Problems with users

azhousepro

azhousepro

Administrator
Staff member
Admin
Moderator
Ok everyone, we have had an ongoing problem for a while now with certain users (who shall remain nameless) and their messages.

The first thing that I ask of everyone here is to treat everyone else with respect. We are all visitors to the site and all members of the community. When one user constantly attacks other users for no reason, that user has to go.

Even though I have discussed this problem with the user and have received assurances that these attacks would stop, they have not.

Therefore, that users ability to be a part of this community has to be revoked.

All of this user's messages have been removed and I hope to not have to deal with this issue any longer.

Thanks,

Mike
 
wow. and to think that I just joined today, so that I could get involved in some of the conversations that were going on. Now it looks like they are going to lose a lot of color and perspective from somebody who has been there.

It's sad that people can get so worked up over things they read on the internet, especially since they choose to be here and post their thoughts and opinions. Just like I'm sure that people will disagree with me now, it's fine. I'm not gonna cry myself to sleep over it.

Once you remove the diversity from a community, it has lost it's value. While that reads like a bunch of politically correct bulshit, it really is true. Banning people from the forum just makes it a mutual admiration society, and a bunch of groupthink with no intellectual value.

Ah well, at least somebody is here to save us from ourselves.
 
You've got a point, but I think we can stir
up some controversy once in a while
without being hateful. People need to
know there are consequences for their
actions.
 
Mungtor, it was just that diversity that allowed the problem to continue. I had no problem with anyone's opinions. It was the personal attacks on other users of the site that I could not deal with.

I have said it many times before. I encourage someone telling someone else why they think they are wrong about something. What I discourage is calling another user an idiot because of their opinions on something.

There is another thread here that was a simple question about who would be attending the US Open. That question became another chance for a personal attack on the poster. There was no color or perspective involved. It was a simple attack on the person.

That was the final straw.

Mike

Mungtor said:
wow. and to think that I just joined today, so that I could get involved in some of the conversations that were going on. Now it looks like they are going to lose a lot of color and perspective from somebody who has been there.

It's sad that people can get so worked up over things they read on the internet, especially since they choose to be here and post their thoughts and opinions. Just like I'm sure that people will disagree with me now, it's fine. I'm not gonna cry myself to sleep over it.

Once you remove the diversity from a community, it has lost it's value. While that reads like a bunch of politically correct bulshit, it really is true. Banning people from the forum just makes it a mutual admiration society, and a bunch of groupthink with no intellectual value.

Ah well, at least somebody is here to save us from ourselves.
Click to expand...
 
You've got a point as well. I just can't take many things personally in an internet forum. Nothing that I have read over the past 2 months (while lurking) really seemed "hateful" to me. I learned long ago not to take things that mostly anonymous strangers wrote on the internet too seriously.

Different people express themeselves in different ways. While there can be little doubt as to what people mean when you meet them in person, you almost have to choose to be offended in a forum (or newsgroup for that matter).

Larry (naming names here, since it's pretty obvious) always seemed to me to be the type of person who, if you met him in person, would call you an asshole to your face (not you personally, just anybody) because that is the way that he communicates. I guess he reminds me of some of my elder family members who will ask "what are you, a f*cking moron?" with no malice and then show you the right way to do something with an immense amount of patience.

I could be totally off base too. :)
 
Mike,

OK, it was your call. I didn't bother to read the US Open thread since I wasn't going and wasn't interested. I was only going on the things that I had read.

I still think that in a forum like this people have to choose to be hurt, since the "pg-dn" button is really easy to find. It's only text on a screen, but that is just me.

Anyway, I'm sure that second-guessing the site admin isn't the best course of action for my first posts. I just get a bit agitated over forms of censorship that seem (to my mind) un-neccessary.

You hve been here much longer than I have, and have more info than I do. I apologize for giving you more grief on what was already a difficult situation for you.
 
I also just joined today and have been lurking here for roughly two months.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by Mungtor.
 
I suppose I agree to a point but I can't argue Mikes decision. There is no doubt Larry could have been a great source of information, and he was at times, but some of his remarks and attacks were just completely uncalled for. I will say I got a good laugh at times but there were other times I just had to shake my head and wonder why he felt he had to go on the offensive just because someone had a differing opinion.

Anyway, I stand behind your decision Mike, and you continue to bring us the very best billiards website on the net.

Regards,
Koop
 
Mungtor said:
You've got a point as well. I just can't take many things personally in an internet forum. Nothing that I have read over the past 2 months (while lurking) really seemed "hateful" to me. I learned long ago not to take things that mostly anonymous strangers wrote on the internet too seriously.

Different people express themeselves in different ways. While there can be little doubt as to what people mean when you meet them in person, you almost have to choose to be offended in a forum (or newsgroup for that matter).

Larry (naming names here, since it's pretty obvious) always seemed to me to be the type of person who, if you met him in person, would call you an asshole to your face (not you personally, just anybody) because that is the way that he communicates. I guess he reminds me of some of my elder family members who will ask "what are you, a f*cking moron?" with no malice and then show you the right way to do something with an immense amount of patience.

I could be totally off base too. :)
Click to expand...

Well that was pretty much him. Talks much more colorfull than what we are used to but in person it came across as funny and without malice. just did not come across in print that way. In person, Larry was hilariously entertaining and his off color remarks were silly and we never took them personally because they were not meant that way.

Words come across different in print though when we do not know the person. kind of like 'the pen is mightier than the sword'.

Laura
 
Thanks Mike! I for one linger in the forums every once in a while and found Larry to be offensive and rude. There is a difference in being direct and being rude. He did seem to have a lot of useful knowledge about pool, however, instead of sharing that knowledge he seemed to belittle and degrade people. As far as knowing the guy, there could be some intrepretation issues via text, however, his comments were quite clear and malicious....I don't think his responses were all that far off base from his true personality....people just don't become a different person when online.....(just my two cents)
 
Thank you Mike. You made a tough decision but I beleive it was the right one. I thought it was getting out of hand and you stepped in at the right moment.

Thanks for all the effort you put in for this site and for all of us that enjoy it so much!!
 
AZ

Mike, although I was one of the members who had 'words'with FL , I dont want to see him banned. Not permanently anyway. Maybe a 2month ban would wake him up ?

I believe that everybody has the right to voice their opinion. The problem with FL was he couldnt make a post without insulting somebody. Its a shame because some of his posts [ without the abuse ] ,were very informative.

I am also a memder of the BD forum. I would like to assure everyone that I had nothing to do with FL being thrown off the BD. He was long gone before I ever got there . BW can vouch for that .


Gabber.

aka Q or Qtec.
 
Cactus Ed said:
I also just joined today and have been lurking here for roughly two months.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by Mungtor.
Click to expand...

Both of you are new to this message board and, I will assume, you are both new to pool message boards in general.
There was a message board, on another site, that was totally uncensored. It got so bad, the administrator had to shut the board down, totally, and reestablish it, with new software, to give him the control that was required. That administrator avoided that move for a very long time, hoping the situation would improve, but it got progressively worse.

If you read through past threads, on this board, I'm sure you will find that any censorship by Mike, has been used judisiously and for the better of the forum. Mike does not try to hamper a good discussion. His intent is obvioulsy to keep everyones remarks civil and respectful.

Good move Mike. :D
 
Larry

It is always a tough decision to kick a person off. Larry knew he was going to be kicked off.I think that if he were here to ask, he would not begrudge Mike's decision but would say that Mike did the only thing that he could do under the circumstances.Things had reached a point of no return and things were going to only get worse.

As much as I like Larry, that does not mean I necessarily agree with some of the things he said here. The fact is that I did not like many of the things he said.Some of it was funny to me and some of it was not because I knew that it was hurtful to others. I guess I am a different kind of friend in that liking the person does not mean that I like their behaviors in all cases.

Unfortunately, it ultimately comes down to the timeless words of Spock in one of the Star Trek movies. "The needs of the many outweighs the needs of the one."

Laura
 
I didn't mind Larrys banter or opiniions or anyones. What I did mind was how Larry was controlling all the threads and changing the thread topic to be about him in some way or another.
 
Bans

Mike,

Gabber had a good suggestion on Bans. There was one list I was on that did exactly what he suggested. First offense, ban was a week or two, second offense, ban was for a month, then three months. The longest I ever saw was ban for a year. In spite of how flamey that list was, I nver saw a person banned for good.

This is a good idea, I am thinking.

BTW- Gabber is right. Larry was gone before gabber got onto ccb.

Laura
 
Last edited:
1st off, I am not trying to be a smartazz....

The only problem with the ban issue is that it is impossible to ban a person from this forum. All a person has to do is change his IP by using a proxy, get another free yahoo mail acct, and register by changing one letter in his nickname.

I have had the problem of banning people a lot. I have 5 sites(not pool related) and have tried to keep certain people off of the boards.

If you ever do find a way please let me know, because I could use it. :)
 
Rich R. said:
Both of you are new to this message board and, I will assume, you are both new to pool message boards in general.
Click to expand...

I'm not new to message boards in any way. I've been reading and occasionally posting on usenet news goups for years, as well as to other forums as the style has become more popular over the past 3-5 years. I am realtively new to the online billiards communities tho. I read RSB, ASP, and here for pool stuff, and skim other forums as I come across stuff.

I guess that since I learned on usenet news first (which is total anarchy), I'm used to the different personalities. If one bothers you that badly or never contributes anything worthwhile, you put them in your kill file or on your ignore list.

But those are just my personal feelings, and I'm not going to go on about it any more. The majority of people seem to feel that Mike made the right decision. Maybe message boards are a democracy, while newsgroups are anarchy. :)
 
Ruthless said:
1st off, I am not trying to be a smartazz....

....text clipped....

If you ever do find a way please let me know, because I could use it. :)
Click to expand...

There are a couple of things you can try. Neither of which is particularly hard, but involves a lot of administrative time.

1. Don't allow the generation of accounts automatically, and kick back Yahoo, Hotmail, and Excite addresses as invalid. While it is understood that some people keep these addresses for years as they change providers and/or jobs, a lot of people just use them because they are quick, throw-away accounts.

2. Only allow membership on a referral basis. I am on a few mailing lists like this, and it can be tough to get on but that's the point. And if people act like jerks, it has consequences for both the new user and their "sponsor".

just some thoughts...
 
Mungtor said:


1. Don't allow the generation of accounts automatically, and kick back Yahoo, Hotmail, and Excite addresses as invalid.
Click to expand...

if AZ starts to require isp addresses i'm off this board! my isp is for personnal communication, and i don't care how SECURE a site might say it is.

this is a pool message board, not forum that gives out info on how to build bombs!

ccb started getting NUTZO about tracking down flamers, and those idiot ccb'ers started tracking addresses back when that board used to display them under everyone's AKA.

it's interesting to see how one guy is affecting this board. mike is doing a fine job. this ain't no democracy, it's a "mike-ocracy".
(and there's such a word, cuz i looked it up in a dictionary:):):))

i'm in total agreement with you about bans. i hate them for the very reasons you mentioned. a board will get stale real fast.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top