[COBALT]

MHC: I don't see anybody jumping to conclusions here. A couple of members just asked why he was banned. Their reason isn't in the context of why for justification, but more out of curiosity I think.

This leads to a thought I had recently. Josh, and/or his admins probably haven't really considered this yet. If it gets public that a few members have been banned (and it already has) a knee-jerk reaction for a lot of folks still on the board is to get mad or accusatory, and think the admins are on a banning spree. Of course this isn't true, and 99.9% of the people here are good people that have demonstrated their ability to show restraint when things get heated, and know when to admit when they're wrong.

The truth is there's a few individuals on this board who have a hard time communicating with others, or respecting others contributions or place on the board, and after being approached on their attitudes have not reacted reasonably to the criticism. Their reaction is to take their displeasure to the board or the chat publicly, and can't keep it off. They've also chosen to repeat whatever the behavior or attitude that got them in trouble in the first place. Josh and his coleagues will only put up with so much, so they ban the individuals who choose not to follow the rules, or are willing to at least let something drop and move on without repeating themselves. To us the administrators may seem a bit reactionary, and that may be true when arguments break out, but there's things going on that we may not know about. Public confrontations aside, I think they're trying to do the best they can. The site is free for cryin' out loud, and its a good resource. Keeping it that way is a chore to say the least.

Beware though. The administrators can't of course prevent people from circulating email, or approaching others in an attempt to drum-up support for their side. I'm sure that's happen to a few of us.

Ultimately, aside from speculation I'd say either way in the long run it's none of our business anyway. Josh is the owner, TJ is an admin along with some others, and they do their jobs as they see fit. Period. Everyone here has the choice of accepting that, or going to a different board.