Warning Points

[storymix]

thank you, since I can't speak English, I didn't understand that at the time. I must have written a German text and didn't know that it was forbidden.

[rawTOP]

6 hours ago, storymix said:

thank you, since I can't speak English, I didn't understand that at the time. I must have written a German text and didn't know that it was forbidden.

Writing in German is also not allowed on this site. We don't allow things we can't moderate.

[AlwaysOpen]

RT- still wish the points had an expiration date to them- I got pinched way back when when the warning points were introduced- for a  post by someone else that I had replied to months before. Hell, even speeding ticket points drop off after a couple years ..

[alwaysready]

2 hours ago, AlwaysOpen said:

RT- still wish the points had an expiration date to them- I got pinched way back when when the warning points were introduced- for a  post by someone else that I had replied to months before. Hell, even speeding ticket points drop off after a couple years ..

i agree. once you have served your sentence, at least after a reasonable time has passed by, i think the points should disappear.

[drscorpio]

2 hours ago, AlwaysOpen said:

RT- still wish the points had an expiration date to them- I got pinched way back when when the warning points were introduced- for a  post by someone else that I had replied to months before. Hell, even speeding ticket points drop off after a couple years ..

 

8 minutes ago, alwaysready said:

i agree. once you have served your sentence, at least after a reasonable time has passed by, i think the points should disappear.

Moderator's Note: The problem here is the forum software we are currently using did not work the way rawTOP expected it to. Every time he thought it was working, something weird would happen (like someone who once had 35 points suddenly having -35 points). We believe it is fixed now; points should expire after a couple of years. But making this work the way he wants it to may have to wait until rawTOP can write the code for a new site the way he wants it to work. 

[alwaysready]

sounds reasonable. meanwhile i will try to keep my score at 0

[Devin-STL]

On 11/1/2016 at 10:07 AM, rawTOP said:

We get asked a lot whether warning points expire. The answer is no, they don't. But you shouldn't worry about it too much. Only you and the moderators can see your warning points. If you racked up a few points 2 years ago, we really don't care too much. They stay there to discourage repeat bad behavior, but let the moderators be aware that they might be seeing repeat behavior if you continue to do things that break the community rules.

Bottom line, once the penalty wears off from your infraction, don't worry about the points.

Thank

[Njn0mc]

Why are points foe such a long time?

I have points that last almost 2 years.

[viking8x6]

17 minutes ago, Njn0mc said:

Why are points foe such a long time?

I have points that last almost 2 years.

Points last a long time to remind us to abide by the rules, because some people have a tendency to forget. Often.

Some points last longer than others, because they are for an infraction that is bigger problem for the site.

Please note that the restrictions that sometimes come with an infraction DO NOT last nearly so long.

[BootmanLA]

Here's another way to think about it.

When you get a moving violation ticket, you may pay a fine (or a few days in jail, which may be suspended) and lose your license for, say, 60 days. After that, you're free to drive again. But the ticket stays on your record - and your insurer will see it for (typically) three years or so; if you get another ticket within that period, the insurer is much more likely to jack up your rate or cancel you, because you have a history. They wouldn't know about your history if the ticket were taken off your account as soon as you paid the fine and your sentence/suspension was over.

[Knightfalconer]

I think this 'penalty points' system is reminiscent of being at school. It is quite churlish!

It doesn't matter if the points can only be seen by the profile owner and the administrators. I'm sure anyone receiving points for doing something accidentally/unintentionally (like posting in the wrong area or using unacceptable language), bitterly resent being treated this way. We all make mistakes (even if its just pressing the wrong button on a keyboard) and a person is usually willing to forgive. That appears not to be the case on BZ where any transgression is penalised, whether clearly intentionally or not.

Simply moving or (as necessary) deleting a post is surely quite sufficient in most cases.

On any other site, your account would simply be suspended for a period (with the right of appeal because administrators do make mistakes). After several infractions & suspensions, you would be given a warning that your account will be deleted unless you adhered to the rules.

 

Edited yesterday at 09:50 AM by Knightfalconer
Missing example

[Knightfalconer]

On 4/7/2023 at 6:28 PM, BootmanLA said:

Here's another way to think about it.

When you get a moving violation ticket, you may pay a fine (or a few days in jail, which may be suspended) and lose your license for, say, 60 days. After that, you're free to drive again. But the ticket stays on your record - and your insurer will see it for (typically) three years or so; if you get another ticket within that period, the insurer is much more likely to jack up your rate or cancel you, because you have a history. They wouldn't know about your history if the ticket were taken off your account as soon as you paid the fine and your sentence/suspension was over.

I understand the point you are making, but should a middle aged driver still be penalised for being a bit of a speed freak when he was a teenager.

I know someone who received had a clean driving licence for thirty years and then accumulated several speeding tickets in a very short period of time. The total was sufficient to have lost their licence (& their career), but a friend knew that the person's mother had died just before the tickets started accumulating, and too lose their licence, would make them even more depressed. Accordingly, they took some of the points and the person has not had a speeding ticket in the years since.

[viking8x6]

5 hours ago, Knightfalconer said:

I think this 'penalty points' system is reminiscent of being at school. It is quite churlish!

It doesn't matter if the points can only be seen by the profile owner and the administrators. I'm sure anyone receiving points for doing something accidentally/unintentionally (like posting in the wrong area or using unacceptable language), bitterly resent being treated this way. We all make mistakes (even if its just pressing the wrong button on a keyboard) and a person is usually willing to forgive. That appears not to be the case on BZ where any transgression is penalised, whether clearly intentionally or not.

Simply moving or (as necessary) deleting a post is surely quite sufficient in most cases.

On any other site, your account would simply be suspended for a period (with the right of appeal because administrators do make mistakes). After several infractions & suspensions, you would be given a warning that your account will be deleted unless you adhered to the rules.

 

It seems to me you are misconstruing the purpose of the "penalty points" system - likely because it is "reminiscent of being at school." The idea (as I understand and apply it) is to provide a way of indicating to members that they've violated site policy without suspending them if it doesn't seem warranted, and to encourage people to change their behavior so that they don't violate the policy going forward. 

Of course we all make mistakes (moderators definitely included; I made a doozie of one just yesterday). You can certainly plead your case if it matters to you, and a moderator is likely to be sympathetic.  Very often a moderator will notice at the time the warning is given that (for example) the member just joined yesterday, and reduce the penalty accordingly. It would be counterproductive (as well as cruel) to suspend a brand new member's posting privileges the day after they joined.

Simply moving or deleting a post proves to be insufficient because, alas, people are unlikely to remember it and so their behavior is unlikely to change. As the moderation staff is volunteer, it's important (to the site owner) that they not be unreasonably burdened by repeatedly editing, moving, and deleting things that don't belong - whether they were put there by mistake or deliberately.