How NOT to get Banned from DU (A TYJ PSA)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

It's happened to me.

I'm here today at DU and glad I am.

On to the topic:

Several here (myself included) are opinionated. I think this is a good thing. Sometimes, we might over react?

If someone types something you read as stupid, hateful and even degrading to your sensitivities, DO NOT questions the poster's parentage, his/her rank on the evolutionary scale, or compare them to an ear slug. You can do one of two things. Tell them you disagree and tell them why in civil terms or ignore them. If you think it's really important you can click the alert button in addition to either of the above.

If you have just posted the most brilliant essay or witty comment seen by mankind in the last several Millennia and others don't agree and lock your thread, console yourself that the flash of brilliance is beyond the scope of mere mortal man and you should be gregarious and not force them to understand your wit and wisdom because it is obviously the purview of the Gods. Let it go. If you really think that mankind hinges on your post being seen and celebrated, you can contact the administrators.

If none of the above works out for you and you publicly challenge or repeatedly spam the board, you will get a warning. Take it, it's a favor. Then, STEP AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD! Take some time to chill. Read a book... Dale Carnegie? Watch a movie... Walk the dog or build a 35 foot Sloop in your basement. I promise, in a couple of days, you will feel better and the matter will seem a lot less important.

If you do get tombstoned, and you feel it was wrong, take a little time off and state your reasons to the admins. They may or may not accept your apologies or reasons, but you can at least clear the air on a personal level. Whatever you do, be civil.

As to PWI's (Posting While Intoxicated), I hear they're working on a keyboard that has a breathalyzer that will not let you type stupid or insulting things when your BAC is above a certain level. Until then, be careful!

Oh, yeah. You can always read the rules, too.

[The Magistrate]

1. Good Advice, Mr. Joad

[Name removed]

12. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

17. Thank you, kind sir.

:toast:

[Heidi]

2. Thank you, Tom Yossarian Joad.

Nice to see you today! :hi:

(Edited to add an s and remove an r.)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

18. And nice to see you as well as to be seen!

:hi:

[cboy4]

3. Do you know what the legal limit is for posting at DU?

Is it less than the .08 driving limit here in California?

[Olney Blue]

4. Good post. I enjoy reading spirited debates among the many

smart people here on DU- but the personal attacks are so unproductive!

[Annces]

5. I once tried posting even after just 1 glass of wine

It was like standing up in a boat on a river, extremely precarious. And yet I can discuss things fine verbally while having a glass of wine or beer, (or maybe I just think I can).

[azurnoir]

6. Step away from the keyboard

but don't leave the post, if your not the only one using the computer, lest someone does you a favor. You could wind up "discussing" the post with an administrator for the next 10 hours.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MercutioATC]

8. Shut up, ya ear slug...

;)

Eeby Geeby Gooby.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

10. LOL... Dear god, I'm never going to live that one down...

A good example of PWI.

[WilliamPitt]

9. Fuck you

:P

[lonestarnot]

11. Gasp!

You didn't say that! :hi:

[BooScout]

15. Gotta do better than that Will....

The smiley face gave ya away.:P

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

19. And the horse you rode in on!

:toast:

[msmcghee]

13. Thanks for posting something . .

. . we agree on for once!

Keep up the great dialogue. I may disagree with you alot - but I greatly enjoy the quality of the discourse, even if you're usually wrong.

:headbang:

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

29. LOL! My pleasure!

Ditto!

:toast:

[Hardrada]

14. God save the Tsar!

[TrogL]

16. gregarious?

Perhaps you meant "gracious"?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

22. My dear TrogL....

Main Entry: gre·gar·i·ous
Pronunciation: gri-'ger-E-&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin gregarius of a flock or herd, from greg-, grex flock, herd
1 a : tending to associate with others of one's kind : SOCIAL b : marked by or indicating a liking for companionship : SOCIABLE c : of or relating to a social group

Gracious would have worked, but gregarious has more syllables!

:toast:

[patdem]

20. I too was tombstoned in the early days.

When one of the great writers of today was a regular poster and still a teacher. Right after the 2000 debacle, in 2001, close to the early days of DU...I thought (believed) DU was really a repuglikin diversion because everytime bush's name was mentioned it was not preceeded with 'fuckin'. I was a terror and accused everyone of being a stooge for the repuglikin party.

Needless to say, I never read any rules. I spent the next oh, six months looking for a site that was HALF as informative and interesting as DU with no luck..of course!

I moved got a new phone number etc and signed back in. The FIRST thing I did was READ the RULES.

I too am saddened by OSV tombstoning, I am not privy to what was written but I know it was discussed between the moderators and not a knee jerk reaction.

[tomp]

34. who is osv? nt

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

48. I tried to get this up before it happened in hopes that it might help...

Saw it coming.

[Generic Other]

21. Do long time DUers get warnings before outright banning?

I am sick about all the people who have been banned this week.

I am feeling very discouraged about it.

[Olney Blue]

24. I think that is a good idea- a warning first. Then, the person (lets say

someone with a previously good track record of 1000+ posts for example) has the option to try again or just stop posting voluntarily.

[Kingofalldems]

25. Who got banned this week?

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Generic Other]

28. Way too many friends

Ben Burch and Distressed American are the ones I know of.

[Kingofalldems]

31. Real sorry about DA

He welcomed me to DU and complimented me on my name.

[Dinger]

33. Really? Wow!

I must have missed it. Sorry to hear that.

[BooScout]

36. What did they say?

Why have I missed all this?

[EFerrari]

41. Let's no get Tom's nice thread locked by rehashing this here.

:hi:

[BooScout]

49. But if I don't know what they said///

How can I avoid saying the same thing......and this whole thread is about people being banned so it sort of really is what the topic is all about isn't it?

[EFerrari]

52. Well, imho, the thread is about being thoughtful when we post.

It is helpful to know when we've made a mistake, what that mistake is, isn't it? What is obvious to you, may not be obvious to me.

[BooScout]

57. The title is 'how not to get banned'

I was thoughtful when I posted. I didn't call anyone stupid or a yahoo. I simply asked why they were banned. I didn't know it was a rule we couldn't ask a simple question.

[EFerrari]

59. DU rules are posted on the rules page. I sure would hate to

misinform you by interpreting them.

:)

[BooScout]

63. Please enlighten me as to what rule I have broken? n/t

[EFerrari]

66. I think we're miscommunicating. I only meant, if you were

worried about knowing the rules, they are posted. So, no need to worry.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html

[Gormy Cuss]

73. You can avoid it just as TYJ said - read the rules and stick with them.

It's not that hard.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

54. Thank you.

Too right! :hi:

[EFerrari]

55. Hey, Tom. let's have a poetry jam soon.

:hi:

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

62. LOL! We had duelling poets going last night!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1890645

Got my ass kicked!

:hi:

[bananas]

43. Ben Burch?

That surprises me - I wonder what happened?

[stepnw1f]

81. This Pisses Me Off

Were they baited and if so, were those doing the baiting banned as well?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

26. It's up to the mods and admin I would believe from past experience.

I feel there is a lot of thought given to a ban. Especially of a contributing member.

In retrospect, I cannot disagree with the times a tombstone was placed above my name. I behaved poorly.

A note of hope, though. Bans can be and are recinded if the poster's original offense was one that can be apologized for or explained in a fashion that is logical, civil and convincing to the administartors. The admins here do a very good job and when you consider the plethora of personalities they have to deal with, they can have that job. My head would explode and this would be a very dull place if only people who agreed with me were here.

Peace.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[marions ghost]

30. some people whose names cannot be mentioned

should try to get over it and apologize and get reinstated.

This always happens when Terra and a Full Moon coincide.

Sigh.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

32. Posting to see if I'm banned - I lost my temper yesterday & called

someone a sh***head. I'm not particularly sorry I did, but I'm sorry I broke the rules. The whole sub thread got deleted. This person was being very unkind to Cindy Sheehan. He/She was baiting. I did post back to say that I will use my anger in a constructive way and write twice as many letters, and donate twice the amount of money to promote peaceful solutions.

[Gman]

35. What I miss is being able to go back to the profile of someone

that's been banned and having the satisfaction of seeing the tombstone.

and, btw... good info. thanks.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

37. Oh My God There Was Actually A Deleted Sub Thread In This? LOL

How could someone cause trouble in such a sensible and well meaning thread? Talk about irony. :)

Anyway Tom, I think you did a great job with this thread and I can't disagree with a thing you said. I think it is not only sound advice, but many could use taking it to heart a bit. Disagreement between opinionated people can be quite entertaining and stimulating. But when it is done in a non civil manner and one or both parties devolve into personal and pointless attack, it then just becomes irritating and childish.

I also like your synopsis on what to do when a thread gets locked. Very well done! :rofl:

I think you did a good job with this TYJ, but I still don't know how someone took offense enough to have a subthread deleted LOL

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

38. I'm glad it was deleted. It was a good example of the OP.

:toast:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

44. It Must've Been LOL Rock On TYJ

:toast:

[BooScout]

42. It was deleted....

Because a poster who just got tombstoned was named. It's the only reason I can think of that it was deleted. (I hope I don't get tombstombed for telling ya that):scared:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

47. Just Out Of Curiosity Are You Mockin The Admins By Repeatedly Saying That?

I've seen you say that a few times. No one is going to ban you for saying a name. People get banned for disrupting, breaking the rules repeatedly and ignoring the admins' advice.

But I just can't tell if you are really scared that simply mentioning a name without any ill will could actually get you banned or if you are actually asking out of sarcasm and almost mockery towards the admins. Hopefully it is the former, which in that case I hope you'd realize there would be no reason to worry.

[BooScout]

50. No I am not mocking them...

A subthread already was deleted here simply because a name was mentioned.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

56. Firstly, I'm Not Sure I Believe It Would Be Deleted For That Reason Alone.

Secondly, having a post deleted is a far cry from being TS'd. When someone is TS'd the admins/mods generally feel it fair to not discuss the situation. If the subthread above had been discussing it too personally, then I understand why the mods deleted it. Doesn't mean they're gonna ban somebody for it.

It just seemed instigating when you keep saying "can't tell ya, they'll ban me." or "If I say it they'll ban me". I'm glad to hear that wasn't the case.

[BooScout]

65. I'm just telling ya what I saw....

Of course another post could have come along and changed the tone of the subthread that I didn't see, but it was here one minute and gone the next and I didn't see any such post.

I am afraid of being banned. Because I don't know why others who posts I enjoyed were banned, but apparently it's a nono to ask why they were banned.

I surrender.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

69. It Is Quite Simple To Know Why And Equally Simple To Keep Yourself Safe.

Simply follow the link Sfexpat posted and read the rules. They are more than straightforward enough to understand on their face and as long as they are followed and the advice heeded a poster will be just fine.

Having that said, it is also then reasonable to assume, without having to know the direct details, that any poster banned has not only broken those rules but had done so repeatedly.

So you don't really need to know why the admins specifically chose to ban somebody or the explicit details of how they arrived at that decision. All you need to know is that it all came down to a poster being disruptive and breaking the rules and that they shouldn't have done so. I agree with the admins that it is inappropriate to air the grievances especially when the person is no longer part of the community and cannot respond back. On certain instances the admins will provide details because it was a member that caused enough outcry that the admins felt it best to explain the situation thoroughly. But those instances are rare and with good reason.

So fear not. Educate yourself on the rules, do your best to follow them and be civil, and you will be just fine.

[The Magistrate]

71. If You Have Any Questions In the Matter, Ma'am

Please contract the Administrators of the site. Any communication on such a matter is up to them. Persisting in comments like this does no good to anyone, and is not helpful in any way.

[Stinky The Clown]

39. How do I get the sloop out of my basement?

I mean ..... the mast alone won't fit. And that beam ....... waaaaay wider than my basement door.

By the way ... K&R

[rzemanfl]

45. Break the bottle, you did put it in a bottle, right? n/t

[Laurab]

40. I wish mods would give long time contributing members a warning first

If two mentioned above were banned, I found their posts usually to be informative, intelligent and can only guess they got angry, since I didn't see any of the posts. One of them I will miss very much.

I had a post deleted yesterday and still don't know why. I'm sure the mods know what they're doing, but a warning first would be a good thing for someone who's obviously not a troll/freeper.

I think of myself as a relative newbie, really, but I would be lost without DU, so I can only imagine how long-time members who get banned must feel.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

46. LOL... It feels like shit. And I can only speak for myself, but I got

warnings and tried to work around them or ignored them because in the heat of the moment, I behaved poorly.

I throw a nickle in the hat every now and then here, but it's not my board. To post here, I have to agree to abide by the mods decisions whether I agree with them or not. I also have to agree with the rules. Believe me, you'll know when you are getting close to the edge.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

51. I Would Gather That They Always Would Provide Such Warning, But That

those that get TS'd fail to heed those warnings. And if a long time contributor is TS'd I'm quite certain we could trust that the admins would've have had darn good reason to do so.

As far as your post being deleted, it is known to happen from time to time. As long as it isn't a repeated pattern or a complete decimation of the rules then it really shouldn't be a problem.

As far as how hard it must be for long term members who are banned, they should've realized that while they had the privilege to be here, heeded the warnings, followed the rules and not taken DU for granted. The admins wouldn't ban a long time poster just because. If they do so it must've been because of a long term pattern of behavior or a complete snubbing of the admins' advice or requests. When a long time poster is banned, I know the admins first had tried everything they could to control the situation first.

And I hear ya, I'd be lost without DU as well, as it is the most informative and addicting site for politics on the entire web in my opinion.

[Laurab]

64. Indeed, I've been informed that long-time members are warned

Which makes me feel a whole lot better! And I should have known, as DU has always seemed more than fair to me.

As for the post being deleted - I know it happens, I've had them deleted before (albeit rarely), but this one I couldn't quite figure out why. It said "deleted sub-thread", so I'm guessing a few more people responded to the one I was responding to, and all were deleted.

If someone ignores repeated warnings, they have no one but themselves to blame - you have to know when to stop, or when to ignore someone.

[question everything]

53. Excellent post, you beat me to something that I meant to say

I do not watch Faux news, do not read, nor listen to Coulter, Limbaugh and the rest of them.

Yet I realize that in politics one has to know what the other side is saying to be able to debate, if the other side - say, Limbaugh - has many followers.

For example, I think that Kerry was wrong in the way he handled the abortion issue. I have never lived in a rural area, but many DUers alerted us that in these areas, the church and the minister are the only source of information and opinion. Not that there are no unplanned pregnancies in rural areas, or that condoms are not being used - even though the bible forbids "spilling" one's seed.

Instead of holding his hand over his heart to say that he "personally opposed abortion," Kerry should have talked about the need to fund sex education and to provide health care to children that are already there. He should have condemned the terrorists - yes they are - who bomb family planning clinics.

But I digress. Mainly, we see people posting quotes from Faux News, from Coulter, from Limbaugh, O'Rilley, now even Dershowitz or the WSJ - and the immediate reaction is: oh, so and so is saying this so it should be ignored, and while there, yes, heap contempt and derision on the source and on the OP the way you described.

I read the WSJ. Besides its editorial board it is an excellent, well written newspaper and I often get comments such as: this is from the WSJ??

But too often, instead of debating the points raised, the comments are only to dismiss the WSJ or me. And these are the milder comments.

Yes, the Internet is a place for many to vent and to anomalously say what they would not say in public (I hopes), but if we want to debate facts and opinion, and, yes, to know what the other side is saying, we have to follow your advice: either debate the points or keep your mouth.. er, keyboard, shut.

Oh, and just heaping profanity is not the way to comment, either; it just shows a poor vocabulary.

Thanks for posting.

[catmandu57]

58. What you said and

never post when horny, or post on bodily functions. I think DA is back, I read threads started by him yesterday.

It's way too easy to get overheated these days and let your mouth run before thinking. I've been keeping my head downducking the excrement that's been flying and abusing my ignore list.
When, if ever, things calm down then I'll clean it up.

[EFerrari]

60. I love the ignore and edit features. In using them I can

let off steam without actually scalding anything. lol

[El Fuego]

61. The blazing fire is so pretty, but Walk Away From the Flame.

And you'll live to flame another day. :P

[midnight]

67. Nice that you are back Tom.

Sorry to hear about being upset enough about something that you were removed from D.U. But I guess it comes down to language. Didn't really see the posts.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

68. Ancient history.... Quite a while ago.

It had something to do with Ooby Gooby Jooby.

Don't ask.

:toast:

[Buns_of_Fire]

70. But... but... EVERYTHING I WRITE is the most witty comment

ever seen by mankind! (Okay, SOME people think I'm just a smarmy smartass sticking in smarmy-smartass one-liners all over the place, but...)

Oh, Lord, it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
I get better lookin' each day!
To know me is to love me
Well, I must be a helluva man
Oh, Lord, it'a hard to be humble
But I'm doing the best that I can...
(Profound apologies to Mac Davis)

And my profound apologies to the people I've accused of sniffing Chucklenuts' codpiece just because they don't like Barry Manilow.

And my profound thanks for reminding us all that a little bit of civility pays dividends of the Karmic Kind (as well as preventing the dreaded "tombstone"). :-)

[johnaries]

72. Excellent advice! We've lost too many good friends already.

I might add "try to recognize when someone is baiting you, and don't let them succeed. The IGNORE button is your friend."

[dogday]

74. None of this is personal to me

I have a Son in Iraq and that is the only thing that makes me angry..

I have actually had a poster bring up my mentioning this fact in my post as trotting my Son out when I am losing the argument.. I could not believe someone would say that, but then again, my Son is still in Iraq and that makes me angry, not some dumb post.....

[catmandu57]

75. Maybe timeouts would work better

Especially in the case of old timers, things have been so heated and emotional lately, that even warnings repeated warnings just aren't working.
Instead of being tsd maybe we should just tell the combatants to go to their corner and if they come out swinging then ban them.

[uppityperson]

76. I try to follow the rules and am frustrated @ times

"contact admin privately" is the ending to posts asking why someone was banned. I have and get the response "We typically do not discuss the reasons why members are banned, as we
consider it a private issue."

I appreciate the fact that DU is moderated, and appreciate the mods, mostly. Try to follow rules and am frustrated sometimes at (what I perceive as) not always equal or fair handling. But DU is a private forum, and I do not make the rules or moderate, so here I am.

[zippy890]

78. I am not feeling so generous of spirit right now

I think the tombstoning of a member this morning was unfair. and then to delete a thread or post because it mentions that poster -- kinda sounds like blacklisting or something.

I am just very upset that this DUer got banned this morning, for what looked like was insufficient reasons.

Yes I have written the admins about it. Yes I have reviewed the rules.

and Yes I am still very upset about this person getting tombstoned.

[uppityperson]

79. me too, several times recently but it all comes back to

we don't make the rules. Annoying sometimes indeed, there it is, here we are. I am all for writing admin about things, want to be heard also.

[Zhade]

77. And don't try to pimp for Lieberman.

That's no longer allowed (which is awesome, I hate that fucker and he shouldn't win).

[EFerrari]

80. You know what I'd like to see on this thread?

Those descriptions of the earliest days of the site that -- I think -- Skinner posted.

It was a great snapshot, hilarious AND really gave you a feel for what it is like to take a project like this on.

[proud patriot]

82. Seven Days Underground

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/01/01/010127_7days.html

[EFerrari]

83. LOL! Thank you!

You are an O8)

[EFerrari]

84. It was agreed that from now on, we would move away from calling

conservatives "mean" and instead refer to them as "dumb."

:rofl:

[Moderator]

85. Locking...

If there are any questions about a moderator's
actions or if you have a question about why
a member was banned, please contact the Administrators.


Thank you.