I would like to once again point out that I didn't ban him because his flames cut too deep, he was offending people that couldn't defend themselves, or because his political leanings were different than my own or anyone else's on this board. If he ever expressed a discernable opinion in any of his thousands of barely legible ad hominem attacks he vomited onto this board, my disagreement with those opinions did not even register on the "should I ban cart" scale. I banned him because he was an absolutely worthless fucking troll of the highest degree who never in his tenure here added a single valuable contribution.
That's one of our rules, it's right there on the rules page. "Don't be a troll" I realize that my opinion of him being a troll is subjective, and that some of you will try to now argue that he wasn't a troll. Or that you'll try to say that someone else that you dislike is also a troll. That could very well be true, though I was in the middle of doing some fairly exhaustive research that would show at least 20 different people from both sides of the political spectrum that have explicitly stated that he is completely worthless. He is on the ignore list of more people than anyone else on this board. There have been multiple page threads started by several different people over the years calling for him to be banned. A poll was posted that ended up with more people that wanted him banned than didn't want him banned, albeit a slight margin. I'm virtually certain that this thread about him being banned has provided more entertainment than everything else that he's posted in the last year.
All of that is all well and good, but I knew that it would still cause a stink. I feel I was more than patient with him, even though he was poking the proverbial bear for years. The one thing that is unquestionable is that he continuously violated the RL appearance rule. To the tune of at least 50 posts that are immediately obvious, and I'm sure I could find more than 100 given the time and energy. Sure, it may be an Al Capone getting jailed for tax evasion metaphor, but you should probably be more careful when you're on thin ice.
As far as warnings go, the easiest one I could find that I posted to him publicly (well, to Atokal really, but he clearly viewed it) was posted 2.5 years ago.
Sylvus, on September 30, 2004 wrote:One of the few rules that has ever existed in this community is that making fun of peoples' RL appearance is not allowed. You, and cartalas to a greater extent, have been pissing all over that one for some time, and that should probably stop. If you can't can't come up with better material, or fabricate something that will bother someone (read: pedophile - I'm pretty sure no one actually thinks you're a pedophile, they only say it because it bugs you), you probably shouldn't bother replying.
To which he replied:
cartalas wrote:I got one think to say
Fuck you and the fat fuck.
I am the one who banned him. If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at me. Call me a nazi, call me an asshole, pack up your bags and leave in a cloud of dust that will make my head spin. Leave this board that has been going downhill for years, never look back and smile smugly to yourself that you bested the evil, power-mad internet overlord.
You have every right to do so, but I think it's a bit of an overreaction. I'm a pretty reasonable person. I've gotten in flamewars with a number of people on this board and held my own without ever considering banning them. Sure, I have handed out a couple temporary bans and a few warnings over the years, but I feel that each of them was warranted and a clear violation of our rules. For the most part, I've probably overlooked 100x more violations, from both the imaginary fnord that I am supposedly a part of as well as from the Legion of Doom (or whatever our enemies are called), than I have enforced the rules. I find it a little bit silly that "the reason we started this board!" is invoked when I have moderated these boards less in 5 years than the IGN HAPPYSHITBITCHASSES did in 5 hours.
Cartalas was a complete troll who posted (you say) little or (I say) nothing of value. That in and of itself is not a capital offense. Cartalas repeatedly violated the RL picture rule. That in and of itself is not usually a capital offense. Cartalas, when approached and asked or told to tone it down, more than once told me to fuck off, fuck you or go fuck yourself. That in and of itself isn't a capital offense, though it's definitely a good way to try my patience. It was the combination of the three, in addition to him asking to be banned/calling me a pussy and challenging me to do it (to-may-to/to-mah-to), that got him banned.
