Official Response

[iceman (Mike)]

I can't believe the events of the last few days, though it was predicted. Congratulations to astrogeek for being the first person banned from IceInSpace (under 6 different user names). He's not welcome back until a) He apologises, and b) He has a major attitude readjustment.

That type of behaviour is simply not welcome here. 3 people find it funny, the rest of us don't. Go find a chat room and have your "fun" there. That attitude simply won't be missed here.

The whole spam/general chat thing has been blown way out of proportion and some people are having a real problem keeping things in perspective. Thanks to Dennis and Trevor (and a few others, even Ken who i've had disagreements with) for providing a sorely-missed common sense point of view.

I asked the moderators to crack down harder (than usual) on spam while I was away, because it was predicted that a few trouble makers would stir up trouble. This is exactly what happened. There has been no change in policy (yet), it was something I asked of them so that things didn't get out of control while I was gone. Of course those few trouble makers made more trouble, and that's led us to where we are.

Spam vs off-topic. A few people have been asking what's acceptable in general chat now.. This is an astronomy forum, so we mainly talk about all things astronomy. But like any conversation between friends that have a similar hobby, sometimes we talk about "other stuff". And that's fine, that's great.. that's how we get to know each other better. Posts about Australian Idol, favourite TV shows, etc, are more than welcome. They're off-topic posts and they're welcome in the general chat area.

Spam is a post with no useful content, no purpose except to get other people to reply with spam, and to increase your post count.

Spam is not welcome anywhere on the forum, and it never has been. Yes, sometimes there is some, and it's not always deleted, but it's never been welcome. Go join a chatroom and spam there, or do it on skype or somewhere else.

To re-iterate, off-topic posts are welcome. That's where friends with the same hobby can talk about other things, and get to know each other and get to know about each other.

Does the general chat description need to be changed? Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't matter.. the forum guidelines say what's acceptable and what's not. Do the forum guidelines need to change? Maybe, I don't know. I need to catch up on more of what went on and speak to the moderators.

Just be aware that the events of the last few days didn't just "happen". It was instigated by some trouble-makers who were trying to stir up trouble while I was away. So when you see posts from these trouble makers, please take what they say with a grain of salt and a healthy dose of skepticism. Especially when one claims to have "resigned" as a moderator. Anyone that was around at the time would laugh at that.. His moderator status was revoked and it's obvious he is still having a hard time dealing with it.

Trouble-makers are not welcome here. If you don't like the site, if you don't like the rules, then choose to not come back. Don't visit. Go elsewhere. If you think that a few trouble-makers leaving is going to make the site stale, then i'm sorry - you overvalue the importance of your posts and how they "contribute" to the site. Trouble-makers who can't stay within the guidelines, and who go out of their way to stir up trouble, will be forced to have a forum timeout.

Another point worth noting is that disrespect of a moderator doing their duty will not be tolerated, at all. The moderators are "iceman by proxy". That is, they have been given the authority to uphold the forum guidelines that I want this forum to be run by. Their job is to help me do my job when I'm not around. They are volunteers who give up their time, read through hundreds of new posts every day to keep the forum running smooth for the benefit of all members.

Abusing or showing disrespect to a moderator, or refusing to follow their instructions, is not acceptable and if think it's ok to do this, you'll be forced to have a forum timeout.

Having said this, moderators are also human and their tolerance and patience can be really tested sometimes - just like mine is. As Dennis rightly points out in another thread, we all make mistakes and the important thing is that we learn from them.

That's all I have to say for now.

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Well that makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up. I couldn't quite figure out after reading other's posts what was welcome in general chat and what wasn't.

[rumples riot]

Not "revoked" I quit. Get it right. See my PM.

[Lee]

Well said Mike. Unfortunately in any group of humans, there will always be a few morons who can't work and play together nicely. On the internet they seem over-represented.
The best strategy is to ignore them, then they do tend to go away.
Don't feed the trolls!

[rumples riot]

Nicely moderated.

[mickoking]

Thanx for that Mike, at times during the weekend the forum degenerated into utter drivel.

[RB (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by mickoking

Thanx for that Mike, at times during the weekend the forum degenerated into utter drivel.

It was heartbreaking to see what was being posted, glad it's all settled down again.
Welcome back Mike.
Next time don't leave home without us.

[ving (David)]

thanks mike.
glad its settled down too
maybe we should close the forum down while you are away if ppl cant be trusted.

[iceman (Mike)]

In further action to the events over the weekend, another user has been banned from IceInSpace.

While this person has a public face that is helpful and polite, behind the scenes he has been scheming, backstabbing, plotting and was the main instigator for all the trouble that happened while I was away.

This person has a blatant disregard for the authority of the moderators and admins at IceInSpace, and has a mailicous streak that has shown itself time and time again - despite the helpful and polite public face that he portrays. It's become obvious his intent is to continue to undermine the nature of IceInSpace.

This is not an action that I take lightly, and while this person does have attributes that contribute to IceInSpace, unfortunately he has others which take more away from IceInSpace than what he gives.

This will not be a popular decision for a small number of members of the forum, but I feel the majority will understand my actions. People who purposely set out to cause and stir up trouble are simply not welcome at IceInSpace, and that's all there is to it.

[matt]

Let's hope we can all get back to the reason we're here. To enjoy this great hobby and the pleasure of each other's company

[slice of heaven]

Originally Posted by matt

Let's hope we can all get back to the reason we're here. To enjoy this great hobby and the pleasure of each other's company

(bite your tongue Ving )

[gbeal]

Mike,
while I haven't waded through this escapade yet, perhaps you can delete the thread I started (and which has been closed/locked).
It will certainly make interesting reading, something perhaps with a bedtime choccie.
Gary