I’ve just finished reading through this entire thread, and honestly, I don't see any issue at all with how briskhound2 handled things as a moderator. The only thing he actually banned was a blatant troll post, and he just cleared out the commentary directed at the moderation team itself. Usually, if someone starts nitpicking the mods outside of official CIA channels, they could easily be handed a 30-point penalty for breaking the rules, but he didn't even go that far—if anything, I’d say he was being pretty lenient with everyone here. Even when the debate started getting heated with the person he was talking to, he didn't jump straight to a ban when the ad hominem attacks began; instead, he stepped in to shut it down before it spiraled out of control and redirected them to a different topic that actually fits the subject matter, which I really appreciate. As far as I'm concerned, briskhound2 did exactly the right thing. Supermod Dyma, feel free to weigh in if you think there's anything else that needs to be said or changed.
Edward Ruiz said:So, a buddy of mine has tried signing up for the forum a couple of times now, but every single time he gets an email saying he doesn't meet the membership criteria and his account gets wiped. He asked me if I could look into it and find out what exactly is going on or why his registration keeps getting rejected. Thanks.
It’s most likely his chosen username that isn't hitting the mark. Maybe it has some random numbers or symbols, suggests a real name or private info, or perhaps it's just totally unreadable—like, maybe something like Drragon might fly under the radar, but Draaaaaagon definitely wouldn't pass.
Your assignment has been officially assigned. You probably already know this, but just so we’re on the same page: any task requested manually follows the exact same rulebook as the ones handed out by administration; that means absolutely no posting under alt accounts, zero participation in threads regarding that specific PDF, and if you ever change your mind about stepping down from this, I get the final say on whether you're removed.
This is an old topic, and honestly, I think it’s exactly where it needs to be right now. I might end up merging these two if I decide that makes more sense down the road.
The only post you made that actually had some substance was moved over to the discussion on etymology. Your first two posts were basically just pointing people toward another forum, and honestly, we don't allow that kind of self-promotion here.
Partial bans are essentially permanent; they don't really have an expiration date. If someone gets their restrictions lifted, it's purely at the discretion of the admin team, and it usually boils down to them feeling confident that the old issues that got you flagged in the first place won't resurface. Which brings us right to your next question:
Honestly, you should probably rephrase that to, "Why *should* my restriction be removed?" That's the real question here, and it's one where you need to be the one providing answers—basically convincing the moderators that whatever problematic behavior led to this situation is behind you. You need to explain how your approach to the forum has changed and why you feel you've earned your way back into the football subforum.🙂
But let's go over this one more time just to be clear: a partial ban is permanent by design. It doesn't have a countdown timer. Most people stay under those restrictions indefinitely. No one is obligated to lift a ban; if it happens, it's a gesture of goodwill from the administration, and the mods need actual proof that bringing a user back into the football section won't just trigger the exact same headaches all over again. From what I can see, you're just asking for the ban to be dropped without even attempting to show the moderators that you can behave better or contribute constructively in the future. Even if you did show improvement, nobody is required to give in. However, if you actually made an effort, maybe they'd trust you enough to meet you halfway. But just demanding it like this? I don't see how that's going to work.
If you want to try again in six months, go for it, but please follow the guidelines I just laid out. And please, stop coming back with these baseless demands—it's honestly just a total waste of everyone's time.
Ultimately, the call lies with the mods, the rest of the admin team, and the user involved—it’s entirely up to them if they want to request that partial removal or not. Anyway, I'll catch you guys later. 👋
At this point, the ball is entirely in the court of the technicians and Anderson. Once I actually have some real answers or a better handle on things, I’ll be sure to fill you all in. 🙂
Look, if you’ve run into an issue here on the forum that needs sorting out, the best way to handle it is to just reach out to one of the admins via private message. As of right now, I'm the one holding down the fort.
For a little while now, we haven't been using an automatic approval process for usernames, which means anyone who doesn't quite hit our community standards isn't getting through the door. That said, it’s a bit of a headache to go back and change old handles from before this rule was set in stone, especially for those long-time members who have a massive history here on the forum. Generally speaking, if someone insists on keeping a totally inappropriate nickname and refuses to budge, our policy is usually to just ban the profile entirely to prevent them from continuing to use it. We also try to make sure that when a name *is* changed, it stays somewhat recognizable—at least for those power users with thousands of posts. Of course, in special cases—like when a handle leaks someone's private info—we're much more flexible and allow for bigger changes. Honestly, at the end of the day, we've grown accustomed to many of these names, or we just don't see them as direct insults. Take the one mentioned in the opening post, Donald_Trump; because of how the words are "misspelled," it comes off more like a silly joke rather than something truly offensive. Some older, inappropriate names have already been swapped out, some are on our list to change soon, and some are just going to stay as they are. If you spot a username that you feel really crosses the line, please just shoot the forum admin a private message. Just keep in mind, though, that we aren't looking to sanitize the forum or strip away all personality; there's such a thing as creative freedom, and we want to allow for that up to a certain point.
lonebadger6 said:It honestly drives me nuts when you try to actually engage with someone, offering a thoughtful explanation or just trying to have a real conversation, only for them to completely blow you off and keep charging ahead in their own direction 😍 (look, they don't have to agree with me, but that's a totally different thing). And then, of course, it always devolves into nothing but trolling. I stand by what I said 100%, and personally, I can't imagine handing out a ban for something like this (unless it was blatant off-topic, though if nobody was talking about gender reassignment surgery, I'm not sure how it even got flagged, hmm?), but as a moderator, I really should have been sharper and anticipated where this was heading. So, please, feel free to strip my mod status: http://www.forum.com/showthread.php?p...7#post63559187
The points you're making mostly hold water, but given the flow of this discussion, the post you wrote just wasn't appropriate for the context. We're done here.
The search engine has been taken offline. Honestly, we aren't even sure if it’s coming back or when it might return. Everything we currently know is laid out right there in the linked thread.
Gary Wells3 said:I’m looking to change my username to Gary Wells3... mostly because it’s available. I checked the search tool and it matches what's out there. There's already another woman on here with the same handle, just with a period at the end. We both hang out in the same subforum, so it would just be easier if people could tell us apart...
Thanks so much. 🙂
Yeah, that can definitely be a bit awkward when you're running into someone with a nearly identical handle. 😁 But don't worry, a change is totally doable.
Wait, what PDF are we talking about here? Which thread, and where are the links?
rustydrifter10 said:Here’s the best way to start a complaint thread:
• Try to phrase your titles so it’s crystal clear who you're complaining about and why [PDF Name - Moderator Username - The Issue]. If you do it this way, the admins will spot your grievance immediately, which means you won't be left hanging for as long. In your opening post, please lay out the specific reason for the complaint with a bit of context, and don't forget to include direct links to the posts in question.
• If a thread is too vague and doesn't actually explain what the issue is, the mods won't be able to help you, and honestly, those kinds of threads usually just end up getting locked.
Just a quick heads-up, though—don't forget that a partial credit request follows the exact same set of rules as the ones assigned directly by the administration. And please, make sure you aren't using any other profiles to post in Politics or to comment on threads and appeals regarding that PDF.
The search feature has been completely disabled, and honestly, we’re sitting here in the dark wondering if it’s ever coming back online. We actually had a whole discussion about this previously, but now? We’ve got absolutely no idea what’s going on behind the scenes.