Publicly Posting Bans

[CovertSphinx 710]

F-That. If I've reached the point that a member needs to be banned for the sake of the community at large (usually the unfit player removes themselves prior to this happening), everyone is pretty much going to innately know the reasons prior to the ban even taking affect. Also, who I ban, when, and why, isn't really for public knowledge - if a member asks, I'll give a non-detailed summary for the sake of transparency but that's about it. 

Back in "the day", it would be common for admins of other sites to drop by the C-Box and ask about a former member's ban - particularly when said member joined THEIR site and immediately started bashing ours or our admin team for the kick. My first assumption is that these lists were either a byproduct of this "damage control", or a way for multiple staff with banning permissions to keep track of who did what for why. The latter reason, personally, I feel should be kept to a "Staff Eyes Only" board instead of public though. 

[A l e x 16]

Short answer, I wouldn't put a public ban list on my site. But personally I don't think there's a blanket answer for this. In my experience there are cases in which yes, everyone knows why Person X got banned. However, I have had to deal with instances where Person Y might have specifically harassed Person Z. Naturally Persons A through whatever might not be aware. And beyond that, Person Z might wish for the incident to remain quiet. In cases like this and really for most bans, I won't broadcast it at all. If asked the only answer I feel obligated to give is that they violated site rules, were warned and the behavior persisted.

[Orion 33]

I’ve never personally announced anyone’s ban, but I’ll give someone a reason if they ask with minor details. It feels like a call out session. My post in the member thread explains my reason.

[Trinket 0]

I do not believe a Wall of Shame is a good idea. Some people can change - for some it just takes a really long time. And I find it doesn't really do anything but create more drama and then others might just wind up bullying this person or they might have a mental illness that a Wall of Shame could trigger them to do something terrible. 

 

Don't post anything on a site. If someone asks why someone was banned tell them off site. That's still being transparent, but without placing a long lasting stigma on an individual. Then again some people will take that information and post it for all to see anyway so I'm not sure you need to tell anyone but the banned invidual why they're no longer allowed on site.

 

I've made a couple faux pas in the pass in a fight scene, but I did edit it when it was pointed out to me (I sometimes type and post too quickly to notice and once in a blue moon miss it in a re-read, but usually the other member in the thread knows this can happen and just points it out to me...)

However if they're a predator I'd warn everyone, but again people can find ways to have a new alias on some other site. 

[Sammiie 40]

On 3/22/2019 at 4:06 PM, isoldehn said:

As an administrator or staff member on a RP board, what are your views about publicly posting bans? 

Ew, seriously, just ew. If there is not a legal or unethical reason as to why someone was banned I have no right to publicly announce their forced departure. If they would like to announce it themselves then so be it. I as a staff member however will have NO part in shaming someone in front of the entire community. I'm sure receiving the ban was bad enough for them, no need to make it worse, you never know what someone is going through behind that computer screen and I'll be damned if I'm the one to make it even worse by shunning them publicly.

 

Do you announce bans to the site - whether by naming the culprit specifically, or simply mentioning an unnamed individual was banned for X reason? Or do you treat bans as a private matter among staff? 

- No. I do not. I know of some friends who have mentioned this before via a site update without publicly stating a name, however in this case people can still guess since x person just up and disappeared so who was it? People can put two and two together. Its still a public shame with or without a name.

- I prefer bans to be treated as a private matter in staff confined discussions. They do not leave the staff areas and are confidential to us only. I treat it as if I was a doctor with a patient. If someone comes to me and asks, my response is somewhere around the lines of "you will need to discuss this with the person themselves, I will not be revealing any details that the user may or may not want to discuss publicly". NOW, this is not always the case. Sometimes there are staff members of other sites that may come to you with questions about a particular member and their behavior on your site, as staff to staff I feel it appropriate to be open and honest in these situations. They may choose what they wish to do with the information from there by either keeping an eye on the person or just totally giving them the boot. None of my business from there. In the instance of illegal activities or similar I feel that warrants a public post though, just for everyones safety.

 

THIS. 

 

As a staff, I believe rejection / banning and other possibly embarrassing events aren't anyone else's business. It makes a site look bad and drama-filled if staff openly air out people's dirty laundry. As a member, I would definitely steer clear of a site if I saw them talking about who got banned and why just publicly in the chat like that. That's definitely not a good look for any site.

 

My co-admin and I are pretty hush-hush when banning individuals. If asked by a member, we move to DMs and tell the member why in a vague, yet professional kind of way that explains what happened without delving into the dirty details. This, of course, gets a little stickier when perhaps the bannable offense happened on public chat or some other big-mouthed member was involved. If that happens, we usually give everyone a vague little something to know and move on from there. Again, it's not really anyone's business.  

 

The only time when sharing such information is acceptable is when, as stated, it's a legality or harassment issue where other people's well-being might be at stake. 

[Cyn 52]

I've banned before. Not often, but sometimes it's just necessary for the good of the board and the members who actually play nicely and follow the rules. It definitely doesn't have to be a public thing and I would never publicly shame anyone. If people ask questions I usually direct them to the person who was banned. If the banned person wants to lash out and spread lies, that's on them. I will always, and always have, act for the good of the site and the majority of members, as well as my own mental health should the situation warrant it.

 

Some members can act entitled or above the rules but, at the end of the day, it's my site and I'll run it the way I want to.

[Quell 249]

It is between me and the person who gets banned why they are banned and if the are banned. It takes a lot for me to ban someone. So if I do, then it will be after warnings and issues that i have directly addressed with the player.

 

If someone asks me about a banned member, i usually say that it is not my place and/or that they have moved on.

[Dreadling 14]

I don't usually agree with public bans, or even talking to other members about member bans. However, there are times when I felt it was needed. For example, one time a staff member was fired and the way she handled it was having the site hacked and deleting a lot of posts. Because she was a staff member, and many members were effected by her behavior, I felt it was okay to let them know what she did and how it was handled.

[Foxypaws 44]

I feel like if someone has done enough to be banned, people would probably have noticed it, but no, I wouldn't air it publicly unless it directly affected others (like if someone did something illegal that others needed to keep off of THEIR sites) I don't feel it professional. That kind of stuff feels like a public smear to me.

[Rhindeer 217]

Pretty much everyone knew why the people I've banned were banned, because most of the people I've banned have made very, VERY public asses of themselves. The ones that didn't make public asses of themselves made asses of themselves behind the scenes among a LOT of players, and people talk, so word gets around and everyone knows what's up, lmao.

 

I don't post a public ban list and honestly can't remember most of the people I've banned, save for the truly notorious ones. And I think posting a ban list is tacky as shit. I do have a private ban list, though. (Discord let's you make notes about members including banned ones, and my forum software lets me keep notes about peoples' accounts, and my staff can view and edit all those logs.) I think a public one just sends the message that that game is full of drama mongers because all that does is call attention to, well, the drama. And who am I to lie? As a member that would only make me intensely curious.

 

Myself and my staff have banned people publicly, though. If people do something ban-worthy in the public Discord, we ban them right then and there where the infraction occurs. This doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's handled swiftly and without fanfare and I always end up getting messages from members thanking me for it. xD The deed it done and conversation moves swiftly forward onto other stuff and life goes on!

 

Basically, I think there is something to say about transparency (hence why public infractions are handled publicly--it lets those affected see that it IS being taken care, and how it's being taken care of), but there's a fine line between transparency and, well...being dramatic. Publicly posting a ban isn't being transparent, it's just overkill. It's not doing anything useful, it's just serving to be a wall of shame and that just makes you look spiteful, IMO.

 

Ban the mo'fo', then do like Elsa and let it go.

 

And omg this makes it sound like I ban people all the time. |: And to be honest, I probably HAVE ended up banning more people than the average site, but that's just a consequence of having a site that's a.) almost 20 years old,  b.) one of the first hits on a google search, and c.) moderately popular in its genre. Most people that click on our game are amazing and awesome! But since we have a lot of people coming through, we also statistically have a higher chance of folks who are a bad fit popping in, too.

 

I'll also add we've never banned someone who wasn't given at least a warning in good faith first, except in some truly heinous cases. (I have seen some shit, let me tell you.)

Edited May 30, 2019 by Viscount Rhi-Rhi

[Gothic 307]

Most people know why troublesome members are banned because it is obvious. 

 

I have a private list of people who I keep an eye on if they visit or have an instant ban. However, it is for my personal use only. With some trolls, I can imagine they enjoying the fact they are on a list and knowing they managed to upset people to that level. If I see a banned member list on a site, it tends to make me cautious. When I first started RPing (well over a decade now) there was a site that had a massive list of banned members, and things like, "Ugh... gross." and other slurs next to their name. Needless to say, I chose not to join that one. 

[Rune 1,099]

It depends.

 

In some cases, I post that "someone" was banned, allowing the individual to maintain some form of dignity if they so decide to allow it. I explain why they were banned and post it, but don't collect them or sticky it or anything. I generally only do this if the person is an established member that's gone off the deep end. I lock the thread and if someone has questions they can PM me... No one ever has.

 

I've had one case where I published the name, but that was an extreme case where the individual pretended to kill themselves, then contacted people pretending to be his mom to illicit sympathy or... Something? 

 

In most cases, the stuff that has earned the banning has happened off site, so people were clueless as to it happening. Over the years I've had it range from stalking to threats of suicide to attempting to break up RW relationships.

 

Usually, if its just someone being a twat and they aren't overly involved with the site, just joined, whatever, I'll just ban them and be done with it and explain if asked.

Edited June 11, 2019 by Rune

[theeflamehead 21]

No ban list, and I keep them completely private unless there is a justifiable reason for it. Just keeps down on the drama.

[Divinity 24]

Like most of what has been stated prior - I do not see any reason to make bans public. I have seen what happens when it does and it can be a shit show. I am not big on banning myself, unless the situation becomes one where you have to weigh the community versus trying to mediate with a twit.

 

Now if it is something illegal or threatening - which sadly back in the old days has happened- then I think the community has the right to a explanation of the ban and why because there is a danger ( such a online predator etc) 

 

However most of the time it is someone who just decides to be a idiot and causes problems with other members whether privately or on the board and should be quietly removed, the staff the only ones that should know. 

[Suzi 20]

Publicly announcing bans is not something I would do. 

 

Bans happen very sparingly, and it takes a lot to push me and the other admins on ATO to make that kind of decision. When it is made, we do switch their usergroup for their OOC account to "banned" which does show up on old-posts, however no official announcement is made.

 

It hasn't happened for a long while, but we do feel being open with our members/friends is the best way - So we will explain things privately to anyone directly effected (due to plots, friendships with that person, etc). We would not be shy to answer questions either, but likely not as any kind of general public announcement.