Question for the TBF1D Moderator

I have a question for the fashion police on this forum who hand out penalties for "insulting drivers"🤣 and trolling.🤦
First off, I’ve never heard of anyone getting flagged for something like that—specifically insulting a driver.

It strikes me as pretty ridiculous to issue a penalty in a live thread covering a Formula 1 race or a football game just because someone calls out an athlete for making a stupid mistake.

If we applied that logic to the football threads (which is really the only place I post), there would be penalties flying every single game. The difference is that, most of the time, the mods over in the football section actually do their jobs properly.

Normally, I’m not the type to complain. There have been times when I felt a ban or a penalty was unjustified, and I just took it on the chin. But this is honestly absurd, and I had to ask about it, especially since the posts in question were reported by Michael Lee4, who isn't even a mod there. He’s just a massive Hamilton fan, and our group was tearing into him after that collision at the start of the race.
So, nobody here was insulting a forum member; they were criticizing Lewis Hamilton, who happens to be Michael Lee4's favorite. It looks like he used his influence to satisfy a personal grudge by penalizing anyone who doesn't like Hamilton or who vented some frustration about what happened on the track.
So much for objectivity...

It’s like if someone got penalized in a football thread for using a derogatory nickname for a player, or for cursing when they miss a goal, specifically if that player happens to be a moderator's favorite. That never happens in the football section, but clearly, things work differently here...

I haven't hung out in the Formula 1 thread much this season, but after seeing this, I won't be back. It seems like there's a special set of rules being applied here... you should really think about that.

What does Michael Lee4 have to do with this?
You got flagged because I received reports from other users, not because of Michael Lee4 or any moderator.

Besides, why should I just ignore you talking absolute trash and insulting drivers? Just because a driver made a mistake? Real classy.👍
Grosjean, who basically knocked Alonso and Hamilton out of the race, gets a one-race ban...which isn't exactly a common occurrence.
So, I think it’s pretty obvious which driver actually messed up here.

Instead of focusing on the facts, you feel the need to trash talk Hamilton and call him names. It's clearly just trolling McLaren and Lewis fans and being disrespectful to the driver.
If you want to scream at your TV because of the drivers, go ahead, 👍
but I don't see any reason to bring that kind of verbal abuse onto this forum.🤷

You think Hamilton caused the crash?
Even if you do, there are much better ways to say that without being a jerk.

You rushed into posting that, and you've got over an hour to delete it.

Maybe on a football forum, people think it's fine to swear at players. Whatever.
On this Formula 1 subforum, it's not okay. And honestly, when you join a subforum, you should probably read the subforum rules before you start typing.

4. Gross insults and profanity directed at anyone or anything are also unacceptable and will be appropriately sanctioned.

Give me a break. How is this not related to Michael Lee4? Immediately after we posted, he wrote that he's waiting for the topic moderators to sanction this. Apparently, the word 'colleagues' is sacred here, so let's just hand out red cards and call it a day.

For that matter, right after the video clip, I immediately apologized to Hemich (that's his nickname here—hopefully I don't get a card for that either, since that could be characterized as an insult, yet it's tolerated. Double standards, clearly.) because he wasn't at fault for the crash. But of course, you've selectively handed out warnings to me and a few others.
And no, I can't delete it because I'm typing on my phone using the Tapatalk app, which doesn't even offer a post deletion option.

As for the football section, the mods there do an excellent job given the guidelines, and things like this have never, ever been penalized, which is perfectly understandable. You can't have a sterile forum; at least in the live threads and chat topics, certain things should be tolerated. If everything has to be sanitized, it becomes completely monotonous and boring, which certainly doesn't improve the quality of the forum.
And naturally, neither I nor the other users in the football section swear constantly (actually, we almost never do); that level depends on the situation. For instance, if a player breaks another player's leg, it's only natural to react that way and give them an earful. It was just as dangerous here, as it came incredibly close to being tragic...

I'm saying you've overreacted and you won't admit it, but fine, have it your way. You've handed me two warnings worth over 40 points for nothing. If that makes you happy, enjoy it—Michael Lee4, you too. As for me, I'm done with the Formula 1 subforum. Go ahead and enjoy your sterile atmosphere among your little group of ten, while driving away all newcomers with what is, frankly, poor moderation and a complete lack of reality and tolerance.

Look, I haven't even opened this thread yet, so I honestly have zero clue what Michael Lee4 was rambling about.
I've been busy cleaning up reported posts, and I'll dive into the whole thread once I have a second.

Usually, I don't bother reading these threads while the race is actually happening—too much effort...
I step in when things get reported, but lately, some members have been complaining that people are getting way too personal and insulting toward the drivers during race weekends. They aren't wrong, so I’ll need to watch that more closely.

Besides, I don't see why it's such a massive struggle to talk about the race or the drivers without resorting to swearing and insults.🤷

Look, if one driver causes a collision that nearly takes out another driver's life, then excuse me, but the reaction was completely understandable. Do you even have emotions? I’m not saying I enjoy swearing, but I think it's a perfectly natural response to vent a few words, just like any other comment you see during a live Formula 1 race.

And most importantly, once that reaction passed, the conversation moved right along as if nothing happened. It didn't derail the discussion or spiral out of control.

So, I am politely asking that my warnings be rescinded, along with those issued to everyone else involved.

Of course I have feelings... in extreme situations, my first instinct is to chuck the TV out the window.😬

But even then, it doesn't cross my mind, nor do I feel any urge, to go around insulting people on this forum.🤷
Look, I get it. Someone writes a quick post about a race and calls a driver an idiot or a moron because they're frustrated with a move. Totally fine. But I just don't see the point in writing a whole post dedicated solely to trashing an athlete and swearing at their family.

Even the drivers themselves don't feel the need to scream profanities at each other on live TV or online, even when it's their entire career on the line. Yet, there's this massive urge for people on American message boards to do exactly that, and apparently, that's "normal"...
Sorry, but not in my book.

If the admins think you need to hand out warnings and decide that this behavior is acceptable, go right ahead. I won't stop you.
But I won't be the one handing them out, because frankly, I don't see any reason to.

stormybadger8 said:Of course I have emotions... in extreme situations, my first instinct would be to chuck the TV out the window.😬

That said, it never crossed my mind, nor did I feel any need, to turn around and insult anyone on this forum during that moment.🤷

You’re acting as if I targeted a fellow user, when in reality, I just lashed out at a driver in the heat of the moment—someone who will never even see the comment.

I get it; someone might write a few sentences about a situation and throw in a word like "moron" or "idiot" regarding a driver when they're frustrated with a move. However, I don't see the necessity of writing an entire post dedicated solely to insulting an athlete and their family.

I wrote exactly what I was feeling at that moment, so please try to view it within that context.

Even the drivers themselves don't feel the need to curse each other's mothers on live TV or online, despite it being their own livelihood on the line. Yet, there seems to be a massive urge for forum users to do exactly that here, which is quite understandable...
I'll pass; I don't find it understandable at all.

That isn't relevant to the forum and isn't a fair comparison.

Is there an administrator available to step in here? It seems the moderator is either unable to clear out this garbage or simply doesn't realize their own error in judgment. I'd be interested to hear the admins' take on this.

David Anderson72 said:Is there any administrator out there who could actually step in here? It seems like the moderator can't handle the blatant rule-breaking—or perhaps they just don't realize their own mistake. I'd love to hear what the admins think about this situation.

What part of this isn't clicking for you? This is Formula 1, not a football match—the rules are different, people act differently, and generally, there's less trash talk. But once someone targets a driver or a fellow forum member, the penalties start flying... I've already flagged this to the moderators myself, and I'm sure I'm not the only one—just so we're clear, it wasn't Michael Lee4.

And believe me—I am the last person who would ever want the mods doing me any favors by handing out penalties. 🤣

Seriously 🙂😎😁

@ David Anderson72, we just had that race in Texas, so they finally started cleaning things up and tightening the rules regarding penalties.

And honestly? I’m all for it—the way some of these guys were acting lately was getting pretty disgusting.☕

But I think you went a bit overboard there, Tibi—you clearly wrote that in the heat of the moment, especially since I saw you shifting all the blame onto someone else once the replay actually showed what happened.

For crying out loud, man, if you're going to start handing out penalties, at least read the whole thread first. Is that really too much to ask? 🙂

Emily Patel64 said:Brilliant 🙂😎😁

@ David Anderson72, Formula 1 was such a mess in Texas recently that they finally started introducing some order and tightening up the penalty system.

And I actually welcome that, because the way people were behaving was getting pretty disgusting.☕

Though I think you overreacted a bit there, likely writing in the heat of the moment; I noticed you shifted all the blame once the replay showed the actual crash.

For heaven's sake, try reading the whole thread before handing out penalties. Is that really too much to ask? 🙂

I can't say what it was like before, since I only recently started posting here. Even though I've been following Formula 1 for 17 years—well before the last few—I haven't really ventured into this specific sub-forum.
And now, on the live page, I get slapped with warnings just because I got carried away and swore. Dammit.
But whatever. It’s clear they take this stuff very seriously, so be my guest. Just know that I won't be looking at that PDF ever again. They can keep their little cult where everyone just nods in agreement and nobody dares to speak up.

Thanks for the support, regardless. 😍

Emily Patel64 said:Seriously, man, if you're gonna call someone out, actually read the whole thread first. Is that really too much to ask? 🙂

Yeah, it’s a chore to read... honestly, I have zero interest in scrolling through those posts while the race is actually happening.
You know me—I’m never around those threads during a race, and once it’s over, I don't have the energy to dig through twenty pages of text that, let's be real, isn't even that interesting.
I just handle the reports, and that's about it.

David Anderson72 actually gave me a solid idea, though. Maybe I should find a way to put Michael Lee4 in charge of moderating those threads😁...since he’s basically the only mod hanging around during the race window anyway...
I’m never available then... I’m glued to the screen for the 90 minutes before, the race itself, the 90 or 120 minutes after... and then I still catch the replay on NBC.😁
And from what I know, Sep and WayOut are even less active than I am.

David Anderson72 said:I honestly have no clue how things used to be. I just started posting here recently.

Since you're still new, I'll give the mods my blessing to clear those red flags from your profile.🙂
Just don't make a habit of it. Try to keep it together next time.

Much appreciated 🙂

David Anderson72 said:Give me a break. How does this have nothing to do with Michael Lee4? He posted right after we did, saying he's waiting for the thread mods to sanction this. Apparently, using the word "colleagues" is sacred, so let's just hand out red cards already.

I only stumbled onto this thread because I saw the headline on the front page and figured I'd take a look.

Look, for real, I didn't report anything. Believe it or not, I actually didn't.

If you didn't catch the sarcasm in what I wrote, I honestly feel bad for you... I don't even know what else to say.

It was just pure banter, the kind we joke around with all the time (on here and everywhere else).

The only thing I'd ever report on that thread is actual racism, just like I would on any other subforum. But this nonsense? Don't make me laugh. 🤣

btw... I have zero interest in moderating Formula 1.

As I mentioned in our private messages, you made the initial observation before the mods stepped in with the warnings, so it seemed logical to me that you’d flag it. Honestly, I didn't expect anyone to take it that personally. If I had realized it would cause such a stir, I would have just deleted the post immediately. Apparently, I walked right into a trap, thanks to the baggage left behind by everyone else's previous nonsense.

hold up a sec, I actually got flagged with that exact same excuse too, so I’m really hoping they clear mine off my record 🙂

David Anderson72 is the newbie here on the Formula 1 forum, while you? You know this place like the back of your hand.

darkmarlin16 said:I knew I’d get a penalty, but honestly, I just had to vent because I was absolutely livid about how Nando finished that race.😠

You even admitted you knew exactly what you were doing and that a penalty was coming your way.
Plus, you had about two hours to delete it or edit it...

So, no. I’m not forgiving you, not even a little bit.
You know better than anyone, and let's be real—you’ve trashed Hamilton more in your career than everyone else on this entire forum combined. It's actually kind of gross...

As far as I recall, you got a permanent ban and only came back after promising to be a model citizen on this Formula 1 board... with a promise to me and a promise to the admins.
And now you expect me to give you special treatment and forgive your penalties?
Forget it. Not happening.