12-02-2011, 02:59 PM
Avete,
I understand that an ultimatum has been issued to a long-standing member to either apologize in private to a moderator or be kicked off the forum. It seems the member and moderator had a private argument which turned nasty. I'm not clear on all the facts but if a member is being compelled by the board of moderators to issue a private apology it suggests that it is in reference to something that was said in private and not openly on the forum.
Now as I understand the forum rules there are no explicit restrictions on private conversations. If there were restrictions on PMs I'm not sure I would be comfortable with it. In any event, being threatened with expulsion for something that isn't against the rules seems unfair and arbitrary no matter how many warnings are given. So what are grounds for expulsion? And please don't give a brusque answer like "breaking forum rules" because I just checked them and did not find anything regarding private messages.
I can understand recourse to suspension or expulsion may be in order if a member is constantly menacing one or more moderators in private messages. But what if it just turns out to be one squabble between two enemies? If that's all it is then compelling either party to apologize on pain of expulsion for offensive (non-threatening) language used in private seems disturbing. The old forum (v2 ?) had a nice feature which allowed you to "ignore" specific members' messages, IIRC. That's gone. Still, no one can force you to read someone else's PM. Any message can be deleted without having to open it. So, why would RAT need to ban grownups who mutually choose to engage in a private squabble? There's no disruption to forum discourse.
Anyway, I'm not interested in knowing what happened in private between the two members but I would appreciate some clarification to the rules regarding private conversations. It would be to everyone's benefit so that we know where the lines are drawn.
Gratias,
~Theo
I understand that an ultimatum has been issued to a long-standing member to either apologize in private to a moderator or be kicked off the forum. It seems the member and moderator had a private argument which turned nasty. I'm not clear on all the facts but if a member is being compelled by the board of moderators to issue a private apology it suggests that it is in reference to something that was said in private and not openly on the forum.
Now as I understand the forum rules there are no explicit restrictions on private conversations. If there were restrictions on PMs I'm not sure I would be comfortable with it. In any event, being threatened with expulsion for something that isn't against the rules seems unfair and arbitrary no matter how many warnings are given. So what are grounds for expulsion? And please don't give a brusque answer like "breaking forum rules" because I just checked them and did not find anything regarding private messages.
I can understand recourse to suspension or expulsion may be in order if a member is constantly menacing one or more moderators in private messages. But what if it just turns out to be one squabble between two enemies? If that's all it is then compelling either party to apologize on pain of expulsion for offensive (non-threatening) language used in private seems disturbing. The old forum (v2 ?) had a nice feature which allowed you to "ignore" specific members' messages, IIRC. That's gone. Still, no one can force you to read someone else's PM. Any message can be deleted without having to open it. So, why would RAT need to ban grownups who mutually choose to engage in a private squabble? There's no disruption to forum discourse.
Anyway, I'm not interested in knowing what happened in private between the two members but I would appreciate some clarification to the rules regarding private conversations. It would be to everyone's benefit so that we know where the lines are drawn.
Gratias,
~Theo
Jaime
