Banned

[Corduroy Frog]

Ghostly Trio?

For the three members mentioned, I often was willing to put up with their acerbic and sarcastic posts just to have the benefit of their knowledge available to the board.

I can't imagine they were banned without the webmasters attempting to conduct dialogue with them in an effort to avoid banning... in fact I believe Mr. Roberts alludes to such an effort in an above post.

I will miss their knowledge and wish they had been able to purvey their information without their often-hostile theatrics. I admired their talent but have to admit sometimes I wanted to bite a nail half in two as a result of their sarcasm - not just to me but to others. I have to trust that the editors/webmasters did the right thing for the message board, and did not act without serious forethought and possible dialogue.

[joanmcq]

I know two of the three from various other boards, so I am used to the sarcasm.

[Greenbriar]

Credibility issue

I find that sarcasm hurts their credibility so I'm less likely to rely on their posts. I commend the webmaster for his professionalism. Perhaps there is sufficient support to offer them another chance?

[TaxBird]

For the three members mentioned, I often was willing to put up with their acerbic and sarcastic posts just to have the benefit of their knowledge available to the board.

I can't imagine they were banned without the webmasters attempting to conduct dialogue with them in an effort to avoid banning... in fact I believe Mr. Roberts alludes to such an effort in an above post.

I will miss their knowledge and wish they had been able to purvey their information without their often-hostile theatrics. I admired their talent but have to admit sometimes I wanted to bite a nail half in two as a result of their sarcasm - not just to me but to others. I have to trust that the editors/webmasters did the right thing for the message board, and did not act without serious forethought and possible dialogue.

Oh I would imagine. And as a matter of fact I do recall attempts at reigning in the hijinks.

That kind of stuff doesn't bother me, though, even when it's directed at me. My sensibilities are just not that delicate. Especially in online forums.

I realize it does bother some/most(?) people, though.

Maybe we could set up a poll? A 'vote them off the island' kind of thing? Probably not practical, though. But it would be amusing.

I'm just sorry to see them go.

[erchess]

Transparency

I think that it would be instructive if offending posts were left up along with notes as to why they were offensive. I also think that communications with parties should be made public unless that would be illegal. Transparency is generally a good thing.

That said, this is a privately owned board and the owners get to decide what the rules are. Those of us who dislike some aspects of life here are quite free not to use the board.

[sea-tax]

I think that it would be instructive if offending posts were left up along with notes as to why they were offensive. I also think that communications with parties should be made public unless that would be illegal. Transparency is generally a good thing.

That said, this is a privately owned board and the owners get to decide what the rules are. Those of us who dislike some aspects of life here are quite free not to use the board.

Erchess I could not agree more on both points, well said.

[TMI Moderator]

Certainly, people have different levels of comfort when it comes to the tone of comments on this or any other message board.

The fact is that when the intensity level of comments is allowed to escalate, the forum becomes dominated by a very small group of people, and that drives many others away. When moderation functions are performed to restore the forum to a less argumentative tone, you’d be surprised at the immediate increase in the number of participants.

Our goal is to draw the largest possible number of tax professionals to this forum. If the tone of the discussions creates a phenomenon where a person posting a comment is likely to be drawn into a contentious argument, we will take action to moderate.

As to the recent events, we did make attempts to solve the problems without restricting anyone’s access.

We reserve the sole right to monitor use of this Message Board and take any steps we deem necessary to moderate.

We greatly appreciate the contributions of so many accomplished tax professionals who contribute to the success of this forum.

It’s time to move on and get back to tax discussions.

[winnie]

moving on

I know that we all appreciate this board. I use ATX software and they also had a fabulous message board. Between the two, I felt like I had gone to tax heaven. (Even though we all know that tax and heaven could never go together!). The ATX message board was abruptly shut down and all access denied. That would be the very last thing that any of us would want here.

[bertrans]

banned

I hereby apologise for having initiated this particular thread.

[JohnH]

Offensive Posts Can Be A Problem

And I agree that the sponsors of this board have every right to delete any posts & ban any posters whose tone & tenor they disagree with. As for the ATX board, there has been an alternative forum set up and most of the old ATX posters have migrated there. It is being funded by the users. Since there isn't a company sponsoring that forum, it will be interesting to see how we handle things over there if someone decides to get too offensive. So far it hasn't been a problem, but time will tell.

[Matt Sova]

Difficult

I know that Jainen was particularly sarcastic at times, but never vulgar or abusive toward other members in my opinion. It is hard to say what was said without seeing the posts that were removed.

I think the folks at the Tax Book should re-think their policy if there was nothing particularly disgusting.

Personally, if a member uses extreme vulgarity (beyond h-e-double hockey sticks, grand cooley dam, etc) or verbally attacks a member (stupid idiot, dorkmeister, etc) then that member should be banned. Other than that, I think we are all adults here.

Maybe I'll be booted soon for voicing my opinion.

Matt

[sea-tax]

I hereby apologise for having initiated this particular thread.

I do not think that you have anything to apologize for.

On the contrary I think that this simple question has led to a good discussion about reminding us all to keep this forum and our posts professional and to remember to be courteous and respectful to our fellow posters.

I will admit that the often heated banter between Jainen, Old Jack and Bees will be missed by me. Truly these posts while tuff to follow at times , really made you think, and question your knowledge on tax issues.

Hey Black Bart, and Veritas, etc. where do you guys/gals weigh in on this. I would like to see some of the "old timers" ( not meant to be a slight) post on this subject. For I respect your opinions as well.

[taxmandan]

Banned

I appreciate the actions of the moderators. There were several times that I refrained from posting/replying to a message because I knew my offerings ran counter to the opinion(s) of others and I didn't care to endure their sarcasm.

[winnie]

ATX former user

John

I didn't know there was another board started as a result of the ATX shut down. Can you share some info on that?

[bertrans]

banned

Thank you, Sea-Tax.