Animation Source Forums

As much as I don't give a crap about getting back on the site, I must say, its stuff like this that gives people reason to rant about mods XD I've stuck up for mods even when it wasn't in my favor just cuz I was tired of people dissing them, but now that I actually witness first hand what's going on, it changes alot, doesn't it? ;D

I remember witnessing a similar event several weeks back, only instead of a person making fun of the mods, it was some of the mods mocking the person. I'm not sure what the fate of the person was, but to me it doesn't matter. What the ones there did indicates to me that they're not ready for the position.

Well, I'll be open and say that I did that. The "long" ban time was NOT an unintentional, because; cat's been found guilty in breaking many rules before, with no punishment dished out as well. This "shoutbox incident" was also a factor, since cat was going around saying that a certain person was a terrorist-supporter, and after a small while, even though asked to stop by some of the other members, she still didn't until (what I saw) she logged out, or left the shoutbox. I know that the attacked person didn't handle the situation too well, and I told him clearly about that.
As for the members-3 - mods-1 thing you mentioned, I've never seen anything about that before. You always gets 3 warnings before you're out.

HrryNrmn, I didn't even know got banned in the first place, but it wasn't me who banned him.

Well, I've already been warned this might happen, so I'm not surprised. I'm simply saying that you should not compare one person's ban to another, as they were banned by two different mods. Sure, 3 weeks might be a little harsh, but it'll do until some other moderator reduces the ban-time.

And don't mistake this like "I don't like cat" or anything, as I, indeed, really do like cat. She's humorous, witty, and well, I do want to be her friend, but I'm simply doing my job. And I'm not sorry for it. Steet can demod me, or do whatever he wishes, make petitions against me, I don't care. I was doing my job and what in my opinion was right, which I hold no regret for...

After seeing what's been going on I can see how many people have ended up upset about this whole thing but I don't think this should be "publicly" ranted about, it's not that I'm "protecting the other mods" or "don't like Cat" coz the other mods can speak for themselves and I do like Cat and have respect for her.

If the people involved have a problem they should not feel bad about talking to the mods about it or Steet even though he's really busy with the site.

I'm not going to lock this though, in this case I don't think I should make that decision and people will want to express their opinion.

Mods aren't better than us,they're just members that have a job(s)to do.

I would like to start by saying that I am not here to pick a fight with anyone. I am not here to start a debate and I am not here to foment a revolution or any great social change here on the site. I am not going to name names, and I am not going to accuse anyone of anything with the hopes that the merest mention of impropriety will cause moderators or others to get into trouble. Frankly, I do not want to see anyone get into trouble. However, I feel I would be greatly remiss if I did not speak my mind. This is the last time that I will post in this topic; I will say everything that I want to say and once I am done, there will be nothing more for me to add.

I was recently un-banned from the forums (a couple of hours ago, actually) and although I did not think my banning was in the least bit fair, I took my punishment like a gentleman and an adult. I did not argue with any moderators, I did not go into the ShoutBox to declaim how unfair things were, and I did not attempt to cause any unrest. I simply waited it out, as any adult would. For those who do not know yet, I was banned because I referred to another member as an idiot and a buffoon. This person is a well known ‘troll’ on this site and their post was full of violent imagery and served no purpose other than to rile other members and foment discontent. While I should have chosen my words more carefully, I cannot deny that I believe my assessment to have been the correct one. I believe my banning was excessive, as I do not recall having ever received a warning of any type from any moderator. If I am mistaken, and I did, in fact receive a warning, I would be most grateful for someone to kindly point this out to me. As it stands now, I can remember no such warning.

I would also like to speak to Cat’s banning, if I may. I read both conversations in question, and I believe that not only was Cat accused falsely of ‘flaming’ a moderator, but that the issue could have been resolved in a much less painful way. Steet was in the ShoutBox during the time when Cat supposedly ‘flamed’ a moderator and he categorically refused to entertain even the slightest possibility that what Cat had said was true. He first ignored her out of hand, then tried to confuse the issue, and then, in true political fashion, left the ShoutBox entirely. I feel that the proper way to handle the issue would have been to instruct both Cat and the mod in question to send private messages detailing their sides of the issue, rather than ignoring the problem and finally getting one of the members banned simply because no one wanted to deal with or try to sort out the problem. Frankly, I thought the whole terrorism topic to be both off-color and offensive in general, seeing the amount of discontent it would naturally draw. I am shocked that the moderators tolerated the discussion of it at all, not to mention that they would actually join in, fueling the fire themselves. All parties involved in that discussion ought to be ashamed of themselves for the callous way they discussed the topic, which I’m sure offended several members, myself not the least.

This brings me around, at last, to the general point of my discussion today. In recent weeks, I have really begun to question my support for this site. In recent weeks, I have seen many things that I thought were very outrageous. These things include: a moderator openly swearing in the forums, moderators picking on members in the ShoutBox, excessive and rather arbitrary bannings, people who are consistent problems being coddled and asked to “explain their feelings, so that things can be worked out” rather than being dealt with outright, ‘trolls’ in the forums being accepted and not disciplined, the removal of stories and artwork that has been up for years without problem, based on the complaints of only one or two members, and a general childishness that I do not feel was present in past months. Why or how all these things occurred, I do not know. Quite honestly, I do not want to know. However, I think that these problems are becoming rampant and that someone ought to deal with them. I do not have any good suggestions for doing this; for ought I know, there may be no good answer at all. However, I would suggest that the moderators and owners of this site take a good long look, both at themselves and at the behavior that is permitted and not permitted on this site.

I am not so egomaniacal that I am going to claim that I will never visit this site again, or that I am going to rant nonsensically at moderators when I see them. Frankly, if I left the site permanently, I doubt that anyone would even care. Nevertheless, if you find that the older members are leaving the site gradually, I think you will find that we comprise many of the respected members and many of the talented artists and authors. It would truly be a shame if we all were driven away.

My statement is now drawing to a close, and I feel that, more than likely, one of three, or possibly all three at once, things is bound to happen. First, since this is a long post that I have put some thought and time into, it is likely to be ignored outright. If you have managed to read carefully through this whole essay, I congratulate you. Secondly, someone will read only part of this and fly off into a realm what I might have meant. If you read the whole thing, you will find that I am calmly and ethically stating my feelings with a minimum of backstabbing or anger. Thirdly, and I fear, most likely, I will be attacked as being a subversive element on the website. It will be claimed that I am attacking Steet or his moderators and I will end up banned again, perhaps under a lifetime ban. If this is so, I feel sorry for the site in general. It will show me the true character of the folks here; rather than respond ethically to concerns and problems I have raised, one would rather simply eliminate the person who is finding problems.

I grant that no one is perfect and that as such, no site can be perfect. I respect the moderators and the job that they do. However, these are my personal opinions and I am sorry if they are upsetting or controversial. Surely, I mean no disrespect to any particular person. As I said, this is the last that I will be discussing this in the open forum. If you have comments or would like to discourse at greater length with me, please private message me your concerns.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

In the Spirit of Balto,
HrryNrmn

HarryNrmn, if you read this quote, you will see that Cat14 was not banned based entirely on the incident in the ShoutBoxes.
I can clearly see your frustration, but I am very sure you were warned at least two times before you got your ban, which also was your first, I presume.

However, cat14 is considered a popular member, which, and now I am just guessing, had prevent many a moderator from dishing out punishment she deserves, as they were afraid of "getting on her blacklist". I noticed this mistake, and capped together with what happened in the ShoutBox resulted in Cat14 finally getting a ban. She recieved a warning beforehand, letting her know it was her LAST one, so she knew she was very close to crossing that border.

I can also clearly see why you hold a grudge to us, and yes I agree with you AND disagree with you. Calling a member stuff like "idiot" etc. is usually just given a correction on the shoutbox itself by the ShoutBox moderators, or a warning via PM if it is excessive, which may result in a ban if you still did not stop.
However, this is a kid-friendly site, and we do not support fights here, and we will often attempt to stop a potential one. I know you might not read this, but if you do, please consider the big difference between your mistake, and Cat14's.

But, let me also say that I agree; she did not flame the moderator in that incident, however she stated that he supported terrorism. Even though it started as pure fun, she became more intense, and would not stop. The other members did not correct her, or try to stop her (if they did, then it seems I missed it). In fact, they were asking the MODERATOR to stop defending himself. I am pretty sure Cat14's popularity level here on BS played a part there as well.

I just want you all to know that no member on BS, mod or not, are better than each others. Nobody are above the rules here, not even Cat14. Now, do not think that I want to start a flame war with this post, but this is simply the truth.

And HrryNrmn, if you see a moderator openly breaking rules, we will deal with it. All you need to do is to PM another moderator about it. Because, this is not how it's supposed to be.

Ok, this should be between the people directly involved and the mods (and Steet) so...

Locked.