pedophelia, so they don’t have to put that stuff in an ATMB thread for all to see. How else do you want them to undertake private communications with members? Of course you’re expected to respond if they send you instructions. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/92 "2010-09-09T15:28:00Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > > > Err, yes, thanks for clearing that up! Because _that’s_ what I was talking about: messages from mods saying “What’s up?” > > You know, generally I think you’re pretty cool, but it might help if you explain just what the fuck you’re talking about, then? Did you think that if a Mod sends you a PM that contains something like “You and crazyjoe seem to be crossing swords a lot lately. I am PMing both of you to let you know it’s getting distracting, so please try to avoid each other or address each other civilly,” that you are free to just ignore it? If by “ignore” you mean “not write back,” then yes. If by “ignore” you mean “completely disregard the admonition, and continue the behaviors you were warned against,” then no. Do I have to say something back if a mod sends me a note instructing me to refrain from such and such behavior? Why would I say anything? I’d just stop doing it; there doesn’t seem to be anything else to talk about. Now if a mod PM’d me with “MeanOldLady, please clarify what in the post you reported that you find to be a violation of the rules,” or “Please provide a valid e-mail address,” or something else of the sort, I would respond, since they are requesting information. But to a note reminding me of the rules, or telling me not to say “cunt” anymore, I’d most likely think, “Okay,” then go back to posting. Apparently I’m supposed to write a response (I think?). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/93 "2010-09-09T15:59:32Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > > [@maplekiwi](#): > > > > I can’t get into the email I originally used - so I’ve updated. (Its not dead but I’ve been having trouble with it for a while) > > > > So this thread was a good idea after all! 😛 > > I’ve had two good ideas in this thread so far so I am going to push my luck and try another suggestion. > > Once a year, make a sticky/announcement thread that lasts for a week reminding everyone to make sure that their email is current. Sometime in March might be best because that’s right before the original Charter Memberships expire. Good suggestion. (Guess that mod experience elsewhere is proving beneficial, eh?) ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/94 "2010-09-09T16:38:02Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > > [@crazyjoe](#): > > > > You know, generally I think you’re pretty cool, but it might help if you explain just what the fuck you’re talking about, then? Did you think that if a Mod sends you a PM that contains something like “You and crazyjoe seem to be crossing swords a lot lately. I am PMing both of you to let you know it’s getting distracting, so please try to avoid each other or address each other civilly,” that you are free to just ignore it? > > If by “ignore” you mean “not write back,” then yes. If by “ignore” you mean “completely disregard the admonition, and continue the behaviors you were warned against,” then no. Do I have to say something back if a mod sends me a note instructing me to refrain from such and such behavior? Why would I say anything? I’d just stop doing it; there doesn’t seem to be anything else to talk about. > > Now if a mod PM’d me with “MeanOldLady, please clarify what in the post you reported that you find to be a violation of the rules,” or “Please provide a valid e-mail address,” or something else of the sort, I would respond, since they are requesting information. But to a note reminding me of the rules, or telling me not to say “cunt” anymore, I’d most likely think, “Okay,” then go back to posting. Apparently I’m supposed to write a response (I think?). That makes much more sense. I don’t think you’re necessarily supposed to write a response, but if in the process of PMing you the mods note that you don’t have an active e-mail address, which is part of the rules, I think they are within their rights to attempt to correct the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/95 "2010-09-09T17:38:55Z")
**MeanOldLady** , thank you for clarifying. I guess I just wasn’t able to frame my response correctly. My example was lame and not on target. > [@](#): > > Do I have to say something back if a mod sends me a note instructing me to refrain from such and such behavior? Why would I say anything? I’d just stop doing it; there doesn’t seem to be anything else to talk about. Not a Mod, but my expectation and understanding is that you are not required to reply merely because you received an instruction, unless that instruction is a request for information or action. So a PM to “dial it back” followed by you not replying but dialing it back would be acceptable. > [@](#): > > But to a note reminding me of the rules, or telling me not to say “cunt” anymore, I’d most likely think, “Okay,” then go back to posting. Apparently I’m supposed to write a response (I think?). No, I think you would be fine with your original expectation, and I don’t know what was said that suggested otherwise. From what I can see, this line of topic came out of this post: **MeanOldLady** said: > [@](#): > > > [@Gfactor](#): > > > > Third time I’ve explained that in this thread. What I haven’t mentioned before is that I actually noticed that Zhen’ka didn’t have a valid e-mail previously, sent a PM, and got no response. So this was the second PM that I’d sent to Zhen’ka about this issue. And the second PM that didn’t work. > > Maybe he just doesn’t feel like responding to the PMs, and even if he received and read your e-mails, he wouldn’t have responded to them either. You seem to be suggesting that it is acceptable for **Zhen’ka** to not reply in this situation, but the specific situation is that **Gfactor** sent a PM explicitly about not having a valid email address and requesting he fix it. So this is explicitly a request for action/response. **Gfactor** sent a PM to update the email address, and it was ignored. No update, no email to explain why or ask for further clarification. He then sent a second PM requesting specific action that was ignored. **Zhen’ka** didn’t have to reply to the PM with another PM, but he did need to update his email address. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/96 "2010-09-09T18:04:09Z")
One more time. > [@Irishman](#): > > **MeanOldLady** said: > > > [@](#): > > > > Maybe he just doesn’t feel like responding to the PMs, and even if he received and read your e-mails, he wouldn’t have responded to them either. > > You seem to be suggesting that it is acceptable for **Zhen’ka** to not reply in this situation, but the specific situation is that **Gfactor** sent a PM explicitly about not having a valid email address and requesting he fix it. No. I was referring to _before_ they found his e-mail address was invalid. He didn’t respond to a PM, so they e-mailed him, and _then_ found his address was no longer functional, at which point they asked for a valid one. I was curious about why was the e-mail sent in the first place. Why wasn’t the PM the end of it? I’m guessing that the initial PM contained a question, or an instruction that would need a response, otherwise I can’t see why they would feel the need to continue sending him messages until he wrote back. I really didn’t mean for this to turn into a derailment of this sort. I was just curious about why he needed to respond to their initial message at all, unless they were asking him for something, in which case it’s clear. That said, over and out. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/97 "2010-09-09T18:14:07Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I was referring to _before_ they found his e-mail address was invalid. He didn’t respond to a PM, so they e-mailed him, and _then_ found his address was no longer functional, at which point they asked for a valid one. You have this out of order. > [@twickster](#): > > **Zhen’ka** was involved in a minor disagreement; when we attempted to contact him or her to discuss this, we discovered that he or she did not have a valid email address, which is a requirement for posting here. The banning was an attempt to get his or her attention. This attempt has been unsuccessful so far, because we haven’t heard directly from him or her. **Gfactor** tried to email **Zhen’ka** in response to a post reported by **Zhen’ka** , and found **Zhen’ka** did not have a working email address. So he sent her [I think it’s a her] a private message explaining that she needs to have a functional email address. **Zhen’ka** never responded and did not update her email, so after a few days, he sent a second PM with instructions about the email issue and then banned the account. **Zhen’ka** doesn’t post very much and has not logged in since Sept. 1, which is the day before the account was banned. Does that help? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/98 "2010-09-09T18:58:30Z")
**MeanOldLady** said: > [@](#): > > I was just curious about why he needed to respond to their initial message at all, unless they were asking him for something, in which case it’s clear. That said, over and out. According to [twickster](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12879465&postcount=6), > [@](#): > > **Zhen’ka** was involved in a minor disagreement; when we attempted to contact him or her to discuss this, we discovered that he or she did not have a valid email address, The original contact was an attempt to discuss some unspecified disagreement. Ergo, it would seem to be a request for a response, not just a directive. So now that that is cleared up… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/99 "2010-09-09T19:34:48Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > > [@hajario](#): > > > > I’ve had two good ideas in this thread so far so I am going to push my luck and try another suggestion. > > > > Once a year, make a sticky/announcement thread that lasts for a week reminding everyone to make sure that their email is current. Sometime in March might be best because that’s right before the original Charter Memberships expire. > > Good suggestion. (Guess that mod experience elsewhere is proving beneficial, eh?) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655/100 "2010-09-12T21:29:53Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > Also, for the record, it wasn’t an altercation with another poster– **Zhen’ka** reported a post. I replied to the report, and my reply bounced back. When that happened, I sent a PM with a reply to the report and a request, similar to the one you’ve suggested, and got not response. Here’s a tip–if you don’t have a valid e-mail address registered with us, it’s probably a good idea not to report posts. :smack: Wow, that’s cold. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-zhenka-banned/552655.md?page=6)