Michelle Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 But aren't elected politicians punished as well for such vilifications -- either by the law or at least by the voters?And as one of the other members already said: This is not just some "internet website", but a private forum with certain guidelines. By becoming a member of this forum, James acknowledged those guidelines. But in the end, he didn't comply with them. And so all this is only the legitimate result of his misconduct. I refuse to let this go, but under your limits of general conduct, other members actions would be brought under the microscope too. Where do we draw the line... I just don't understand how this ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 With regards to Baron, he has become a contributing member to this forum, and I enjoy reading his posts, for the most part. But lately, with detail to comments made about Obama, linking him in ways similar to OJ Simpson et al are not acceptable. Race is an emotive issue, just as homosexuality and gay rights is. While we have one member saying "gays are evil", and one member deriding Obama in a disrespectful and racist manner, its hard to sanction a gag on James.We often speak of gays rights on this forum, well lets engage and discuss equal rights when it comes to posting on this forum. You're persecuting me, michelle! HELP, Civil Liberties Union!! HARRASSMENT by a European member, dabbling in internal U.S. politics!! Calling Homeland Security!! The UN!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainad Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 While I understand your point, especially regarding the harm to individuals... a balance is hard to achieve in circumstances such as this. Where does one draw the line? What becomes tolerable? What breaks the line? I tend to agree with you.I've crossed swords with James a bit myself in the past but I see him as mainly over-enthusiastic and naive with the tactlessness and casual thoughlessness of an excited youngster who doesn't always appreciate the offense he causes people with some of his views,especially the biblical ones.I don't see him as being deliberately malicious just deserving of a sharp slap and a quick put-down now and again when he gets out of hand.Actually I feel kinda sorry for him and I recognize that he does try to connect with the other posters in his own way and does try to make some serious posts eg.his posting of pictures of the proposed Olympic venues for each of the 2016 hopefuls and in his eagerness to join in the various Happy Birthday threads for instance. I feel that there are far more offensive posters on here than James and yet I'm not sure I even advocate banning them. It's a fine line to cross and I agree with Michelle that,unless a poster is clearly spamming recklessly and deliberately with undisguised malice,it is safer to refrain from outright censorship and just turn on the ignore button if you don't like his/her views.If everybody else did the same then he/she wouldn't be able to ruin the flow of a thread! Just my twopennyworth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 You're persecuting me, michelle!HELP, Civil Liberties Union!! HARRASSMENT by a European member, dabbling in internal U.S. politics!! Calling Homeland Security!! The UN!! No, just informing others that your conduct is just as disrespectful as James'. No more, no less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 If everybody else did the same then he/she wouldn't be able to ruin the flow of a thread! Yes. Apart from the annoying "ignored poster has posted a comment" or whatever it says, something like that. Would be good if the ignore feature was updated, and all visible signs of the member were removed from those that set the particular member to ignore in the first instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 No, just informing others that your conduct is just as disrespectful as James'. No more, no less. PERSECUTION!!! I don't think so. There are 2 sides to every story. I blatantly reject your charges!! I thought vets took an oath?? HELP!! HARRASSMENT!! DISCRIMINATION!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arwebb Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I feel that there are far more offensive posters on here than James and yet I'm not sure I even advocate banning them. It's a fine line to cross and I agree with Michelle that,unless a poster is clearly spamming recklessly and deliberately with undisguised malice,it is safer to refrain from outright censorship and just turn on the ignore button if you don't like his/her views.If everybody else did the same then he/she wouldn't be able to ruin the flow of a thread! While I'm inclined to agree with you, I have found that it is extremely difficult to consistently ignore certain members, particularly when they post regularly on a subject. As TNMP quite rightly said, you do run the risk of losing the context in which other people are commenting. I'm not inclined towards banning or moderating people, particularly when it seems to have happened very quickly. What happened to that lights system we used to have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 It's amazing, you know. When your back is against the wall, you attempt to insult me by using jokes. I am not laughing, and I am glad to notice, there are other members on here who see straight through you. Its a shame, you had settled down. But the old Baron has returned... Last post of the night, an unfunny and childish retort is needed, B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainad Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 PERSECUTION!!!I don't think so. There are 2 sides to every story. I blatantly reject your charges!! I thought vets took an oath?? HELP!! HARRASSMENT!! DISCRIMINATION!!! You seem a bit hyper tonight.Have u been at the sherry again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainad Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 While I'm inclined to agree with you, I have found that it is extremely difficult to consistently ignore certain members, particularly when they post regularly on a subject. As TNMP quite rightly said, you do run the risk of losing the context in which other people are commenting. Well,I must admit I've never used the ignore button so I daresay I don't know what I'm talking about but isn't it because some posters insist on replying to the troll that the flow of the thread gets interrupted.If everyone agreed to ignore it,it couldn't do that,could it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 You seem a bit hyper tonight.Have u been at the sherry again? I was all out of cough syrup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FYI Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 I'm sure james is just sitting there eating this all up. He started this thread, & that was also the last post from him here. Now, 7 pages later, everyone here has fallen for his trap. Grabbing our attention & talking about him 'til no end, which isn't warranted. We should now heed to michelle's advice & ignore him, so all of us can refrain from talking about him 7 pages later. Which is what he craves & feeds on; Attention. He's sitting in front of his computer now just eating what we're all feeding him. He's not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 I'm sure james is just sitting there eating this all up. He started this thread, & that was also the last post from him here. Now, 7 pages later, everyone here has fallen for his trap. Grabbing our attention & talking about him 'til no end, which isn't warranted. We should now heed to michelle's advice & ignore him, so all of us can refrain from talking about him 7 pages later. Which is what he craves & feeds on; Attention. He's sitting in front of his computer now just eating what we're all feeding him. He's not worth it. He may well be, but at least he'll get to know how he's thought of here. And anyway, he's entitled to ask why his posts are being reviewed, and its not a bad thing for all of us to debate the limits, or not, of free expression here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Well,I must admit I've never used the ignore button so I daresay I don't know what I'm talking about but isn't it because some posters insist on replying to the troll that the flow of the thread gets interrupted.If everyone agreed to ignore it,it couldn't do that,could it? Can you tell me if you've ever seen that work on any internet forum. I haven't. If a member trolls threads and the ignore function only leads to threads becomeing unreadable because other people reply to the troll, then there is only one course of action in my opinion. Can we combine the star rating system and the ignore function. i.e. if a member is on ignore by enough members or has only one star on their profile their account is automatically suspended or put under moderation? Of course, for the star system there'd have to be a minimum number of votes; you can't just have a member getting his first rating as one star and then getting suspended! I don't know. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBModerator Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Just a reminder - James isn't banned, his posts just need to be approved by a moderator before they appear. Since this has been put in place he hasn't even bothered posting. On another note, Zenica has a 30 day total ban and nobody seems concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCD 2012 Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Well james created a mountain out of a molehill in gamesbids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympian2004 Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Can we combine the star rating system and the ignore function. i.e. if a member is on ignore by enough members or has only one star on their profile their account is automatically suspended or put under moderation? Of course, for the star system there'd have to be a minimum number of votes; you can't just have a member getting his first rating as one star and then getting suspended! I don't know. Just a thought. That wouldn't work either. Just imagine if we had been flooded by a whole army of Chinese propagandists due to the Tibet debate and they would have given all members taking a pro-Tibet stance only one star so that those members are banned. Such a model would be open to abuse. I think the current model is very fair -- because before anything happens, the moderator can form his own opinion first about the objectionable postings reported to him. And if he decides that there are simply too many objectionable postings (either in the short or in the long run), he can put different restrictions upon the respective user. Of course, the moderator should also warn first before he bans or "censors" any user. But I suppose that GBModerator did that in James' case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympian2004 Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 On another note, Zenica has a 30 day total ban and nobody seems concerned. Oh really? Well, nobody noticed since Zenica never was constantly present in this forum. And with so many different members posting here, it's difficult anyway to think of everyone and what might have happened to her or him. But may I ask why Zenica was banned? Was it because of his permanent nonsense postings? Or did he insult anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Just a reminder - James isn't banned, his posts just need to be approved by a moderator before they appear. Since this has been put in place he hasn't even bothered posting.On another note, Zenica has a 30 day total ban and nobody seems concerned. This isn't really about James, though. It's about what we deem acceptable and the limits of free speech on this website. Your actions of yesterday have demonstrated you find James' point of views invalid and so, limit his ability to speak openly, allowing through only posts which you deem worthy. I am not privy to your actions, so was unaware of Zenica's ban. I suspect, if a better ignore facility was implemented, you'd have no need to ban anyone. Gamesbids has thrived for the last 9 or so years on being a fairly liberal forum, which you have moderated wisely. I can't say the recent actions have been wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Michelle, you're treating this like it's the real world; like it's analagous to taking away real world freedom of speech, like a civil liberties crusade. That's not how I see it at all. I see it as more analagous to a private club or a crowd at a sports event. If one member decides to stand up and shout obscenties which offend everyone else then they're thrown out of the club and rightly so. They can go and find another "club" if they want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Michelle, you're treating this like it's the real world; like it's analagous to taking away real world freedom of speech, like a civil liberties crusade. That's not how I see it at all. I see it as more analagous to a private club or a crowd at a sports event. If one member decides to stand up and shout obscenties which offend everyone else then they're thrown out of the club and rightly so. They can go and find another "club" if they want. I have seen obscenities, from forum regulars, which are not even addressed. If we are going to limit individuals for misconduct, then it should affect every single member of this website, and not only those who are chastised by the majority. We all need to watch our tongue. I would be willing to play with those rules, but would others? James isn't the issue, he has merely highlighted the hypocrisy of the 'elite members' on GB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 EDIT: If one member decides to stand up and repeatedly shout obscenties which repeatedly offend everyone else then they're thrown out of the club and rightly so; especially if they've had prior warnings. They can go and find another "club" if they want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 We both know, that forum regulars have done and continue to get away with any form of sanctions. James is being used here, which is why I am willing to suggest others need to be looked at too. Some may think some of my actions have been disrespectful. If that is the case, then I will look at my choice of words and reflect - which I have often done, and commented on. I have seen you criticize James, yet turn a blind eye to other cases of misconduct, Rob. I find that strange... as you are a member who tends to look at matters such as this with an objective eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBModerator Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Zenica was banned for the spamming of nonsense posts. Might I remind everyone that many others on this forum have been banned outright. Some have mentioned Maxui as an example and there have been others. Some members have been banned due to legal injunctions or threats of such. Despite the disclaimer of GamesBids.com, there is always a risk that readers will understand posts here to be the opinion of GamesBids.com and we are duly obligated to protect ourselves. In this case James has NOT been banned. He is free to post. No moderator has "censored" any of his posts and it's very possible that all of his posts will be summarily approved - but he has yet to make a post since this thread opened. Alternatively, he could have been banned outright. Perhaps in the future, the review restriction will be lifted and James will become a more responsible poster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 A good decision imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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