It would depend on how you were banned. You can ban a username, so you’d see the board, log in and be greeted with a message that says, “Hi TruCelt, you’re banned.” In that case, simply not logging in will allow you to browse the forums, but of course, you can’t participate.
If however, your IP address is banned, then simply navigating to the site is enough to bring up the message saying the IP is banned. In that case, you would have to change your IP address in order to browse which is not difficult necessarily, but not something people usually do just on a whim either.
Somewhere between “lurk” and “screw this place.” I’ve been a member for over ten years with no warnings, so if I get banned, I deserve it. Nevertheless, there are some topics I see discussed here that are difficult to elucidate with other forms of information at my disposal, so I can see myself searching the boards even if I got banned from posting.
I chose “screw this place,” though that would have occured before I got banned. I’m generally not one to burn bridges, but if I did decide to get myself banned I’d have no problem staying away afterwards.
I suppose it depends on why I was banned. If it was Shakes’ scenario of my account being hacked, I am hopeful I could talk my way back in. (Something vaguely similar happened a few years ago.) If it were because I was being a jerk, I would probably sulk and lurk. If there were a general move to ban those whose political point of view is at odds with the rest of the board, I would just go off and find a more congenial messageboard, because the Dope would no longer be the Dope.
But I could never get away with a sock account. Sooner or later, I would forget, and - well -
I am so addicted to this place that’d I’d most likely reregister but under a name that would not connect back at all to this account. Something like “Totally Sober Smurf” or “Totally Not Shakes Sock”.
Same here. I’ve been to other boards and most don’t have the level of intellect you can find here. The per capita number of educated, intelligent, insightful people here is pretty high. So I’d miss that. But if I managed to find it somewhere else I’d get addicted to that board instead.
I really don’t get why the vast majority of banned people don’t come back to troll, at least for a little bit. My argument has always been, once you’ve been banned, what’s your rationale for playing nice anymore? It’s the worst thing they can do to you. Chances are you think the banning was unfair, so it’s not like you’d be positively disposed towards the people here.
I mean, I know why I wouldn’t do it, but that’s because I’m trying to cut down on my temper flare ups. But there are a lot of people here who seem to have no problem with those.
I’m a Mod on another board (of which I had been banned from before) and we’re pretty open to unbanning posters if they come across as contrite, but their names (and IP addresses) are carefully followed immediately after. Often the number of bans rise when the weather is horrible, we’re entering a stressful period (it’s a teachers’ board so that’s most of the time), and weekend evenings bring out all sorts of odd posts - hmm … I wonder why??
So I’d first plead leniency, say that I won’t do it again, apologise to anyone I’d offended, the other posters, the Mods, my parents, the Queen, and Desmond Tutu. If that didn’t work I could always use the giant laser I have on the moon and hold the World to ransom.
I would continue my ether, cocaine and red bull binge for about another week. Then i would load my dirty socks and underwear (lets be honest, by that time they would be my only worldly possessions) into a WalMart bag and hitch hike to my moms palatial country estate (run down farm house). I would then beg her to let me take my demented,degraded drunken self in and let me live in the basement. I would beg, borrow or steal a 60’s transistor radio and listen to Rush Limbo 24/7 and mastrubate to midget porn.
That is how fucked up I would have to be to get banned here…I think I did get a warning once but it was in the pit.
I once almost got banned from a DogSled site I helped found and moderate but that really WAS a drunken binge and all was forgiven after I groveled and did my penance.
