Of course they do. For example, our most egregious case of lifetime banned individual, Flailey, was allowed to post for months using the persona F9999, even though we all knew he was Flailey. Repeated complaints and evidence were ignored as long as possible. Finally, when it became too obviously a joke, Flailey was rebanned.

Given the extreme reluctance to ban reincarnations, I'm not sure why a clemency policy is needed.

Well I certainly have been the beneficiary, and thank Randy for his patience over the years. ^

I can think of many well known members who still contribute actively and informatively to FT after several apparent TOS infractions, and a couple of names are current mods IIRC, so it is simply not possible to generalise how folks turn out years down the track.

It seems to me things are handled by Randy on a case by case basis based on the actual issues, not the number of them. On most freeways I've driven on, most vehicles appear to be breaking the legal speed limit. And EVERY one of them knows they are doing just that.

Yet only a tiny % will get ticketed, (and they know that too) even though the "offense" is equal for all of them. No judge will revoke a license for life based on a few minor speeding tickets. Drive at 150 mph down a busy city road just once whilst drunk, and rightfully you'll not get a judge so sympathetic. It all comes down to magnitude of the infraction.

Forgive my ignorance, by why would anyone ever get banned from a great site like this? I've enjoyed my several years lurking and posting, and have gotten great advice, made friends, and learned a lot. Why would anyone be banned?

Thanks,

H*S

You haven't been to OMNI yet. Things can get pretty heated over there when the subject is not points or miles.

I think dhammer53 and Jailer made excellent suggestions.

Making someone pay to rejoin might better ensure the applicant is serious about reforming his/her ways. Keeping the paroled member off OMNI and CC temporarily might increase his/her chances of a successful reinstatement.

Jailer...the heck with selling FlyerTalk indulgences for forgiveness. You must be getting soft in your extreme old age. Next thing you'll be suggesting is braking for small animals and children that are crossing the road!

Think Mafioso. How about selling FlyerTalk "hits" instead?

Or better yet for Randy...Both!

OT, but for someone from Australia to make a statement like that is amazing.

100% of the people who go even 1km/hr over the limit on the Melbourne toll roads gets a camera issued speeding ticket. I got one for going 83km/hr in a tunnel under Melbourne posted for 80 km/hr.

No place in the world uses speed cameras for revenue generation purposes better than some parts of Australia! OK, maybe Singapore as well.

Things must have changed radically within 2 years then? It used to be 96%.

"But in 2004, more than 300 actions were taken with timeouts, warnings, posting redirection and bans. Of that number, more than 96% were related to the forum we call OMNI."

posted by Randy Petersen Oct 5, 2004, when once closing OMNI for a period.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...0&postcount=84

Going from 96% to sub-50% is quite a radical difference within two years but wouldn't necessarily shock me. Duplicate handle-related and spamming bannings have been a huge part of these numbers and almost all of that, in more recent times, has happened outside of OMNI due to structural changes with regards to OMNI access. Also, the miles & points forums had quite a lot of repeated nastiness in the past year resulting in suspensions and the like.

When you say "OMNI violations", would it be correct to read your words to mean "TOS violations in OMNI"? That's the way I'm reading it and it doesn't surprise me at all.

OZ... don't forget those suspension/banning figures probably include 1-time spammers who truly aren't members.

A better inquiry would be investigating the post counts of those receiving "suspensions".

So now it is 96 % for mentioning the "m" word?

Counsellor ;

<Actually, I'd prefer Letters of Marque and Reprisal.>

Constitutional Scholar ??? ^

My guess is that you'd have to ask the member themselves. FlyerTalk doesn't ban members, members ban themselves when they simply refuse to observe the things that you have observed - the great advice, making friends and learning a lot.

Thankfully, with the changes made to OMNI, most of the banning is made to spammers.

Interesting that you suggest this as it is something i have been pondering. As I am thinking of some changes relevant to OMNI, etc. perhaps this makes sense to add into our policies. I certainly don't want this viewed as additional punishment, but really, it takes a lot to get to the perma ban. And in today's world on FT, less of it is related to OMNI flaming, but at least we are saying that if you continue to screw up, there will be some restrictions on a permanent basis to any relationship you might have in the future regarding FlyerTalk.

anyway, love to hear more of this proposal from our other members.

Thanks for the excellent observation and advise.