Banned for ....I'm not sure exactly

Merk35

Just joined. Got into a political debate, a couple of light-hearted digs by both sides. No one was hurt, no one was complaining, it's a Sat night, everyone's had some wine.

In comes Scofflaw with a week's ban. Apart from a ban being unjustified in my view, a week is a travesty.

Additionally, I didn't get a chance to see my warning notifications. Two came in one after another and the ban quickly followed.

Spoke to Scofflaw and I get the feeling he sort of realises he's gone a bit OTT, but doesn't want to back down and look like he got it wrong.

The ban was so unexpected, I suspected perhaps political bias was at play.

It's a pity as I had just typed out a long reply to someone and was getting the topic back on track.

Scofflaw

Just to add that the poster has contacted me by PM, and that I don't feel the ban is OTT by any means.

moderately,
Scofflaw

Merk35

Hopefully someone will look into this before the week is up, otherwise this resolution forum would pretty much not be fit for purpose.

I just want to make sure that Scofflaw doesn't edit any of my posts or PM's to try and incriminate me, as it's the only way I can see him winning this case.

So I'd like to be asked first if I typed whatever it is he thought merited a week's ban.

I believe this ban to be based on emotion by Scofflaw who didn't agree with my politics and abused his power. Had I posted the exact same thing but within a political view that he agreed with, I can categorically say with 100% conviction that I would not have been banned.

Justice needs to be done, and I need to be unbanned.

Cheers.

Dades

Hi Merk35,

That's a long list of demands you've got. Fortunately, your concern over the response time to this thread won't prove to be a problem.

You were indeed given a yellow card, and a red card in quick succession (15 minutes apart). The post that earned you a ban was nearly three hours later. Given you were clearly following the discussion there's no excuse for not being aware that you had already been called out twice (by a different moderator, I might add) before you posted your final post.

That post, coupled with your previous warnings, most certainly deserved a ban. The last part of it particularly, being inflammatory, and a departure from the "light-hearted digs" you refer to as ongoing in the thread.

Merk35 wrote: »

I was also going to mention the unfortunate history [the Irish] and the Islamic culture have for indulging with kid-fiddling - thereby cementing your common interests even further, but I've been told by my handlers in Tel-Aviv that I've to stick to the main points about palestinians and not go off topic.

The fact is the Politics forum attempts to maintain a certain quality of debate - as outlined very clearly in the charter - and it's obvious that you were ignoring this.

There is no agenda. You overstepped the mark. Your final comment, coupled with previous warnings would have seen anyone take a week's holiday. I'm satisfied the ban was warranted.

If you want to appeal this further, you may request here that an Admin examine your complaint.

Merk35

Hi.

Well, the problem with the notifications was that I have script protection integrated into my browser to protect against viruses on websites/script pop ups etc.

I noticed something was a bit funny in that I kept getting <*br />
appearing in my posts. I enabled scripts for boards.ie but it remained the same - so just got on with it.

When I got banned, I re-checked the script blocker and noticed a second option to allow an additional script. Only then did that red notification of messages appear in the top right. So I didn't know about the warning.

As for the post. I don't think it's that bad. First of all, it's based on some sort of reality (as difficult as that might be to take) secondly, by the tone of it - you can tell there's a bit of humour involved.
Of course I was responding to rather more unpleasant posts alleging that I was a paid Jew because I was posting in support of Israel. (they weren't banned, of course)

I think given all of that and the fact it was late on a Sat night after a couple of drinks and I'm new to the forum - that there are enough mitigating circumstances to overturn the ban.

It's with that in mind that I wish to take this further if you won't reverse the injustice yourself.

Cheers.

Zaph

Merk35 wrote: »

Well, the problem with the notifications was that I have script protection integrated into my browser to protect against viruses on websites/script pop ups etc.

I noticed something was a bit funny in that I kept getting <*br />
appearing in my posts. I enabled scripts for boards.ie but it remained the same - so just got on with it.

When I got banned, I re-checked the script blocker and noticed a second option to allow an additional script. Only then did that red notification of messages appear in the top right. So I didn't know about the warning.

I'm sorry, but that's not our problem, it's yours, as ignorance is not a defence. Warnings were posted, whether you saw them or not, or the reason you didn't see them is beyond our control. When a mod posts warnings all they can do is assume that they've been seen and take action where they've been ignored. If this wasn't the case all people would have to do is say "I didn't see the warning" and we'd never be able to maintain any semblance of order on the site.

Merk35 wrote: »

As for the post. I don't think it's that bad. First of all, it's based on some sort of reality (as difficult as that might be to take) secondly, by the tone of it - you can tell there's a bit of humour involved.
Of course I was responding to rather more unpleasant posts alleging that I was a paid Jew because I was posting in support of Israel. (they weren't banned, of course)

Whether or not you think it's not that bad isn't really this issue. You're new here and are clearly still getting the lay of the land, so when a experienced mods who have been around a lot longer than you feel it necessary to warn, infract and ban you in quick succession it's clear that there's an issue. As for the alleged "humour", please forgive me if I fail to find anything humorous in remarks about "kid fiddling".

Merk35 wrote: »

I think given all of that and the fact it was late on a Sat night after a couple of drinks and I'm new to the forum - that there are enough mitigating circumstances to overturn the ban.

These aren't mitigating circumstances. If you can't trust yourself to post within the rules of the site after a few drinks, then I suggest you keep away from your keyboard until your head is a little clearer.

Merk35 wrote: »

It's with that in mind that I wish to take this further if you won't reverse the injustice yourself.

I see no reason to overturn the mod's decision. Ban upheld.