hehehe thats funny - similar to a buddy who after being dumped by her bf, sent him a text saying "I am now deleting you as a friend from facebook"

Surely not Novo, you would have to be an idiot to do that.

Surely you're not suggesting I fancy Gremmie? Have you looked at his blog?

No comment.

The problem, as I see it, is that the Mods have to enforce the rules as they are written. Of course there has to be room for limited discretion but perhaps the time has come to revamp the rules? Or is that a forlorn hope?

My own preference would be to warn posters privately and enforce a 'three-strikes-you're-out' rule.

But none of this temporary banishment.

And if someone tries to register under another alias I do know that technology exists to detect this sort of underhand attempt to 'get back in', although then again I am not entirely opposed to allowing a poster to come back under another name, or tolerating a re-appearance, if he behaves himself.

If someone is banished temporarily (not my first choice) or permanently, this decision should be publicized at the forum (a specific section) with the reasons clearly spelt out. This would minimize the need for this very thread.

As to a Mods job being one of a 'no win' situation I can agree on this. I was a mod at another forum for a number of years so I speak from experience. We worked in teams of three and would consult with one another, privately, before taking any drastic action. This made the process more transparent and much fairer.

Its an internet forum with rules, if we change them people will still moan, complain and think they were hard done too

There was an interesting article written recently showing how on a internet forum normal social conventions fail, as all the visual and audible cue's are missing...
The result is that every body thinks they're the important interesting part of the conversation, that they have the support of the majority...

The moderators job is to maintain as best as possible a normal conversation, inside the rules the forum displays.

We all agreed to those rules when we signed up, but just like the instruction manual most probably never read them..

I sometimes think that this is more about the inner child, running lose, but full of self importance, masked by the anonymity the internet gives...

You are right on. One can't please everybody. I just thought it might be worthwhile to try a different approach, which is probably far more drastic and, if adopted, would probably make some here even grumpier.

True enough. But calling an idiot an idiot is something I can guarantee that both dbd33 and myself have no qualms about doing in "real" life either, when justified.

Question for you my good man.

Which (in your opinion) is more offensive, Dipshit or Idiot?

Choose your pick, mate.

Bravo! Thrice Bravo and Huzzahs all round for the self-appointed Clever Tzar!

Well I wouldnt have thought it was the one DBD used. But I guess it must be cos the mods apply the rules fairly.

Or because not everybody is such a thin skinned person to involve the mods over either epithet.

Oh boo hoo Mods I THINK Novo called me names Please ban him.

god you lot - can we let it drop please - I think you're being idiots

This three strikes thing doesn't sound too dissimilar to what the mods have described.
I'm a little confused. You don't want temporary banishment (suspension) but you're not opposed to someone coming back on good behaviour. I thought that was the object of suspension.
The technology does indeed exist to detect someone registering with an alternative name. But I think the technology also exists to fool that technology doesn't it?
I thought that's what a Proxy did.