Hi Pranab,
There were a lot of valuable ideas in what you were saying, and I look forward to exploring them further if you have the time. Here's my take on what you have said so far:
Originally posted by P Das:
Looks like Galaxy was being frivolous/satirical;
I can easily see his last comment as being frivolous and/or satirical. If he had changed his name to an invalid display name when Bear requested he change his name, and at that time posted that comment, then I (or someone else) would have responded appropriately indicating why we were not "happy now". Same if he had posted the comment when he changed his name following Ulf's request.
It was not his frivolous/satirical comment that resulted in his account being closed. We have a rule here at JavaRanch that everyone must "be nice" (myself included - more on that later) and he might have received a separate message from a different moderator if they felt that line was out of line, but of itself it does not warrant an account be closed.
So why did I close his account?
I was explicit in my request that he change his name, that this was his last chance to try and get it right. If he had even
tried to fix his display name, or asked for assistance, I might have been ok with letting him get up to a 4th warning. But he decided not to follow the rules or the 3 requests to follow the rules. He did not even show that he was willing to consider following the rules. Four individuals were involved in suggesting he follow the rules - 3 of them sheriffs. I consider this to be too much effort being expended trying to get one person to follow the rules. So I decided to put an end to the time-sink.
Originally posted by P Das:
request spare the comment that he was trying to cheat in such a well-known forum that would create a stigma for her/him.
As I mentioned earlier, there is a requirement for everyone, myself included, to "be nice". So when I read your request I do wonder if I have stepped over the line. That is one of the reasons I moved the topic to this forum - other moderators will see it, and I am confident that they will tell me if they feel I should have said that differently or not at all.
First up though, I want to dispel the stigmatizing aspect of your message. This would only be true, in my opinion, if Galaxy were to come back to our site and post again as Galaxy. Otherwise Galaxy can come back and re-register with a new account with a proper display name, and there is nothing to associate the new account with the person named Galaxy. So there should be no stigma attached to the new person who is working within the rules.
In posting my comment about cheating, I was hoping that he might come to some understanding of what sort of impression he can create by his actions. Perhaps I should have been more explicit with what my intent was. I will think about it. I also welcome other thoughts.
Originally posted by P Das:
Having a teenage boy myself (probably he is a member, too), I know how they behave sometimes :-)
I personally feel that it would be a mistake for me to apply the rules differently based on my perception of a person's age. Part of growing up is learning to accept that there are rules and that they apply to everyone. But allowing someone to ignore the rules because they are young could lead to them believing that no rules ever apply to them - and then what happens to them when they "become adults" (do the suddenly realize that everything has changed?); or what happens if they decide that since little rules don't apply then big rules don't apply (can they get away with criminal acts because they are "underage"?).
That is not to say that I expect anyone to be perfect - people make mistakes, and occasionally break rules (sometimes without realizing it). It doesn't matter who breaks the rules, or how old they are, they still get the same treatment: they get asked multiple times to comply with the rules. We will happily discuss the rules if there is an issue with understanding. It is only if they continue to act as thought the rules do not apply that we stop trying to help them fit in.
Originally posted by P Das:
I would appreciate if you could help her/him to correct the situation, if that is the case.
We
did try to help her/him. He/she had 4 messages from various members trying to get him/her to follow the rules. He/she could have started a discussion (privately with anyone who asked him/her, or publicly) if he/she did not understand the requirements or disagreed with them.
As I said earlier, I believe that Galaxy was becoming a time-sink as there was not any indication that he/she was even willing to consider working with us. We are willing to help people as much as possible, but we have to have a line in the sand where we can say that "this has gone too far". It was my decision that Galaxy had crossed that line.
Originally posted by P Das:
Since I had the same problem myself (my first name 'Pranab' was taken by someone else), I feel there could be help necessary in some cases.
That is a bug in the current version of the forum software that will hopefully be fixed in the next version. But there is a workaround - after you register you can go back and edit your display name, and the duplicate names check no longer applies. So you can edit your profile to read Pranab Das now if you so desire (or you can leave it as is as well
).
Regards, Andrew
