Thread:Bourgeoisie/@comment-4552817-20150216091843/@comment-4552817-20150218001133

(it wouldnt let me quote/reply) In reply to Bourgeoisie:

I have no problem with deep discussions or debates. In fact I find them interesting. You however were arguing. You and Ajraddatz took what was a harmless comment and instigated an argument. Through persistence, what started out as a debate, turned into a more serious argument about controversial topics.

Having opinions and discussing them is perfectly fine. There comes a time though, when a point has been made and understood, any further statements only serve to aggravate others and further an argument.

Whether you consider them insults or not, I received pms from three users who felt insulted. Insults can take many forms. They include, but are not limited to: Negative comments about another user's religion, politics, country, lifestyle, or ability. Discrediting or dismissing a user's views. Criticizing a user with stereotypes. Name-calling or acting superior. Generally expressing dislike for another user.

I observed several of those types of comments from both sides of the disagreement. Nearly all from the other users were said in defensive response to ones you and Ajraddatz said.

I understand you were backing up Ajraddatz who may have felt offended. However, how you went about it was not the best approach. Adding insult to insult and seeking more argument is not a good way to mend things. Agreeing with his point of view would have sufficed.

Though I was quite busy with pms, I had been following the whole thing from the start. When I said "Keep it civil guys. :|" I was addressing everyone involved because with a few uncalled for remarks from both sides, the discussion had just turned into an unpleasant argument. When asked what I meant by civil, I promptly replied saying I meant keep the conversation friendly. Since I did not see any other questions about it after that, I assumed I had clarified my request well enough.

Yes, I did get called away from chat shortly after I spoke up, but I returned just minutes later. I could see things were starting to cool down, so I refrained from stepping in again. I figured I would let the dispute run its course and dwindle away. A few times I considered giving a warning or kick, but decided against it thinking that would actually end up making things worse.

Even so, after some time, it heated up again and at that point I said enough, it was time to move on to a new topic. A few users agreed and attempted to switch subjects. With that I was prepared to accordingly warn, kick, or ban any user who continued arguing. I would have too, except I got a bad lag and froze up.

Several minutes and refreshes later, chat loaded properly. I could see a few more unkind comments being sprinkled here and there so once again I said, "Stop. We are done discussing this. Please."

At last another user was successful in switching topics and the matter was over.

I felt you were deserving of a ban for all your participation. If I had not glitched up, I would have dealt with it earlier. I never like handling things after the fact, but I thought it was a strong enough case that needed resolving. In attempt to be fair about whatever division I would make, I did consult with another mod. We did not decide on anything certain, just came to the conclusion that a ban would not be unfair.

As I often do, I would have pmed you about matters as well, to be sure I didn't miss something from your perspective. But you had left chat by that time. I still feel a one week ban is reasonable.