# Have you ever been banned from a forum?



## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

I got banned forever from the Ryan Adams forum, and I don't know why. I opened an account a long time ago because you need one to see any posted pictures or documents. I went back last night because Ryan has a new album out and also I was re-listening to some of his past albums and I wanted to learn Magnolia Mountain. I had to email to get my username and password even. Logged on and I was banned. What a pain in the ass.


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

Only really heard of him from his stint with Phil Lesh (Magnolia Mountain might the only tune of his I'd know the name of) - but maybe this will help with your transition to "the banned"... I'd say just email the admin there and ask to be reset - if your account was dormant for quite a while, you probably just "dropped off" and only need to be reset (unless you're not sharing the rest of the banning story...)

http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mb/mb111202ryan_adams

No idea why, but for whatever reason I can't seem to tell a Ryan Adams from a Jackie Greene to save my life. I know they both played with Phil - but I can never remember which one is trying so hard to look like a mid-70's Bob Dylan.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Weird. Maybe you should emaiil the admin for a reason.

But, I haven't though.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

I was banned from The Gear Page. Some moron actually made a thread talking about how 'stupid' bats were. I responded by saying how essential bats are and how fascinating they are...then I proceeded to take the exact derogatory things that the moron said about bats and said that he was in fact those things.

I got banned for whatever it was 2 weeks or a month, I don't know. I have not posted there since. That was a couple of years ago. I still check their for sale thing once in a while but at the time they were all about 'we have too many new members and we should be more discriminating' so...they traded some frickin' knucklehead for me (at least that's how I look at it). As Sheen would say 'winning'.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I've never been banned, but I did have a thread I started asking an honest question about the attitude of some posters that was deleted because it became a series of attacks against me for asking the question--but nobody actually answered the questions.
It wasn't a music related forum.
But it was over-run by people who would just post insults if somebody posted something they didn't agree with--which was odd, because the stated purpose of the forum was to challenge how people think, but if you did you got drowned out with insults.

Well, I had better things to do with my life, so I left them to their supposed superiority of thought.


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## fudb (Dec 8, 2010)

mrmatt1972 said:


> I got banned forever from the Ryan Adams forum, and I don't know why. I opened an account a long time ago because you need one to see any posted pictures or documents. I went back last night because Ryan has a new album out and also I was re-listening to some of his past albums and I wanted to learn Magnolia Mountain. I had to email to get my username and password even. Logged on and I was banned. What a pain in the ass.


Go to www.altcountrytab.ca instead for much better RA talk than you'll get on the forums, plus some very knowledgeable and nice (ok, mostly nice) folk across the spectrum of Alt Country and Americana.


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

You betcha ya, got myself banned for life from the Washburn Forum after serving as a Moderator there. Seems like folks who had no problem with me before got a little tiggled when I was told to make sure that the rules were followed to the letter when it came to bashing any of thier dealers ( Phill and G-man ) in particular. So when I deleted posts regarding these fine folks well lets just say things went to heck in a hand basket real quick like. And personalities really started to show up when one forum member apparently thought that I was hitting on his wife then it really went weird.
But hey I look at it this way that was then and now is now and I couldn't care less, I am on the most important forums anyway and the place was the same anyway with me there or not and I still love the few Washburns I have left. 
We shouldn't worry about such things as there are bigger things in life, and of course the most important is to make and share msuic and not get wrapped up in things that just are.ship
oh and besides we still love you here


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i was booted out of a recumbent forum because i called the "illegal immigrants" from south of the states _mexican invaders_.
i was branded a racist and kicked out. some people don't like the truth spoken if it doesn't agree with their opinions. 
TGP is a perfect example of that. there was a thread mentioning pete townshend, and i mentioned that at one time he was on the national sex offender's registry in england and america. although i p/m'd the moderator with links to news articles proving my statement was fact, and not opinion, i received an 18 month demerit and was told if i screwed up again i would be tossed out, citing the rules for libel. i'm no lawyer but i thought it wasn't libel if it was the truth. who knew?


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## ThePass (Aug 10, 2007)

smorgdonkey said:


> I was banned from The Gear Page. Some moron actually made a thread talking about how 'stupid' bats were. I responded by saying how essential bats are and how fascinating they are...then I proceeded to take the exact derogatory things that the moron said about bats and said that he was in fact those things.
> 
> I got banned for whatever it was 2 weeks or a month, I don't know. I have not posted there since. That was a couple of years ago. I still check their for sale thing once in a while but at the time they were all about 'we have too many new members and we should be more discriminating' so...they traded some frickin' knucklehead for me (at least that's how I look at it). As Sheen would say 'winning'.



That guy was a moron.......I agree that bats ARE an essential part of the eco-system, and I feel lucky when they are zip-zagging over our heads every year at the campfire.

Keeps the mosquitoes down! 


Have I been banned? Yup......years ago from the FDP.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Forums are a peculiar animal. Being the owner of this one and observing many others to try and understand how they work and change has given me a better understanding of why some things happen. Many times its the size of them. As an owner you want them to grow. You spend countless hours trying to better them and gain members. Without members they cannot function. But with growth comes other issues. For those of you that have been on here long enough you can actually see personalities appear. You may have never met the person but you know them in a way. Thats a bizarre thing to say and even scary in a sense without personal contact but I believe it now. I am sure that many of you long term members can predict my response or actions to a given situation. You just kind of get to know people.

For whatever reason, call it luck, we ended up getting a core group of people here that were exactly what we were looking for in the beginning. Respectful, knowledgeable. Willing to debate but not bark. Some have had to learn that technique, a few have had to go because they could not adopt that style. But our core group of members want it to stay that way and that atmosphere has been solidly entrenched in this forum and the members themselves enforce it now. So when people come here and read the threads they immediately see that in the content. Some people flock to it and some people run from it. But in the almost 6 years that it has been alive we have banned very few people here, outside of spammers. 

But clearly, when you get into 20k or more members you are into a very large and diverse crowd. At that point you start to see gangs appear. Almost like the bloods and crips. One group of people that see it one way and the other group the opposite. So far we have not had to deal with that. When the people that have the mod controls fall into either of those groups, the other side will see the punishment dished out in an uneven fashion


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I have always taken the view that if the folks who evoke such ire in others on a forum were that way "in real life", they would have likely been murdered in their sleep by now, or be in a coma somewhere from the sound beating they received. The mere fact that they _haven't_ (at least yet) is proof for me that something correctable has simply gone amiss in the back and forth, and that matters can be productively placed back on the rails again, if people are willing to accept that all parties really ARE well-intentioned, no matter how opinionated.

What's missing, then? Well, for starters, much of what we convey to each other in normal conversation tends not to be of the stand-alone variety, but rather depends heavily on us having a shared knowledge/understanding. Without such shared understanding, conversations like "Want some?", "Nah", "You sure?", "Yeah" would be simply meaningless. Additionally, we have all manner of what are called "paralinguistic" cues to tip us to the communicative intent of the other person - hand gestures, facial expression, pacing of speech and pauses, what is referred to as prosody (the melody of speech) - and a broad range of other things. That is not to say that we are incapable of communicating clearly when all we have is words, but certainly if we attempt to think about our on-line interactions as if they were conversation, but have _only_ words at our disposal, the message stands a very high likelihood of being misconstrued. There is also something to be said for the manner in which forums, and things like the Twitterverse, encourage impulsive and terse responses. 

And that is where forum members end up saying the wrong thing, or drawing mistaken inferences about what others meant, and before you know it, the cops have to be called.

Then there is the behaviour that people engage in when they feel anonymous. It is a general rule of thumb that the more removed people are from the consequences of their actions, and the more anonymously they feel they are acting, the less considerate they tend to be, and the greater the risks they take.

So, put together, the on-line forum context - particularly when is is a universe of anonymous handles - nudges people towards less responsible, and less cooperative behaviour, and also increases the risk of them dreadfully miscommunicating and misinterpreting others. That ANY level of decorum is achieved and maintained under those conditions is a testament to the inherent "better angels" of our nature.

Personally, I have never been banned, though I suppose I've unintentionally picked up a few enemies here and there (they're not MY enemies, but appear to consider me theirs). I've made it a point to use my full and real name, whenever possible (forced to go with an initial here for some reason I can't quite recall), and that tends to introduce a certain level of conscientiousness in what I post, which tends to keep me out of trouble.

I'm not trying to criticize ANYONE here with this post. I'm just trying to lay out a bunch of considerations and suggestions for useful practices.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

The best qualities of the folks here are the willingness to accept each other for their differences and the willingness to admit when they're wrong. I don't find those qualities particularly evident in some other forums.

I've been on the Mudcat Forum since at least February 2000 and the Mandolin Forum shortly thereafter, though I lurked at both for quite a while earlier. I've tried others that failed, and bailed on a few. I'm on and off the Gear forum. It and others that disallow any mention of faith, even on the worship guitar discussions, but allow gun chat like crazy, just drive me crazy. They have faith in firearms that trumps faith in God. (Fwiw, I don't discuss either, but they're common topics.)

I was banned from the Gear Forum for a while and I haven't the slightest idea why, the notice made no sense at all. I've been chastized a couple of times for other infractions too. These always perplex me as I try to be much more measured in my posts than I do here.

Peace, Mooh.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that this forum is any different than a normal cross-section of society. There are people with just as many good qualities and bad qualities as anywhere else for the most part. People who can't hold it back will likely be told to hold it back and, in some cases, perhaps that makes the worst of the apples depart for good. Most of the time it just establishes 'acceptable behaviour' though right?

So...moderation (and moderators specifically) is the key and those who do some holding back likely have an outlet for that elsewhere.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

GuitarsCanada said:


> Forums are a peculiar animal....


forums are probably 3/4 of the reason i use the internet. one of my fav ways to learn things.
my experience of forums in general is just like you describe. 




smorgdonkey said:


> People who can't hold it back will likely be told to hold it back and, in some cases, perhaps that makes the worst of the apples depart for good. Most of the time it just establishes 'acceptable behaviour' though right?
> So...moderation (and moderators specifically) is the key and those who do some holding back likely have an outlet for that elsewhere.


 i've mentioned a now defunct forum for the band clutch. they had a policy of zero moderation. in the beginning it was this fun, chaotic amusing place. but in a few years it became like lord of the flies. i'm not kidding you. worst place i've ever been to. i was also part of an email list (a biker thing) that did exactly the same thing. difference was they somehow worked things out, but at great cost. they're still around, but it's not the same. 

i had my own for a while. a flight sim forum. it didn't....._take off_.... the way i wanted it too, so i closed it after about a year.


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

I was banned from the Plexi Palace forum years ago. The place is basically an open soap box for right wing politics and one day I just couldn't take it anymore. I told a guy his argument was highly flawed, showed his logical errors, and quickly illustrated that his "facts" were fabrications (he was quoting FOX news about some bogus report that, of course, turned out to be incorrect) and provided links to support my position. I was told that my post was a "personal attack" and was banned. It was either about light bulbs (and carbon) or fuel efficiency (where the guy actually wrote, "_how dare I_ " suggest mandatory fuel efficiency minimums; apparently, his family had many _"happy miles" _in his SUV and _my _fuel regulations would take that away from him. No, I am not making this up).

I rejoined awhile later but I haven't really been back in any substantial way since. There are some guys there who really know gear, but it's just not worth it to me to hang out there. TGP has a lot of "kids" looking for "the best" but there are some good people too. This place is great, albeit a bit sparse at times.

TG


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

smorgdonkey said:


> IPeople who can't hold it back will likely be told to hold it back and, in some cases, perhaps that makes the worst of the apples depart for good. Most of the time it just establishes 'acceptable behaviour' though right?
> 
> So...moderation (and moderators specifically) is the key and those who do some holding back likely have an outlet for that elsewhere.


Mods do help to create a positive atmosphere, especially in large forums. I used to frequent the acoustic guitar forum, where the moderation is usually good, but sometimes heavy handed. There is a decidedly pro-christian vibe there (despite rules to the contrary) and I finally got fed up when they allowed discussion about evolution and climate science but removed posts (mine and other people's) that defended scientific theory against believers who had not only their own opinions, but their own facts too.


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## Bubb (Jan 16, 2008)

GuitarsCanada said:


> For whatever reason, call it luck, we ended up getting a core group of people here that were exactly what we were looking for in the beginning. Respectful, knowledgeable. Willing to debate but not bark.


Canadians..mostly..:food-smiley-004:


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

mrmatt1972 said:


> I used to frequent the acoustic guitar forum, where the moderation is usually good, but sometimes heavy handed. There is a decidedly pro-christian vibe there (despite rules to the contrary) and I finally got fed up when they allowed discussion about evolution and climate science but removed posts (mine and other people's) that defended scientific theory against believers who had not only their own opinions, but their own facts too.


Yeah, thats my biggest beef with that particular place. I love the acoustic guitar knowledge on there but that pro-Christian vibe drives me mental. I wouldn't mind if it was stated openly that it was pro-Christian, but they try to hide behind this "we dont allow religious discussion" when its blatently allowed for most of the members ie threads approved asking for "prayers" for this n'that, members with Bible quotes in their sigs etc. The moderation is also very heavy handed.

Whooops sorry - I'm ranting! The GC forum is my favourite. I just wish there were more members/opinions/traffic.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

bagpipe said:


> Yeah, thats my biggest beef with that particular place. I love the acoustic guitar knowledge on there but that pro-Christian vibe drives me mental.


I'm with you and mrmatt on that one.


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## copperhead (May 24, 2006)

I'm sure i have been close to getting banned ,Especially in some of the pickup forums
All it takes is a member with a big mouth & the moderators & a few members on there side ,& even if it is misinformation or not some topics are touchy .....then you could be in deep hwopv


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...i've been banned many times from both tgp and the fdp (fender forum), always because i voiced sacriligeous opinions about guns. in democratic, freedom-loving america, only one opinion is permitted.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Never mind


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

I've only been permanently banned from one site. I unintentially mentioned a vendor product while discussing health products, instead of the generic derivitave. The moderator banned me for life even though I was fairly new and had never been involved in any controversy. The product in question didn't conflict with anything the site was about so I'm not sure why the zero tolerance. It wasn't that important to me and I never went back.
I have had a couple of timeouts at a couple different sites. I tend to get heated in personal debate issues and straddle the line between acceptable and non acceptable. I can't remember if I've ever been timed out here. If so, it would have been a long time ago.


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

Yes...from My Les Paul. Woke up one morning and tried to log on only to find I`d been banned...for life mind you...for trying to open a second account under another name or something like that...now, unless I was sleep walking...I didn`t do it. Sent several mails to the mods to try and figure out what happened and never got a reply. Still have no idea what happened but have moved on, it`s a good place to see pictures of members` guitars but frankly it`s no better or worse than any other electric guitar site when it comes to reliable information on older MIJ guitars...lots of theories but very little irrefutable information.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Never banned, but received a couple of warnings for getting into some politically incorrect arguments.Meh....if you don't occasionaly walk on the edge, chances are you aren't contributing much either, IMO.


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

If you`re not living on the edge, you`re taking up too much space.


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

I've never been banned but I've been threatened with it before on another forum, it's fair enough to say I've been blackballed there by the old boys group that runs it though. I've always found it amusing how people who consider themselves to be open minded can strip down another person so quickly just because of a minor difference in opinion.


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

Some of the music Forums south of the border can get scary, especially when they talk about handguns. I never joined any of them but checked them out once in awhile. Just not my cup of tea. The Forum that banned sneakypete I wouldn't join if they paid me. All sorts of cliques and factions, less than civilized debate, gun worship and my all time favourite "God Bless America". My neck just can't get red enough to join those boys.


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

Forgot, I've never been banned except from a Bar when I was a kid.


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2011)

I've been 'barred from life' numerous times at the Gasworks. lol.hwopv


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

yup.

I love trolling.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Morkolo said:


> I've never been banned but I've been threatened with it before on another forum, it's fair enough to say I've been blackballed there by the old boys group that runs it though. I've always found it amusing how people who consider themselves to be open minded can strip down another person so quickly just because of a minor difference in opinion.


On the other side of that look how many internet tough guys get off on causing crap though. I know I would not want to be responsible for running a large forum.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

well not me. i would love it. i'd rule like ghengis kahn and i would lead raiding parties on other forums. we would conquer the entire internet!


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

torndownunit said:


> On the other side of that look how many internet tough guys get off on causing crap though. I know I would not want to be responsible for running a large forum.


I wouldn't want to be responsible for running a large forum either. My case only happened on one small forum that trashes anyone with an opposing view, so I raised the flag for the guys/girls that were getting thrashed, good thing I don't take insults on the internet seriously. If I was ever out of line they would ban me in a heartbeat but I make sure I never to cross any lines with my arguments with them.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

torndownunit said:


> On the other side of that look how many internet tough guys get off on causing crap though. I know I would not want to be responsible for running a large forum.


When I started this one back in late 2005 I certainly never thought I would have to put in 8-10 hours a day for relatively no pay. If you guys only knew the amount of frigging emails I get in a day in addition to everything else. Now, this would be a great job if the pay was right. Have got it to the point where it pays for itself anyway, so I am happy with that


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I've never been banned but I've walked off in a huff once or twice.

As for e-mail volume, how many is a lot Scott?

I get between 40 and 60 a day and that's just business stuff.

It can be overwhelming. I need to keep ahead of it, particularly when on the road (like right now) or it can build up really quickly. I even get them through the night because I deal with people all over the world.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

cheezyridr said:


> well not me. i would love it. i'd rule like ghengis kahn and i would lead raiding parties on other forums. we would conquer the entire internet!


That reminds me of the Audiogalaxy days...the Van Halen board went around and messed with other boards. We had an impact!!

hardly conquered anything though and it was just one site although a huge one at the time.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

hum...let me think for a second ...... hwopv


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

smorgdonkey said:


> That reminds me of the Audiogalaxy days...the Van Halen board went around and messed with other boards. We had an impact!!
> 
> hardly conquered anything though and it was just one site although a huge one at the time.



even though i was joking, the pro-rock board i mentioned used to do that. i never participated, but i did read the threads they posted about it. they would spend weeks infiltrating some forum they chose, and then at a pre arranged time they would begin trolling, en masse. it made for some funny stories.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

Some years ago I got banned from the FDP (Fender Discussion Page). I'd been a member for a couple years at that point - even as far as contributing a donation. I don't even know why I got canned. All I know is I got the ban notification from Chris Green (the site owner) and I exchanged a few emails with him. His responses were glib - the only answer he'd give to the question of why I was banned was, "You know what you did" and he expected an apology before I'd be allowed back. I told him where he could put his message board. 

It was the same deal on there as some of you have mentioned about some of the USA gear forums. Strong pro-gun, pro-religion, right-wing mentality. I suspect I disagreed with someone's post (as I don't swear, make offensive posts, or fly off the handle in personal attacks) in a manner that conflicted with the site owner's ideology. 

I've never bothered registering again, but I occasionally lurk and use his bandwidth and the info on the site for free.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i won't mention which one, but there is a particular forum i've recently tried 6 or 8 times to join. they claimed my confirmation email was getting lost in my spam folder. i went and created a brand new email address just for them. i've since tried 3 more times, and guess what? that address has never received even one email from anybody.


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## dolphinstreet (Sep 11, 2006)

The fdp is infamous I guess. Somebody over there may be suffering from a ban-happy finger.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

We learned very early on here that you just can't allow religion, guns, tobacco and political type threads. It will always get ugly. Those that do will always have issues. Unless of course that's what the forum was designed for


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

Powdered Toast Man said:


> Some years ago I got banned from the FDP (Fender Discussion Page). I'd been a member for a couple years at that point - even as far as contributing a donation. I don't even know why I got canned. All I know is I got the ban notification from Chris Green (the site owner) and I exchanged a few emails with him. His responses were glib - the only answer he'd give to the question of why I was banned was, "You know what you did" and he expected an apology before I'd be allowed back. I told him where he could put his message board.
> 
> It was the same deal on there as some of you have mentioned about some of the USA gear forums. Strong pro-gun, pro-religion, right-wing mentality. I suspect I disagreed with someone's post (as I don't swear, make offensive posts, or fly off the handle in personal attacks) in a manner that conflicted with the site owner's ideology.
> 
> I've never bothered registering again, but I occasionally lurk and use his bandwidth and the info on the site for free.


I had the same wonderful experience. He told me I could come back if I made another $30 or $40 donation in an email. I told him to go @#$%^ himself. Classy guy.

Cheers


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

At one point folks were saying there were more members from the FDP who`d been banned than there were actual members left. Been years since I went there...gonna have a look now...


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

sneakypete said:


> At one point folks were saying there were more members from the FDP who`d been banned than there were actual members left. Been years since I went there...gonna have a look now...


Horrible forum software for sure


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

Back already...got bored very quickly. Not enough Canadians there maybe.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

sneakypete said:


> Back already...got bored very quickly. Not enough Canadians there maybe.


One forum I'm on, I like to poke gentle fun at the Americans for celebrating Thanksgiving so late, and joked that Canadian Christmas is in November.


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## Shark (Jun 10, 2010)

I had such a bad experience at FDP that I've hardly been able to look a Fender in the face since. The place reminds me of those old western movie scenes where someone walks into a salon, the music stops, and the old regulars drawl, "We don't like strangers in these here parts, now git." 

I was suspended for politely sticking to my point and not agreeing with one of the owner's friends on a topic people fly me over the world and pay to hear me speak about. His friend had been truly rude and patronising to me and I had just calmly backed up my opinion with facts and I had my post deleted and was abused via email. I don't think I was fully banned, but you couldn't pay me to be part of a place like that.


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## bluesmostly (Feb 10, 2006)

I really like forums like this one and I think Scott is doing a great job here. I have been a member at TGP for several years and have learned of ton of great stuff from some very knowledgeable folks. I have spent some serious $ on some gear because of it too... I found out about this forum from there and now spend more time here. I like the vibe better here, imo they are both great places to exchange info & gear. I cam be pretty contentious on some issues, as some of you here are aware, so it is probably a good thing I have never ventured over to the Pub at TGP or I might have got myself banned in a hurry...


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

Even Bob from Eurotubes has a story about how he got banned from the FDP (it's on their site under FAQ).

That place really is an "old boys club" and they don't want no one else in it. Apparently years ago, Fender staff would sometimes post and respond to questions, but even they stopped going there. 

I like GC, but the thing I find strange is that the membership here is very large but the post traffic is kind of slow.


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

Mark P said:


> .... I had just calmly backed up my opinion with facts .



Well...that was your mistake right there...we don`t need no steenkin` facts.


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

zontar said:


> One forum I'm on, I like to poke gentle fun at the Americans for celebrating Thanksgiving so late, and joked that Canadian Christmas is in November.



How many believed you?


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## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

I was recently banned from the Audacity Forum. I wanted to post my thoughts (and link) on a device that I recently purchased which does a great job of controlling DAW's. I thought it would be of interest to others, but apparently it was a no-no. Others have posted links to gear in the particular section and the moderator thought that I should be reinstated after the fact. However, the person who actually runs the forum thought otherwise..... even after a couple of very polite and professional emails back and forth.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

I wonder if anyone has ever been banned from Harmony Central. Seems almost impossible to me


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Well, maybe for being excessively polite?


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2011)

Fajah said:


> I was recently banned from the Audacity Forum. I wanted to post my thoughts (and link) on a device that I recently purchased which does a great job of controlling DAW's. I thought it would be of interest to others, but apparently it was a no-no. Others have posted links to gear in the particular section and the moderator thought that I should be reinstated after the fact. However, the person who actually runs the forum thought otherwise..... even after a couple of very polite and professional emails back and forth.


What was the piece of gear? Sounds interesting.


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2011)

Surprisingly: no.

Thought I did once incite a riot on TGP for calling them out for using copyrighted images in their little smilie animation things and at the same time putting up these sticky posts about how you shouldn't steal music. If you want to know why the dancing Homer smilie disappeared from TGP, look no further than me.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

GuitarsCanada said:


> I wonder if anyone has ever been banned from Harmony Central. Seems almost impossible to me





mhammer said:


> Well, maybe for being excessively polite?


LOL! Banned for not using your quota of curse words and racial slurs!


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## Shark (Jun 10, 2010)

sneakypete said:


> Well...that was your mistake right there...we don`t need no steenkin` facts.


Ha! Yeah, maybe that's what did it. Lol!

Forums are a strange animal altogether. I think it's time to post this old thing again:

[video=youtube_share;eRnoUNwFOkE]http://youtu.be/eRnoUNwFOkE[/video]


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2011)

Mark P said:


> Ha! Yeah, maybe that's what did it. Lol!
> 
> Forums are a strange animal altogether. I think it's time to post this old thing again:
> 
> [video=youtube_share;eRnoUNwFOkE]http://youtu.be/eRnoUNwFOkE[/video]


+343 for RvB.


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## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

iaresee said:


> What was the piece of gear? Sounds interesting.


The Pok by X-Tempo

http://www.xtempozone.com/


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2011)

Fajah said:


> The Pok by X-Tempo
> 
> http://www.xtempozone.com/


That's pretty cool! Looks a little bit like the Apogee Gio. I had actually thought about mapping CC's on my All Access to Logic functions to do this very thing. Just haven't really gotten around to trying it out.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Fajah said:


> The Pok by X-Tempo


I use a wireless keyboard but the footswitch feature would be nice. Just not for $300.


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## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

Guitar101 said:


> I use a wireless keyboard but the footswitch feature would be nice. Just not for $300.


The Pok, in conjunction with my laptop and Audacity, replaced what I used to do with loop stations. So the price isn't bad relative to what a 2-pedal loop station costs these days. But that's for another thread  With regards to this thread, I was hoping to strike up this type of conversation with the some Audacity forum members. I got banned for doing so.


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## J-75 (Jul 29, 2010)

Powdered Toast Man said:


> Some years ago I got banned from the FDP (Fender Discussion Page). I'd been a member for a couple years at that point - even as far as contributing a donation. I don't even know why I got canned. All I know is I got the ban notification from Chris Green (the site owner) and I exchanged a few emails with him. His responses were glib - the only answer he'd give to the question of why I was banned was, "You know what you did" and he expected an apology before I'd be allowed back. I told him where he could put his message board.
> 
> It was the same deal on there as some of you have mentioned about some of the USA gear forums. Strong pro-gun, pro-religion, right-wing mentality. I suspect I disagreed with someone's post (as I don't swear, make offensive posts, or fly off the handle in personal attacks) in a manner that conflicted with the site owner's ideology.
> 
> I've never bothered registering again, but I occasionally lurk and use his bandwidth and the info on the site for free.


Yeah, I had a similar experience with FDP...
Been a non-contributing member for a few years, then one guy posted something about his Vibroverb (or 'lux - i forget). He mentioned that he was tuning it up to _maybe_ sell it sometime. I noticed that he lived in Toronto, so, in my reply to his tech query, I asked him how much he might be asking for it - THAT was enough! Greene silently disabled my account.

Next time I engaged FDP, I thought that I had an expired password or something. When I messaged the site admin for a fresh password, I was informed that I was banned for breaking one of the rules, and I should review them to discover what I had done wrong. He said that I could reinstate my membership with a contribution of $30, or more. This, to me, smelled of a shakedown, so I didn't comply. It seemed way over the top to me that his bans do not expire, but are _lifetime_ bans.

I did some checking, and discovered that Greene is suspected by some of searching the Internet for criticisms of FDP, or of his name, and has traced, and banned FDP members for their negative comments _on other forums_.

He seems to draw his administrative skills from Gadaffi, KGB and J. Edgar Hoover. His own postings on FDP are mostly about guns, gun rights, and totally irrelevant stuff, but then, who makes the rules?

It's regrettable that Fender is associated with a site under such a sad administration. I have since found that if you want to discuss Fender, you can go to _Fender's own site_, and avoid the FDP dictatorship.


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## deadear (Nov 24, 2011)

I was banned by Vital Mx. Some women was on there and thay were talking about some sexual preditor and harping about God this and God that and so on and so on so I expresed my views about God which did not suit their agenda and I was clicked they call it. I do not care the slightest I was one of the few people that truly new a lot about their technical questions regarding motocross bikes and I would share my knowledge to anyone that had a question. 
Their loss I will never participate in their forum again.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Interesting article here

http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Being-Banned-on-a-Forum


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

Kinda like #4 tho #5 could sometimes be relevant.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

J-75 said:


> It's regrettable that Fender is associated with a site under such a sad administration.


...yeah, i don't get that.


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## Brennan (Apr 9, 2008)

david henman said:


> ...yeah, i don't get that.


It's pretty simple, honestly ... people aren't likely going to make a negative association with Fender even if they don't like the board or it's members (people are pretty good about separating advertising from content), whereas the people who do frequent the forum will see it as supporting the community. It's win win for Fender.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Half of the FDP's welcome page is spent saying that they aren't part of or associated with Fender. That wasn't true in the past, when Greene started it they were heavily sponsored by Fender. I don't know at what point or for what cause the divorce happened.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

keto said:


> Half of the FDP's welcome page is spent saying that they aren't part of or associated with Fender. That wasn't true in the past, when Greene started it they were heavily sponsored by Fender. I don't know at what point or for what cause the divorce happened.


I have never visited the site, but based on what a few people here have said, I would say Fender would want to distance itself from heavy gun and religious views.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

MMM, I wouldn't say 'heavy'. Religion is a non-starter, as a topic. Guns, ya, there's a thread or 2 in every hundred in the off-topic section only - where you can post only with a membership, so it sorta caters to its own crowd. If you're reading and offended, you can't reply unless you've paid for the privelege, and it's pretty widely known that you'll land on your ear on the outside looking in of you have objections to the topic  The rest of the forums (gear) are open season, anyone can post. And they keep them pretty well moderated so as to be on-topic, in my experience.

I'm not a big fan, and have also had a fairly hotly worded exchange or 2 with Greene going back a few years - prior to their subscription only model for the OT. But I don't think it's as bad as what's being said here, on any sort of consistent basis. If you were just posting or reading about amps or guitars, you'd never see evidence of the debatable (non-debatable?) topics.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Yeah, I know, resurrection.
I could start new, then someone would point out 'there's already a thread'.

I got suspended from another forum for posting 'obscene' pics.

first warning,








second warning and suspended from sub forum,








third, final warning and suspended from entire forum,








Talk about puritans.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

I got temporarily banned from Harmony Central once. Someone had started a post in open jam daring someone to ask in the electric guitar forum if anyone had ever bought a specific brand of guitar, so I took him up on it. I didn't know that the brand was a skam and several forum members had been burned on it. I emailed Terry D. and asked why I was banned. He was sympathatic and explained the scenario to me. He went to bat for me, but also said that several powers that be had their panties in a bundel over it. Even though I was temporarily banned, the person who started the dare was cautioned for their actions.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

The other week I noticed a coffee forum on Reddit. I told the true story about how after drinking premium coffee brands for many years, I tried some Folgers and was pleasantly surprised, and how it was far better than I expected.

The thread was immediately deleted for breaking the rules.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

I spoke my mind on the Fender forum regarding some Fender product issues I was having a long time ago and I actually had my warrenty revoked. And they say Fender isn't affiliated with that place.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

My trophy


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

That sucks BK. I didn't want to click 'like' to give the wrong impression.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

laristotle said:


> That sucks BK. I didn't want to click 'like' to give the wrong impression.


It's ok. The Fender one had a silver lining.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Another necrosis of the thread bone.


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## spacebard (Aug 1, 2009)

laristotle said:


> Yeah, I know, resurrection.
> I could start new, then someone would point out 'there's already a thread'.
> 
> I got suspended from another forum for posting 'obscene' pics.
> ...



Were you banned from the TGP forum?

I got banned permanently from TGP. They didn't liked my posts with sexy beautiful women. Then I knew TGP stands for The Gay Page.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

laristotle said:


> Yeah, I know, resurrection.
> I could start new, then someone would point out 'there's already a thread'.
> 
> I got suspended from another forum for posting 'obscene' pics.
> ...


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I wish the necro threads were a different colour or something because I read about 10 posts and then notice they are from 1957.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Perhaps a forum should have a sub-forum for banned people.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

player99 said:


> I wish the necro threads were a different colour or something because I read about 10 posts and then notice they are from 1957.


Took you that long again did it?


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Electraglide said:


> Took you that long again did it?


Yes I always get sucked in. I think I am going to start reviving necro threads on mass and do a necro thread flood. See if goes over well.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

player99 said:


> Yes I always get sucked in. I think I am going to start reviving necro threads on mass and do a necro thread flood. See if goes over well.


What ever turns you on. I see you're starting to stroke yourself already.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Electraglide said:


> What ever turns you on. I see you're starting to stroke yourself already.


Just a little test. I see there are another 3 or 4 at the bottom here... I will hold back with all my self control... Must... not... revive... necro... threads...


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

I got used to the Political Pundit forum here. Anything goes. Say what you want.
That’s not necessarily the case in other political forums. I stated my absolute disgust of a political figure in another forum. I wasn’t polite. This public figure had me pretty wound up. I was fit to be tied.

I was immediately banned for life from the other forum. I emailed the moderators to offer an apology. They never responded. I guess i went too far. It means little. Go to gmail and setup a new email. Re-join the forum if you like it that much.

I lost it. Oh well. Most people do at some point. Nobody was hurt. My comments were not directed at anyone except a lying politician.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I got banned at another music forum for posting a cartoon showing a beaver (if memory serves) trying to keep the Canada / US border closed.

It was posted here by another member for everyone to see. No objections here.

Got me permabanned down south, LOL.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

zontar said:


> I've never been banned, but I did have a thread I started asking an honest question about the attitude of some posters that was deleted because it became a series of attacks against me for asking the question--but nobody actually answered the questions.
> It wasn't a music related forum.
> But it was over-run by people who would just post insults if somebody posted something they didn't agree with--which was odd, because the stated purpose of the forum was to challenge how people think, but if you did you got drowned out with insults.
> 
> Well, I had better things to do with my life, so I left them to their supposed superiority of thought.


That sounds like you just described 99% of the internet.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Milkman said:


> beaver (if memory serves) trying to keep the Canada / US border closed.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

laristotle said:


> View attachment 340952


Good one, but not the one I re-posted. That one was an illustration.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Milkman said:


> Good one, but not the one I re-posted. That one was an illustration.


I'm guessing it was compounded with some of your previous statements and warnings. eventually it just tallied up and out you got kicked. happens


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

keithb7 said:


> ...lying politician.


Seems redundant.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)




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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

laristotle said:


> View attachment 399416


Is he banned?


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

player99 said:


> Is he banned?


Looks like it.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

That's too bad. He had really brought down the vitriol over the last while. Anyone know the post that killed him?


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Want a drink?


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

They should cut him some slack. He's getting his PHD. Big thinking shouldn't be banned, it should be nurtured. Long live Colchar.


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## DrumBob (Aug 17, 2014)

I was recently banned from gearpage.net, after having been a member there for years, with nearly 19K posts. I still don't know why. I tried emailing the head admin and never got a straight answer, so screw them. I was getting fed up with that place anyway. With nearly 200K members, it's the biggest guitar forum in the world. Consequently, you get more trolls, troublemakers, wise guys, clueless millennial stoners, weirdos and more. Fights break out regularly over there, and if you espouse strong opinions, there's always someone ready to pounce on you. It's a very adversarial forum, not a healthy atmosphere, and honestly, it's become a cesspool. I also found TDPRI a very unfriendly place all told.

This is much nicer place to hang out and socialize. Fretboard, the British forum, is also a good one.

I quit the Guitar Forum after a couple of months, because their software was screwed up and the place was like a morgue. Rickresource, the Rickenbacker forum is also a very dead place, but I'm a big Rick fan, so I stay. I left both Gretsch forums because of a few personalities I found highly offensive. I also made one good friend there, so that was good. q

I really don't go to drum forums anymore for some reason. I guess I just got tired of them. The Vintage Drum Forum is OK if you go there maybe once a week. Otherwise, it's another morgue. I left for over a year, went back recently, and the same posts are still up after all that time. There's one wacko who wants to see photos of everybody's drums. That's all he posts. What a flake. Another guy can't write a complete sentence without mistakes. That amazes me.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

DrumBob said:


> This is much nicer place to hang out and socialize


I second that. Folks here are very nice. I am so out of my league and they are still nice to me. So far there does not seem to be a whole lot of ball swaggering and that I can appreciate. Lets just say Auto forums are nothing like this.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Brunz said:


> ... Lets just say Auto forums are nothing like this.


I've been on two auto forums where there was no moderation at all and people were told that coming in. The only way to survive was to give as good as you got and then some. Twenty years later I'm still friends with those people.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

player99 said:


> ... Big thinking shouldn't be banned, it should be nurtured.


Sites like these exist to sell stuff and your role is click on the ads and post a few things about guitars so more people will come along and click on the ads; thinking is not encourged or required. That's the way it is most places not just there.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Interesting that he got banned but those that responded in kind did not? Am I missing something? When I read the thread banning never really crossed my mind.


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## DrumBob (Aug 17, 2014)

Brunz said:


> I second that. Folks here are very nice. I am so out of my league and they are still nice to me. So far there does not seem to be a whole lot of ball swaggering and that I can appreciate. Lets just say Auto forums are nothing like this.


I've heard about vehicle forums being deadly places. A good friend of mine was banned from some pickup truck forum a while ago and has no idea why.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

JBFairthorne said:


> ... those that responded in kind did not? Am I missing something?


I was wondering that too. 
His post likely just provided an excuse


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

JBFairthorne said:


> Interesting that he got banned but those that responded in kind did not? Am I missing something? When I read the thread banning never really crossed my mind.


Number one on his list is rather provocative without context as most peoples minds just go to one reason. I am not sure what any other reasons could be.... but that one reason isn't really that good a reason.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

DrumBob said:


> I was recently banned from gearpage.net


Wow, that is really surprising. You always seemed like a well respected guy on TGP. I liked your posts.
I was banned there a few times until the final perma-ban. I got on the wrong side of "Big Mike" at one point and he eventually kicked me out. The beginning of the end was in a thread about something outrageous Yngwie Malmsteen said and I commented that he was kind of like the Donald Trump of guitar players- it was supposed to be funny. I was gone for a week and got the "don't fuck with POTUS" note from big M. It was always a bit of a toxic place but got worse over time. I only miss the opportunities in the emporiums. Got some sweet deals over the years.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

zztomato said:


> Wow, that is really surprising. You always seemed like a well respected guy on TGP. I liked your posts.
> I was banned there a few times until the final perma-ban. I got on the wrong side of "Big Mike" at one point and he eventually kicked me out. The beginning of the end was in a thread about something outrageous Yngwie Malmsteen said and I commented that he was kind of like the Donald Trump of guitar players- it was supposed to be funny. I was gone for a week and got the "don't fuck with POTUS" note from big M. It was always a bit of a toxic place but got worse over time. I only miss the opportunities in the emporiums. Got some sweet deals over the years.


They are highly sensitive to anything remotely negative toward right wing politics, religion and guns.

But, they don't mind their members making light hearted jabs at Canada or other countries.

It's ok, I've learned what ruffles feathers there and try not to do those things.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

People have a tendency to under appreciate how hard it is to maintain a well crafted and populated forum. As much as we are all entitled to our opinions, for the record they are all right seeing as they are your opinions, hobby specific forums are not the place to air them.

I can appreciate what the mods here are doing because in the 3 weeks I have been a member I find a well rounded, respectful, educated and most importantly vibrant community of guitar players, collectors and enthusiasts. To jeprodize that because of something that may be perceived as a controversial or harmful topic is simply not worth the risk. I myself fell prey to this allure in one of the numerous covid threads, risking my privilege to be a member here for the sake of an opinion I felt I wanted to share. I was wrong to do so. This is about guitars, or maybe some other fluff topics that help to maintain a sense of community between members.

That being said.... anyone who says Gibson is better than Fender, well you are wrong and effectively dead to me 
**the aforementioned statement is for laughs only and is in no way designed to hurt the feelings of anyone who mistakenly bought a Gibson.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Brunz said:


> People have a tendency to under appreciate how hard it is to maintain a well crafted and populated forum. As much as we are all entitled to our opinions, for the record they are all right seeing as they are your opinions, hobby specific forums are not the place to air them.
> 
> I can appreciate what the mods here are doing because in the 3 weeks I have been a member I find a well rounded, respectful, educated and most importantly vibrant community of guitar players, collectors and enthusiasts. To jeprodize that because of something that may be perceived as a controversial or harmful topic is simply not worth the risk. I myself fell prey to this allure in on of the numerous covid threads, risking my privilege to be a member here for the sake of an opinion I felt I wanted to share. I was wrong to do so. This is about guitars, ot maybe some other fluff topics that help to maintain a sense of community between members.
> 
> ...



You're right. Fenders are superior to Gibsons. Anybody who says otherwise is just a poopy pants.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Just checked my pants - indeed poopy. But it looks slim tapered, and perhaps custom shop.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

JBFairthorne said:


> Interesting that he got banned but those that responded in kind did not? Am I missing something? When I read the thread banning never really crossed my mind.


I wasn't thinking it would get him banned either, but I knew it was going to be a very short lived thread. It's possible he didn't take the news of it getting gassed well, and an exchange ensued??


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I hasten to remind people that being considerate and polite is actually not _that_ hard. MUCH easier than restringing a Strat or a BIgsby-equipped Gretsch. But apparently that is not a widely-held view. Hence the need for moderators.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Surprisingly, I have not.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

I'm a member on most of the common guitar forums: Here, TGP, LesPaul, TDPRI, Marshall, Guitartalk, etc. All of them, except maybe the last one, have some pretty strict rules. Having said that , I've never even been issued a warning. I must be doing something wrong


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

allthumbs56 said:


> I'm a member on most of the common guitar forums: Here, TGP, LesPaul, TDPRI, Marshall, Guitartalk, etc. All of them, *except maybe the last one*, have some pretty strict rules. Having said that , I've never even been issued a warning. I must be doing something wrong


Hmm, a forum where one can freely express their opinion? I'll have to check that one out.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I wonder about the way an american company buys a Canadian forum, then starts instituting american values into the discussion. american values are very different from Canadian values and society. Are we as Canadians being trained to think like americans through our forums?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Have you *listened* to U.S. talk radio? If anything the "American values" that concern you are coming in the form of member posts, rather than anything being done by moderators. Personally, I think moderators are struggling to keep the site as civil and Canadian as possible.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

If you guys had places like Russia or North Korea on your border instead of the US then you'd have to come up with some different values and maybe throw a few dollars toward funding your military ... lol


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Wardo said:


> If you guys had places like Russia or North Korea on your border instead of the US then you'd have to come up with some different values and maybe throw a few dollars toward funding your military ... lol


Unfortunately now we do.


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