The intent of this thread is to question the fairness and effectiveness of the moderation of this Forum. The criticism has been explicit and scathing, including the naming and characterization of individuals.
I did a survey of the Forum's history of banishings over the four year period, 2011 - 2015, for which we have records. The results were interesting and I'm happy to share them. I have listed the dates of the banishments and the reasons recorded at the time but, out of respect for the banished, I have not named names.
Since September 2011, 23 individuals (as opposed to spammers) have been banned from the Forum for cause. Death toll by year:
2011 - 1
2012 - 2
2013 - 14
2014 - 6
2015 - 0 (so far)
Here's the cemetery:
September 12, 2011 Falsifying information.
October 17, 2012 Falsehoods and personal attacks
November 23, 2012 threats
February 05, 2013 Offensive conduct
February 27, 2013 Persistent misrepresentation
March 04, 2013 Troll
March 04, 2013 Troll
March 04, 2013 Troll
March 04, 2013 Troll
March 04, 2013 Troll
March 28, 2013 Troll
May 16, 2013 Troll-ism
May 16, 2013 Troll-ism
May 31, 2013 sarcasm
June 06, 2013 no reason stated
July 07, 2013 harrassment
October 23, 2013 impostor
August 26, 2014 political harangue
September 27, 2014 Ad hominem attack via PM.
November 03, 2014 hostile bias
November 03, 2014 hostile bias
November 03, 2014 hostile bias
November 03, 2014 hostile bias
In retrospect, it's clear that, over time, we have become more tolerant and that's a good thing. I think three observations are apparent:
• Our policies of moderation and judicious banning work. The Forum is better than it was (the critics will, of course, disagree).
• There are no legions of detractors waiting to fill the ranks of the fallen. There is a small and finite population of passionate critics.
• A clean house tends to stay clean. We had to do some major housecleaning in 2013 and 2014 but it was the right thing to do.