Banned from Soccer Forum-Biased Moderation

Andersonisgod

I have been banned for 1 month for accusing a poster of trolling. Was it against the charter? Sure, it probably was. Is it done on a regular basis on that forum by a multitude of posters? Absolutely. Do I believe that the timing of my yellow card, and that of other posters recently, is a coincidence? Absolutely not. What we've seen here is the Soccer forum equivalent of a Russian purge where posters have been strategically targeted by a mod team and have been conveniently removed just in time for the Euros and the Feedback Thread being opened. They needed an excuse to get rid of certain posters and they found it. What I will now show you is the PM I sent to the moderator in question, within this PM is a list of examples of similar crimes to mine, many of which have gone unpunished. This search was conducted in 25 minutes with a simple search of the term "trolling" imagine how many examples could be found with even a slightly more in depth, targeted search.

"The following list was compiled by searching the term "trolling" within the soccer forum starting with the newest additions. It took roughly 25 minutes to put together. It wasn't that difficult, I didn't even bother searching terms like "baiting" or going through threads where I know I would have found examples of the same thing that I was banned for. Instead I searched "trolling" and scrolled through 8 pages worth. It was an extremely limited search compared to all of the examples you could find out there and yet the list I got back (from 8 pages!) is pretty significant.

Donnielighto not only accuses one poster of trolling, but accuses an entire section of fans of trolling. No card.
“A few gob****es on either side elicit responses and then people paint the other other group as a whole based on that. If there was more interaction between both camps in general threads and the mods actually banned trolls it'd ease up.”

Applehunter: “This is longform trolling.” – No card.

Laois_Man: “Ignore him - he's a troll!”- That seems a bit more blatant than what I got banned for….No card.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock: “Add your insensitive trolling rant here.” – Hmmm…No card.

Augeo: “Don't feed the troll came to mind when I read that chaps” – Does it get more blatant than that…..No card though…..

Here’s Oat23 with a belter: “Why are you letting yourself get wound up by a troll?” He accuses Andersonisgod of being a troll, not even accusing him of baiting but outright calls Andersonsigod a troll and he gets no card? He gets no warning? Where is the justice? Where is the consistency? How can this man call Andersonisgod a troll and not get a card yet you book Andersonisgod?

TaytoLover: “Go and troll somewhere else.” – Was he carded for this? Absolutely not.

Headshot: “lads why are you feeding him ffs” –Accuses poster of trolling….nothing.

P4DDY2K11: “Stop feeding the troll lads”- Strange how he can call people “trolls” and not be booked.

Peteed: “Troll”- Simple, blunt and to the point. No card.

Lassykk: “There has been a serious amount of what I always hope is trolling and not just delusion/fanboyism in this thread” – This seems eerily similar to what I was banned for. No card and Soccer mod SlickRic even gave it a thanks for good measure.

Yabadabado: “Just read through 4 pages of mostly tripe.One poster in particular is a semi retarded troll. Happy xmas everyone” – I was banned and this didn’t get a card. Let that sink in for a moment.

Marty McFly: “Either you're a bit thick or trying to troll either way it's not working for you.”

All of those examples from such a limited search and not a single card. Not one. I mean, there are enough mods on this board to perform a simple search like that one no? So I'm going to be very clear on what I believe has happened here and then I'm going to be clear on what will happen after this.
It is my absolute 100% belief that this ban is quite strategic. Not only is my ban strategic but Aatonaidan's 3 month ban is also strategic too. I've been on enough football forums to know how they work and passing this off as a coincidence simply doesn't cut it. This close to the Euros you are looking to briefly get rid of me so as to make your lives easier and to do that you needed to cobble together some kind of excuse. My list proves that you don't care or properly enforce the very thing you are banning me for. You just need an excuse. It's cowardly and obvious. While you may be happy to have Andersonisgod for 11 months of the year, you don't want him for this 1 particular month so you've taken action.

So let me be clear, either my wrongful ban is rescinded or I will not post on this Soccer forum again. No more posts, no re-regs, no anything, I'll simply post on another forum during the Euros and continue to post there afterwards. They'll say "he'll be back" but I won't be, I've done this before and I've never gone back. My ban is not only entirely inconsistent with how you actively moderate the forum, it is a blatant and cheap way of getting me off the forum for a month, it's a case of having your cake and eating it but no, I won't stand for that and while I'm willing to bring this to the next stage, I won't a play-toy for Boards.ie that it can knock about when it sees fit."



I want to state that the last part is not a threat. I had been previously banned from the forum for a reason which I could see and accept, I didn't fight it, I didn't make any threads to argue it. However this banning is nothing short of disgraceful, nothing more than a mere excuse to get rid of me for a month from a mod team whose rank are increasingly filled with posters who have shown me nothing but disdain in the past. Their decision is biased, it is premeditated and it is cowardly. I have absolutely no desire to make use of a service where decisions like this yellow card are upheld for a crime committed every single day across the forum, it is a glaring example of singling a poster out. As such, I will reiterate that if the decision is not overturned I will be leaving Boards.ie because I absolutely will not be treated differently from every other poster. That is not a threat, that is simply an implication of what I would regard as inconsistent, biased and blatantly calculated moderation to remove a poster at a time when he may be an inconvenience to them.

I have discussed the matter with the moderator in question already.

Andersonisgod

Everybody else on here has gotten a reply fairly sharpish. It's been a full day and still no reply for Andersonisgod.

GavRedKing

Being a Soccer Mod and Sports Cmod I can't, due to fairness and biased get involved but as Beasty has 2 other Soccer DRPs to get through at the moment but he or another Sports Cmod will get to your one in due course.

Also, as you've posted a mountain of text, it will take a little longer to dig through.

Andersonisgod

GavRedKing wrote: »

Being a Soccer Mod and Sports Cmod I can't, due to fairness and biased get involved but as Beasty has 2 other Soccer DRPs to get through at the moment but he or another Sports Cmod will get to your one in due course.

Also, as you've posted a mountain of text, it will take a little longer to dig through.

That's fair enough and while I accept that my case is slightly more complex than the other couple of disputes recently brought to this forum it still seems to be taking quite some time.

Beasty

Andersonisgod wrote: »

That's fair enough and while I accept that my case is slightly more complex than the other couple of disputes recently brought to this forum it still seems to be taking quite some time.

Seriously? I've just been for some treatment for a long standing injury. I was racing (my bike) last night. I am due to be racing again tonight. I have a full time job and am already dealing with a number of other disputes. I have not even started to look at yours and will not provide a response to your appeal until I have thoroughly reviewed the position.

Andersonisgod

Beasty wrote: »

Seriously? I've just been for some treatment for a long standing injury. I was racing (my bike) last night. I am due to be racing again tonight. I have a full time job and am already dealing with a number of other disputes. I have not even started to look at yours and will not provide a response to your appeal until I have thoroughly reviewed the position.

As someone who recently suffered a broken ankle I appreciate that your physical well-being and full recovery come before the needs of this website. However, you must also see it from my point of view, I am unaware of your personal situation, from my perspective all I can see is 2 posters who have been given swift responses while my post has been left hanging so it is only natural that I felt somewhat aggrieved. You must also take into account that, along with Twitter, this has been the website which I have been most active on for quite a few years now so to be banned for something which, in my opinion, is absolutely wrong given the everyday circumstances and situation of the board in question on a daily basis, I would like to be given a clear answer on my future participation on this website as quickly as possible.

Beasty

So despite me pointing out I do have a life outside of Boards you are demanding my attention less than 20 hours after you started this appeal

The other posters started their threads some time before yours and I have continued to deal with those

You have provided a wall of text that will take some time to address in full

If you want a quick response though, I may be able to provide one without any further research on my part, other than looking at your OP and the PM exchange with the mod who issued the card. Could you please forward that exchange.

Andersonisgod

Beasty wrote: »

So despite me pointing out I do have a life outside of Boards you are demanding my attention less than 20 hours after you started this appeal

The other posters started their threads some time before yours and I have continued to deal with those

You have provided a wall of text that will take some time to address in full

If you want a quick response though, I may be able to provide one without any further research on my part, other than looking at your OP and the PM exchange with the mod who issued the card. Could you please forward that exchange.

What's with the aggressive tone? Certainly doesn't fit the tone of the comment you were responding to. Have you ever considered that it's this kind of militant, argumentative style of moderation is the very reason why the reputation of the mods on this forum is so negative.

I don't remember demanding anything, I simply asked why 2 other posters were given such quick responses and I wasn't. You explained your reasoning, I, like a normal human being, empthatised with your situation and gave you my perspective in quite a gentle way and yet you respond as thought I've gravely insulted your nearest and dearest family members.

I don't mind, personally I'd prefer it to be investigated in full because I believe if you, or I, were to do so, we would come across numerous examples of the very weak crime that I'm being punished for going unpunished on almost a daily basis. I think a further, deeper investigation might also uncover a core group of moderators who desperately want me removed permanently from the forum and who will find any excuse to do just that. I think an even more in depth investigation will also find that the timing of this ban is so blatantly premeditated that I would be casting a very critical eye towards certain moderators.

Beasty

Andersonisgod wrote: »

"The following list was compiled by searching the term "trolling" within the soccer forum starting with the newest additions. It took roughly 25 minutes to put together. It wasn't that difficult, I didn't even bother searching terms like "baiting" or going through threads where I know I would have found examples of the same thing that I was banned for. Instead I searched "trolling" and scrolled through 8 pages worth. It was an extremely limited search compared to all of the examples you could find out there and yet the list I got back (from 8 pages!) is pretty significant.

Donnielighto not only accuses one poster of trolling, but accuses an entire section of fans of trolling. No card.
“A few gob****es on either side elicit responses and then people paint the other other group as a whole based on that. If there was more interaction between both camps in general threads and the mods actually banned trolls it'd ease up.”

Applehunter: “This is longform trolling.” – No card.

Laois_Man: “Ignore him - he's a troll!”- That seems a bit more blatant than what I got banned for….No card.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock: “Add your insensitive trolling rant here.” – Hmmm…No card.

Augeo: “Don't feed the troll came to mind when I read that chaps” – Does it get more blatant than that…..No card though…..

Here’s Oat23 with a belter: “Why are you letting yourself get wound up by a troll?” He accuses Andersonisgod of being a troll, not even accusing him of baiting but outright calls Andersonsigod a troll and he gets no card? He gets no warning? Where is the justice? Where is the consistency? How can this man call Andersonisgod a troll and not get a card yet you book Andersonisgod?

TaytoLover: “Go and troll somewhere else.” – Was he carded for this? Absolutely not.

Headshot: “lads why are you feeding him ffs” –Accuses poster of trolling….nothing.

P4DDY2K11: “Stop feeding the troll lads”- Strange how he can call people “trolls” and not be booked.

Peteed: “Troll”- Simple, blunt and to the point. No card.

Lassykk: “There has been a serious amount of what I always hope is trolling and not just delusion/fanboyism in this thread” – This seems eerily similar to what I was banned for. No card and Soccer mod SlickRic even gave it a thanks for good measure.

Yabadabado: “Just read through 4 pages of mostly tripe.One poster in particular is a semi retarded troll. Happy xmas everyone” – I was banned and this didn’t get a card. Let that sink in for a moment.

Marty McFly: “Either you're a bit thick or trying to troll either way it's not working for you.”

The Soccer forum can be very fast moving and Mods tend to work on reported posts, so as a starting point could you please confirm whether you reported any of the above?

And to be clear, yes your post was reported (by a non-mod) prior to the mod auctioning it

Andersonisgod

Beasty wrote: »

The Soccer forum can be very fast moving and Mods tend to work on reported posts, so as a starting point could you please confirm whether you reported any of the above?

And to be clear, yes your post was reported (by a non-mod) prior to the mod auctioning it

There's 13 of them! Are you telling me that I, in 25 minutes searching a single term for 8 pages, got through more work than 13 mods whose role is to actually do that stuff? I'd say that's a clear issue with moderation standards if you are relying on me to report posts. And of course i didn't report the posts because I have no issue with them within the context of the forum because posts like that are so common they are part of the fabric of the forum. They happen so often that they're just accepted so of course I didn't report posts that were entirely commonplace in the overall scheme of the soccer forum.

I'm not surprised by that, chances are at least half of my posts are reported by a dedicated group of posters who follow me from thread to thread. However to be banned for something so innocuous and so common is ridiculous. As I said, my last ban I could see the reasoning behind it but this is not only something so silly and frivolous that it would drive me to leave the forum out of frustration but that is only exacerbated by the fact that the timing of this ban could not be more premeditated and this the superficial excuse to get rid if me for the Euros and during the feedback thread.

Beasty

The mod has already told you that 4 of those posts were actioned and any others that may have warranted action were not reported.

You acknowledge in the first sentence of your appeal your post "probably" was against the Charter.

I've looked at a number of other posts of yours in that thread that were not actioned but were trolling or accusing others of doing so.

In your previous appeal I suggested you reconsider your posting style, but you do not appear to have heeded that suggestion. You fully understand that your posting winds others up and seem to go out of your way to push the boundaries.

The yellow card was definitely warranted. The only question in my mind at present is whether to upgrade your ban. Are you going to adapt your posting style? Are you going to stop accusing others of trolling (backseat modding)? Are you going to follow the Charter?

Andersonisgod

Beasty wrote: »

The mod has already told you that 4 of those posts were actioned and any others that may have warranted action were not reported.

You acknowledge in the first sentence of your appeal your post "probably" was against the Charter.

I've looked at a number of other posts of yours in that thread that were not actioned but were trolling or accusing others of doing so.

In your previous appeal I suggested you reconsider your posting style, but you do not appear to have heeded that suggestion. You fully understand that your posting winds others up and seem to go out of your way to push the boundaries.

The yellow card was definitely warranted. The only question in my mind at present is whether to upgrade your ban. Are you going to adapt your posting style? Are you going to stop accusing others of trolling (backseat modding)? Are you going to follow the Charter?

You don't seem to understand. The vast majority of these types of posts go unreported, likely because (A) they are so commonplace that nobody realises it is against the charter and (B) the rule is so petty that you couldn't help but feel ridiculous reporting such a thing if you are over the age of 9. If the website wishes to enforce such a rule then it should rely on its mod team to find the many examples of it because what you have right now is an entirely inconsistent system wherein some posters are punished and some are not for the exact same crime. You have 13 soccer mods, I had 25 minutes and a single word to search with, can you see some discrepancies in the results here?

Yes, though it's such a silly rule that it's almost impossible to imagine too many other forums enforcing it. I also acknowledged that the situation on the forum is that the very thing I was banned for is so commonplace as to be accepted, but you've conveniently left that bit out.

Please highlight the parts that you thought were trolling because I feel confident I could absolutely stand behind each post I made in that thread and, ironically, you've just done the exact thing I'm being banned for! (wrongly) accusing me of trolling. I don't accept your claim and I don't accept your character representation of me, so show me these posts and I will back them up.

And what don't you like about me stylistically? How should I alter my style? What part of it do you particularly not enjoy? Because the more you (and some of your soccer mods) engage me in conversation, the more I get a hostile vibe from you and the more I feel like you want any excuse to ban me permanently.

Here's the thing, most of your soccer moderators, I don't respect, there's probably only 1 or 2 that I do. What you and you're moderators are doing right now, I find it cowardly and pathetic. Instead of asking me questions which you already know the answers to, why don't you answer the questions which I asked you, tell me this wasn't premeditated. Tell me the timing of this isn't a coincidence. Tell me that there isn't a group of soccer moderators who want any excuse to get me off the forum. You give me some real answers and I'll give you some real answers. Thing is though, I know you won't, I just want to showcase the hypocrisy and and bias of you and your soccer moderators. For all I care you can increase my ban all you want, I'm not bluffing when I tell you I won't be staying on this forum. I've always kept the phrase "not everything you read is true" at the forefront of my mind, but what others say about the ridiculous, police-state style moderation of Boards could not be more accurate and, personally, I've had my fill of moderators who are so lacking in people skills and empathy and who are so drunk on power, arrogant and biased that they can not seen, nor do they care that they are the very reason that this forum is in terminal decline. I've joined and left football forums before, I'll do so again, it's no skin off my teeth but maybe you and your soccer mods will eventually come together and discuss between yourselves why posts, poster numbers and general interest (because, let's face it, I'm one of the very few things on the Board that isn't a Man Utd vs Liverpool debate) on your board are so low and, maybe then you'll realise that your suffocating and pedantic style of moderation is the reason why posters like me no longer post here.

Beasty

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Yes, though it's such a silly rule that it's almost impossible to imagine too many other forums enforcing it. I also acknowledged that the situation on the forum is that the very thing I was banned for is so commonplace as to be accepted, but you've conveniently left that bit out.

Backseat modding, and specifically accusing specific posters of trolling, is going to result in action in pretty much any forum I look at

Anyway, you continue to engage in a way to try and move away from the real issue here, which is you and your posting style (which is apparent from this thread also). I'm finished with my review. Yellow card for backseat modding is upheld. Resultant ban stands. I would add that if you fail to adapt your posting style and continue to push the boundaries and wind posters up with it, or continue to backseat mod, I will support a decision of the local mods to permanently ban you from the forum should they take such a decision.

Andersonisgod

Beasty wrote: »

Backseat modding, and specifically accusing specific posters of trolling, is going to result in action in pretty much any forum I look at

Anyway, you continue to engage in a way to try and move away from the real issue here, which is you and your posting style (which is apparent from this thread also). I'm finished with my review. Yellow card for backseat modding is upheld. Resultant ban stands. I would add that if you fail to adapt your posting style and continue to push the boundaries and wind posters up with it, or continue to backseat mod, I will support a decision of the local mods to permanently ban you from the forum should they take such a decision.

Actually I think you're wrong there, my style wasn't an issue highlighted by the soccer mod, I think that's your own personal prejudices getting in the way of your moderating.

No, I've brought up some very real issues that, if I were a CMod of a forum that's losing members, I'd take seriously and investigate, you are the one who has suddenly started yammering on about nonsense things like "style." If anything, I'm doing you a favour by highlighting the issues and biases within your moderating team.

I don't think you realise that I am basically permanently banning myself. I'm sick to death of the moderation on here, I'm tired of some of the posters who relentlessly troll but get away with it because it's at my expense(see, I did the same thing here that you did in your last comment, aren't I clever). I'm done dealing with an appeal process that is so ridiculously weighted in favour of the mods that it's nothing more than a kangaroo court, well wrap my wrists in twigs and throw me in the bamboo cage because I just can't take it, or you, very seriously when your sheer hatred of me oozes from your comments. There is no fair trial here, there is no consistent moderation throughout your forum, there is no justice here.

So, because I'm a "stylish" poster, I'm going to sign off in "style." I am Andersonisgod, I hope you've all enjoyed the wonderful show.

Beasty

You were carded for accusing another poster of trolling. My wider comments were based on other posts I have noted and indeed your previous appeal. They were an attempt to get you to see the issues you cause in the forum. However based on your comments I presume this appeal can now be marked as resolved.

BuffyBot

Resolved