And that, I feel, is eminently fair.
Basically, bans are not handed out randomly on the capricious whim of the moderating team. They're handed out because the target did something wrong. Sometimes there are judgement calls which users may disagree with, and occasionally mods make mistakes. But in the vast majority of cases, bans are well-deserved, and given to users whose repeated disruptive behaviour makes the forum unpleasant for others.
So why is it that whenever someone who feels that they might have even slight right to consider themselves "prominent" or "a regular" gets banned, they immediately hop on a mule and post a thread in GD crying at the top of their voice about how they were so cruelly banned, for no good reason, and without warning? Rather than, say, discreetly PMing a moderator to query the ban and clarify why it was given? What do they hope to achieve?
Stirring up public outcry and hysteria and mod-hate will do nothing to get an account unbanned. Moderators don't care how many friends, fans and supporters you might have. If you broke the Terms of Service, you'll get spanked for it. Bitching about it will only harden their resolve. And pestering one mod after another because the first one didn't agree to unban you will only get you stomped for PM harassment. Because mods talk to one another.
In conclusion: if you get banned and want to query it, send a PM. Don't start a thread about it, because it'll only get removed from the forum.
- Zahir
Community Member