Staff Posted Bans

[Dragon 673]

As a site member, how do you feel about staff posting or publicly announcing player bans that have occurred on site? 

 

Would you be supportive of a public listing of members that have been banned, with or without a listed reason for the ban? Are there certain circumstances under which you would find this acceptable, or do you think such matters should always be handled privately among staff. In the latter case, do you think staff should at least explain such bans upon inquiry? 

 

Would you be comfortable with a site that kept a thread tracking bans? Would it make a difference to you if specific screen names were listed, or just a list of reasons that individuals have been banned for, without any identifying information provided? 

 

If You Have Input From a Staff Perspective Please Answer Here

[Deacon Frost 196]

I played on a board in which a player came on and announced that he/she was quitting the board because (Different player) had just been arrested for murder and that they refused to play on a board in which people condoned murders. They linked the article with the arrest and several of us who had (Different player) confirmed to the Storyteller that said player was indeed that person.

 

The storyteller banned that player permanently and while they didn't make an announcement they did confirm that ban in the board chat on several occasions. - I had no real objection to finding out about that ban. It alerted me to someone who had my skype information that might have represented a danger to myself and my children. Especially as the person was later convicted of child porn as well. 

 

But the same Storyteller also had a habit of banning people who took multiple hiatus from the board because of muse problems or IRL difficulties and he never admitted to those bans. But I was friends with another one of the ST's and they confirmed the players statements. I would have been very annoyed with the storyteller if I had known they were banning people for that. 

 

So on one hand I support alerting people to a danger in their RPing community and on the other hand I feel that if the Storyteller has capricious reasons for banning people that telling the community can upset them and disrupt the community. 

[Dun 68]

Who bans so many people that they need a running list? Holy lordt.

 

I wouldn’t want to see a ban list. 1) It’s useless. 2) It tells me someone’s expecting to use the ban hammer left and right.

 

Admins who are going to be responsible for upholding bans need that information (Names, emails, IPs, etc.),  but that’s a different story. That can be recorded privately for people who may need to use the info.

 

For the average player: I’d probably let folks who were writing with a newly banned player know that the player is out and won’t be returning. I wouldn’t have any interest in explaining all the details. You can be honest and appropriately informative without inviting debate or slandering people. I’d want to give them a Heads Up so they know what to expect and aren’t surprised when the banned person’s info is archived. I wouldn’t want them to get stuck if threads/plots stagnate.

 

Granted, I think I’ve banned one person in the last 10 years.

[Dragon 673]

Please keep in mind that, as stated in the original post, this thread is specifically for MEMBER input. 

If you would like to share your opinion as a STAFFER OR ADMIN then please Post in the appropriate thread.

[Jaxx 317]

Holy Jesus, you'd never even know I was there if I saw that a site had a public ban list. The specifics wouldn't matter at all, I'd be massively creeped out that anyone did that and it'd set off a number of red flags. I support answering questions from the member base if they're asked, but I can't think of a single upside to... basically flaunting your drama. 

[Kazetatsu 263]

I'm not fond of ban tracking, leaving ban lists up indefinitely or posting detailed information about the process leading to the ban. such makes me feel as if I were walking on eggshells.

I do like to know a bit about what happened however, especially on small sites, but even on big ones, banned members can't just disappear without being noticed by someone.

[Kit the Human 758]

Unless I'm directly involved it's none of my business and I don't need to know. Any public announcements or lists just reeks of drama to me.

 

I am however, very nosy and enjoy a bit of gossip 😁

Edited March 19, 2019 by Kit the Human

[Morrigan 1,826]

12 minutes ago, Kit the Human said:

Unless I'm directly involved it's none of my business and I don't need to know. Any public announcements or lists just reeks of drama to me.

 

I am however, very nosy and enjoy a bit of gossip 😁

 

And this was why Kit the Human was banned....

Love you babe!

[clipsed 231]

Personally as both a member and a staffer, I consider it to be at best petty, and at worst, unprofessional and vindictive. Am I hella nosy and do I want to know? You bet your bum. Do I have any right to? Probably not >.>

[Shieb 47]

I've never seen a way to have a banned list available without smelling of drama and warning off good people, thereby leaving you with the ones who insist they aren't dramatic. I've been burned before, so I like to keep an eye out for trouble, but if I make a snap judgement on someone, that can be just as toxic. :/

[Huskerdust 625]

I think I’d stay away from a board with a list of banned members. Why would they even have enough people to make a whole list?! Yikes. 

[Deep Sea 326]

I mean, like a couple others in here, I loooove drama...

 

That being said, if the list has more than a handful of people on it, I'd probably avoid the place. It was a trend on Gaia for a while where roleplay threads would have a whitelist and a blacklist. The whitelist would be players who the GM especially liked or were helpful, sort of like RP helpers or just notable players. The blacklist would be people who got booted from the thread... Usually for posts that are too short, or for trolling.

 

So, yannow, hella eyebrow raise but not anything I haven't seen before.

[Spangles 35]

I can understand if staff wish to be transparent and explain certain decisions, show how they do things etc. But they have to be respectful of the banned person's privacy, too. It's a very fine line to tread and, as a writer, I don't think I'd feel comfortable writing on a site that had a banned list. Especially a whole, big list of people who've been banned. I'd be worried about what kind of controlling or paranoid environment I'd be stepping into. 

[c.widow 123]

I like to use this reference a lot but anyways, this is not a girls locker room. Announcing to everyone why so and so was removed from your club is pointless drama with a super 'high and mighty' dressing lathered all over the top. As a member it screams 'run far and fast'. If someone is willing to discuss openly your transgressions, that may even be skewed or false narratives, to any and all just says something about who they are as a person. A wall of shame should be reserved for those participating in illegal or unethical practices, ones that all members and other forum owners should know about and avoid at all cost for their own safety. Other than that, Betty getting banned for three minor rule infractions is none of my damn business and shouldn't be anyone elses business either but the staff in confined discussions.

 

Just seems wrong for a staff member, or multiple staff members, to hang someone out to dry like that in the open.

 

Not to mention, as a member of several sites through past years I have seen some nasty bans ensue over personal conflicts and nothing more than that. BUT the transgressions were aired to anyone who wanted to hear it. Of course twisted so it made it look like there was actual reason to ban the member in question. This member was then pretty much shunned from the community due to popularity of those talking and sharing untrue details. If I was to stumble upon a site, no matter how intriguing and fun it may seem, that had a wall of shame I would hit that close button faster than I could blink my eyes.

 

TL;DR - Nope, noooooooooope, hell nope.

[Belle 53]

I'd enjoy it in a purely voyeuristic way as an outsider, but I'd never join a board that did it. Drama is never fun when it's happening in your own house.