Why people get banned here?

[Michael]

We already 'advertise' on here with online vendors that sell parrot paraphernalia. Greymatter is a member and has her own toy shop. As a matter of fact, I believe we need to exchange information regarding vendors that we find remarkable. A huge part of parrot ownership is buying appropriate food and supplies for them, and if we can't share the knowledge that could evidently lead us to the best for our birds- that's ridiculous. I think the 'no advertisement' rule should be directed at vendors or websites that are only competitive to this board.

We're not even specifically against "vendors or websites that are only competitive to this board." It all comes down to intent and quantity. We are not trying to dissuade forum participants from posting links to parrot related articles, sites, or products relative to the discussion. Disagreement is not prohibited by the forum rules while spamming is. We purposefully left the definition of spam vague because spammers keep changing their methods and moderators need to remain flexible in dealing with it. Mandy gave a working definition of what we consider spam.

The loose definition of spam is, "posting things or links with the primary purpose of promoting other sites rather than participating in discussions on this forum".

A good test of whether or not something someone is posting is spam is by considering whether or not they would continue participating in the forum if prohibited from posting those links/content. When someone joins the forum, posts a bunch of links to sites of personal motivation, and is never seen again, we remove them as spam. We have had several companies come and do this and we told them they can participate in the forum but no longer post links to their site because we thought it was all they were on here for and sure enough they never posted anything else. We don't like having our board used strictly for the purpose of advertising.

I must commend the collaborative effort of the entire moderator crew because over 9,000 spammers have been removed from this site. If it weren't for their efforts, this forum would be flooded with spam ranging from watches to parrot scam sites and it would be nearly impossible to have a conversation with someone about parrots. I am proud to say that no one has ever been banned from this forum for a difference of opinion. The rules are pretty clear, so if people choose to break them, it's their problem. If in doubt, don't post links or promotional content. If you want to post links about things specifically relevant to a parrot discussion and you are an active participant here to discuss parrots, don't worry about it.

[hannahbird]

I never thought this crazyness would happen! The people who were banned have a lot of experience and gave a lot of good advice that was helpful to me as well as others. They are great people. Honestly, banning them was immature and petty. Thats all I have to say..

[Michael]

They broke the rules. That's immature. Experience is irrelevant. That's all I have to say.

[Chris&Akilah]

Banning them doesn't accomplish anything but drive more people away, is that really what you want? Don't get me wrong Michael, you can be very helpful, but you often come across as condescending and rude, behaviour that would not be tolerated for long on many other forums. It can be pretty off-putting, so I think if you want your products and your site membership to gain more attention you should worry more about your own behaviour. Just my two cents as an outside observer , nothing personal.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I think Chris has stated something very clearly and diplomatically that the moderators of this forum should take seriously. I am inclined to agree with everything he has said. The pluses have outweighed the minuses for me thus far, but it has become a close call.

[Julsiebean]

The truth of the matter is people are upset over how the admins have handled some issues. If Micheal wants to protect his empire so to speak, something has to give. How all of this went down was super shady and as adults, who wants to deal with that? People weren't banned for spamming, they were banned over being apart of another forum. I never sent out an invite for the new forum but I had my PM ability taken way- and still don't have it back. The given reason for losing PM was spamming, but I never spammed. I am however, on the other forum. I mean.....really? Micheal keeps telling us he doesn't care or that members don't matter, but aren't we what his empire rests on? Doesn't he need good word of mouth and active long term forum members for this place to thrive and grow? People aren't happy. You can still change things and save this place. I want that to happen, I wish Michael all the luck in the world but you have to do a better job of meeting the needs of your members. The facts of the whole ordeal have been glossed over by the spouting of admin rules, but it really doesn't solve or explain anything. It is like sweeping a dirty mess under the rug and knocking down anyone who saw the whole thing and dared ask about it. I probably shouldn't have said anything more, but every once in a while it is nice to see a little justice.

[GlassOnion]

That is ridiculous that Julie had her PMing capabilities taken away for no reason.

[Violet]

Well so why do people get banned on here?????????????????//////////////

[Cage Cleaner]

TBH I never even knew this thread existed. Drama seems so non-existant here. But I think the reason why so many people get banned has been explained.

[coral]

I wasn't on here for a few months because I was so busy and o guess most of the very experiences and helpful people got banned while I was gone that's very disappointing they all had very good input on things and captwest and patdbunny helped me and a lot of people a lot. What form are they on now?