Rules are Rules?

[Aegis]

I would like to get clarification on a few things to help prolog my membership on AO:

from the rules:

PUNISHMENTS
Mild offences will probably result in a post being edited, locked, or deleted by the moderators. If a topic is locked, we will give you a quick explanation as to why. For more severe offences we will delete the post and give you a warning - maybe two. After that you will be banned. Bans last from 3 days to forever, depending on the offence and your reaction to the moderators when they try to correct your behavior.

If you find yourself banned, email the moderator or webmaster to try to work something out. We will most likely unban you if you try to work with us.

How are you contacted? How do you receive a warning if you cannot get on AO? Will you receive an email?

If you are banned, how do you know other than not being able to log on?

What if you email a mod and don't receive a response, or are told that another mod will contact you and nothing happens? The mod list does not seem to be current, and not all of those listed do not have email addresses.

Another one from the rules -

SIGNATURE GUIDELINES
Unlike most sites that only allow you a small avatar, we do allow you to post images in your signature. However, we do have some guidelines. Any user found violating the guidelines will have thier signature deleted. If you repeated break the guidelines you will be banned.

Not my spelling, by the way. So - if your sig is outside the rules, it will be deleted. Can you be banned for your sig without prior warning or deletion? The sig "guidelines" are not listed under rules, so I am not clear if a sig violation is a rule violation or not.

I am also not clear on how many people that are advocating strict adherence to the rules have read them, or are familiar with how they are being enforced.

[Steelrat]

I would like to get clarification on a few things to help prolog my membership on AO:

from the rules:

PUNISHMENTS
Mild offences will probably result in a post being edited, locked, or deleted by the moderators. If a topic is locked, we will give you a quick explanation as to why. For more severe offences we will delete the post and give you a warning - maybe two. After that you will be banned. Bans last from 3 days to forever, depending on the offence and your reaction to the moderators when they try to correct your behavior.

If you find yourself banned, email the moderator or webmaster to try to work something out. We will most likely unban you if you try to work with us.

How are you contacted? How do you receive a warning if you cannot get on AO? Will you receive an email?

If you are banned, how do you know other than not being able to log on?

What if you email a mod and don't receive a response, or are told that another mod will contact you and nothing happens? The mod list does not seem to be current, and not all of those listed do not have email addresses.

Another one from the rules -

SIGNATURE GUIDELINES
Unlike most sites that only allow you a small avatar, we do allow you to post images in your signature. However, we do have some guidelines. Any user found violating the guidelines will have thier signature deleted. If you repeated break the guidelines you will be banned.

Not my spelling, by the way. So - if your sig is outside the rules, it will be deleted. Can you be banned for your sig without prior warning or deletion? The sig "guidelines" are not listed under rules, so I am not clear if a sig violation is a rule violation or not.

I am also not clear on how many people that are advocating strict adherence to the rules have read them, or are familiar with how they are being enforced.

Go get em Aegis! I want to know why some people were un-banned, while others remain banned. Either there is discretion, or there isn't. There is no middle ground.

[Potatoboy]

I assume you mean LPB.

Many were banned over short span, for different reasons.

LPB was banned before that for a very distinct reason.

As far as the questions:

There is a new forum which contains all the ban information, and is readable by everyone, even banned members, you'd have to check there to see why you were banned.

Sig violations are usually not bannable on the first offense, unless they also are in violation of other rules, (say like a pornographic image)

If you repeatedly violate them, or change them back once they've been changed by a mod, then it may result in a ban.

[Aegis]

let's not assume anything.

Have the rules have changed, or am I referring to the wrong source?

[Steelrat]

So there is discretion, right? I mean, a good number of people received lifetime bans, and then were un-banned. So the rules arent completely inflexible.

[teufelhunden]

So there is discretion, right? I mean, a good number of people received lifetime bans, and then were un-banned. So the rules arent completely inflexible if you're friends with the right people.

Gotcha covered, bud.

[Potatoboy]

Gotcha covered, bud.

Umm... there was only one ban that wasn't lifted from that whole thing. How you can claim that there's favoritism involved with that is completely beyond me.

[Steelrat]

Umm... there was only one ban that wasn't lifted from that whole thing. How you can claim that there's favoritism involved with that is completely beyond me.

Okay, so the question is, why wasnt that one lifted too?

[teufelhunden]

Umm... there was only one ban that wasn't lifted from that whole thing. How you can claim that there's favoritism involved with that is completely beyond me.

In this whole thing, yes. But please don't try and tell me there has never been an instance in which rules were bent for certain people and not others.

I think consistency and no special treatment are the two most suggested things in TK's mod thread.. and not because everybody likes to type them.

[Potatoboy]

Okay, so the question is, why wasnt that one lifted too?

Because that one *was* for valid reasons.

[teufelhunden]

Because that one *was* for valid reasons.

So were some of the others ones. Not to name names, but I can think of two off my head who violated a couple of rules. Both with images, actually.

[RobAGD]

Let a sleeping dog lie.

There was one Perm ban that wasnt lifted. There are afew reason for this and it will not be discussed here.

There were a lot of bans made in a rush, and almost all were over turned reguardless of the event that caused the ban.

Personaly I would have left the bans but other mods lifted them before contacting the person that placed the bans, so we let it stand. It had nothing to do with playing favorits.

-Robert