Crimper has been banned from the board

[Richard Kaufman]

I found Crimper's most recent posting to be in extremely poor taste, and despite my repeated requests to identify himself he has refused.
So, I have removed his ability to post messages.
He's the third person I've had to remove--let's keep it at that number.

[Guest]

Hey Richard,
Whatever happened to that character researching all that African American material?
I never knew if he was for real, but boy were his posts classic!

Chris

Also, what prevents someone returning under a different name?

[Richard Kaufman]

Castration

[Jeffrey Cowan]

Richard: perhaps it would be helpful to require users to use their true, full names.
Given that opinions are like noses -- everyone has one -- requiring such identification would not only deter inappropriate comments but also increase the Forum's value because readers could better evaluate the thoughts being posted.

[steve]

Using real names is not condusive to creativity. I do use my real name (part of it). I'd give you the whole thing if I thought you would recognize it because I was some master of magic (which I'm not). There are many issues that need to be discussed that cannot be brought up by people using their real name. I have loads of stuff I would like to discuss, like why is it the magic community is so rich in arguements and in fighting all the time? Seems there are so many people fighting it's pathetic and depressing. The number of posts that go to an arguement vs. the number that go to a solid magic discussion is unbelievable. I'd like to know why. Many other issues I would like to discuss, but don't because I am not anynonmous.

I'm part of other "communities" but the magic community has shocked me with all the fighting and "No, I'm right, you're wrong" posts. I thought magic was very subjective and appealing to all kinds of people. Didn't realize so many people could be "wrong" until I joined the magic community.

A jerk is a jerk. Doesn't matter that his name on the screen is. Unfortunately, moderating is a very real part of boards and when people come along that are destructive and don't contribute positively, they need to be moderated, as Richard has done. If his name was "John Smith", and he posted the same thing, that would not have made a difference, would it? Same post, different name. The posts have to be judged on the content, not the name of the user.

[ February 09, 2002: Message edited by: Steve S. ]

[Guest]

Originally posted by Jeffrey Cowan:
opinions are like noses -- everyone has one.

And lets not forget, you can pick your's but you can't pick your neighbor's.

[Guest]

Using real names is not condusive to creativity. I do use my real name (part of it).

Using one's real name is irrelevant to creativity but it is conducive to responsibility. I'm not knocking your own choice, but a person given to generating obnoxious posts would feel more free to do so with a "handle" (unclarified in the profile) than a real name.

That said, there is one New York-based political forum where I sometimes withhold my full name because it's trolled by psychos who conceivably could find me where I live.

I'd give you the whole thing if I thought you would recognize it because I was some master of magic (which I'm not).

For me it's quite the opposite. I'd be posting as "Ralph the Unfathomable" if more than a piddling handful of humans knew me as such.

[Pete Biro]

Use of real names IMHO is the only way to be credible.

[Guest]

I don't think Crimper will be missed. I have been on other forums and watched many good people leave because of the actions of people that really do not want to contribute.

I also agree that using a "handle" (haven't seen that term since the days of CB Radio !!) sometimes gives the person the opportunity to be obnoxious without being found out.

Plus with so much knowledge and information you could get from the people that post here, why would you want to jeapordize it by being an obnoxious idiot?