What exactly does it take to get your "warning" level up?

[Tortus]

I assume this means if you do something bad, your warning level will increase.

What exactly does this take? Can someone give a specific example? I haven't been here very long and I've yet to see anything moderated. Even things I thought were a little inappropriate. Most people seem to be fairly respectful.

 

[dmmj]

Making thread like this. Just kidding.
Break the forum rules repeatably and you will start to get warnings. Only you and the mods can see your warning level, and remember if you see something you think might be inappropriate you can always use the report button.

 

[Tortus]

I figured that much, but it seems it has to be pretty severe. Do you get a lot of severe cases around here? Like crazed trolls? I haven't seen any yet.

And another question while I'm here. Why doesn't the "delete this post" option work? Every time I try to use it it says I'm not authorized. I actually tried to delete this thread before someone responded and was denied. lol

 

[dmmj]

Only mods can delete threads/posts.
We ban spammers often, but we try and avoid banning members unless they are really really going for it. Not gonna go into details but it has been awhile since anyone went crazy around here. Any volunteers?

 

[Jacqui]

Like was said, you have to break the rules and we give lots of warnings. We have one maybe two current members who do a lot of skating near the edge of getting served an offiial warning. The most common problem is folks calling each other names.

 

[Yvonne G]

If memory serves, the last time the mods and Josh got together to discuss warning levels, we decided that if the rules were broken we would just ban the member rather than issue any more warnings. So I THINK that feature (warning levels) is not used anymore.

---

Well, just to be sure, I went to the "guidelines" section and I guess my memory is really faulty, because these are the guidelines as revised in 2011:

Guideline Infraction System

Number of Infractions
1 - A warning will be issued via PM and your warning level will be raised to 50% (only visible by you and moderators).
2 - A second warning will be issued and your warning level will be raised to 100%. Each post you make will be moderated before it "goes live" to the site.
3 - A 4 day ban will be placed on your account and your IP(s). Attempts to register new accounts to circumvent the ban will increase the length of the ban.
4 - Your IP(s) will be permanently banned from accessing the site.

These warnings do not expire. Starting July 5, 2011 - everyone starts fresh with zero warnings. Remember to report something if you think it violates our forum guidelines and let the moderators and I handle the rest.
I reserve the right to change this and any other part of the forum guidelines at any time I deem necessary.

TortoiseForum.org shall be the sole arbiter of what does and what does not violate community standards.
We reserve the right to ban anyone who willfully violates these rules.

 

[Jacqui]

While those are the set rules, always note the part where as needed in special cases, Josh has the right to at any time in a case that warrants it, skip directly to the ban part.

 

[Spn785]

Have there been any or very many people banned? I know some of the threads can get a little heated, but I have never seen anything that would constitute more than just a simple message to calm down and be a bit more careful of how things are worded.

 

[Yvonne G]

In the past while us mods were getting our feet wet, we were a little hesitant to act as censors (free speech, and all). In those days, there were lots of arguments and name calling that stayed on the forum for all to see, and we issued warnings instead of deleting the posts.

Now-a-days, speaking for myself, I'm not worried about censorship. If something doesn't agree with the way I interpret our guidelines, I'll just either delete it or move it to the "to be deleted" file for discussion. In these cases, the actual deletion serves to warn the poster that what he said wasn't acceptable, and we haven't had to resort to actual "warnings."

 

[yagyujubei]

As I remember, you fight constantly, get multiple warnings, your warnings are forgiven, you return, resume fighting, and then quit.

 

[Jacqui]

We have had to ban a few members, some very good members even. Like Yvonne said, we give less warnings now then in the past, we also delete things without making a public comment. We Mods are also much better at letting each other know of threads or members whom we are having active concerns with, so we all know to be watching for them. Amazingly, even tho the Mod team is made up of completely unique members, we are as a rule always in agreement on what needs to be done and work well as a team. If a problem arises, it is handled as a team.

 

[Yvonne G]

As I remember, you fight constantly, get multiple warnings, your warnings are forgiven, you return, resume fighting, and then quit.

I had to chuckle at this. It is spot on! (but you left out the part where you start your own forum)

 

[Tom]

As I remember, you fight constantly, get multiple warnings, your warnings are forgiven, you return, resume fighting, and then quit.

I had to chuckle at this. It is spot on! (but you left out the part where you start your own forum)

Yeah true. And I don't remember and "good" members being banned...

 

[Jacqui]

As I remember, you fight constantly, get multiple warnings, your warnings are forgiven, you return, resume fighting, and then quit.

I had to chuckle at this. It is spot on! (but you left out the part where you start your own forum)

Yeah true. And I don't remember and "good" members being banned...

Paul stands out in my mind as being a good member we sadly lost.