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Author Topic: When Curt Was Banned... again.  (Read 21418 times)

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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« on: March 09, 2008, 11:51:22 PM »
But anyways, let's talk about Curt. Not being able to be a regular visitor at RPG.net, I had to do some digging to get more information than what I had yesterday.  Today, I discovered that what got him suspended for two days was a certain comment he made on a thread about, obviously, homosexuals; in response to a poster who Curt felt wasn't pro-gay enough.

No big surprise, right? Except for one thing:  if you see that thread now, you'll notice that the original statement in Curt's reply, the one that got him banned, has been replaced with a red-texted "edited by mods".

As in, covered up! Normally, the modclique is ALL too fucking happy to leave whatever comment was said on the offending poster's thread, to be able to show exactly why they just "had" to ban the fucker. But here, no, Curt's little comment is edited away as fast as possible.

I had to do some research to figure out just what it was, and then an anonymous tip brought it to my door.  Apparently, Curt said to this other poster:
Quote
So if I were to say that your mother is a cum-guzzling whore, then in the right context that'd be okay?


The RPG.net mods, in their constant crusade to revise history and protect their own, tried to get rid of that statement, but here it is; preserved for all to see. Of course, the reason they edited this out is because their honest hope is that after the two-day vacation, they can reinstate Curt as a mod with full powers. After countless occasions of demonstrating why he is utterly and absolutely unsuited to being a mod of any kind, these fucks still want him back.  In fact, he's still listed as a mod right now.

Imagine what would have happened to any normal poster if they'd called someone else's mother a "cum-guzzling whore"? I can bet you anything that they wouldn't be made a mod, that's for sure.  But Curt is special, he's one of them, he's part of the clique.  So much for equality under the rules...

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Vellorian

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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2008, 12:12:39 AM »
Isn't Curt a mod, now?
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David Johansen

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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2008, 01:02:26 AM »
I think he retired and stormed out and came back again then again he might be a mod again.

He once told me that I didn't deserve to live.  I backed off.  Later back in the days of people trying to leave and start a new community I got invited to places he was hanging out.

Each time I joined one of these communities I made a point of asking him if he minded my coming because I didn't want to taint someone's utopia with my presence if it was going to cause a problem.

He denied even knowing who I was the first time and eventually even accused me of stalkerish behaviour.

I can see why he gets so mad about the issue in question.  For him it is the very definition of his existance.  For me it's a theological curiosity at best and another stupid reason for human beings to dehumanize each other at worst.

I don't think making him a mod was the answer.  Nor do I see banning him as having been the right move.  At that point in time on Tangency banning was a bit of a mark of honour.  It gave people popular clout in the mod warz.  Heck there were even people mass begging for bistromath to be reinstated.
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Koltar

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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2008, 01:15:12 AM »
Sad thing is : One time Curt said he enjoyed playing GURPS, then he was freaked out that he and I might enjoy playing same game.

He was probably some other moderator's lift to and from work for awhile. Probably why he got to do whatever he wanted on there for a time.


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Kyle Aaron

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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2008, 01:49:04 AM »
Curt was sharing a flat with VoiceOfIsaac and Alexandria, who were both mods at the time. The three shared an internet connection. Had Curt defied his ban with a sock puppet, they'd have had to put in an IP ban, which would of course have knocked off two mods, too.

Since they couldn't keep him away, they made him a mod.

I imagine flatting with two mods also helped his case. "Once you know him in person, then you can understand," etc. It's not what you know but who you know, and all that.

If say Kyle calls someone a cunt, who am I to them? Just some random internet dickhead. But if the guy you're flatting with calls someone a cunt, well then you're going to cut him some slack. That's just human nature.
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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2008, 04:06:42 PM »
That site is the most appallingly moderated place I've ever seen. It's so blatantly biased and so badly run it beggars belief. These peopel are what i woudl consider cowards, they don't even bother to talk about whatever terrible crime or problem you have caused. And, from my (obviously bitter :D) experience the reason is always 'personal attacks'. Personal attacks, which translates as you have hurt one of the little darlings' feelings (though not really, they are just exceptionally precious).
Two things really bug me about their style though:
1. What's good for the goose isn't good for the gander, which means that youc an't act bad and get banned, but peopel who respond in kind are somehow allowed to do so because it's in response. That's a huge double standard in my book and arrogance of the worst kind.

2. defending yourself only makes things worse, because it is automatically and inexorably transalated as being argumentative, difficult and will of course exacerbate the problem

So instead of meeting you as an equal and treating you like an adult, these people behave like spoilt kids of the worst kind. Ironically if anyone spoke to me like that in real life, they'd be lucky not to walk away with a slap!

It really is pathetic; as pathetic as it is unfortunate. But that's the way of the interweb it seems. This so called frontier for free expression really is at the whim of petty little hitlers (oop godwin's rule, you've broken the interweb! oh noes!), whose enjoyment of their little slice of autocracy is commensurate with just how utterly pathetic it is.

So what should be a really good site full of ideas and expression is a sad little clique. No wonder gamers get the reputation they do. Get a life!

Rant over.
 

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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2008, 05:23:04 AM »
Quote from: Kyle Aaron
Curt was sharing a flat with VoiceOfIsaac and Alexandria, who were both mods at the time. The three shared an internet connection. Had Curt defied his ban with a sock puppet, they'd have had to put in an IP ban, which would of course have knocked off two mods, too.


You seem to know a lot about the goings on at the cliquenest. Are you sat in the building opposite with a pair of binoculars?:raise:
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Kyle Aaron

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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2008, 05:51:43 AM »
Quote from: Anthrobot
You seem to know a lot about the goings on at the cliquenest. Are you sat in the building opposite with a pair of binoculars?:raise:
No, it was openly discussed at the time. Curt talked about moving in with the two mods, later her got "perma"-banned, and so on.

It was all out there. You could go picking through the "Boneyards" before they delete it all and check if you want.
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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2008, 12:01:13 PM »
Quote from: Anthrobot
You seem to know a lot about the goings on at the cliquenest. Are you sat in the building opposite with a pair of binoculars?:raise:


I thought the living arrangements with VoI, A2K, and Curt was common knowledge.  They discussed in Tangency often enough that even a slow-on-the-uptake fellow like myself knew what was what.
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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #9 on: March 16, 2008, 04:31:53 AM »
The moderation there is pretty bad, and I say this as someone who manages to stay out of trouble. I really don't know what's a bannable offense over there. A couple days ago, as provided by Koltar, I read the thread that got J Arcane banned from rpgnet., and his banning was remarkably stupid. Granted, J Arcane isn't exactly sweetness and light, and I don't know what his previous offenses were, but whatever he did, didn't merit a ban. He wasn't THAT bad. Supposedly, he was "acting like a mod". From what I could see, he was a little condescending, but if that's a bannable offense, then they'd need to ban a HUGE percentage of the posters there....:haw:

They specifically cited a warning he was given months previously to the EXACT day. It sounds pretty damn nitpicky to me, almost like the mods were planning a revenge ban or something.

I also don't understand rpgnet's pretense about the website being an "emotionally safe place", when it's anything but that. If anything, the environment there encourages passive-aggressive behavior, thus making it LESS "emotionally safe".

This isn't a total slam on the site. There's some cool and interesting stuff there, but it's like having a cigarette ash in your chocolate cake. It won't kill the cake, but it WILL partially taint your enjoyment of it. :raise:

Kyle Aaron

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« Reply #10 on: March 16, 2008, 04:53:45 AM »
Quote from: Sacrificial Lamb
They specifically cited a warning he was given months previously to the EXACT day. It sounds pretty damn nitpicky to me, almost like the mods were planning a revenge ban or something.
Yes and no. Noting who got warned or suspended when lets them at least try to be fair. If they didn't note down those things, then people would say, "why did X get permabanned for saying "fuck you" when X never did anything before but Y did all these other things... It's not fair!"

So an attempt at consistency and fairness can lead to nitpickiness. And not being nitpicky can lead to inconsistent and unfair moderation, more so than you see now.

On the other hand, sometimes you get on the shit list of a particular mod and from then on, it's only a matter of time.

There's not really any easy solution. In the end you just have to pick a way you want things to be done, a style you want the place to have, and stick to it.
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Sacrificial Lamb

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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #11 on: March 16, 2008, 05:17:53 AM »
Quote from: Kyle Aaron
Yes and no. Noting who got warned or suspended when lets them at least try to be fair. If they didn't note down those things, then people would say, "why did X get permabanned for saying "fuck you" when X never did anything before but Y did all these other things... It's not fair!"

So an attempt at consistency and fairness can lead to nitpickiness. And not being nitpicky can lead to inconsistent and unfair moderation, more so than you see now.

On the other hand, sometimes you get on the shit list of a particular mod and from then on, it's only a matter of time.

There's not really any easy solution. In the end you just have to pick a way you want things to be done, a style you want the place to have, and stick to it.


You might be right, Kyle....but the real point is, perma-banning J Arcane in that instance was total overkill. It didn't even merit a three-day ban. If they found the thread so annoying, they should have just said, "J Arcane, stop being a dick", and closed the thread. And he was only being MILDLY dickish anyway...

He was the Diet Coke of Dick. Just one calorie. Not dickish enough. But what's done is done, and I guess the mods disagree....:pundit:

Kyle Aaron

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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #12 on: March 16, 2008, 05:41:42 AM »
Well, they've often said that if you go back, email them and apologise for your misdeeds, there's a good chance they'll have you back. And it's happened, and not only with that idiot Curt.

Most of the people who stay permabanned are the sorts of people who are not inclined to apologise for their misdeeds on rpg.net... :cool:
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When Curt Was Banned... again.
« Reply #13 on: March 16, 2008, 05:45:54 AM »
Quote from: Sacrificial Lamb


I also don't understand rpgnet's pretense about the website being an "emotionally safe place", when it's anything but that. If anything, the environment there encourages passive-aggressive behavior, thus making it LESS "emotionally safe".


This is the bind they're in. Banning overt aggression just drives the conflict 'underground,' with sarcasm, IL announcements and pettiness becoming the new language of dispute. It results in the bannings of those who've adhered to the letter of law but not the spirit. Of course the upshot of all this is that RPGnet becomes more vulnerable to accusations of inconsistency and favouritism than ever before.

I still like the place. For sheer breadth of gaming discussion it can't be beat. It's just a real pain to navigate at times.
 

David R

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« Reply #14 on: March 16, 2008, 06:01:42 AM »
Quote from: Drew

I still like the place. For sheer breadth of gaming discussion it can't be beat. It's just a real pain to navigate at times.


Yeah. Sometimes though, the numerous threads of the flavour of the month gets a bit tiring. Other than that I think it's a pretty good place to hang out in. You do kinda of get lost amongst the crowd, but folks there are generally friendly.

Regards,
David R