Can you guys stop warning people in threads and leave it to emails? I don't know if I'm the only one that this bothers, but its become a major pet peeve of mine lately.

First, it looks more like the mod/admin is trying to start a fight than actually trying to prevent something worst from happening.

Second, it reminds me a lot of a-hole cops who abuse their position of authority in order to belittle others.

Sometimes in-thread warnings are there to demonstrate where the line is to others and/or that "bad" behaviour isn't being ignored.

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Groucho, you know better than to post something like that. Please do not try and circumvent the profanity meter or make personal attacks.

Not completely. We usually have a good reason for doing in thread warnings. We may feel the need to post a general "calm down" message if a discussion is a bit too heated, but don't feel it warrants an email. If we notice a disturbing trend(several people posting links to sensitive personal information for example), we'll do an in thread warning. We don't always have the time/desire to send out a formal email warning if it's something that can be quickly taken care of in thread. But I will keep your concerns in mind.

It would also be nice to have the luxury of time to be able to e-mail each person when things are getting too heated or they are heading toward trouble. However that only warns those people and often a forum can benefit from seeing a warning and the reason for it.

By the time we get to e-mail it usually becomes a formal warning which is on its way to something more serious if the offending behavior is not changed. I consider an in-thread warning a predecessor to beginning that process that hopefully will prevent it.

We have been criticized more than one time for using email and not letting everyone know what the boundaries are.

I'm a fan of the in-thread warning, as it has kept me from a suspension or two or many.

Actually, I saw that coming... and your right.

I guess... a lot of depends on the tone you guys use too. I guess I shouldn't have implied that you should never use "in-thread" warnings... Just that sometimes it seems inappropriate.

Oh.. and don't get me wrong, I think most of you guys do a great job... and I didn't mean for the suggestion to come off too as too harsh a criticism.

Didn't take it that way DC.


Tone is important in a warning.

i would actually like to see alot more in thread warnings!

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Administrative Mail Sent. Admin

I agree they should be in the thread. It shows what the rules are, which ones are being enforced the most, etc.

I agree that in-thread warnings are usually the best alternative.

Firstly, it's good for everyone to see that a person is being warned. That way, everyone can get an idea of what type of behavior/posting is acceptable in the forum and what isn't.

Secondly, some people (myself included) have email addresses listed that we rarely check. If I only received a warning via email, I may not know until I already crossed the line from warning to suspension.

Now that this is settled, I thought I'd give a nice gift to the mods and admins here.



Use when necessary.

But you are not naming names, right?

Got to keep them all thinking that they are part of the "most".