Consequences And Repercussions

We have been monitoring all of the arguments in Lakers Discussion recently, and some rules have been violated by members as well as Staff.

As a result, warnings have been handed out to the guilty parties, and we have decided that one of our staff members, vasashi17, will have his Mod powers suspended for an indefinite period of time. Vasashi17 has been a great Moderator here and on CL for a long time, but everyone has to follow the rules set here, so we couldn't turn a blind eye to any transgressions that make the atmosphere on this website any worse during these trying times.

Everyone needs to remember, win or lose, LB's rules must be followed at all times while on LB in order to create a welcoming atmosphere for all Lakers fans:

http://lakersball.com/pages/Rules/

 

I'd like to add an excerpt of our internal discussions to Barns comments:

1. First and most importantly every member is treated equally on this board. Nobody is above the rules.

Staff members, not only are treated with the same sense of justice, more so they are held to higher standards than that of a random member. This can lead to higher scrutiny of our behavior.

It should also be clear that staff members have more "good will" for their exceptional contributions to the board compared to a new member. This will not lead to immunity within the board though and it will also not effect our judgment. Fairness is important to all of us and that's how we want to be treated, no matter the background.

2. This entire thread was mainly related to an ongoing issue between a staff member and some non-staff members.

We want to emphasize that staff members, no matter how level-headed, can also make mistakes. As humans we all make mistakes that do not necessarily reflect who we are and who we aspire to be.

One issue is that as staff members we can easily be accused of abusing our "power" which in theory is greater than in reality as we also seek advice from time to time.

I'd like to ask all members to take this into consideration when you argue with a staff member.

3. Baiting is not allowed and will be sanctioned more consequently going forward. I have noticed and others have noticed that we have been too lenient in penalizing baiting.

Please take into consideration that baiting is every kind of behavior that is intended to challenge, irritate, anger or otherwise provoke another individual. Whether it's baiting or not will be decided in the light of the overall conditions and circumstances.

We will rigorously enforce this going forward. Coming to Lakersball should be fun first and foremost. If it becomes pain or stress, people will stay away from the site or not engage as freely as they want which is bad for all of us.

What does this mean in particular:

a) Nobody owns a thread here. Resist the urge to reply to every comment in a thread. Allow people to express their thoughts without having to defend it and repeat it.

b) I expect in every thread that the discussion is SOLELY focused on the subject at hand. You should not comment on someones post referring to other topics or his/her ideas about a different subject. This is excessive baiting because it leads to a discussion all over the place and ruins everyone's experience.

In other words you may not "follow" someone all over the place to get your point across. If you have a discussion with someone about something, use the appropriate thread. If you agree to disagree at the end, great. If you both feel that it is becoming personal, we encourage you to shoot a pm, preferably to the other member. If it continues, you should contact one of us. If it's a mod, contact an admin or another mod.

When two parties are involved in an ongoing issue, both parties will be penalized and both individuals are to blame. We do not encourage self-administered justice on this board. Two wrongs don't make a right.

We have learned our lesson and we hope that everyone benefits from it.

We want to provide a platform for all Laker fans to share their passion, anger, disappointment and happiness with regard to the Lakers. We don't want to offer an erena for internet beefs.

Take into consideration that most people here have different ages, different academic backgrounds, different cultures, different basketball knowledge and as a result different taste and opinions. This diversity helps everyone to see new perspectives and second guess or re-evaluate their personal opinion.

What should be clear is that this doesn't mean we have to have the same perspective at the end. If we want to change our opinion we will and if not, then so be it.

Best,
KB24