# Zenster banned? What's all this then? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 24, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338 "2003-10-24T15:54:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/41 "2003-10-24T22:35:51Z")
> [@](#): > > ## Originally posted by Miller And techchick got banned earlier this month, after she had a five-alarm melt down and threatened to hack the boards in her LiveJournal. > > Wow, I must have missed that one. I hope she comes back soon. > > BTW, I didn’t think talking about a banning in the pit was verboten. Did I miss a memo? I’m sure you didn’t miss too much, the meltdowns happen about twice a year and if you’ve ever been the object of the meltdown or involved in any way it’s not so big a deal after the first few times. Sam ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/42 "2003-10-24T22:35:51Z")
Say it ain’t so, Joe! **Zenster** helped me sort out my [hot peppers!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=200364) ---
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/43 "2003-10-24T22:36:54Z")
I’m rather suprised it was something as small as that. I was thinking he was going to break and post some sort of meltdown, and then get banned. All the people defending Zenster most likely have never been under his line of fire(for example, disagreed with him, even worse so in the pit where he can tell you to shove a tree up your ass rather than implicitly state it). Yes, he’s done good things. But he has done a lot of bad things. Is it fair to keep him on the board so he can violate rules several times more than offered to most posters, just because he might offer support to someone in need? He can be quite nice. It’s just the jerkish things overshadow the nice things. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/44 "2003-10-24T22:37:00Z")
… That said, I looked at the junior modding stint, and that was a bit of a sad (maybe even jerkish) thing to pull by **Zenster** if he’d been told not to do it before. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Ink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@White\_Ink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Ink)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/45 "2003-10-24T22:38:41Z")
I’m sad about this. I hope he’ll come back. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/46 "2003-10-24T22:46:14Z")
I, too, was taken aback. I hope that after a cooling-off period he’ll return. It wouldn’t be the same around here without him. ---
**Author:** ![bojon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@bojon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bojon)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/47 "2003-10-24T22:46:48Z")
Were the next poster to use all capitals, I will cause them harm. Now, whomsoever does this action, is doing it with knowledge of a consequence. Did I just threaten everyone who is reading this, or just the next seven posters who will use capitals? Hyperbole…Probably only three… ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/48 "2003-10-24T22:51:43Z")
As is generally known, I _really_ didn’t like Zenster, personally or online. But, while I won’t miss him, I didn’t see anything in that particular post to warrant much official comment. But I’m sure Lynn and the other mod staff felt it was enough in the web of his posts. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/49 "2003-10-24T22:52:27Z")
ARE YOU THREATENING ME??? ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/50 "2003-10-24T23:03:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > **However, I will say this: techchick threatened to hack the boards. THAT ban is forever. I had suspended her privileges when she was apparently not in her right mind with grief, and I had intended to reinstate her when she was more in control of herself.** That was brilliant moderating, and a textbook example of how a good moderator, using his or her common sense and judgement, can save an online message board from unnecessary turmoil and very public meltdowns by taking apropriate actions based upon each individual situation. > [@](#): > > But she threatened to hack the boards, and there’s a longstanding policy of banning people forever for THAT, no matter where the threat is uttered. \*\* A angry drunk muttering to himself “I outta kill that guy” after a fight is not anything even close to a credible death threat, and to treat it as such is an extreme overreaction without realastic provication, especially when the person in question has a long, well known history of getting upset and muttering to themself without ever acting upon it the next day. It’s a “zero tolerance” type of violation, 100% within the letter of the law but oh so petty. It also goes without saying that either, both or neither reaction is completely under the purview of the Reader and the board administration, to exercize as they see fit and if any of us ever feels that the said exercize of board powers becomes intolerable, we are absolutely free to vote with our feet and leave. ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/51 "2003-10-24T23:16:31Z")
He has always been one of my favorite posters. Way before I registered, I lurked for a very long time. He was one of my first “faves”, along with Crunchy Frog, OpalCat, Billy Rubin and several others I am drawing a blank on right now. I really am kinda sick about this. ☹ I hate it when a “veteran” is gone. Even some of the crappy ones, which Zenster was not. I hope he can come back. And soon. Yeah, Michael Ellis…just **damn**. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/52 "2003-10-24T23:16:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PhiloVance \* > \*\*Lesseee. We’ve had **december, Colounsbury(sp?) and now Zenster** all long time posters, just wiped out in the blink of an eye. 😉 \*\* “Long Time Poster Syndrome” I’ve seen plenty of other well-liked posters go down in flames over the years. I don’t what causes it. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/53 "2003-10-24T23:19:23Z")
Well, personally, I think it’s grossly unfair. Perhaps **Zenster’s** comments were somewhat over the top; however, they were also obviously hyperbole. Given the way some posters behave without getting banned - heck, the way some posters behaved _in that thread_ without getting banned, makes \*\* Zenster’s\*\* banning seem totally inappropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/54 "2003-10-24T23:19:24Z")
Slightly off the subject I find it very creepy that my name was in the ‘offical goodbye’ message to a long standing poster. Esp in a thread I wasn’t even keeping track of other then a drive by post. (yes I realize that my name had nothing to do with anything that was going on. Still a bad sign though) As for Zenster. He seemed very Jekyl and Hide to me. I think I’d like to see him back though. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/55 "2003-10-24T23:21:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weirddave \* > \*\*A angry drunk muttering to himself “I outta kill that guy” after a fight is not anything even close to a credible death threat, and to treat it as such is an extreme overreaction without realastic provication, especially when the person in question has a long, well known history of getting upset and muttering to themself without ever acting upon it the next day. It’s a “zero tolerance” type of violation, 100% within the letter of the law but oh so petty. \*\* I know where you’re going with this (or I think I do), but I think it’s not doable on a message board. It’s a print medium, we can’t tell inflections of voice etc. and if the staff here would take a stance such as you’re suggesting, we’d have a situation wherein Longterm Poster A would have episodes of drunken idiotic behavior which would be accepted 'cause hell, we all know that they get drunk say things they don’t mean and appologize, but then Shortterm Poster B or Longterm Poster C posting the same sort of thing would be banned. how would folks know which category they fell into? I’ve gotten one cautionary email from a mod. One. and I took it to heart and have made damn sure that I didn’t do the same sort of thing again. Should the situation ever occur where the staff here **posted** a public admonishment about my posting behavior and mentioned as well that my posting priveleges were being discussed, I’d make triple damn sure that I was bein’ nice. I, too, feel that **Zenster** “Didn’t really mean it in the literal sense”, but he was quite publically under notice. there’s a pattern that I see here not infrequently. Long term Poster starts getting public warnings, poster gone. I genuinely like **Zenster** , hope he would want to stay in touch w/me. But he needed to be more cautious about his posting. As soon as I saw that post I thought ‘uh-oh’. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/56 "2003-10-24T23:24:51Z")
I hope Zenster can come back. He’s a good man. I shall think of him whenever I eat mayonaise. ---
**Author:** ![sundog66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@sundog66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sundog66)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/57 "2003-10-24T23:28:15Z")
I’m sure this has probably already been mentioned somewhere sometime, but it’s funny how when somebody gets banned, everybody acts as though they died. In the world of these message boards, though, I suppose that’s true. Anyway… > [@](#): > > Were the next poster to use all capitals, I will cause them harm. Now, whomsoever does this action, is doing it with knowledge of a consequence. Minor nitpicks: (I realize that when you venture into the realm of formal, perhaps semi-archaic English, it’s easy to get in over your head, but if you’re going to do it, do it right. So excuse my while I don my prescriptive hat and prescribe the following) 1. After the construction “Were [some hypothetical situation],” it’s best to say “would” instead of “will.” 2. The word you’re looking for is “whosoever.” “Whomsoever” is an object pronoun. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/58 "2003-10-24T23:28:16Z")
He was almost banned for junior-modding in flagrant disregard of warnings about doing it. A week ago. That seems to be being ignored in this contention over empty threats and such. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/59 "2003-10-24T23:28:20Z")
I will miss **Zenster**. Most of his stuff I liked very much. I wouldn’t have had the guts to do that one thing he did, taking evidence pictures of a cat that had been set on fire. For that he will forever have my respect. Even heros can have clay feet, and it seems he broke the rules badly enought to warrant being banned. But I sincerely hope he will cool off and later ask to be reinstated. I would welcome him back at any time. Things will be different without him, and I will pray for his peace of mind and healing. **Zenster** , if you see this, take care of yourself, you hear? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338/60 "2003-10-24T23:29:53Z")
I’ve yet to see anyone get banned w/o dire warnings. By dire, I mean warnings that specifically mention revocation of posting privilegs. I dread the day I open my email and find a message from an SDMB admin or mod. Hopefully, I’ll be able to keep my wits about me enough not to break the rules in any signifigant fashion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenster-banned-whats-all-this-then/209338.md?page=4)