What does it mean to be "banned" on MOL?

On another thread a poster states that he has been "banned" for something he posted. Yet there he is posting.

What am I missing?


some people have extra accounts as a prophylactic measure because they know at some point their original account will be suspended.

imho, being banned also means one has failed the MOL IQ test. It's not really that difficult to avoid being banned.


ml1 said:



imho, being banned also means one has failed the MOL IQ test. 

Or stand on principle and speak truths people do not want to hear.


Nah.

broigus said:
ml1 said:



imho, being banned also means one has failed the MOL IQ test. 

Or stand on principle and speak truths people do not want to hear.

I have stood on principle many times, even to the point where I was berated and where I was fuming, but I have never been banned. I've been tempted to say things that would get me banned though... but I believe that if you can't say something to prove your point without insulting someone else, you've already lost the argument.


marylago said:

I have stood on principle many times, even to the point where I was berated and where I was fuming, but I have never been banned. I've been tempted to say things that would get me banned though... but I believe that if you can't say something to prove your point without insulting someone else, you've already lost the argument.

+ a billion

if you have multiple aliases because you cant self control yourself or write in a way that conveys your message without insult, then you should just walk away.  if it were my site I would delete anyone that I observed with duplicate sign ins.


it's more like hitting one's head against a wall repeatedly "on principle."  And not expecting to get a headache.

imonlysleeping said:

Nah.
broigus said:
ml1 said:



imho, being banned also means one has failed the MOL IQ test. 

Or stand on principle and speak truths people do not want to hear.

ml1 said:

it's more like hitting one's head against a wall repeatedly "on principle."  And not expecting to get a headache.
imonlysleeping said:

Nah.
broigus said:
ml1 said:



imho, being banned also means one has failed the MOL IQ test. 

Or stand on principle and speak truths people do not want to hear.

Maybe it is a soft wall.

My understanding was that personal attacks are "verboten"  and could get one banned

The expression of any legitimate opinion or dissent is OK


No one is addressing my question. 

If Kings Supermarket bans me from entering because I was once caught shoplifting I can't show up there and gain access just by using a different name.

I might try a disguise but if I got caught I'd be thrown out. I certainly couldn't proclaim myself to be the person who got banned while wearing the disguise and expect not to be ejected. 

On MOL one can be "banned", log on under a different name, admit being the person banned and continue to post.


LOST said:

No one is addressing my question. 

If Kings Supermarket bans me from entering because I was once caught shoplifting I can't show up there and gain access just by using a different name.

I might try a disguise but if I got caught I'd be thrown out. I certainly couldn't proclaim myself to be the person who got banned while wearing the disguise and expect not to be ejected. 

On MOL one can be "banned", log on under a different name, admit being the person banned and continue to post.

His other username has been banned and is now claiming MOL is anti-Israel and no one on MOL is allowed to support Israel (on Facebook).


Ok............let me go back

According to MOL rules or so I understand

If Ralph is banned,  but comes back as Fred that is ok

It is the identity Ralph that has been banned

Fred has a clean slate and is given a voice

Except for the legendary Strawberry...............none can or ever will compare

I especially loved "Colorado"............color red...............color red for Strawberry

One of a kind



I think the rulers of MOL have been flexible about multiple user IDs because it allows people to make personal or embarrassing posts anonymously. It's a nice feature and I'd be sorry to lose it. To me, the benefits outweigh the abuse potential. If someone goes off the rails, it's pretty easy to tell who they are even under a different user ID.


jamie said:
LOST said:

No one is addressing my question. 

If Kings Supermarket bans me from entering because I was once caught shoplifting I can't show up there and gain access just by using a different name.

I might try a disguise but if I got caught I'd be thrown out. I certainly couldn't proclaim myself to be the person who got banned while wearing the disguise and expect not to be ejected. 

On MOL one can be "banned", log on under a different name, admit being the person banned and continue to post.

His other username has been banned and is now claiming MOL is anti-Israel and no one on MOL is allowed to support Israel (on Facebook).

Thank you for your response. 

I'm not sure how to counter his lies on Facebook, but there are certainly many MOL posters who support Israel. Some people think supporting Israel means being totally uncritical of whatever government is in power at the time.

Of course the discussion he began which got him banned in the first place owed more to Anti-Muslim prejudice than Anti-Jewish prejudice.


It's only easy to tell if you can tell. How often do you not realize what's going on? No way to know. I don't love the idea that certain posters here might be actively posting under multiple screen names in order to agree with themselves or whatever. 

kthnry said:

I think the rulers of MOL have been flexible about multiple user IDs because it allows people to make personal or embarrassing posts anonymously. It's a nice feature and I'd be sorry to lose it. To me, the benefits outweigh the abuse potential. If someone goes off the rails, it's pretty easy to tell who they are even under a different user ID.

Sometimes, when someone has gone off the rails and been banned under one name, they pick up another nom de guerre and continue posting on the same exact topic, using the same language, making the same points, and foaming at the mouth in exactly the same way. Those are easy to spot. 

On another subject, this is one of the few threads I am able to post on today, as many have no comments box or submit button, so I figure I am semi-banned. A whole new category of poster?  wink 


imonlysleeping said:

It's only easy to tell if you can tell. How often do you not realize what's going on? No way to know. I don't love the idea that certain posters here might be actively posting under multiple screen names in order to agree with themselves or whatever. 
kthnry said:

I think the rulers of MOL have been flexible about multiple user IDs because it allows people to make personal or embarrassing posts anonymously. It's a nice feature and I'd be sorry to lose it. To me, the benefits outweigh the abuse potential. If someone goes off the rails, it's pretty easy to tell who they are even under a different user ID.

.... Ok well now there's an area where I show a stunning lack of imagination. Does that really happen here? I know what "sock puppets" are but I never considered it would happen on a smallish town community message board. 


I'm not sure that each and every post is monitored, so someone has to report these things to admin.  His bragging gave him away, so that alter ego is now banned, too.  But don't know if it was just because he bragged, or that he did "it" again and was ban-worthy.

Gosh, I remember Strawberry.  (And I stay away from political categories!)


imonlysleeping said:

It's only easy to tell if you can tell. How often do you not realize what's going on? No way to know. I don't love the idea that certain posters here might be actively posting under multiple screen names in order to agree with themselves or whatever. 
kthnry said:

I think the rulers of MOL have been flexible about multiple user IDs because it allows people to make personal or embarrassing posts anonymously. It's a nice feature and I'd be sorry to lose it. To me, the benefits outweigh the abuse potential. If someone goes off the rails, it's pretty easy to tell who they are even under a different user ID.

I never know. I'm so clueless.  long face 


imonlysleeping said:

It's only easy to tell if you can tell. How often do you not realize what's going on? No way to know. I don't love the idea that certain posters here might be actively posting under multiple screen names in order to agree with themselves or whatever. 
kthnry said:

I think the rulers of MOL have been flexible about multiple user IDs because it allows people to make personal or embarrassing posts anonymously. It's a nice feature and I'd be sorry to lose it. To me, the benefits outweigh the abuse potential. If someone goes off the rails, it's pretty easy to tell who they are even under a different user ID.

The admins can tell by the IP address or other means if someone gets out of control and ban them completely. (E.g., strawberry or metalart.) It used to be pretty obvious and kind of funny. People would churn through several names in a day and make a joke of it.

As someone who prefers the friendlier and more supportive threads, I'd rather maintain support for anonymity in those threads than worry about one of the eight of you engaging in the pissing matches in the soapbox threads creating a new ID to fake support for your position.


Jackson_Fusion said:
imonlysleeping said:

It's only easy to tell if you can tell. How often do you not realize what's going on? No way to know. I don't love the idea that certain posters here might be actively posting under multiple screen names in order to agree with themselves or whatever. 
kthnry said:

I think the rulers of MOL have been flexible about multiple user IDs because it allows people to make personal or embarrassing posts anonymously. It's a nice feature and I'd be sorry to lose it. To me, the benefits outweigh the abuse potential. If someone goes off the rails, it's pretty easy to tell who they are even under a different user ID.

.... Ok well now there's an area where I show a stunning lack of imagination. Does that really happen here? I know what "sock puppets" are but I never considered it would happen on a smallish town community message board. 

Alternate user IDs for confidentiality reasons? All the time. Look back at some of the posts from parents dealing with family crises. There was one very active thread started by a mother whose daughter was cutting herself. Another one whose daughter nearly died from anorexia. Would you post that kind of question under Jackson_Fusion if anyone knows who you are? There have been questions about bankruptcy and foreclosure, all sorts of sensitive topics.


One thing about MOL as a community board is that a lot of us know many of the other screen names in person. So I'm certain that the majority of people posting here are not sock puppets. But certainly there could be a few. It's just that most people aren't either creative enough or want to make the effort to use different writing styles for different screen names. As a result, it usually becomes evident that it's someone who's coming back under a different name.  Most of us have quirks that are a "tell" -- favorite turns of a phrase, ways of abbreviating, frequently misspelled words (or use of two dashes to set off a clause). Most people can't keep from slipping back into those old habits.

imonlysleeping said:

It's only easy to tell if you can tell. How often do you not realize what's going on? No way to know. I don't love the idea that certain posters here might be actively posting under multiple screen names in order to agree with themselves or whatever. 
kthnry said:

I think the rulers of MOL have been flexible about multiple user IDs because it allows people to make personal or embarrassing posts anonymously. It's a nice feature and I'd be sorry to lose it. To me, the benefits outweigh the abuse potential. If someone goes off the rails, it's pretty easy to tell who they are even under a different user ID.

kthnry said:
Jackson_Fusion said:
imonlysleeping said:

It's only easy to tell if you can tell. How often do you not realize what's going on? No way to know. I don't love the idea that certain posters here might be actively posting under multiple screen names in order to agree with themselves or whatever. 
kthnry said:

I think the rulers of MOL have been flexible about multiple user IDs because it allows people to make personal or embarrassing posts anonymously. It's a nice feature and I'd be sorry to lose it. To me, the benefits outweigh the abuse potential. If someone goes off the rails, it's pretty easy to tell who they are even under a different user ID.

.... Ok well now there's an area where I show a stunning lack of imagination. Does that really happen here? I know what "sock puppets" are but I never considered it would happen on a smallish town community message board. 

Alternate user IDs for confidentiality reasons? All the time. Look back at some of the posts from parents dealing with family crises. There was one very active thread started by a mother whose daughter was cutting herself. Another one whose daughter nearly died from anorexia. Would you post that kind of question under Jackson_Fusion if anyone knows who you are? There have been questions about bankruptcy and foreclosure, all sorts of sensitive topics.

I was thinking more people arguing the same point with different ID's to support themselves and give the appearance of numbers. The name changes for personal issues I get.


Jackson_Fusion said:
kthnry said:
Jackson_Fusion said:
imonlysleeping said:

It's only easy to tell if you can tell. How often do you not realize what's going on? No way to know. I don't love the idea that certain posters here might be actively posting under multiple screen names in order to agree with themselves or whatever. 
kthnry said:

I think the rulers of MOL have been flexible about multiple user IDs because it allows people to make personal or embarrassing posts anonymously. It's a nice feature and I'd be sorry to lose it. To me, the benefits outweigh the abuse potential. If someone goes off the rails, it's pretty easy to tell who they are even under a different user ID.

.... Ok well now there's an area where I show a stunning lack of imagination. Does that really happen here? I know what "sock puppets" are but I never considered it would happen on a smallish town community message board. 

Alternate user IDs for confidentiality reasons? All the time. Look back at some of the posts from parents dealing with family crises. There was one very active thread started by a mother whose daughter was cutting herself. Another one whose daughter nearly died from anorexia. Would you post that kind of question under Jackson_Fusion if anyone knows who you are? There have been questions about bankruptcy and foreclosure, all sorts of sensitive topics.

I was thinking more people arguing the same point with different ID's to support themselves and give the appearance of numbers. The name changes for personal issues I get.

Better than arguing against themselves... But I'm pretty sure we've seen that too.


imonlysleeping said:

It's only easy to tell if you can tell. How often do you not realize what's going on? No way to know. I don't love the idea that certain posters here might be actively posting under multiple screen names in order to agree with themselves or whatever. 
Agreed.

Once in awhile a subject is so sensitive it can cause an otherwise nice poster to get very angry and perhaps post something that they might have handled differently if they had time to consider the consequences. 

We all have issues that we are passionate about. I admit to having mine. So that said, and assuming I know who we are talking about, how about giving him another chance?


To answer the question, I think there are different levels of "banned".  It can be done temporarily as in a few days or a week.  Perhaps poster in question was banned for a day or two?  Honestly, I try not to pay attention to him so not sure.


royg said:
imonlysleeping said:

It's only easy to tell if you can tell. How often do you not realize what's going on? No way to know. I don't love the idea that certain posters here might be actively posting under multiple screen names in order to agree with themselves or whatever. 
Agreed.

Hey, wait a second ...


Ha! You win the thread.

DaveSchmidt said:
royg said:
imonlysleeping said:

It's only easy to tell if you can tell. How often do you not realize what's going on? No way to know. I don't love the idea that certain posters here might be actively posting under multiple screen names in order to agree with themselves or whatever. 
Agreed.

Hey, wait a second ...

 oh oh Glad others got a kick out of that bit

In the town I grew up in, there was a man who rode his bicycle around all day. He was a little slow but learned to visit certain spots across 5 or so different towns. When he learned that our backyard was a spot we had to explain some ground rules several times with slightly increasing details.

He learned that when there is a block party, there are people to talk to. Where's your sister? You seen the new Superman movie? He learned that when there is a barbecue, he can ride right up and start chatting people up. Where's your sister? You seen the new Superman movie? Then later, if we fired up the grill for 20 minutes there he was. No one else around - for maybe years - where's your sister? You seen the new Superman movie?

He got all excited one day when I re-set and oiled his chain. It was nice.


Morganna said:

Once in awhile a subject is so sensitive it can cause an otherwise nice poster to get very angry and perhaps post something that they might have handled differently if they had time to consider the consequences. 

We all have issues that we are passionate about. I admit to having mine. So that said, and assuming I know who we are talking about, how about giving him another chance?

Personally, I fully respect the decision of the admins to let him back in for the 27th time.


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