Schmoes are dropping like Flies...

[Freeway]

I have noticed that many schmoes are being banned (For good reason). I just don't understand why some well established schmoes are suddenly revolting? Why do such a thing just so you can be banned from a place you have already spent much of your time perusing? Also, JoBlo, what made the decision for you to crack down on the rules even more?

[BorderEevilIII]

I felt like doin the same. Well not dropping out but going on hiatus. But the back-up of other schmoes (you know who you are) gave me the reason to stick around. Also, I am here for the long-haul no matter what.

[Annie Hall]

Jo has every right to take a stand...this previously intelligent, fun movie board has become a place where people get up on their soap boxes and yell about the "evils" of this website. It's a message board. You'll never MEET these people. This is not for 13 year olds who decide to be assholes because other people have done it. It's sad and depressing, and, I hope the new rules help us get around it.

If you are revolting, thinking of revolting or know someone who HAS revolted...these "farewell" speeches are absolutely, well...revolting.

[Moviefan1234]

At least the weak ones are being weeded out. I lose all respect for any schmoe who opens a good bye thread to bash others or the site. If you want to leave, fine. We don't need to hear your reasons, you can just go in peace and silence. Have they ever thought that perhaps they may want to come back sometime down the road?

[Frank the Tank]

Speaking of dropping where have some of the Kings been. I haven't really seen Claw, Quentin, ColinM, and XCoryX around here that much lately.

[JoBlo]

This is a good question, but please DO NOT turn this topic into a "what happened to so-and-so?" or "I think certain other people should be banned as well...." or we'll have to close it.

To respond to your questions:

1) I have noticed that many schmoes are being banned (For good reason). I just don't understand why some well established schmoes are suddenly revolting? Why do such a thing just so you can be banned from a place you have already spent much of your time perusing?

To be honest, there have only been 5 schmoes in the past few months who have "revolted", so it's not really an epidemic or anything. People actually come and go every day, but don't feel the need to make a spectable of themselves when they do, hence, less attention to it. In the case of the few that did decide to leave, I have NO IDEA why they suddenly decided to do what they did (other than their combined rants about this place "not being what it used to be" and certain people "sucking"-- the last time I checked, EVERYTHING changes in life and well...many people SUCK in real life as well...), but I guess they had their reasons.

I like to compare it to this: Have any of you ever been on a vacation with some REALLY GREAT FRIENDS, but then after about a week or so, spending every living minute with that person, they start to get on your fuckin' nerves?

I think this board and all other chat rooms of the type are the same thing. Any EXCESS of anything will eventually lead to nitpickings and over-dramatic situations, when in reality...all anyone really needs is a small "break" away from it. If you're feeling like this place is "sucking" of late or whatever...I would suggest the same. Just take a break, spend LESS time on our board and I guarantee you that things will look brighter the next time around.

Having said that, I'm quite glad to see certain schmoes leave when they did because I'd rather they remove their negative attitudes from our board, than hang around and act like cocks, etc...

On the whole, 95% of the schmoes are great people, here to talk movies. If you can't see that, and if you can only see the few morons who enjoy cracking wise or acting like jerks...than you're likely not looking at the right places (and when I say "you", I don't mean anyone in particular... :)

2) Also, JoBlo, what made the decision for you to crack down on the rules even more?

To be honest, I've been talking about being a little stricter for a while now, raising our minimum age to 15, etc..., but just never had the time to do so (I think I've said this before, but 98% of my effort on my site goes on the actual SITE, not this board-- I'm grateful for the moderators for keeping this fort down for us), but I guess the excess of complaints and reports by folks has forced me to get my ass in gear and make sure that everyone is aware of the board's MAIN PURPOSE, once more: TO TALK MOVIES.

I will also concede that I've actually probably been "too nice" with certain schmoes, writing "warning emails" to long-time schmoes, asking them to "tone down the attitude" and "stop responding to everything with wise-cracks", but I guess you can't change certain tigers' spots, eh? MANY OTHER people have told me NOT to be as nice and just to ban anyone who doesn't get the basics, and I think that's, unfortunately, the attitude I'm going to have to take from now on.

By the way, people only see the negative types who seem to feel better about themselves when they "go out with a bang" but the truth is that, like I said before, 95% of the people on our board are cool and diggin' it, and report jerks when need be (I received 13 emails for the last mook in a period of two hours alone), so things are actually very good, in my opinion. And the future...well, it just looks THAT MUCH BETTER! ;)

Getting rid, or having certain unwanted members leave, is peachy keen by me. Leaves only those who WANT to be here and talk movies and isn't that what it's all about, after all... :)

PS: Seriously though, if anyone is feeling like this board is a "big part of their life" and that they can't do a day without it...trust me, take a few days off and make it LESS a part of your ritual and more a part of your "hobby", and post whenever you FEEL THE NEED TO DO SO and not just because...it's there... :cool:

[moviemuffin]

I have never (I mean NEVER) understood why anyone who leaves any community in a huff feels the need to write a fifty five page thesis on the seven hundred and forty three reasons for leaving and back it up with references.

This is a good place. Although I occasionally wander over to the IMDB and once frequented the RT forum, the reason I linger here is precisely this: assholes are not tolerated and tangeants that have nothing to do with movies are not welcome.

If anyone actually misses the idiots who've left with much ado, take it from me, they'll be back. Nobody who makes a farewell speech can stand to leave for good. They MUST know how much they are missed.

It would never ocurr to them that they aren't. :rolleyes:

Occasionally somebody hurts my feelings, too, but I can just stop responding to those threads. I mean... I married a guy I met online and even I don't get THAT emotionally invested.

[James Logan]

The way I see it, is that if you don't like the way things are done here, no one's askin' you to stay. And no one wants you to pull some kind of "cool" "Fuck you all I'm a bad-ass" goodbye thread. Just stay, or go, whatever you do, we'll respect it as long as you respect us.

That's my message to the Schmoes who'd want to hara-kiri themselves by following the "example" of those who got banned in the past few weeks. And about them being old-time Schmoes...well, that's because it's after time that you get cocky and overconfident, right? Probably thought they were institutions around here and could do whatever they felt like freely. Proved 'em wrong all right.

Anyways, I'm mumbling, but I want to say too is: I love these boards, so I stick around and try to keep 'em a cool place. The day I'll start feeling like people are cocks, the conversation isn't enjoyable enough, and I feel like I'm losing my time, I'll just log out. And I think that if everyone did that, things would be easier.

[Reigh Kaufman]

I have to agree with James Logan. Those of us who have managed to put a bit of time between registering and our last post do tend to feel that being banned is something that couldn't possibly happen to us. Then one day, just out of curiosity, I looked at a bunch of old topics and realised there were hundreds of posters like me, who had more posts than I do, and they had been banned for infringements. It is kinda sobering when you think of it like that.

But know what? I like being me on the boards. I never have any problems anymore (there was a period in the middle of my time here when it seemed that I was here just for the craic, rather than the movie-talk), and sometimes, yeah, I get the feeling that me and a few others have managed to make a little name for ourselves- - in a nice way. I get nice PM's, a few nice e-mails, and all in all, besides a horrible period in the chat room, I have a lot of friends here. Even old adversaries have become people I can get along with, and there is no more posturing in the threads between us.

Also, let's be honest, the clamp-down was a long time coming. I see a few Schmoes -- very well-established -- and I read their responses to other people and think, 'how are they getting away with that?'. Under the new regimen, that will be stamped out (I hope).

Okay, so, yeah, part of the fun is when someone says, 'yeah - blah-blah-blah', and the next poster says, 'well, you would say that, because you have worse taste than James Logan ;)'. It is funny, and it keeps the spirit of the place intact, providing a fund of goodwill that gets you past the next heated debate without saying 'FUCK YOU!!!!!!'.

But all in all, I think we will all be just fine. The site is is not dramatically different to the place I signed up to, and the rules are not draconian or anything.

I guess we all just have to adapt if there is a tougher set of rules on place.

[Nate6]

I love being on the boards here, I actually find it very relaxing for the most part (helps me relieve a bit of the everyday stress), and the people here are great, I must say.

If someone decides they want to take things too seriously and start publicly stating how much they hate it here, my response is "Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out." I honestly don't give a SHIT about people who want to complain about how much the board sucks. I love it here, and honestly, it's just a message board. If you don't like it, don't keep coming, but I don't need to be told why I shouldn't like it.

As Reigh said, this place is almost the same as it was when I signed up, only there are more people and more forums. With more people come more jerks, and that's sometimes what we see, and those are the ones who get banned. But all in all I still love it here, and I hope the community spirit can continue.

JoBlo.com rules!

[Moviefan1234]

Something else I would like to add, even though it's off topic, is how much I appreciate all the effort that goes into this site. A [/b]big[/b] thanks to Joblo, Arrow, Indiana Sev, Bob Menard, Mike Sampson, The Shootin' Surgeon, and all the moderators. I understand all the work that goes into the site to keep it as cool as it is, thank you! It's a crying shame when people diss the site and are unappreciative. Once again, thank you everyone! :)

[Jon Lyrik]

I'm probably going to stall my posting a bit, I don't know how these adjusted rules will go in the future or how they will be enforced. I'm sure it's for the better of the site.

[James Logan]

Originally posted by Reigh Kaufman


Okay, so, yeah, part of the fun is when someone says, 'yeah - blah-blah-blah', and the next poster says, 'well, you would say that, because you have worse taste than James Logan ;)'. It is funny, and it keeps the spirit of the place intact...


Just wanted to point out the unrealistic aspect of that example. No one has worse taste than James Logan. ;)

[Reigh Kaufman]

That's why I used that as an example - no reasonable person could take that seriously, therefore it would be unlikely to cause offence to all the other Schmoes who are not named James Logan.

:D

[jackson13]

My feelings are simply this: they deserve it. They knew the rules when they joined, and they knew better than to do what they did, so they got what was coming to them. Im personally quite happy that Joblo is doing some house cleaning, because that will weed out the 'bad seeds' and then the rest of us 'goodies' can go on discussing movies and whatnot in the correct manner, with out being immature and calling each other names over trivial crap that doesnt even really matter.

Just think, pretty soon we will no longer see anything like this:

#1st person: "I think 50 Cent sucks, I dont like him, never have, never will."

#2 person: "Your a fucking idiot because you dont like Fiddy. Hes awesome, his lyrics rock my world, and since you dont understand him your a corn infested turd".

[scottish-movie-freak]

Originally posted by jackson13
Just think, pretty soon we will no longer see anything like this:

#1st person: "I think 50 Cent sucks, I dont like him, never have, never will."

#2 person: "Your a fucking idiot because you dont like Fiddy. Hes awesome, his lyrics rock my world, and since you dont understand him your a corn infested turd".

Looks like I wont be around for much longer...

Jo, you say you are thinking of raising the minimum age limit to 15. Will this affect the uber cool types such as myself who happen to be under this age restriction?

[Reigh Kaufman]

SMF - It's your birthday in 4 weeks time. I don't think Jo is going to ban you for just 4 weeks, then let you re-join again when you turn 15.

If anything, he should ban you for renting Fear Dot Com.

:)

[someguy]

Originally posted by scottish-movie-freak
Looks like I wont be around for much longer...

Jo, you say you are thinking of raising the minimum age limit to 15. Will this affect the uber cool types such as myself who happen to be under this age restriction?

Yes I must ask as well. Although I think that we won't because we joined before the rule was put into place.

[FeverDog420]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Jo will enact a grandfather clause, like back in the day when the drinking age was raised from 18 to 21.

[Christoph]

Originally posted by someguy
Yes I must ask as well. Although I think that we won't because we joined before the rule was put into place. Its called Ex post facto law.

[TheDeadWalk]

I'm not being an ass, but what does raising the age limit really do? I don't really see anyone stopping at the door and saying "Dang, if I was only a year older, I'd sign up."

There's an awful lot of decent schmoes out there, so why not just double up with some moderators at a few places and just make sure they keep folks in line.

General Movie Talk for instance, has wayyy more threads in it than any other forum, (10,943 at this moment) yet Jo handles it all by his lonesume, and that's just ONE of the forums he moderates. He does a great job, but I'm sure this gets quite overwhelming sometimes with the insanity.

Can't blame ya for trying though.

[Raymond Babbit]

Don't understand why people would want to do something to purposely get themselves banned, these boards are great. As for the ones who decided to leave some kind of stupid message before leaving, I always figured they just did that for attention.

[CyclicNightmare]

Originally posted by TheDeadWalk
There's an awful lot of decent schmoes out there, so why not just double up with some moderators at a few places and just make sure they keep folks in line.

General Movie Talk for instance, has wayyy more threads in it than any other forum, (10,943 at this moment) yet Jo handles it all by his lonesume, and that's just ONE of the forums he moderates. He does a great job, but I'm sure this gets quite overwhelming sometimes with the insanity.
I am in complete agreement. More moderators is the solution.

[someguy]

You just wanna be a mod that's why. ;)

[JoBlo]

More moderators is not the solution because our present moderators are doing a great job and they aren't the problem to begin with. The basic issue are the certain TYPES of people who join and seeing as I've been doing the banning and moderating over the past 3 years+, I've actually gained a certain amount of knowledge about the type of peeps who will "gel" here and those who won't.

Furthermore, seeing as this is a PRIVATE board, i.e. owned by me and me alone, I'm getting kind of tired of going through the same sort of "clean-up" every other year and would rather moderate the kinds of people coming in the first place.

That said, it goes without saying that a grand majority of schmoes that were banned were teens, and young ones at that. Does that mean that all teens are trouble-makers? Not at all, but we want to create a more mature and constructive environment and to do so, it makes more sense to filter those coming in...than to add more moderators to control everyone that's already inside.

Check out our "jazzed-up" RULES (http://www.joblo.com/rules.htm) which include the new regulation about being 15 years of age+ (while certain folks will still be able to get in every now and again, I believe that most people WOULDN'T WANT to join a place that doesn't welcome them in the first place) and the part about: "If you can't handle the fact that someone in the world has an opinion that DIFFERS from yours maturely, you will be banned." -- this obviously applies to people of ALL AGES!!! :)

Anyone who is under 15 and already part of the club, can stay.

[someguy]

Originally posted by JoBlo
Anyone who is under 15 and already part of the club, can stay.

I would kiss you JoBlo but then that would seem gay.

[flowrchild]

If people want to leave the site, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. There are enough good people here to compensate for the lousy ones.

Edited: because a certain question was answered.

[Hannibal21]

I have been checking this place out since Nov. 2001 (when I first discovered it) and although I was not a schmoe back then, I really had enjoyed visiting the forums and reading some of the posts by you guys, it really made me feel much more relaxed and helped to take away many of my stress. So one year later, I decided to join, and I'm glad I did, because I have finally found a place where there are cool discussions about movies and where people's opinions really matters. Most of the schmoes here are really nice and have made me feel right at home here; but of course there are also some of the occasional 'assholes' who knows the rules, but just finds it SO hard to follow them, and as a result, gets banned. Well, all I can say is: They had it comin'! If people don't like it here, fine. They can leave, not post, and never visit the site again if they don't want to. But posting some infamous 'goodbye' thread in order to insult some schmoes, complain about the site and just show how proud they think they are, is beyond pathetic. If you wanna leave, nobody's stoppin' ya. If you break the rules and get banned, it's your misfortune.

[Saruman]

If you break the rules you're out on your ass. That's the way it is and should be.

If you don't have the maturity to get along with people on the internet then I would hate to see you in the real world.

[blankpage]

The way I see it, there is not problem what-so-ever with pumping up the rules. After the past month, we've had 5 guys who really tried to show off or act like idiots, and were banned, and for a good reason, too. It's because of THOSE people the rules are being juiced up. Personally, I don't find anything wrong with have strict rules, we all know how to have fun, and we still can and do. It's when we start to act like assholes and major idiots is when people begin to drop like flies. The new system should work great, I'm all for it, and I back Jo 100%.

[flowrchild]

I agree with blankpage. The majority of the schmoes "dropping like flies" are ones who were making the place not as fun or pleasant to be around as it used to be. If anything, Joblo's new rules will bring it more back to the old times. No complaints here.

[moviemuffin]

SO...

now that all the little wankers have left...

Seen any good movies lately?

:D

Cat in the Hat sucked

[blankpage]

Originally posted by moviemuffin


Cat in the Hat sucked

Poetic words, poetic words. ;)


Sorry for getting off topic.


But one question Jo. Let's say there are a handful of people acting like idiots, all the time. And this causes more pople to act like idiots, and more and more. This would cause a large group of people who post a lot here from being banned. My question is, if this situation were to happen, would you close the board down? I'm pretty sure this happened on Kevin Smith's movie board as well...I think. Could/would it happen to us?

[The Delfonics]

Originally posted by JoBlo
[B]I like to compare it to this: Have any of you ever been on a vacation with some REALLY GREAT FRIENDS, but then after about a week or so, spending every living minute with that person, they start to get on your fuckin' nerves?

I think this board and all other chat rooms of the type are the same thing. Any EXCESS of anything will eventually lead to nitpickings and over-dramatic situations, when in reality...all anyone really needs is a small "break" away from it. If you're feeling like this place is "sucking" of late or whatever...I would suggest the same. Just take a break, spend LESS time on our board and I guarantee you that things will look brighter the next time around.

I agree with Jo a bit on this. My first 7 months on this board were great and I hardly ever became mad at anyone but for some reason a few people started to get on my nerves as well as some of the posts. I figured I needed a break. The past month Ive been keeping steady at 1-2 posts a day instead of 10+. It helps get me back into my old groove of fun posting. Its the holidays too guys, we should all be happy!

Its like, what happened to RenHoek? Its been 2 monts! Hes probably just chilling, I should put his pic on my avatar again :)

[JoBlo]

Originally posted by blankpage
But one question Jo. Let's say there are a handful of people acting like idiots, all the time. And this causes more pople to act like idiots, and more and more. This would cause a large group of people who post a lot here from being banned. My question is, if this situation were to happen, would you close the board down? I'm pretty sure this happened on Kevin Smith's movie board as well...I think. Could/would it happen to us?

Since it's a "hypothetical" question, I'll answer it but the truth is that this couldn't happen because we wouldn't allow folks to "keep acting like idiots all the time", especially under the stricter guidelines which give us, well...all ze power to do whatever the heck we want!! :)

Seriously though, we "reserve the right" to delete/ban anyone for "cocking around" or for any other reason, so no worries on that front.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF, however, this situation were to occur, I would shut the board down in a heart-beat since, like I've said a few times before, it's only one of the many parts that make our site complete and I'd rather concentrate on the parts that we DO and CAN control, rather than the part that causes the most headaches... :)

Incidentally, I've actually talked about shutting it down several times, if even for a few days, just so folks don't get TOO USED to it all, but I don't think that will ever happen. It's usually when I allow a few bad apples to spoil the whole bunch, which isn't a good theory to adopt. Truth is the MAJORITY of folks are cool the MAJORITY of the time and that's good enough pour moi......

[Corpse Candle]

Well Jo-blo you are doing a grand job I have noticed a couple of tricky mongs shooting their load on this board but nothing you can't handle eh;)

On the side however...if this site does raise the minium age level to 15 does that mean I have to raise my mental age level by ten more years(that would take it to 12 years):p :D

[Damned Martian]

Originally posted by The Delfonics
Its like, what happened to RenHoek? Its been 2 monts! Hes probably just chilling, I should put his pic on my avatar again :) He's busy, working and moving to another city, etc. I think we're not going to see him for a wide while, unfortunately :(


To remain on topic: new rules rule! :D

[PapaJupe2k]

To tell you the truth I didn't even realize this was a major problem. I hang out in the sports and horror films threads, which get less traffic than the general movie threads, but I've never had problem 1 with anybody on this board.:cool: I can see where with so much traffic in the general movie threads you might run into the ocassional ass-hole, but to let it bother you that much is just crazy.

1) If they are being a dick they aren't going to be around long anyway.

2) There is an ignore function that you can use to block these people and not have to deal with them. I've never had reason to use it, but I just tried it recently just as an experimental basis on just a randomly picked schmoe to see what it did. It hides all posts from said individual and I believe it blocks any private messages that this person might be sending. If you are really curious as to what said ass-hole is saying there is a function you can use to go in and read what posts you want from them, but it wont be shown unless you do this.

I recommend this from anyone you get any amount of static from, it's a quick and simple solution. I wish human beings had an ignore function you could press also, the world would be a better place.

PS: I think bmain is getting a bit full of himself after Michigan has clinched the Rose Bowl bid... where is that ignore function again.:D

[blankpage]

Thanks for clearing that up, Jo. Closing the board for a few days may make some folks go nuts. I remember when you closed to board for the weekend to re-shape it to the way it is now, and when it came back on.... H...O....L....Y.... S....H....I.....T. :eek:

[Freeway]

I've always kind of wondered why JoBlo even has a message board, because as much fun as it is for us, what benefits does he get out of it personally? It would seem to me to be more of a headache than it's worth.

[Grebdron]

Originally posted by Freeway
I've always kind of wondered why JoBlo even has a message board, because as much fun as it is for us, what benefits does he get out of it personally? It would seem to me to be more of a headache than it's worth.

Silence!!!

Moderator...kindly delete this post, as the poster is obviously off his nut.;)

[APzombie]

Originally posted by Freeway
I've always kind of wondered why JoBlo even has a message board, because as much fun as it is for us, what benefits does he get out of it personally? It would seem to me to be more of a headache than it's worth.

Because the J-Man loves us ;)

When i first came to the site, the boards made me come back daily, no one in the real world wanted to talk about movies as much as me until I came here. After a while I realized that JoBlo.com became my quintessential site for everything dealing with films, from the news to reviews to wallpapers- the whole lot. In a way I think the boards can promote the site alot. Not to mention that JoBlo's rules are what seperate these forums from the cranky "I hate hollywood" arses found at sites like Aint it Cool.

[Quiver]

Hi Folks. I have a question, and I really hope it's OK for me to post it here.

I was over in the Avatar thread today, and I saw a few posts responding to a member called "Mr. Blue", but there were no posts by that schmoe. Curiousity got the better of me (no cat jokes please;) ), and I see that he is now a former schmoe, with no post count.

Sorry if it is wrong to name a name. This was just an example for my question, which is...

If you are now banned or whatever, do all of your posts become deleted, or was this a case where a mod decided to clear out the posts after the person in question had been banned?

I am not concerned with why he was banned, but more in whether all posts were deleted because of it.

Clear as mud? Great!

Q

[Grebdron]

Originally posted by Quiver
If you are now banned or whatever, do all of your posts become deleted, or was this a case where a mod decided to clear out the posts after the person in question had been banned?

It's up to Jo himself. I sense that, in Mr. Blue's case, he was already a former schmooe who tried to buck the system. He was found out, and all his posts were deleted. (Just a guess.)

[Freeway]

Originally posted by Grebdron
It's up to Jo himself. I sense that, in Mr. Blue's case, he was already a former schmooe who tried to buck the system. He was found out, and all his posts were deleted. (Just a guess.)

What do you mean by being a former schmoe and bucking the system? If he was a former schmoe he wouldn't be able to post here, would he?

[flowrchild]

Originally posted by Freeway
What do you mean by being a former schmoe and bucking the system? If he was a former schmoe he wouldn't be able to post here, would he?

Sure, he could register under a different name and then get banned when he is found out again.

Many members have done this. A few I know of still haven't been caught.

[JoBlo]

Originally posted by Freeway
I've always kind of wondered why JoBlo even has a message board, because as much fun as it is for us, what benefits does he get out of it personally? It would seem to me to be more of a headache than it's worth.

GREAT QUESTION!!! ;)

It's basically for the sense of a cool movie "community". I can't even remember how folks used to share their love of something before this thing called the Internet was invented (telephones, maybe?), but being as we're ALL major movie fans on the site (me, Arrow, Indiana Sev, Mike Sampson, etc...), it's nice to have a spot in which others of our "ilk" can share their thoughts, hopes, loves, hates, etc... about the industry in question.

I assume that it also brings some folks to our site, but to be honest, I haven't noticed that to be that much of a trend. In fact, sadly...it seems as though a number of people who frequent the forums barely even check out the site. A bummer but what can you do...

[James Logan]

Originally posted by Reigh Kaufman
That's why I used that as an example - no reasonable person could take that seriously, therefore it would be unlikely to cause offence to all the other Schmoes who are not named James Logan.

:D

Ah...you're a smart one. ;)

Originally posted by JoBlo
More moderators is not the solution because our present moderators are doing a great job and they aren't the problem to begin with.

Boo-yeah.

*strips down, ties his underwear to his head, and dances the Victory Booty Shake*

[Rated R]

i think there's something in the water...I mean people just seem to love to insult people this time of year maybe? I didn't see this many bannings or angry posts earlier in the year or in the summer. Maybe the world is about to end and everyone is pissed off. Either that or everyone is on their period...

[Tuukka]

Joblo, do you get "clicks" for the site only if we enter the front page? Many schmoes visit the site 10-20 times a day, but I suspect most just type www.joblo.com/forums when they come in.

It might be that you don't get any clicks for the site that way, so it's not really use for you.

[[SD] Bob Plisskin]

I think that as the boards grow there are obviously going to be more 'unwanted' types. From the olden days when I was a regular poster I always remembered there being the odd cock jockey out there. I don't think it's that the ratio has changed it's just that the number of posters has. As with anything that grows people become less close and that leads to people getting hurt (although why you'd get hurt from an opinion you can easily ignore is beyond me).

I think joblo's insistence upon respect needs to be actually taken to heart by a lot of people. Respect over people's opinions and their right to be an idiot. Whatever your opinion is there is somebody out there who 'knows' it's bollocks so think longer before slating somebody's opinion because who says that you are the big swinging dick? Everybody is fallible and entitled to slip up now and again, even joblo gave Battlefield Earth 7/10 (http://www.joblo.com/battlefieldearth.htm) would you slate his opinion just because what you thought was a pile of wank he said was good?

<OB>

[Quiver]

True, there have been quite a few schmoes banned in recent weeks, but here is how I see it.

I see these boards as being something like a factory. It employees several thousand people, but also has a high turnover rate. Just like any factory, you have new employees (Infant or “newbies”, although I hate that term), regular employees who stick it out for the paycheck (in this case, the paycheck is the fun of being part of the community), and of course the crabby old-timers who have been around forever, and like to bore their fellow employees to tears with there anecdotes (You people know who you are :D :D :D)

For every schmoe who is “fired” (or banned) someone will always step up to take their place

As for why so many are going postal right now and getting themselves banned, I still vote for the fact that we are coming up to a very stressful time of year (The Holidays – gotta hate em’), so maybe folks are on a bit shorter leash than usual.

I just hope things calm down and get back to a nice peaceful co-existence for everyone

Q

[Grebdron]

Originally posted by Quiver
and of course the crabby old-timers who have been around forever, and like to bore their fellow employees to tears with there anecdotes (You people know who you are :D :D :D)

You know...back when I was a newbie...

I won't bore you with the details.

[Romero&Juliet]

Surrounding yourself with newbies is actually the key to eternal youth.....!

Peter Pan lovin' sunzabitches.. ;)

[The Handeman]

Don't worry everyone The Handeman is still here!

and um ROTK ROCKED (runs away really fast)

[PapaJupe2k]

Ironic aint it? The schmoe that started this thread has been banned. Spoooooky stuff people.:D

[TheDeadWalk]

Originally posted by PapaJupe2k
Ironic aint it? The schmoe that started this thread has been banned. Spoooooky stuff people.:D

Indeed, very strange. Hadn't noticed it...

I was actually looking through some of my old "Infant posts" the other day, and it was amazing how many folks that I had talked to when I started here a year ago winded up getting ousted.

[sharkstank]

i'm still here, i've been behavin':D

WWWWWHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Raw Chili]

You just gotta fly under the radar and do your own thing and shit will be cool. No need for drama and arguing on a friggan message board, lame ass shit.

[Jon Lyrik]

Originally posted by TheDeadWalk
Indeed, very strange. Hadn't noticed it...

I was actually looking through some of my old "Infant posts" the other day, and it was amazing how many folks that I had talked to when I started here a year ago winded up getting ousted.

I find it strange, too.

I think JoBlo is sending out his gestapos to kill people who do the slightest thing wrong.

Let's hide for cover. ;)

[bowieee]

Originally posted by Raw Chili
You just gotta fly under the radar and do your own thing and shit will be cool. No need for drama and arguing on a friggan message board, lame ass shit.

Wise words... Wise words indeed :)

[HannibalGuy]

I get along pretty well with pretty much everybody on the boards. The only time I was ever in danger of being banned when when I had a little scuffel with someone in the Video Reviews fourm (I don't recall who it was). Also, this is reminding me of a former Schmoe called Chewtoy. If my memory serves me correctly, he lasted for only a couple of days. Jo and Arrow were on vacation, and Chewtoy was always in the horror boards acting like a dick and insulting everybody, including me. But, the schmoes defended themselfs against Chewtoy, and he was banned.

[James Logan]

Originally posted by HannibalGuy
Also, this is reminding me of a former Schmoe called Chewtoy. If my memory serves me correctly, he lasted for only a couple of days. Jo and Arrow were on vacation, and Chewtoy was always in the horror boards acting like a dick and insulting everybody, including me. But, the schmoes defended themselfs against Chewtoy, and he was banned.

And they lived happily ever after... ;)

[HannibalGuy]

Yes, we all lived hapily ever after:)

[Kastman]

I have never once had a problem with this board,or any of the members on it, except one. that was malcolm1980 or something that thought his opinion was better than evryone else and bashed them for it.

and as raw chili said, just gotta fly under the radar, i been doing it for two years.

some people just take message boards far too seriously.

[jackson13]

To quote Mel Gibson in Signs: "Its happening".

I've noticed quite a few schmoes (and more established ones even) dropping like flies lately. Mike and Invincible just to name a couple (Mike getting banned surprised me). I was going through one topic about a week ago and it seemed like every other poster had 'Former Schmoe' under their name.

Must be the start of Spring cleaning.


"You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout im telling you why....Joblo is cleaning house."

[Jon Lyrik]

I've always disliked the idea of two admins, let alone one that is a combo of many faceless people, as I've seen it ruin one great board once before. Maybe it's just me...

RIP Mike.

[badberry]

I too am noticing this alarming trend....I didn't even realize Invincible was gone, yikes. Mike's banning seems questionable to me, but I don't know all the details...

Personally, I find a little disconcerting that so many very senior schmoes can be booted seemingly on a whim....makes me wonder how long it is until I slip up, make one iffy comment and find myself gone.

[Jerk Shapiro]

Aren't they, though?

[TheJadedGamer]

I was surprised by Invincible's banning...but Mike? What did he ever do wrong? Two great schmoes that are gone within a blink of an eye is unsettling to everybody here. Its turned into Survivor: The JoBlo Message Boards, than the place I've come to love over the past 9 or 10 months.

[Kastman]

BITCH BITCH BITCH


They did the wrong thing, they got banned, get over it.

[urbanlegend23]

Woah! Schmoes ARE dropping like flies. It is quite scary. I got a frickin FRIGHT when I saw Mike had gone! He's been here longer than I have and I've been here since 2001...it's weird...anyone know the details as to why he was banned? I think I'm getting paranoid...am I gonna get banned for asking that? Aggh! :S

But this is Jo's board and everyone knows the rules, if they can't abide by them tough luck I guess.

[Strider]

Yeah, Mike's banishment was positively shocking. I don't understand why he was banned though. I tried looking through some of his recent posts, and I honestly didn't see anything that was worthy of getting banned. Then again, I can't say I know much about this incident. It's unfortunate that Mike is gone, he's been on this board since 2001 - he was not a bad guy, and he really loved the movies.

Another One Bites The Dust.....

R.I.P. Mike

[MacReady]

Here's what happened to the the schmoes everybody talking about on this thread at the moment:

Paul: I couldn't find what he had to get himself banned but I remember him saying an insult and getting a tap on this wrist once so he probably did it again since it's not beneath him.

Invicible: He used to be a nice guy but near the end seemed like he wanted a new user name badly that my guess is he got himself banned by making offensive comments in an attempt to start over with a new user name.

Mike: here's wher it gets interesting, I'm certain the posts that got him banned (it was on his opinion of the movie Eurotrip):

Originally posted by Mike
I agree that the TV spots are simply AWFUL. I haven't seen the trailer though, but I doubt it's much better. While seeing the TV spots, I can't imagine anyone wanting to see it. Who could think this looks funny? The previews couldn't be less unfunny. It has some of the most unfunny lines in it, like "Dude, you just made out with your sister" or something like that. LAME!

JoBlo took this as an insult to other schmoes so he banned Mike. Anyway, I hope he can tell us his opinion.

[JoBlo]

For the record, we don't discuss our bannings or banned members with anyone. The reason for that is...well, this is our private board with our rules and we simply do not have the time to share every bit of information with anyone, especially since it doesn't concern anyone but the board's admin and the members in questions (we ALWAYS respond to banned members who email us with their own questions though)

Since we changed our ADMIN to "Winston Wolfe", the board's bannings have gone down 60% from last year. In other words, if we had banned 20 people during the same period last year, we have only banned 8 this year (those numbers aren't the actual numbers, but the 60% drop is) We think that's good. We believe that means that most new members that we are allowing to post on our board UNDERSTAND and RESPECT our rules, are over the age of 15 and are here to discuss movies, not to bitch at others about having an opinion different than their own, make nothing but jokes, etc....

It's also to note that we actually go OUT OF OUR WAY to send emails to some of our SENIOR MEMBERS to WARN them of their continuing wrong behavior from time to time (some of you have already received such emails). As you know, we are not REQUIRED to warn anyone anymore, but we do so with some senior members because we feel like they deserve a little break.

Some banned members that have been discussed in this thread received 1-2-3-more emails from us about certain behaviors but CONTINUED to behave that way and were then...rightfully banned. Other members get banned as soon as our system picks up on the fact that they are old banned member under new usernames (even with a different IP, we ALWAYS find these guys out and delete them immediately-- from now on, we are going to delete all of their posts as well) We have over 13,000 registered members now and obviously don't have the time or patience to run after a few people who don't understand our rules, ESPECIALLY after they've been here since 2001, 2002, etc...

It's to note that some of the SCHMOES in this very thread have been sent emails and warned, as have other SENIOR SCHMOES around the board. If they continue their banning behavior (chastizing others, indirectly insulting others, responding to everything with 2 words and being wise-asses all the time...), they, like any NEW SCHMOE, will be banned.

Finally, it's to note that when we send WARNING EMAILS to certain schmoes sometimes, the email gets BOUNCED BACK, meaning that the schmoe's email address in no longer in working condition. In this case, we have no choice but to TEMPORARILY SUSPEND the member's account because they will not have received the WARNING EMAIL and need to have their email address updated at all times, in order to receive such emails from us. We wait to hear from those schmoes.

And lastly, to everyone in this thread who seems to find our behavior one-sided and seem to be getting paranoid about getting banned: GUYS, there's no conspiracy here, there's LESS BANNINGS this year than last and no one is getting banned without VALID REASONS to back it up. Please do not sit back and judge us when you can't possibly know all of the behind the scenes emails that have gone back and forth between us and any banned member (I've emailed folks sometimes who've emailed me back and told me to FUCK OFF.....needless to say, they got banned), just continue to use this board for its primary function, which is to DISCUSS MOVIES with other movie fans from around the world and let us worry about the rest of that crap.

If you have any questions about rules, please re-read them here: http://www.joblo.com/rules.htm or email me at joblo@joblo.com. Thanks.

[TheDeadWalk]

If an IP address is checked, and finds to be similar to a banned schmoe, is it verified whether or not the IP is coming from a public source?

I ask because some of my posts actually come from the computer lab at the university I attend. I'd hate to be singled out if "Former Schmoe X" posted in that lab, or any other lab I may have accessed.

[someguy]

You see JoBlo I agree. I have noticed not as many bannings but this actually scares people. I think it only scares them because of who the schmoes are. They are very recognizable(sp?)ones.

I really hate how there are schmoes here complaining about the rules. They think it's not fun anymore on the boards. Last I checked there is nothing really new. All that happened with the new rules was the age limit was bumped up and that it's a "1 strike and you're out" instead of two. That was only because of schmoes who were clearly disrespecting the rules and getting off with it at times(one schmoe mainly was Freeway from what I remember). A lot of people were getting off on things. That's why the rules tightened up. But it only tightened up a bit. People are taking things way too seriously on these boards. It's just not normal for so many known schmoes to get banned that's all. Mike,dh,Fokker,Slade,Myers,movies50,The Professional,sleekproductions,FeverDog,DevilMonkey ,Invincible,PorcheRacer,Freeway and probably some more I forget about have been banned in the past few months. I really think that this was because of their status on the boards. I made a thread about it a while ago and I think that this is true. Schmoes were getting off because they were on the boards for a long time,were well known and had a large post count. Do you think that some of those schmoes on that list I made up above would still be here if they were junior or infant schmoes? I don't think so.

I was against this tighter rules thing but now I am for it. These boards were biased before but now things can be more "equal" among everyone.

But I could be wrong.

[urbanlegend23]

Originally posted by someguy
Mike,dh,Fokker,Slade,Myers,movies50,The Professional,sleekproductions,FeverDog,DevilMonkey ,Invincible,PorcheRacer,Freeway and probably some more I forget about have been banned in the past few months.

Holy motherfucker! They're ALL gone? WOW!

I agree it's their status on the boards that makes the shock so significant. But in the long run, the post count or status shouldn't matter at all. Rules are rules, no matter if you're Infant, Senior, Junior etc...

[Jon Lyrik]

Originally posted by someguy
Mike,dh,Fokker,Slade,Myers,movies50,The Professional,sleekproductions,FeverDog,DevilMonkey ,Invincible,PorcheRacer,Freeway

o_O

sleek is banned? Wasn't aware of that at all.

[Reigh Kaufman]

Sleek was banned - and rightly so. Here is the thing: yesterday, around about 11.00pm, he started a thread that said 'Fuck This Shit'. Then he told the admin staff to fuck off. My point in telling you this is is that, well, most of you would not have seen the thread in question and will forever wonder why sleek was banned. In letting you know, I hope you now understand that some of the banned Schmoes do things which the admin staff then have to delete. The result is some of the paranoia (...what did he do? I can't find anything that would merit a banning) we are reading about in this thread. Therefore, by removing the threads in question, Jo and Winstone are open to suggestions that they have somehow colluded to remove Schmoes for no good reason. This is NOT THE CASE. Sleek asked for it, got what he asked for, and by 11.15pm those of us who were no on-line would know nothing about it and presume he simply 'vanished'. I think this was justified, and if I think that was justified, then it seems reasonable to assume that other people were banned for similair infractions that I am ignorant of...Oh, and of the people banned, I'm not even sure why it is a surprise to people ('cept Mike) because most of them had it coming - Christ, Invincible never had a nice thing to say to anyone (and if you are looking for FACTS, ask the moderator of our music forum about the personal abuse she receives from that guy on her AIM - that's how mature that guy is/was...and if you read this, Invincible, my AIM is easy to get a hold of, so try IM'ing me and we'll see how quickly you get your ambitions mixed up with your capabilities).

The point is, then, that just because WE don't know what went on, does not mean it was not entirely justified within the rules that are clearly put in place at the top of the board. I'll be gone myself, one day, for some reason, and if I AM to be banned it would be deservedly so. Jo and Winstone do not ban for no reason, and the impetus is with us and not them to make sure we play nicely and have fun.

Thus concludes the ceremony.

[someguy]

God damn you Reigh. You did a better opinion on it. Damn you Reigh. *shakes fist*

Yes that whole thing was a joke and me and Reigh aren't still friends but we don't hate each other.

Anyways I absolutely positively agree on Invincible. If JoBlo knew half the stuff he did on AIM,PM,etc. his ass would have been gone long ago. He was so slimy and sneaky. Luckily I got involved with that before his banning. That was Invincible. If you didn't agree with him he'd harrass you. I was on AIM one time and he got six(yes six)of his friends to try and chat with me so I could get warned. I should have brought this to Jo's attention and get him gone. True nuisance he was.

Speaking of blockings Ms. Version blocked me on AIM cause I "weirded her out" from what I understand. All I can say is :D

[BadCoverVersion]

Originally posted by someguy
Speaking of blockings Ms. Version blocked me on AIM cause I "weirded her out" from what I understand. All I can say is :D

Meh...I BLOCK everyone when I'm stressed. I just can't take the pace ya see. I keep meaning to update my ignore list...s'nothing personal little guy ;).

Funnily enough Mike's banning didn't come as a HUGE surprise to me...he's been 'slipping' for a long time.

[Dead Halloween]

What is "AIM"?

I remember that Invicible was kinda "weird" when someone said something negative about the Terminator films, or James Cameron, or Arnold. But I didn't know he was THAT weird.

[quoth_the_raven]

Jeez, I take a couple of weeks off and all this happens...

;)

[BorderEevilIII]

"AIM" I believe is stands for A=AOL I=Instant M=Message

It's stupid and silly that established schmoes gets into a tit and makes waves by posting uneeded remarks on the boards. Those who do that KNOWS its going to do that is going to be taken off when they get shown the door. :rolleyes: :D

[JCR]

One of my favourite moments ever here was on the 't3 is a 12a in the uk' thread when Invincible implied he didn't believe me when I said there were loads of plotholes in t3. I went on to list them. And he never replied. Ha ha ha.

[Sad man]

Originally posted by BadCoverVersion
Funnily enough Mike's banning didn't come as a HUGE surprise to me...he's been 'slipping' for a long time.

No, he's up and walking...;)

[countchocula]

I don't know what the big deal is. If you're not an asshole, you won't be banned. There's NOTHING to worry about. And exchanging anecdotes about fellow ex-schmoes on the boards isn't such a great idea. This is precisely the type of thread that Jo hates.

[Sad man]

Originally posted by countchocula
I don't know what the big deal is. If you're not an asshole, you won't be banned. There's NOTHING to worry about.

Well, not really. Some schmoes that were banned were really cool and good persons aswell, I'm not saying they didn't deserve to get banned, but they made some mistakes, that doesn't mean that they were assholes. I assume JoBlo knows what he's doing though...

[countchocula]

Okay, if you don't do something asshole-esque, you won't be banned. It's a simple rule to abide by.

[Lynn Minmei]

Yeah, Invincible was a very asshole-esque schmoe. His less than savory habits on AIM were reson enough to ban him, but he seemed like he was on a warpath in his last few weeks. He would randomly reply to messages in an irksome manner like so:

Schmoe: I thought the movie was a 3/10. The jokes weren't funny to me at all. Also, the soundtrack got on my nerves.

Invincible: The soundtrack? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Beeeeyatch.

His banning was one I saw coming for a while, and his responses ceased to be productive by the time he was finally banned.

I don't particularly like the idea of keeping it under wraps why a particular schmoe was banned, as it would be able to prevent discussions such as thsi from existing, but I respect JoBlo's decision to not reveal why. Privacy, in this modern world, is a rare thing.

And now, some obvious information (Because I'm on a roll here, people):

1.) If you follow the rules, it's impossible to be banned.

2.) If you want to know why a certain schmoe was banned, it's best to keep it off of the boards and inquire elsewhere.

3.) Never say "Beeeeeyatch" if you're glaringly white.

[JoBlo]

As some of you mentioned in this thread already, we don't care for these types of conversations on our board (gossip, insinuations, assumptions, etc...), so that's the end of this one.

The bottom line is that we have some pretty basic rules (http://www.joblo.com/rules.htm) here, most of which center around the concept of RESPECT in its various forms, so as long as you're a cool person who understands that everyone has a right to their opinion, you should be good to go.

We don't BAN people for "fun" and we do so on a very limited basis, but it's part of the gig and thankfully, 99.5% of our members are good-standing folks who are here for the right reasons and not to kill time or jerk off, etc...

We have NEVER discussed reasons for banning members with anyone but our moderators and will NEVER do so. It's our business and as per a few examples given in this thread, many times, in the hands of the individuals themselves, many of whom have actually ASKED TO BE BANNED (we then delete their posts).

If you like it here, stay and enjoy. If you don't like it here and think we're being jerks, leave, find another board and enjoy your time there. Pretty simple.

Now back to movie discussion -->