The Committee

I have one question for you - what was your previous username? Just about everything is listed in: https://thesandtrap.com/guidelines/ https://thesandtrap.com/a/faq/ A combination of how much of a jerk you are and how long you do it. Or a spammer. That answer is incorrect. Potentially. They can't be about politics or religion. You can, but see the above, and realize that people will give you the benefit of the doubt, and you should do the same. You're really not off to a good start with the name-calling and insinuations.

As the moderator here I will say a few facts and a few opinions: We almost never delete posts. Fewer than 10/month that aren't spam. And when we do, they're often something like four a time, where a member posts something, a moderator replies, the member replies again, and so does the moderator. After a time, all the posts - since they're off topic - may be removed. We have three levels of moderation, basically: Level 1: Verbal warning in the topic. Usually short, since it's off-topic, and done by a moderator or occasionally just by another member who knows what's acceptable? Level 2: An actual warning, with points. Level 3: An actual warning, with points (often more points than level 2), and deletion of the post. In other words, non-spam posts aren't deleted without notification. Turns out, people who are jerks just like to tell their side of the story, and hang their hat on "my post was deleted!" and leave out "… because I was being an insensitive ass" or "… because I continued to break a forum rule." Opinions cannot be "right" or "wrong." You can disagree with them, but far too many people these days take disagreements personally. The moderation team here has all met. They've played golf with a number of the members here. They've had disagreements with a number of the members here… just like they have had with their friends, their family, and other people they love. Stop trying to look for ways to be offended or pissed. You have your opinions, others have theirs. Text has no tone to it. Read everything as if the voice in your head is smiling as they say it. Give others the benefit of the doubt, or at least ask if they're having a go at you, because they almost never are. "He who lives in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." If you've never had a bad day, you can be critical of others when they may be having one. No, you've had bad days yourself, so you understand what I'm saying here? Thought so. Stop forming immutable opinions of people and then reading everything through those glasses. People are not their first impression. And if you've made 356 posts, and one crosses the line and you get moderated, well that was 1 out of 356. Keep it in perspective. Moderation is almost not needed (outside of spam) if everyone simply follows a few basic ideas: Talk about the topic. Don't be a jerk. Don't assume others are being jerks. It's really pretty simple. P.S. We will not be releasing the names of these people. They were unhappy people, and we've done them a favor. As a moderation team, we are constantly evaluating our actions, so please take that time to evaluate your own. For 95% of you, this will take three seconds. If you've ever felt that you had an issue here, however, ask yourself if you're completely blameless in it (you likely weren't), and more importantly, if it's really a big deal.