Warnings should be in place far in advanced then getting blasted with infractions

I received a 4 pt infraction for 2 years for a simple comment on a ad selling turtles by " the pound" to Chinese buyers.... obviously for meat. not only was that in my personal opinion out of line, due to the fact that I "thought" these forms were for collectors, propagation purposes, pets... not for the dinner table.... regardless, I have less then 200 posts on this site, Ive been registered for over 8 years, most of my posts are in the classifieds, My goodness I do not KNOW all of the rules on here, is there a rulebook I need to read somewhere??? I couldn't find one...

My point is.... You moderators and the webslave owner, IMO, take it for what is worth... should send a warning, maybe up to 2 or three, like three strikes... and then infractions.... take it for what its worth, I am sure there are alot of people on here who act crazy and deserve infractions, any Ive ever gotten (IMPO)are just from me not knowing all the rules on here, and knowing ME, if one of you who gave me my infraction just VERBALIZED what it is I need to do to NOT to receive the infractions.... to REFRAIN to STOP, to be giving FAIR warning, well.... I think that would be nice, fair........ helpful.... Heck! who knows, maybe there is something in this post that... when the next time I log in, Ill check my mail box and have more infractions without warning....

something to think about... I understand webslave can do however he feels, and the moderators just do their job.... I am just leaving "feedback" on here to try to give my comment on how I personally feel FC could be more user friendly... I cannot remember seeing rules or a agreement box to check and read over when joining....

I have just received a message stating that the rules are above the forum, as stupid as that sounds on my part, Ive never giving them much attention, seeing I guess as I am always eager to dive into the classifieds or BOI, I guess my eyes need to be all over the screen on here, however... is there a set of rules on a specific page? I would love to take the time to read them..., also, please take my feedback into consideration, one warning in my mail box wouldnt hurt.... it DEF. would have corrected the problem without excessive use of authority... those are my thoughts.

thanks
Kevin

I got the same warning, and am quite proud to take the hit under the circumstances. The way I understand it, the "infraction" is the warning. The penalty is the BAN.

Hey Ron


so how many infractions can you get?? I just couldnt help myself! I find it appalling that the seller can post FAKE pictures, and try to sell hundreds of turtles by the "pound" to Hong Kong on here, absolutly sickening..... Also, if someone is a known scammer, like the guy selling Gilas for $300 ea.... what am I suppose to do to warn other people? contact a moderator? Like I told the moderator, I guess my emotions got the best of me on that posting, but in all honestly, and even if it looks stupid on my part, I never read the rules at the top of the classifieds, never even looked at them!

The 3 day still kicks in at 12 pts, the 30 day now hits at 18 pts, the one year ban at 24 pts, and the permanent ban at 36 pts. Basically, the point being made is that if a person comes back from a ban & continues to create issues, that person will be bumped to a longer ban more quickly. In other words, if you can't follow the rules, we don't want you here.

got it, sounds........ fair..... just thought a verbal warning would have been, "nice"

I am going to go over the rules at the top of the pages.... also try to limit myself to strictly classifieds to avoid unneeded infractions.

Thanks Ron!

The infraction wasn't excessive use of authority, IMO...but all infractions are subject to review by the moderation team & admin.

As far as posting warnings far in advance - in our private communication, I sent you 3 links: The announcement posted in the classifieds (dated 6/11); the related discussion in the classifieds (also 6/11); and a sticky thread on the subject of disruptive posting in the classifieds (dated 5/11). I would think that 2 yrs is plenty of notice that such things aren't acceptable.

Regarding the rules - another sticky at the top of this section, entitled Updates to the Infraction System (dated 3/2009)
That thread doesn't so much as outline the rules, as it does lay out the infraction list. It's pretty easy to deduce what the rules are by looking at the infractions, though; so I thought it might be of help.

Also, as Rich has pointed out numerous times (including in the 2009 thread) the infractions are not the penalty, they are the warning. The penalty comes when the infractions are ignored, and involves a loss of site privileges (temporarily, or permanently).

Please understand that the original rules were set up around the time this site was created; so they've been modified as the site grew and the needs changed.
Points only matter when they add up. Most people take the hint & correct the behavior that earned the infraction(s). As you pointed out, you've been here a long time, and don't have a history of being a troublemaker...I'd be pretty surprised if you accrued enough infraction points to get you even a 3 day ban before this one expires. Realistically, this won't even require an intentional change in your posting habits.

For the record, I responded here to present the information for other readers - some of whom will likely feel the same way. I appreciate that you were respectful when you contacted me, and that you continued in that manner when you posted here.

The discussion got ahead of my typing.
Yes, it would be "nice" if we sent out multiple warning PMs to people before issuing infractions....it would also be a HUGE waste of time. I can say that because, over the time that I've been moderating on this site, I've tried numerous approaches - including that one. For every person that responds to the first PM of that nature, there are more that don't. That requires another round of PMs, AND other people see the problematic posts and figure it's okay (so it becomes likely that we'll have to PM other people, as well). Some will modify their behavior then, many won't - requiring an infraction (or more) before things sink in. I have 2 jobs, a family, a house and property to maintain, AND my animals to care for - my time is quite valuable to me, so I don't waste a lot of it on things that are nice but relatively ineffective. (If Rich wants to match the salary, I'll happily give up my second job...spend the time here, and type out all the feel good PMs he wants, lol)

I know Ive been here for awhile now, and you sent the links at the same time or after I got the infractions, anyhow, it looks like alot of people get them, and though they are to be taken seriously.... they are, in my opinion, and maybe others on here, not as serious as I thought they were? I will try my hardest NOT to get more in the future... I wasnt looking for trouble, and like I said, I use this site for buying and selling, I will really try hard to keep it at that..., buy,sell.... God forbid I need to get on the BOI EVER! well..... unless its for a good thing! Thank you for the quick response, you've both explained alot to me... I have a job, a family, own a business, and deal with cronic auto-immune disease, so... if you could imagine... I cannot make this website and its rules a full time job, or even a priority.. but I will do my best in the future to stay out of trouble and off the moderators radar!