A closed section of the forum listing banned members and why they're banned

LemonAndLime · #1 Jan 12, '12, 7:01 am

If one already exists I apologise, but I have seen on other forums, many as large as this one, that the moderators keep a section of the form usually called "Banned Members" in which only they can post.

There is often one thread in which spambots banned accounts are listed, but often there are "high-profile" cases of members who are trolls (or members who are well-known having several thousands of posts), and they get their own thread in which examples of offending posts are quoted as well as an explanation of why they were banned.

A few times now I have participated in a thread and seen another member banned but I'm not sure why. Other times I see people posting threads complaining about someone being banned, and again I have seen people who are "trolling", cause quite a stir, and are then banned. On forums I have seen this in, it increases the visibility of the moderators and the type of work they do, as well as saving them time as they don't need to explain themselves over PM as to why that member was banned. I think a similar system would work well here.

exoflare · #2 Jan 12, '12, 7:28 am

I second this.

Mary Gail 36 · #3 Jan 12, '12, 7:39 am

I'm not sure I agree. Perhaps for the trolls....but we know why the guy with the "keychain spam" gets banned practically daily.

Other bannings--- maybe it is charitable to keep the reason private.

NeedImprovement · #4 Jan 12, '12, 9:09 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mary Gail 36

...
Other bannings--- maybe it is charitable to keep the reason private.

... So simple ...

One of the things I love about CAF is that we aren't like other forums.

Most members who've been banned know why they have been banned. They also have recourse to the CAF admin via email , for purposes of further elucidation or for appeal if desired.

That really never becomes anyone else's business .

The moderators at CAF also have a system whereby infraction points can be applied in cases where decisions might require more scrutiny.

I think they're doing a great job - a job I know I couldn't do. And I would be willing to bet that practically all the confessors who know how CAF moderators operate , would heartily agree with the way they already serve.

It's all about privacy : Emails From banned members .

nickybr38 · #5 Jan 12, '12, 9:25 am

I don't need to know why someone was banned. It's none of my business.

I'm not sure how such a system would help, beyond feeding people's curiosity. I don't think it would help. The rules are plainly listed. If people follow the rules they won't get banned. Simple as that.

LemonAndLime · #6 Jan 12, '12, 9:42 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mary Gail 36

I'm not sure I agree. Perhaps for the trolls....but we know why the guy with the "keychain spam" gets banned practically daily.

Other bannings--- maybe it is charitable to keep the reason private.

The forums aren't private. Unless the offence was commited via PM, it's there for everyone to see anyway.

agnes therese · #7 Jan 12, '12, 9:50 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by LemonAndLime

The forums aren't private. Unless the offence was commited via PM, it's there for everyone to see anyway.

Not necessarily. A lot of times the offending post/thread is deleted.
While I admit to being curious about some of the banned members -- there was one who's banning REALLY suprised me -- it's really none of my business. Darn it.

Anathama Sit · #8 Jan 13, '12, 3:21 pm

Greetings LemonAndLime,

I am not sure having a closed board of why people were banned would be a charitable thing to do. Isn't enough to know that the Moderators do ban people when they do step out of line and leave it in their own hands.

In the time I have been here, as Agnes has said, and I have been coming to this site for several monthes before I joined, there has only been one ban that I was bursting with curiosity over. Yet, as much as I would be curious to know, it's not my business. That lies with the Moderators and the person who got banned.

The moderators when they do ban someone for posting something in the open forums, these posts are usually deleted or edited somehow.

So it's anyone's guess. If anything we ought to be praying for them.

God Bless.
Anathama Sit

GoldenLight · #9 Jan 13, '12, 7:12 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by agnes therese

Not necessarily. A lot of times the offending post/thread is deleted.
While I admit to being curious about some of the banned members -- there was one who's banning REALLY suprised me -- it's really none of my business. Darn it.

Same here, I actually spent some time yesterday going back through this one 'banned' members previous posts, from what I could tell I had seen nothing but great contributions.... I found it sad as I thought this person was a good and valuable contributor (not that I had any chat/ threads linked with this person) I discovered & started reading his/her contributions and threads only after the ban

It was only while I was reading past threads in my continued search for growth I found a few of 'his /hers interesting and tried to find more.. Then I discovered the word 'banned'

If she/he did say something wrong that deserved a Ban ~ By looking at the previous postings it would have been totally out of character!!

My concern is that being human and whilst aspiring to be better we all have what I call 'bad hair days'

kelvinf · #10 Jan 14, '12, 3:44 am

If you come here one day and realised that Karl K. has been banned, wouldn't you seriously want to know why he was banned?

I was on one prayer thread and we were usually just about 4 or 5. All of a sudden, 3 posters there were banned. I felt so bad and really wanted to know why they were banned. I felt like the group prayers all of a sudden became unauthentic. I checked their last posts and could decipher why they were banned. And it was very helpful and relieving to know the possible reason. A suspension would have sufficed though IMO.

People have friends here and would definitely want to know why a friend was banned and the possibility of getting that friend back on board.

Havard · #11 Jan 14, '12, 9:13 am

I'd rather not see the offenses listed. I think it would encourage gossip and increase the scandal.

And with not hearing of so much as a single complaint of a suspension or ban being unfounded in nearly 3 years of being on here, I'm not worried about how things are handled.

**Dale_M** · #12 Jan 14, '12, 12:33 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Havard

And with not hearing of so much as a single complaint of a suspension or ban being unfounded in nearly 3 years of being on here, I'm not worried about how things are handled.

Oh, people do complain about "unfair" banning. But you will find those complaints on third party sites, not here. Any post at CAF which challenges a moderator ban will be removed.... which is only right. Moderating is a difficult job and we can't have the decisions of moderators undermined.

I agree with you that a closed forum which serves as a wall of shame is a bad idea. It would serve no constructive purpose, other than to satisfy curiosity. A procedure for removing a ban does exist and I have seen a few instances of banned members returning to CAF. I think its best not to interfere with that process.

Bans here are not handed out lightly. And from what I have seen, the bad behavior of established members is often tolerated, although presumably with behind the scenes disciplinary action. There are several things to remember when seeing that a member has been banned:

1. The worst offenses which that person has posted have probably been deleted.

2. We don't know the history of infractions committed by the banned member.

3. We don't know what has transpired via private message. Bad conduct can transpire in private correspondence (between the banned member and a moderator or the banned member harassing another member), and we will never know about it.

4. It is possible for a banned member to return, if they have reformed their ways.

LemonAndLime · #13 Jan 14, '12, 2:14 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Havard

I'd rather not see the offenses listed. I think it would encourage gossip and increase the scandal.

And with not hearing of so much as a single complaint of a suspension or ban being unfounded in nearly 3 years of being on here, I'm not worried about how things are handled.

I have seen 2 threads and a group opened demanding an answer as to why some people were banned (one of them was by the banned member who wanted to know himself). Completely the wrong way to go about it, of course. Such aggressive questioning of the mods never ends well.

**Catherine Grant** · #14 Jan 14, '12, 2:27 pm

Member accounts are banned or temporarily suspended for many reasons. The most common are:

1 - Objectionable Non-Religious Posts by New Members
If a new member immediately posts objectionable secular material (e.g., commercial advertisements for shoes, "adult" content) he will be summarily banned. No explanation will be given.

A review of that member's recent public posts will not reveal the reasons for the ban because the objectionable material will have been removed.

2 - Objectionable Non-Religious Posts by Existing Members
If an existing member posts objectionable secular material, the action taken will depend on a judgment as to the seriousness of the problem. If the content is egregious, the member will be summarily banned. If the posting is deemed accidental or potentially innocent, the member will be counseled. A temporary suspension may be required. In general, an explanatory e-mail is sent.

A review of that member's recent posts probably will not reveal the reasons for the suspension because the objectionable material most likely will have been removed.

3 - Objectionable Religious Posts
Members are not allowed to be disrespectful of anyone's faith or religion, whether it is Catholicism or not. If a member is disrespectful, he will generally be counseled first and suspended only if he persists in disrespectful postings. In general, an explanatory e-mail is sent.

If the nature of an initial posting is blatantly disrespectful to any religion (e.g., "the pope is the anti-Christ" or "Rome is the Whore of Babylon" or "all Muslims are terrorists"), a ban may be immediate and without prior counseling. In general, an explanatory e-mail is sent.

Members are free to discuss, question, disagree with, and debate the doctrines and dogmas of both Catholicism and non-Catholic religions. However, all discourse must be civil and charitable.

A review of the affected member's recent public posts probably will not reveal the reasons for the suspension because the objectionable material most likely will have been removed.

4 - Private Counseling Ignored
Some members have a particularly difficult time maintaining an appropriate level of charity in certain forums or on certain subjects. Moderators will set either voluntary guidelines or mandatory restrictions on these problem areas to help the poster. However, if the poster chooses to ignore such restrictions, they may earn themselves a suspension or ban, depending on the nature of the transgression. In general, an explanatory e-mail is sent.

A review of that member's recent public activity will not reveal the reasons for the suspension because (a) the content of the transgressing post(s) may not be objectionable and (b) the details of the private counseling are not made public.

5 - Constant (but minor) Boundary Testing
Some members like to keep our Moderators busy by engaging in constant testing of the boundaries of acceptable behavior, even after private counseling by the Mods. This increases Mod workloads unacceptably. Any particular transgression is not likely to warrant a suspension in itself, but a constant stream of minor transgressions inevitably warrants a cooling-off period. In general, an explanatory e-mail is sent.

A review of that member's recent public activity will not reveal the reasons for the suspension because (a) the problem spans an extended period, (b) the worst parts will have been removed, and (c) the boundary issues were spelled out to the member in private communications.

6 - Repeat Offenders
Some individuals, after being suspended, sign up under new usernames. (Circumventing a suspension is a bannable offense). When such a situation is detected, the new account will be summarily banned. No explanatory e-mail is sent.

A review of recent public activity by the new account will not reveal the reasons for the ban because the reasons for the original suspension are associated with a different account.

7 - Offensive Private Communication
Unfortunately, this is not rare. Some members, when privately counseled or temporarily suspended, respond with scathing, abusive, or otherwise offensive e-mails or PM's to the Mods and/or Admins. This warrants an automatic and permanent ban. No explanatory e-mail is sent.

A review of recent public activity by the member will not reveal the reasons for the suspension because the objectionable activity will not have occurred in the public forums.

========================

NOTE: One point that we hope comes through is that the reasons behind a suspension or other disciplinary action are rarely obvious to forum members. Public speculation as to the reasons behind a suspension or ban are therefore fruitless (and a primary reason why it is against forum rules).

APPEALS: Should you receive a private communication from a suspended or banned member, the best advice is to have them contact us at forumadmin@catholic.com to discuss their case.

As we do not discuss disciplinary actions with non-affected members, a public forum for that purpose is precluded.

Anathama Sit · #15 Jan 14, '12, 10:31 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by kelvinf

If you come here one day and realised that Karl K. has been banned, wouldn't you seriously want to know why he was banned?

I was on one prayer thread and we were usually just about 4 or 5. All of a sudden, 3 posters there were banned. I felt so bad and really wanted to know why they were banned. I felt like the group prayers all of a sudden became unauthentic. I checked their last posts and could decipher why they were banned. And it was very helpful and relieving to know the possible reason. A suspension would have sufficed though IMO.

People have friends here and would definitely want to know why a friend was banned and the possibility of getting that friend back on board.

Greetings Kelvinf,

The day Karl Keating gets banned is the day these forums end. I can't imagine that ever happening.

God Bless.
Anathama Sit