Banned from politics cafe

michael999999

Why have I been banned from the Cafe for using the term Government stooges?

Yet the term shinnerbots is thrown around with no sanction?

Tokyo

Good afternoon michael999999,

can you confirm that you have followed the procedure outlined in the above diagram, and attempted to resolve this with the moderator who issued the ban?

Regards,
Mike

michael999999

mike_ie wrote: »

Good afternoon michael999999,

can you confirm that you have followed the procedure outlined in the above diagram, and attempted to resolve this with the moderator who issued the ban?

Regards,
Mike

Yes. I was told to come here. Its since been upgraded to a full politics forum ban.

Tokyo

Thanks michael,

if you could forward on the PM exchange in question, I would appreciate it. I'll look into this immediately, however please allow some time for me to get in touch with the various parties involved, given that it's the weekend.

Regards,
Mike

Tokyo

Hi michael,

apologies for the slight delay in geting back to you, but I wanted to take the time to read over your posts and get a sense of your posting style and what exactly led up to this ban.

I'm goint to be blunt here - I can see where the moderators are coming from. At first I was somewhat surprised at the immediate jump to a permanent ban from Politics, but reading through your posts, I'm finding a distinct pattern of disruptive and unpleasant posts, which include, but are by no means limited to: backhanded attacks on other posters' opinions, digs at forum policy with no constructive input as to how it might improve, and digs at moderators and moderation in general, should they have the audacity to call you out on the nature of your posts. That's not in the spirit of the forum, and certainly not in the spirit of any form of discussion that I am aware of.

To be clear, you weren't banned from Politics for use of the term "Government stooges" on one occasion - the exact reason given by the moderator who issued the ban was "Ignored numerous warnings and the PM sent to help you", and your latest post was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. Your history in Politics is unenviable but not overly remarkable - three warnings and three infractions. However, I'm seeing a considerable amount of moderator time invested in either trying to set you on the right path, or putting out the fires that you are so busy fanning with your remarks.

As a result of these constant remarks, on 01-03-2015, one of the CMods tried to engage with you with respect to improving your standard of posting in Politics Café, to which your response was to stick to your guns rather than reconsider your behaviour.

A week and a half later, on 12-03-2015, one of the forum moderators again tried to engage with you via PM in reference to you referring to moderators as being "government stooges", and her PM was crystal clear:

Your PM reference to mods being "government stooges" was grossly inappropriate, and if this or similar comments occur by PM in the future appropriate action may be taken up to a possible permanent ban from not only Politics Cafe, but all 8 Politics forums.

You are walking on very thin ice here. Your boards record of 21 warnings, 8 infractions, 4 forum bans, and 1 site ban demonstrates that your posting has been all too often inappropriate. My strong recommendation is that from now on you act civil in both posts and PMs that pertain to all of the 8 Politics forums.

Most posters would take that recommendation to heart, yet your interraction with the moderator in question left a lot to be desired, and just one day later you received a warning in the Politics Café for the following post:

If you mention "government stooges" though, you'll be getting warning PMs from Mods!

And again yesterday, in the midst of a tit-for-tat that you were a part of, which the mods had to delete just to get the thread back on track, you posted:

Add to that endas refusal to answer any questions, re he's sacking of the Garda commisioner.

But the government stooges won't see that!

...in reference to those who disagreed with your point of view.


A couple of things are very clear from this DRP. The first is that you don't respect the forum, you don't respect the moderators, and you don't respect posters whose opinions don't align with your own. The second is that I see a mod team who have given you a world of latitude in which to change your posting style, all of which you have blissfully shrugged off. In short, you have been a major timesink for the moderators here, and as such I'm not inclined to let that continue.

I am genuinely on the fence as to whether to uphold your permanent ban or not. The moderators were correct to issue it, and I can't see any reason to lift it, yet I'm always hopeful for improvement. With that in mind, I have spoken to the moderator team and the site admin, and have proposed the following.

I am upholding your ban for one month - you will be able to read the politics forum if you log out, but not post, and I seriously suggest that you use that time to reassess how you want to interract in the Politics Café. Upon your return, you will be able to contribute to the Politics Café on a probationary period, and hopefully you will have learned to contribute more constructively. If not, and you continue to be a disruptive influence there, then your next ban will be permanent.

Let me know if you are amenable to this. As always, if you disagree with this assessment of the situation, then you may appeal it with an admin.

Regards,
Mike

michael999999

Firstly thanks for your time.

2 points.

1) Where did I call a mod a government stooge?

I've asked the Cmod who accused me of it, to show me where. But there has been no reply. Could you clarify for me please?

And why is using the term government stooges getting me infractions, but calling someone a shinnerbots okay?

2) Is the content of my posting really any worse than some of the pro government posters in the thread?

It seems to me all the infractions and warnings are coming down on the posters on one side of the argument.

Tokyo

Hi Michael,

I've taken a look at the PM exchange between you and the moderator in question, in particular these two PMs:

michael999999 wrote:

IW: government stooges in here

Let me guess who reported the post?

Would it have been <poster #1>, <poster #2>, <poster #3> and the rest of the pro Irish water thanks whores who have a little p.m. club set up to report any post they don't like.

and:

michael999999 wrote:

IW: government stooges in here

the modding in politics is gone beyond a joke. If ye can't mod both sides equally, maybe ye shouldn't mod them anymore.

In the words of the moderator who received them, and subsequently replied to you, "the spirit and intent of the "government stooges in here" title in michael999999's PMs were obvious, especially with the inappropriate comment about moderation in one of them", and having read the PMs', I would agree with this sentiment. The first PM was a dig at the posters who you thought reported your posts, the second a dig at the moderators who you felt weren't moderating to your standards. Either way, it's just one piece of a bigger picture that brought us to this ban.

Your second point won't be addressed here - that is not the purpose of DRP. You were infracted solely for your actions as a poster and your demeanour in the forum, not as a measure of how you hold up against other particular posters. If you felt that other members posts were an issue, you were free to report them.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, if you are satisfied with my assessment of the situation, let me know and we can move forward towards resolution. If not, then you can request an admin review. Please let me know either way.

Regards,
Mike

michael999999

Sorry. I think there has been a mix up here. I sent the pms via mobile. The PM was titled re: the government stooges in here.

As a reference to the posts I was infracted for in the thread. It wasn't meant as a description of the mod I pmd.

Tokyo

Hi michael,

the PMs I'm looking at are titled "IW: government stooges in here", sent from your account.

PM title aside, the content of said PMs' stand testament to your general attitude towards moderators and posters in the Politics Café - no acceptance of your part in any of the issues which have arisen, but rather scorn towards posters who have reported your posts, and animosity towards the moderators who have brought your posts to your attention, and I suspect that this DRP is beginning to head in the same direction.

To summarise:

• You have a history of caustic and disruptive posts in Politics. This has earned you several moderator actions and a multitude of in-thread warnings.
• A category mod tried to engage you via PM in an attempt to get you to improve your standard of posting. Their recommendations were ignored.
• A forum moderator tried to engage you via PM and issued a "strong recommendation is that from now on you act civil in both posts and PMs that pertain to all of the 8 Politics forums." Based on your subsequent actions, their recommendations were also ignored.
• The very next day you posted in the forum that "if you mention "government stooges" though, you'll be getting warning PMs from Mods!" as a dig at the moderator team and their request not to use that term in reference to mods or posters. This was actioned.
• Yesterday you engaged in a tit-for-tat that where you yet again used the term 'government stooges in reference to those who disagreed with your point of view.
• The moderator team has grown tired of the enormous drain on their resources your participation in the forum seems to be, and after exhibiting the patience of Job with respect to trying to point you in the right direction, they've decided that enough is enough.
• Your argument is not that you think you weren't in the wrong, but that you feel victimised based on the side of the argument you fall on.

My assessment of the situation as posted above stands. You may accept this, or you may request an admin review.

Regards,
Mike

michael999999

Okay. That's fine.

Tokyo

Ok michael,

I'll move forward with resolving this DRP, though to be honest, with no sense of you seeing any wrongdoing on your part, I still have concerns. That being said however, I'll reduce your ban to one month as offered, and will ask admin to place a probation period on your account.

Just so we are crystal clear though, this is a one-time offer, and one I do hope you take seriously. To date, you have been a serious timesink to the moderators of the Politics forum, and any further drain on their resources, and your next ban from there will be permanent.

Regards,
Mike