[pefloresjr]

The contrarian OF was banned overnight?  What overnight excitement did I miss?

I would define a contrarian as a thoughtful commentator who swims against the current. Posting material for the sole purpose of stirring the pot is not being a contrarian.

Certainly OF was a pot-stirrer, and I often shook my head at his "takes", but he was also a 13 year member/poster with nearly 10,000 posts.  That's 6th most in the Cardboard's all time history.  I'd like to know what happened if one of the mods wants to DM me. 

I believe our mods do a good job in maintaining this place so this isn't criticism. Transparency is important in earning and maintaining that trust, especially when a frequent poster is suddenly banned.  (I was in the front row for the Garvin and Phogge blow-ups, less so for this one).

Our top 10 list is a dangerous place!  Looking at our top 10 poster rankings, three are either banned now or were banned at one time (Phogge, Outsider Fan, Garvin, maybe one other).  Maybe frequent posting leads to strong feelings and less openness to behavior modification?  (See table below for the Top 10 and their post #)

Boston Card              27,807
BobK                        16,141
Washingtonismoney   12,700
FullMetal                   11,012
Mick                         10,162
OutsiderFan               9,974
MartyUp                    9,953
Phogge                     9,073
Garvin                      8,383
81alum                     7,545

I agree that our mods do a good job of keeping the peace when people start getting personal and keeping politics off the board when it tries to push it's divisiveness onto the board.  I trust them and don't need to see their work because it would likely involve private messages and warnings that weren't part of general board knowledge.  Also, it is not unusual for posters to get cooling-off periods, then return and continue as active members of the community.  I hope Outsider Fan falls into this category.  Some others get mad and move on even though they are allowed back if they agree to follow the guidelines.  Some are those are good friends of mine and I miss them on this board but I support the mods' discretion in keeping this one of the most thoughtful places on the internet.  

Cheers,
Pete F.

[pefloresjr]

The contrarian OF was banned overnight?  What overnight excitement did I miss?

I would define a contrarian as a thoughtful commentator who swims against the current. Posting material for the sole purpose of stirring the pot is not being a contrarian.

Certainly OF was a pot-stirrer, and I often shook my head at his "takes", but he was also a 13 year member/poster with nearly 10,000 posts.  That's 6th most in the Cardboard's all time history.  I'd like to know what happened if one of the mods wants to DM me. 

I believe our mods do a good job in maintaining this place so this isn't criticism. Transparency is important in earning and maintaining that trust, especially when a frequent poster is suddenly banned.  (I was in the front row for the Garvin and Phogge blow-ups, less so for this one).

Our top 10 list is a dangerous place!  Looking at our top 10 poster rankings, three are either banned now or were banned at one time (Phogge, Outsider Fan, Garvin, maybe one other).  Maybe frequent posting leads to strong feelings and less openness to behavior modification?  (See table below for the Top 10 and their post #)

Boston Card              27,807
BobK                        16,141
Washingtonismoney   12,700
FullMetal                   11,012
Mick                         10,162
OutsiderFan               9,974
MartyUp                    9,953
Phogge                     9,073
Garvin                      8,383
81alum                     7,545

I agree that our mods do a good job of keeping the peace when people start getting personal and keeping politics off the board when it tries to push it's divisiveness onto the board.  I trust them and don't need to see their work because it would likely involve private messages and warnings that weren't part of general board knowledge.  Also, it is not unusual for posters to get cooling-off periods, then return and continue as active members of the community.  I hope Outsider Fan falls into this category.  Some others get mad and move on even though they are allowed back if they agree to follow the guidelines.  Some are those are good friends of mine and I miss them on this board but I support the mods' discretion in keeping this one of the most thoughtful places on the internet.  

Cheers,
Pete F.