Banned?
Banned?
I have already asked Harold in private why Greg the new user but old user was banned. In the mean time I thought I'd go ahead and look at what was said on the board and shoutbox and see if any reason was evident. Several things came up but none seemed to be obviously right so I talked to someone else on the board and while they offered insightful points of view. Though it got quite heated as we had differing thoughts on the situation. It still hasn't answered all my questions on the matter.
It seems Greg was banned because Ashley filed a restraining order against him and while he didn't deny this, he tried raising a point that being on a board was not a direct communication with her and perhaps like a newspaper. Though his reasons for coming back might seem suspicious given the restraining order. He was an old member here, as I remember him from the old Leoville days. He was not banned back then and as far as I know never did anything worth being banned now. He didn't disrupt the board, harass anyone on the board or even via private messages. It should not be Harold's prerogative to ban people because someone else doesn't like them. He even asked others if he should make Greg go "Poof", and left it up to Ashley as to what he should do. You can look at the attached text file of the conversation on the board to the shoutbox to see this.
I very much do not agree with this. I understand this is Harold's board and he can do anything he wants on the board without justification. Though doing so sets a dangerous precedent. For doing something like this is siding with one person and doing something to appease that person while also banning another. Was there any threatening or otherwise harassing messages on the board? Was there any in private? I didn't see Ashley post anything about harassing messages. If he did write harassing messages then he should be banned. Also she needs to go to court and show the judge those messages so that she could show he was not following the restraining order. Heck if she feels him being on the board goes against the restraining order she should show the judge and see what he says.
It should not be up to Harold to follow court orders that do not affect him or the board. As long as the court didn't file papers with him involved that asked him to turn over all messages or that he should ban the user, then this shouldn't have been done.
In an ideal world he'd look at everyone equally as members of the board and not side with one person or another simply because he knows them better and likes them. Of course no one is impartial and that can be problematic.
The person I talked to about this before told me that he agreed with Harold's decision as as he thought Greg was going to cause problems in the long run. Like I told him, it is not for Harold, you, me or anyone else to decide the intentions of someone. For the world is not ruled by intentions and what might happen. If he causes trouble then ban him. Pointing out that you think he doesn't have anything beneficial to offer to the community is impossible to determine. Who is to say what he might offer? No one can tell the future. He very well may end up being a bad person but that is not be shown to be true simply by how you feel about someone. And shouldn't be used as a reasoning for a user being banned.
Of course Ron/Doug the old member of Leoville and for a while Harold's came up. It was shown that he would join up and not cause any problems at first and then start making trouble. Greg on the other hand as far as I know never did anything before to merit him being banned. As evident that his previous username was never banned. Harold seemed to welcome him with open arms, even going as far as to try to get him his old username. So Ron and Greg are totally different. Doug joined up countless times and stalked Leo. Not sure about Harold, though if Harold had a order against Greg then it is evident he didn't belong here. As this is Harold's board and any message would be a direct message to him as it was his board. Though Ashley is just another member and has/had a board of her own. If he were to post there then that is that. She can ban him. Though I think comparing Greg with Ron was merely a way to demonize Greg so that Harold's ruling could see more reasonable.
Like I said before, if a member has a problem with another then where do you draw the line? I could have a problem with anyone and say that they were harassing me by calling me. Even if they never sent me private messages on the board or said anything then do I have the right to get Harold to ban that user? I think not. If something happens on the board then it should be shown to Harold and then it should be acted upon. If it happens elsewhere then they should settle those problems.
Greg changing his nickname three times in such a short span of time was also raised a possible reason for him getting banned. When has changing your username ever been grounds for getting banned? If such stipulations were set in place then it should not allow a user to change their name more than every so often. Also Harold has to approve any name changes as far as I can tell. So it is ultimately up to him to allow or deny a username.
The person I talked to about this even brought up my previous problems with a stalker. That it was like that girl who showed up at a funeral I attended and then coming here to the board. Well I talked to her and settled any problems. The next step would have been a restraining order and if she kept contacting or following me then I'd have contacted the judge. But I found out in talking to her about it was that she was a member on the board. I knew she was a member as she knew what was posted in a private section when I talked about the whole stalker thing. So, I've dealt with this before. She just might be a silent member or someone I talk to on the board regularly. I don't know. But she never contacted me on the board or posted anything harassing here. So it was not my place to get her banned, even if I knew her handle.
I have already asked Harold in private why Greg the new user but old user was banned. In the mean time I thought I'd go ahead and look at what was said on the board and shoutbox and see if any reason was evident. Several things came up but none seemed to be obviously right so I talked to someone else on the board and while they offered insightful points of view. Though it got quite heated as we had differing thoughts on the situation. It still hasn't answered all my questions on the matter.
It seems Greg was banned because Ashley filed a restraining order against him and while he didn't deny this, he tried raising a point that being on a board was not a direct communication with her and perhaps like a newspaper. Though his reasons for coming back might seem suspicious given the restraining order. He was an old member here, as I remember him from the old Leoville days. He was not banned back then and as far as I know never did anything worth being banned now. He didn't disrupt the board, harass anyone on the board or even via private messages. It should not be Harold's prerogative to ban people because someone else doesn't like them. He even asked others if he should make Greg go "Poof", and left it up to Ashley as to what he should do. You can look at the attached text file of the conversation on the board to the shoutbox to see this.
I very much do not agree with this. I understand this is Harold's board and he can do anything he wants on the board without justification. Though doing so sets a dangerous precedent. For doing something like this is siding with one person and doing something to appease that person while also banning another. Was there any threatening or otherwise harassing messages on the board? Was there any in private? I didn't see Ashley post anything about harassing messages. If he did write harassing messages then he should be banned. Also she needs to go to court and show the judge those messages so that she could show he was not following the restraining order. Heck if she feels him being on the board goes against the restraining order she should show the judge and see what he says.
It should not be up to Harold to follow court orders that do not affect him or the board. As long as the court didn't file papers with him involved that asked him to turn over all messages or that he should ban the user, then this shouldn't have been done.
In an ideal world he'd look at everyone equally as members of the board and not side with one person or another simply because he knows them better and likes them. Of course no one is impartial and that can be problematic.
The person I talked to about this before told me that he agreed with Harold's decision as as he thought Greg was going to cause problems in the long run. Like I told him, it is not for Harold, you, me or anyone else to decide the intentions of someone. For the world is not ruled by intentions and what might happen. If he causes trouble then ban him. Pointing out that you think he doesn't have anything beneficial to offer to the community is impossible to determine. Who is to say what he might offer? No one can tell the future. He very well may end up being a bad person but that is not be shown to be true simply by how you feel about someone. And shouldn't be used as a reasoning for a user being banned.
Of course Ron/Doug the old member of Leoville and for a while Harold's came up. It was shown that he would join up and not cause any problems at first and then start making trouble. Greg on the other hand as far as I know never did anything before to merit him being banned. As evident that his previous username was never banned. Harold seemed to welcome him with open arms, even going as far as to try to get him his old username. So Ron and Greg are totally different. Doug joined up countless times and stalked Leo. Not sure about Harold, though if Harold had a order against Greg then it is evident he didn't belong here. As this is Harold's board and any message would be a direct message to him as it was his board. Though Ashley is just another member and has/had a board of her own. If he were to post there then that is that. She can ban him. Though I think comparing Greg with Ron was merely a way to demonize Greg so that Harold's ruling could see more reasonable.
Like I said before, if a member has a problem with another then where do you draw the line? I could have a problem with anyone and say that they were harassing me by calling me. Even if they never sent me private messages on the board or said anything then do I have the right to get Harold to ban that user? I think not. If something happens on the board then it should be shown to Harold and then it should be acted upon. If it happens elsewhere then they should settle those problems.
Greg changing his nickname three times in such a short span of time was also raised a possible reason for him getting banned. When has changing your username ever been grounds for getting banned? If such stipulations were set in place then it should not allow a user to change their name more than every so often. Also Harold has to approve any name changes as far as I can tell. So it is ultimately up to him to allow or deny a username.
The person I talked to about this even brought up my previous problems with a stalker. That it was like that girl who showed up at a funeral I attended and then coming here to the board. Well I talked to her and settled any problems. The next step would have been a restraining order and if she kept contacting or following me then I'd have contacted the judge. But I found out in talking to her about it was that she was a member on the board. I knew she was a member as she knew what was posted in a private section when I talked about the whole stalker thing. So, I've dealt with this before. She just might be a silent member or someone I talk to on the board regularly. I don't know. But she never contacted me on the board or posted anything harassing here. So it was not my place to get her banned, even if I knew her handle.