[uf-discuss] [admin] Notice of community ban

[Tantek Ç elik]

On 10/18/07 8:03 PM, "Steve Robillard" <s.robillard at snet.net> wrote:

> I don't believe anyone else has been banned, but rather that Andy has been
> banned multiple times, and it appears to have had little effect.

It did actually help for a while last time, as Andy's emails and behavior
were certainly civil for a while (he was last banned for a week back in
July).  Unfortunately though, for whatever reason, his behavior lapsed,
which then dragged (drug?) the tone down in the lists, to the point where
many people were made to feel unmotivated to participate.


> As for the
> transparency of the process do the admins vote before taking this action or
> is it a single admin's decision (let me be clear I am not saying that the
> action was taken without just cause or unwarranted).

The admins could do a better job of documenting some of this, and to be
clear, every time there has been a banning, it has been by consensus
decision (no objections) from the admins, of which there are quite a few at
this point.  There have been a few times that the admins have considered /
discussed banning someone but whenever there has even been one objection
from any admin, no banning has taken place.  Thus it is a very serious
decision, and certainly not taken lightly.


> As for unusual, I guess
> that is part of what prompted my post, it is no longer unusual, but rather a
> matter of how long before it repeats.

It's a good question.  A lot of us try to be optimists about human nature
and thus keep hoping for the best.  This despite the fact that in this case,
this individual has for example been banned from at least one other
wiki-centric community, e.g. Wikipedia, for a year (for a second time).

I will personally commit to (as I think the other admins will, though I am
not speaking for them) improving the documentation of who the admins are,
and the minimal processes that the admins follow, because, one of our
objectives is to keep the process/admin/overhead down to a minimum both for
the admins and the community as a whole.

Thanks,

Tantek



> -----Original Message-----
> From: microformats-discuss-bounces at microformats.org
> [mailto:microformats-discuss-bounces at microformats.org] On Behalf Of Jesse
> Rodgers
> Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2007 9:56 PM
> To: Microformats Discuss
> Subject: Re: [uf-discuss] [admin] Notice of community ban
> 
> Has this happened to anyone else? I don't recall in all the time I have been
> lurking that anyone else has been banned (perhaps others are less
> persistant?). How could transparency be achieved? Vote on a ban?
> 
> It is hard to say how to manage things so everyone is happy. I am happy with
> how things are managed and who is doing it. Thanks Drew for the post on what
> has happened. Lets hope these decisions remain unusual ones.
> 
> Jesse
> 
> On 10/18/07, Steve Robillard <s.robillard at snet.net> wrote:
>> It seems we have been here before, and it seems we are making no
>> progress on the 2 issues presented: Andy's behavior and making the
>> banning process more transparent.
>> Is it time to examine the process to address both of these issues -
>> especially in light of the fact that banning Andy does not seem to be
>> working?
>> 
>> Just my 2cents
>> Thanks,
>> Steve
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: microformats-discuss-bounces at microformats.org
>> [mailto:microformats-discuss-bounces at microformats.org] On Behalf Of
>> Drew McLellan
>> Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2007 4:24 PM
>> To: Microformats Discuss
>> Subject: [uf-discuss] [admin] Notice of community ban
>> 
>> This is an email regarding Andy Mabbett's recent and persistent
>> negative conduct within the microformats community. Namely:
>> 
>> * Unpleasant and overly-aggressive communication with members of the
>> community on both [mf-new] and in private email
>> * Engaging in wiki edit wars
>> * Excessive argumentativeness for the sake of debate
>> 
>> These are traits he has been warned about before, and for which has
>> been previously banned. They are in clear contradiction with the "be nice"
>> guideline: http://microformats.org/wiki/mailing-lists#Be_nice
>> 
>> This behaviour continues to be harmful to the community, and
>> therefore, the admins have concluded there is no other option than to
>> issue Andy with a further 30 day ban from community participation.
>> 
>> With regret, Andy Mabbett, is banned from community participation for
>> a period of 30 days from today.
>> 
>> Sincerely,
>> 
>> Drew McLellan, on behalf of the microformats admins
>> _______________________________________________
>> microformats-discuss mailing list
>> microformats-discuss at microformats.org
>> http://microformats.org/mailman/listinfo/microformats-discuss
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> microformats-discuss mailing list
>> microformats-discuss at microformats.org
>> http://microformats.org/mailman/listinfo/microformats-discuss
>> 
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