Thank you for your post HisMrs.
I would like to address one thing you said, to give my reasoning as it pertains to this case.
The staff on this site often uses stuff that happens outside of this board to condone actions against members, and that is WRONG. If it goes on outside this board, then it shouldn't be brought to attention here. Something that is said on Facebook or MySpace or an IRC channel other than #buffyboards or even the phone should NOT be used against a member here.
I am going to object to the use of the word "often" - as this is the only time we have used something that happened off the board as cause for punishment (other than stealing from the board).
The comments made recently on Facebook were not the first ones, and not even the first ones by those involved. I too took the stance that "It didn't happen on the board, so I can't punish them for it." And you know what? You're right, it
shouldn't matter what people say off the site. It shouldn't affect us at all. And it hasn't affected us for years and years.
But when it gets to a point where it
is affecting the board itself, and causing staff members to leave - when it's causing a rift in the community - then enough is enough.
Now I know people on this board that HAAAATE me. But they still are able to post on this board without it being a problem and without causing a war. Because guess what? You and I don't generally ever have to interact as long as you follow the board rules. And even then. For 99.9999% of the times people have broken board rules, what happens? A mod pm's the member, telling them they've broken a rule, and asking them not to do it again. End of story. There's no punishment. They don't even need to reply most of the time. And if they do, all the mod is looking for is, "Sorry, it won't happen again." But time and time again, the mod gets back an incredulous response full of threats and name calling. And all because we moved your thread or edited out the word "cocksucker" from your post, or deleted where you said you were currently high on drugs! And suddenly, the staff are evil monsters who deserve to be vilified at every opportunity. We're "Stalin" or "Nazis" and this is the "Gulag".
From my perspective, at the point where the boards have become downright unpleasant, I have to ask myself, Why should I let people enjoy the board and participate in the activities the mods work hard on, if they are going to then go onto Facebook (or an open chat room) and call me a "c*nt"? Or call Lindsey an asshole or make graphic comments about Lyri?
No, you don't have to like us. And yes, you can talk to your friends about it. BUT when it comes to this on the board don't expect us to just turn a blind eye anymore.
AND I'd just like to say, for the record, that it's not like the staff goes around reading people's Facebook pages to see if there's anything juicy in them. I don't even have time to read my own Facebook. The comments the staff have seen time and time again came from Buffy Boards' own Facebook page. So if people didn't want the staff to see those comments, they shouldn't make them where they will be posted for them all to see. Especially when it happens to be part of the mods' job to look after the Board Facebook page, and thus they have to go on there and look at it.
And let us not forget, that this incident on Facebook was
one incident, not the only incident that led to Kean and Lyri leaving or members being banned. It was just the straw that broke the camels back. Initially, these members were not banned for the comments, only infracted. But because of the public outcry
asking for the people responsible for Lyri and Kean's exit to be banned, we felt that we needed to begin a review process. And it was only the prevalence of other incidents on the board itself that led us to decide that those members needed to be banned.
