Forum reject

"I would never join a club that would have me as a member."
--Groucho Marx

I'm not sure how true that is in my case. But yesterday, I joined a club that has since refused to have me as a member...and it was a club (more specifically, an online forum) that I really wanted to join.

I agreed to the terms, read all the rules, and otherwise did as I was told. This was a forum that only allowed me to view a handful of threads before telling me that I would have to join if I wanted to read any more. So I joined. Then I kept getting messages at the top of the page encouraging me not just to read, but to post and introduction and participate in discussions. So I posted an intro thread and a new thread in one of the sub-forums. I participated, just like they suggested. I even filled out my profile and added a signature quote and an avatar. I was good to go.

Then I pulled up the site in today and they wouldn't let me back in. I was banished. Blacklisted. Booted out. BANNED. The big B.

And not only was I banned, I was banned without a reason. Literally, "reason not specified." The same message told me that the ban would be lifted on 8/18/09 at 10:00 am. I tried to log in at 5:00 pm and I was still banned. I couldn't even get in to log myself out!

I was using Firefox, so I opened up Internet Explorer and went to the forum. Since I was not logged in through IE, I managed to open the page and sneak a look at my profile. Both of my posts had been removed. The only person to visit my profile was a moderator, so I'm assuming she was the one who banned me.

I sent the second of two messages to the webmaster (the first I was able to send from the banned screen). I doubt that'll do much good since I can't log in to view my private messages, and they'd therefore have to send any replies directly to my email address. Not to mention that, since the Forum Police deleted my posts, they'll probably not even remember why they banned me even if they do choose to reply.

Seriously, what the hell?

I wouldn't be upset if this were not a forum that I really wanted to join. I am very interested in researching this particular subject and this forum looked like the most comprehensive community for the topic. I don't want to have to join a smaller forum with less knowledgeable members just because a better site refused to have me.

I don't think I even have to go into how inconsiderate and unprofessional it is to ban someone with no warning or explanation. If I do something wrong, tell me so that I don't make the same mistake again. That's just common sense--not to mention common courtesy. I'm a moderator at another forum and I would NEVER treat a member this way, and that includes members who are blatant troublemakers.

At this point, I'm not sure I even want to bother with that forum. Why should I even give them another thought, you might ask. Well, the thing is, I'm stubborn. I always stand up for myself even when it doesn't seem worth the effort, because I believe in respect and will demand it even when I have little else to gain.

That's just the way I am. And if this forum still won't have me as a member, it's their loss.