(While the following is being posted under my own username, this post reflects the thoughts, ideas and opinions of the entire X Marks forum staff and the decision to submit this was made jointly.)

To the members of Xmarksthescot,

As some of you may have noticed a forum member has recently been banned and another was added to the Needs Moderated usergroup. Since these two members appear to be going on a tirade on another forum, we thought that we should address the people whose opinions matter to us…you, the Xmarks membership.

In both of these cases, the moderation team did what was required for each unique situation.

With regards to the banned member, he was placed on probation after continually breaking rules of the forum, and making false accusations and negative remarks to the forum staff for enforcing those rules. This member has admitted several times that he was at fault, as he had not read those rules before posting. While on probation (Needs Moderated usergroup) this member would continue to submit controversial posts, which we were accused of censoring if we did not publish them, and was given repeat warnings about these posts (which were not published to the site). Also while on probation this member would butter up the forum staff with kindness only to voice his true disdain for the forum and for the people in charge of running it on another forum. We simply felt that if this person has such disdain for this forum and the way it is run, that he will not be a positive contributor to the site and will be happier elsewhere.

Another member was added to the Needs Moderated usergroup after coming on a bit heavy with their opinion and becoming insulting to others that did not agree with said opinion. We exercised discretion and sent a friendly warning to this member. The member offered an apology to the general forum and stated that they would not visit for a while to cool down. That post was removed, as it was seen as a “goodbye” post. However, the member continued to post and eventually got a bit bitter at the staff and at the forum. Numerous PM’s and emails were sent back and forth to try and resolve any issue or miscommunication. He has since taken his rant to another forum and has continued to question the motives of the forum staff and the existence of Hank (?) the forum owner, even going so far as to post personal information of Hank’s on another site. This member will remain on probation until he shows that he can either be a welcome addition to our little home on the web, or that he is not welcome.

One false allegation that was expressed is that there is no place to offer feedback about Xmarks or the way it is run (though neither people expressing this ever tried). We do want to remind the Xmarks membership that there is a forum http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/...splay.php?f=102 where this can be expressed (subject to forum rules of course) or the Moderators are more than happy to receive a PM and try and find a resolution if you have an issue and would prefer to express it directly.

We value the many contributions from the large membership at Xmarks, and want you to remember that your opinion does matter. We are also members of the forum first, but forum moderators second. We do however need to enforce the rules of this free site that have been set up by the forum owner. Hank has a vision of how he wants this place run, and it is a better place because of the vision.

The Forum Staff