This would require having an admin change someone's perms when they're banned... And frankly I don't think it's a huge issue at the moment. While a policy change may be justified, I would personally favor just locking appeals discussed in the shoutbox and making them start the process over.

 

I love this idea nicit! I am so tired of seeing the same players complaining about these bans over and over again, maybe this would help. I also agree with Sharky about his suggestion if it can be easily implemented. Could you maybe add that after 3 ban appeals in one day, they get forum banned for 3 days or so while you are at it? :p

 

Could always take that into consideration, no promises yet though.

 

I am against this suggestion, and the addition suggestion that their appeal gets locked for mentioning it at all in the shoutbox.

First off, I will address the main point of the thread, and locking them out of the shoutbox entirely. Just because a user is banned, does that therefore mean they should be completely alienated from the community? Why should we take away shoutbox perms of all banned users just because some of them decide to rant in the shoutbox. I have seen users that are banned have normal discussions in the shoutbox, however those seemed to be completely forgotten since they are following the rules of the shoutbox. Banned users are already treated horribly by the community, there is no need to further punish all of them just because some of the more severe offenders decide to go off in the shoutbox. In fact, them going off in the shoutbox is a good way to determine if they should, or should not, be allowed to return to the server. By restricting their access to the shoutbox, the staff team loses part of their ability to judge how they are handling the ban as it is one of the few ways they have any way of showing how they feel about their ban.

As for Nicit's suggestion on locking their appeal and making them start the process over again, that is one of the most flawed things that can be added to the current system of ban appealing, in my opinion. As it stands, ban appeals are the lowest priority, which, in and of it self, is the cause of some of the issues that arise with banned users, however that is a different debate. By making them start the ban appeal process over again, will cause three things to happen: It irritates and already annoyed users which is one thing you never want to do while working in any type of customer service / public relations situation; Secondly, it is going to cause the user to post the same exact appeal as they currently have open, seeing as forum behavior does not relate to their in-game ban reason, so therefore it is not required to be addressed in the new ban appeal; and thirdly, allows The Staff to push dealing with the user off to a later date, where this cycle could continue all over again. The only thing their shoutbox behavior should be used for is judging if they understood what they did wrong, and if it is accurately reflecting in their appeal, adding a "Zero tolerance" on any outbursts will cause more issues than it solves.

Tl;dr -1

 

Besides, when I was banned, I had nothing better to do than play, so I just roamed the forums. I wouldnt take that away just because someone was raging there.

 

I can definitely see General's point of view. Allowing banned players to irritate everyone (including Staff) in the shoutbox only colors the outcome of the appeal that might be complaining about :)

On the other hand, I also like Nic's idea of making them start their appeal over from the beginning. It's similar to a judge (American) levying a charge of contempt while in the courtroom. It has nothing to do with the reason that someone is IN court, but since they are already there, they better behave ;) Punishing someone "too much" is highly subjective. Another analogy: if you get pulled over for speeding, you get a ticket. If you cause a scene / give the police grief, then you may get tazed AND arrested with additional charges...

I know I am not the only one that has no pity for someone that has been here (ECC) for more than 4 months, is appealing their 3rd (or higher) appeal, and STILL can't figure out that the reason they are in trouble is due completely to their own attitude. Beat them with the "clue bat" until they leave ECC, or they change their behavior. Either one makes everyone else happier.

 

Seeing banned players rant in the shoutbox is one of the few remaining forms of true entertainment that I have left in this world. Taking that away would make me sad.
-1 only because of that

 

-1
Watching the banned players get angry at the mods because they were "just joking" or "didn't do anything" is the only thing I ever go to the shoutbox for
Would be a dark day if that got removed.

 

With the add-on we use for the Shoutbox, users with the right permissions can Ban and unban users from the shoutbox. A little like how the bans work in game. When someone is banned from the shoutbox it is not visible on their screen until they are unbanned again.

 

Please Vintage - every moderator should have this permission and then instead of being asked over and over again to stop raging, they can be helped out by giving them a much needed break - along with all of the rest of us :p

 

What's the issue with giving that wee little power to a moderator? I don't believe the owner(s) would choose an irresponsible staff member.

 

+1 shoutbox should be renamed complain box

 

There probably isn't an issue with the staff and power, its usually the concept behind the idea that Administration may not like or agree with.

 

-1 I am currently banned. I got myself banned on purpose to sort things out in real life and to have nothing to distract me from doing so. With that said, I do enjoy checking the forums for 15 mins per day and interacting with a few friends. Maybe nicit's idea would be best for this, but if your idea was implemented, I wouldn't be too pleased.