I have OldSchool on ignore for a number of reasons. First, I got tired of him contacting me day after day after day complaining about the reputation system and how two members continually downvote his posts. After disputing this with evidence, I told him that in his short time as a member here, he has used the reputation system the most, more than any other member ever. So, it makes him a bit of a hypocrite to claim foul regarding a system that he continues to manipulate. Which, by the way, is against the community guidelines. Strike one. Second, his personal attacks on members is just plain old and tired. I don't want to read them, and so I choose not to. The harassment and personal attacks are against the community guidelines. Strike two. Third, his continual moaning, whining, complaining, and temper tantrums on all things ExtremeRavens, is boring, dull, unimaginative, and pedantic. I personally don't have time for them. As he has been advised ad naseum, there are other message boards and football communities for him to join. He clearly hates it here. Why stay? Move on. This is America. He has a choice. No one, clearly, is forcing him to remain. His public outbursts and challenges to the way the community is moderated is tired. It also doesn't follow the community guidelines. Strike three. Fourth, personally attacking me really isn't going to solve his problem. I'm not his problem. He is his problem. I can't change that. Harassing or attacking me isn't really helping his cause either. The moderators can attest to the fact that I've advocated for him on several occassions. You see, unlike most other boards, most decisions regarding the moderation of this community is done by committee. Why? Because, as Max said, we're all volunteers. We aren't paid. We don't make any money on this site. You don't see a bunch of advertisements anywhere on this site. We aren't selling your information, and we aren't profitting off of your demographic data by leveraging it to corporate sponsors. I personally, shell out thousands of dollars a year to have this thankless job of hosting; maintaining; and with the help of volunteers, managing this community. As a result, we've formed a tight knit community of friends (yes, friends; real-life friends that visit each other, meet each other's families, visit each other in different states and countries, attend Ravens and Orioles games together, share losses together, bury our deceased members, and leave it to the other members to comfort the loved ones we've left behind.) So, I write all of that to say that I am every member's biggest cheerleader and ally. Trust me, there are a number of members that wouldn't be here today if not for me talking down the moderators. So, while some would like to imagine me sitting on high, acting as a dictator (which, given everything I put into this community over the last seven years or so, would be totally justified), it really isn't like that at all. But, I can understand that when everyone else in a community hates your guts, it is easy to attempt to call out the one person that continually answered all of your questions, researched all of your complaints, handled your continual needling about the site and how it functions, and changed operations so you felt better. I get it. I do. Unfortunately, when you strike out against that person, the one that has helped you all this time, you tend to lose the respect, patience, and compassion of that person. And that would be strike four. So, have a nice day. Enjoy your 10 day suspension. If you decide to come back, I hope you do so with a little more tolerance, dignity, and comprehension of the English language. The first thing you should do is read the community guidelines, and then try your best to adhere to them. I hope you show a little more maturity on whatever message board on which you end up. Believe it or not, I'll actually be rooting for you. Good luck.
