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Note: The thread currently has a limit of one post every two hours for non-mod users. Currently, this is hard-coded by the admins, but there are plans to give mods the ability to toggle it without admin intervention. After mods are given the ability to do that, the time limit may be further reduced or removed entirely.


This thread is for discussing the following topics:

  • Questions and clarifications about the site's rules and policies pertaining to wiki editing, forum posting, trope launching, and so on.
  • If you have an idea for a thread on another part of the forums but aren't sure if creating it would be allowed, feel free to ask here.

This thread is not for any of the following:

  • Reporting complaints or concerns about specific moderation decisions (e.g. suspensions and thumps). Report these directly to the admins via the contact form. Selecting "The Staff" sends your message to the admins only, without making it visible to moderators.
  • Queries about thumps applied to your own forum posts (reply to the relevant moderator via PM).
  • Ban appeals (use the "Edit Banned" thread in this forum).
  • Reporting problems or requesting moderator action in the wiki or forums (use Ask The Tropers or Hollersnote  or specialized threads such as "Locked Pages").
  • Queries about locked On-Topic Conversations (OTC) threads or banned discussion topics. OTC has its own moderation discussion thread here, and the latest statement on the locked US Politics thread and other banned OTC topics is here. Bluntly, when certain OTC threads and topics have repeatedly caused problems, we're not going to provide forum space to discuss them again until the moderation toolkit is equipped to handle those conversations.
  • Cut List challenges and queries (they have their own thread here).
  • Requests for changes to the site's code or discussion about such changes', as mods cannot change the code; only the admins can do that. Please direct tech requests to Query Bugs or Query Wishlist, and take other tech-related discussion to the Changelog thread.
  • Crowner actions. Please use the holler function instead.
  • Discussion about changing or implementing policies. Please use Wiki Talk for that. (Asking whether it's OK to make a specific thread is acceptable; using this thread in place of such a thread is not.)
  • Asking about the whereabouts of inactive mods (or other inactive users) before they return, if they return at all. Use the Absent people thread for discussing inactive users.

Posts that use this thread in place of the sections listed in the bulleted list above are off-topic.
We're aware that the Edit Banned thread has a Non-Indicative Name, due to it also covering non-editing suspensions. We're not sure whether the name for that thread can even be edited without breaking the special coding that keeps posting restricted to mods and suspended users, so we're leaving it alone for now, because better safe than sorry.
(Edited Mar 28 2024, adding bullet about OTC and amending layout a little)

Edited by Mrph1 on Mar 29th 2024 at 10:55:20 AM

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#76: Dec 3rd 2020 at 3:23:30 PM

Just to confirm for people the thumps very much did come from Septimus, you get an automated PM from the thumping moderator telling you you’ve been thumped, I opened up my tab to find 5 from Septimus. tongue

Don’t suppose the posts are backed up anywhere? I feel like I had some good prose there. evil grin

While I understand the need to keep us on topic, I feel like a chance could have been given for us to move the discussion before thumping.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#77: Dec 3rd 2020 at 3:33:25 PM

They are, but only the mods can read them.

Optimism is a duty.
Ultimatum Disasturbator from Second Star to the left (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Disasturbator
#78: Dec 3rd 2020 at 4:05:24 PM

You can edit the posts to peek at the posts

New theme music also a box
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#79: Dec 3rd 2020 at 4:08:11 PM

Huh, interesting. I wonder how that works. The thump flag isn't in the post itself, it seems.

Optimism is a duty.
Serac she/her Since: Mar, 2016 Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
she/her
#80: Dec 3rd 2020 at 5:20:05 PM

Although, interestingly, there is still some thump markup hidden in the code that still works. I know that the following words, encased in double brackets rather than quotes, will hide your post with various messages: "thump", "civil", "rules", "bait", and "offtopic", and I'm pretty sure there's more.

Edited by Serac on Dec 3rd 2020 at 7:22:00 AM

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#81: Dec 4th 2020 at 12:13:02 AM

Pre-2011 there were thump tags and since then a button for thumping. I don't think their output looks different but the back-end mechanics do. As for moving rather than thumping, a) there is no way to move forum posts and b) if even requests to return to the topic get ignored then that's the point when the thumping stick has to come out.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Robrecht Your friendly neighbourhood Regent from The Netherlands Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Your friendly neighbourhood Regent
#82: Dec 4th 2020 at 1:56:22 PM

I would like to make a complaint about Fighteer's mod conduct towards me as a result of the whole kerfuffle going on in the General Economics Thread.

Specifically thumping a post in a discussion he was an active participant in, in what I feel to be a blatantly retaliatory manor.

And, I suspect, barring me from posting on OTC on the quiet, also as retaliation, since I now get the message that I am barred from posting in OTC without having received any kind of notification regarding the reason why.

Angry gets shit done.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#83: Dec 4th 2020 at 1:57:42 PM

[up] Are the thumps you're referencing different from the ones confirmed to have been done by SeptimusHeap?

[down] This one?

Edited by sgamer82 on Dec 4th 2020 at 2:06:34 AM

Robrecht Your friendly neighbourhood Regent from The Netherlands Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Your friendly neighbourhood Regent
#84: Dec 4th 2020 at 2:01:39 PM

[up]Yes, it's the one after De Marquis' post.

Edited by Robrecht on Dec 4th 2020 at 11:03:14 AM

Angry gets shit done.
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#85: Dec 4th 2020 at 2:39:56 PM

I assume the bar is because they want to have a chat with you in the edit banned thread, it is in the FAQ part of the forum, and you should probably take it there, though you likely will get a message from there soon enough.

Optimism is a duty.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#86: Dec 4th 2020 at 5:52:42 PM

Yeah an OTC ban and a thump for being baited by De Marquis making absurdist arguments (not for the first time, I remember the white supremacy debate way back) when Fighteer has been actively defending De Marquis’ absurdist arguments, that kinda stinks of Fighteer thumping people for disagreeing with him.

I mean come on, Fighteer just said “I’m not debating on De Marquis’ behalf” and then decides to ban on his behalf?

Edited by Silasw on Dec 4th 2020 at 1:54:44 PM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#87: Dec 4th 2020 at 6:02:52 PM

Can we first establish who made the thump in question before we start accusations?

Optimism is a duty.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#88: Dec 4th 2020 at 6:06:24 PM

Robrecht will have received a PM saying what mod thumped him, so either it was Fighteer or Robrecht is lying, which I’ll admit would be a hell of a twist.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#89: Dec 4th 2020 at 6:48:13 PM

I did not make the decision to ban Robrecht. However, we are all in agreement that it is warranted given his record of hostile argumentation in OTC. If he wishes to appeal, he should use the proper thread and probably stop accusing us of malfeasance, but you know...

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Irene (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#90: Dec 4th 2020 at 7:08:17 PM

I can't entirely tell what's going on, anymore. So never mind on this post. Not enough is established here for me to properly reply. I don't know who did the thump and who did the ban either.

Sorry about that.

Edited by Irene on Dec 4th 2020 at 9:21:21 AM

Robrecht Your friendly neighbourhood Regent from The Netherlands Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Your friendly neighbourhood Regent
#91: Dec 4th 2020 at 7:25:51 PM

[up][up] Unless that's a royal 'we' I'll kindly ask you to not use it.

I'm accusing you of malfeasance, not the other mods. You do not get to hide behind 'we're all a team here' for your personal misconduct.

Of course you weren't the one to decide on the ban. I know how the ban process for the mod team here works. The person who proposes the ban isn't the one who decides on it.

For the record: Yes, Fighteer was the one who made the thump for rudeness. If that thump was on behalf of the entire mod team and Fighteer just happened to be the mod they picked to do that, it's very strange that I was able to continue posting after that thump and didn't receive the OTC suspension (without notification of what further infraction after that thump warranted it) until about a day afterwards.

Edited by Robrecht on Dec 4th 2020 at 4:43:52 PM

Angry gets shit done.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#92: Dec 4th 2020 at 7:53:50 PM

Robrecht, your forum privileges will be removed if you continue discussing your suspension in the wrong place, and if you keep using your personal aggrievance to try to rile up public opinion against me, you will be permanently banned from the entire site.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Irene (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#93: Dec 4th 2020 at 7:58:42 PM

My opinion is that Fighteer shouldn't have made the thump, but that's kind of it. I can't honestly say if it was the right call either, of course. I've been in a similar situation, where I'm not sure if I should've taken action, but I did do the right thing in the end. It does look biased, and I don't think people are disagreeing with that in itself.

However, I agree with him that this is not the right venue here. You explained the issue, but you should follow the site rules and appeal properly too. This is not the thread for appeals, after all.

My own personal suggestion is perhaps to let another moderator handle the current situation too. It honestly does look like bias more and more on your part, Fighteer. And I am honestly on your side here.

Edited by Irene on Dec 4th 2020 at 10:04:53 AM

Robrecht Your friendly neighbourhood Regent from The Netherlands Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Your friendly neighbourhood Regent
#94: Dec 4th 2020 at 8:21:11 PM

[up][up] Fighteer, I asked another mod where I needed to go to make a formal complaint on your conduct before the suspension. They directed me to this thread.

I would ask you to please not muddy the waters and impede that process by conflating it with a separate issue.

Edited by Robrecht on Dec 4th 2020 at 5:21:36 PM

Angry gets shit done.
kkhohoho Since: May, 2011
#95: Dec 4th 2020 at 8:22:49 PM

@Fighteer:

If he wishes to appeal, he should use the proper thread and probably stop accusing us of malfeasance, but you know...

That sounds suspiciously passive aggressive.

Robrecht, your forum privileges will be removed if you continue discussing your suspension in the wrong place, and if you keep using your personal aggrievance to try to rile up public opinion against me, you will be permanently banned from the entire site.

And that sounds like abusing power via personal bias.

At the very least, Fighteer should be taken out of the equation and someone without personal involvement should be handling this.

Edited by kkhohoho on Dec 4th 2020 at 10:23:59 AM

Irene (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#96: Dec 4th 2020 at 10:04:37 PM

This looks like Fighteer didn't actually know the situation and misread it entirely as him trying to target him while not actually appealing properly.

I can get the confusion here. A lot of people trying to inproperly appeal in various other venues in many ways, and it's been an issue for a while. Fighteer had to deal with a huge amount of these issues, so understandably it stresses him out a bit so he can respond poorly sometimes.

I'm not saying it's justified. I just see what easily happened here. An honest mistake. I feel the best thing is to simply apologize for the misunderstanding and let the other moderation handle both issues.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#97: Dec 5th 2020 at 1:20:37 AM

Sigh. When I did that mass thump in the General Economics thread I hoped that people would take the hint that the debates about human nature are a little too far off the path of that thread. Robrecht's post was exceedingly rude and an open invitation to a fight. In fact, it was that post that convinced me to endorse the ban motion in the moderator forum, together with the backstory that I have described in the banned thread. It wasn't something done out of capriciousness nor a personal vendetta.

As it says in the header, this thread is not the place for appealing bans. All what we can discuss here are moderator actions in general. I think someone other than Fighteer should have thumped Robrecht's post but it clearly was thumpworthy.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Robrecht Your friendly neighbourhood Regent from The Netherlands Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Your friendly neighbourhood Regent
#98: Dec 5th 2020 at 1:53:08 AM

nvm

Edited by Robrecht on Dec 5th 2020 at 1:00:53 PM

Angry gets shit done.
AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#99: Dec 5th 2020 at 4:02:23 AM

I do think someone other than Fighteer should've handled this, but Robrecht, you do have a long history of attempting to sealion and snark your way through arguments in ways that indicate you are not interested in holding good-faith discussions, regardless of the merit of the arguments themselves. I suggest that you do not abuse your luck by attempting to drag this to other threads.

Edited by AlleyOop on Dec 5th 2020 at 7:04:38 AM

Irene (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#100: Dec 5th 2020 at 4:07:04 AM

One comment to make that said, is that if others are causing issues, it's still important to holler. Regardless of whether you do something wrong or not, hollers are still worth doing since it brings attention to issues as is.

I'm aware of what was written earlier, and it's not a bad point(though I'd argue the way you wrote it felt a bit too passive-aggressive). Regardless of that, I don't know if the post(s) were hollered, but that might've also helped the situation. I think I've hollered the user before in the past for similar baiting, but I can't remember.


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