i was just wondering statistically, how many lifetime bans does a moderator typically hand out during their time as mods, on average? besides for spam and other stuff, i hope such a drastic measure isn't done often and taken so lightly...is 3-4 per week about right? iono

In cases where this is done (and I'm sure that there are situations that deserve this sort of treatment), can individual moderators institute a permanent suspension, or does it take some agreement among moderators or with Randy? One would not want this done in haste or anger, for example.

Cheers.

I think you'll find what wharvey says to be quite accurate.

First of all - we really don't know. I've never felt it was something worthy of keeping a statistic on. But i do echo wharvey's statement that most moderators have never handed out a lifetime ban in the non-spam area. As for lifetime bans for spam - maybe dozens or hundreds daily and anyone you might know that manages any high traffic bulletin board will attest to the constant problem that spam is.

If i had to guess, it is likely somewhere near .04 on average per week.

I'd say that from the comments and behavior of those who have volunteered on FlyerTalk, they try everything they can, including consultation with any number of other moderators and senior moderators before making that type of decision. What we've never understood is why any member would ever put themselves into that type of situation, after all, the member on average has at least two if not more times in which they were told "No." But as we know from real life, some people just don't listen too well. I do know that 100% of the time the member did deserve some sort of penalty for their continued habit of ignoring the best interests of FlyerTalk and its members.

And as we actually do know, an overwhelming majority of members on FlyerTalk (certainly in the 99%+ range) do know how to respect other members and their opinions and have never had any problem with the TOS or any interaction with a Moderator other than asking for some help.

This should answer your question, thank you.

I am assuming you are referring to the haste and anger that some members choose to address fellow members of FlyerTalk. As for any other situation, it's why we have a review policy on FlyerTalk. But again, this is all about the "repeated" behavior of a very, very small select of members on FlyerTalk. And I might add, our penalty progression is similar the the standard or even more lenient than many other bulletin boards the size of FlyerTalk. As mentioned, FlyerTalk does have a review policy which most other boards do not have.

For anyone reading through this, I was always taught that it makes more sense to be concerned about your own behavior than it is about the behavior of others.