Author: Roger
Date: 11:52:43 02/07/00
Some weeks ago, I proposed that banning someone was such a grievous matter that it ought to be done only by "a vote of the people." Some people agreed, some disagreed. Two of the moderators at that time, Bruce and Dann, were adamant that the moderators MUST have this power. Dann even said that when you elect a group of moderators, it comes down to whether you TRUST them to do their job. Karinsdad was aware that ChrisW was posting under another name. In the thread below on this issue, Bruce says that he is also aware, but that he was "content with the situation," and that he wanted to let the next group of moderators decide what to do (this amounts to passing the buck, in my opinion). My feeling is that if you take time to espouse principles, you ought to take time to live by them, and that ChrisW's behavior under another name has no relevance, whether it is self-controlled, or even wonderful. When he was banned, he was barred from participating in any way. THAT'S WHAT BANNED MEANS. I do not believe that someone, even a talented programmer like ChrisW (I own CSTAL II, and I like it), ought to be able to invent new accounts ad nauseum, and continue to disrupt our forum, like a hydra that sprouts two new accounts every time one is cut off. If you are going to ban someone, THEN BY GOD BAN THEM. Otherwise, banning has no teeth, and just makes FOOLS of the moderators and of CCC, which is how some of us feel now. That is what is happening, and if Bruce, Dann, and Karinsdad had lived by the principles they so strongly upheld, it WOULD NOT be happening. If we the people trust the moderators to ban someone, then there are all sorts of political rivalries, friendships, implicit alliances, and so on, working behind the scenes, as the ChrisW problem shows us. If it were just Sean acting alone, does anyone believe for a minute that we would have this problem? These "behind the scenes" rivalries and alliances are what makes the ChrisW problem so intractible. My feeling, then, is that we should formally pass the power back to folks that can and should act self-consistently, the people, and that banning should be done democratically, by a vote of the people. This only works to make the CCC community greater than the Peyton Place rivalries and alliances of the programmers, which we so often see at work here, the very reason why we CANNOT get consistency on the ChrisW issue. Of course it will be messy, but it will not be more messy than the ChrisW affair has been already. Roger
This page took 0.01 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.