For the sake of transparency, here is what happened. A moderation warning was sent to Tracelifter yesterday, reminding him that altering other people's quotes it not allowed on Pinside. He took this rather poorly and asked us to retire his account. We then tried to explain to him that a warning is not a big deal, it's just that: a warning. We also told him that we valued having him as a Pinsider. Unfortunately, he persisted in wanting to have his account retired, didn't want to be part of a moderated site anymore. We respect his decision so I set it to (voluntarily) deactivated.

As for that rule, it's pretty simple. You are not allowed quote someone else's text and then change it to make it look like that person said something else. It's not allowed, not even when it's meant funny.

I hope that answers your question!

.....clear before the lock

Well that sucks. Hate to see anyone who was usually pretty helpful leave.

The third-grader in me is REALLY tempted to take a quote from this thread and alter it, but I won't.

I guess that is updated in the rules. Have not re read but I know we talked about it last year. Everyone has been doing it usually in a joking way.
Either way every one has a bad day. Sad that he blew up over it.

Don't people do this all of the time in a joking manner?

I.E. 'fixed it for you'

Yes it often happens in good fun. That's why I told TL that it's not a huge deal.

But rules are rules. Changing other people's quotes was something that we (the Pinside team) decided should no longer be allowed. I think we had some incidents in the past where changing of quotes led to confusion, which led to trouble. Hence the rule.

Can we catch all incidents of this happening? Of course not. There's only so much the moderation team can detect. They're mostly there to remind people to stick to the Pinside rules when they see something happening.

Can we partially quote a text? Meaning, using their words, but only the sentences that pertains to our comments.

Example: A

Yes.

Kudos to Tracelifter for not starting a "so long Pinside" thread, he left with dignity.

Perhaps we should not include the quoted text in the text entry field. Just click "quote" or click and drag for a partial quote and the site will keep track of that text and insert it when you go to post. Just use an external script to display the quote only when viewing the post, not when creating or editing it. This would make the blockquote tag obsolete and solve the problem of quote manipulation. Of course if moderators still need to remove profane language or sensitive information they can still edit the quote, but normal users cannot.

That sucks. He was a funny guy.

sure, if you consider throwing a fit and quitting forever over single simple mod warning dignified.

Absolutely...no worries there.

Just try not to grab things that are insanely out-of-context as a way to "get" someone.

Pete

show me where he threw a fit... he contributed 10x more to this site than you ever have

We all have bad days and on those days, little things tend to get you ticked off more than normal. My guess is that's the case and he just needs some time to cool off. Hopefully his account can be reactivated in the future.

AKA "stupid goodbye thread"

he got a mod warning over something that was really a tiny deal and "took it poorly" (moderator's words), and escalated it by demanding that his account be deactivated. that's called throwing a fit.

he contributed 10x more to this site than you ever have

now you're starting to sound salty. do you have something personal against me?

I was very disappointed to see tracelifter leave. Like Robin said, he was a valued member of this community. Sometimes people get upset in the moment and make rash decisions. I'm hoping this was the case with tracelifter, and that he decides to re-join Pinside in the near future. He would certainly be welcomed back with open arms.

Hey folks...leave it be, let it rest. He made a request, Robin addressed it, over and done.

funny the grudges some people hold around here. "i don't like something you said in an off topic thread, therefore you have no right to comment on things!"

So it's against the rules to discuss the rules?

I could say pinball is amazing and get 30 down votes. This guy will be back. Pinside is more addictive than crack and we all have days / moments where we overdose and say never again.

Maybe sometimes it's better to say nothing. Just a thought. You kick the bear and wonder why you get bit.

Shout out to tracelifter!! Good guy and contributed a TON to this hobby. Not just Pinside; but shows, tech, and such. He's been around the hobby for a very long time. Here's to you trace!

Now folks...

all i said was that demanding that your account be deactivated because you don't like getting a mod warning is not what i call leaving with dignity. that's not kicking a bear, that's stating the obvious.

If anyone's doing any kicking, it's CosmoKramer, the one who wanted to drag my Pinside contributions into the conversation, because he thinks i'm an easy target on that score.

Dude you are 100 percent correct! Don't let this guy bait you! Leaving because you got a simple warning is something someone on the edge does. It's not a dignified move at all. Mods are here to help, which is why they eject me from every thread

It's like you never even read my post. Sometimes it's better to not say anything at all. Especially when it's taking a shot at a guy who is well liked.

As for contributions, that's on you man. If the lions share of what you bring is arguments and thumbs downing, people start to notice.

Man give him a break. He wasn't taking a personal shot. He was just saying the way he quit wasn't dignified. Which it wasn't. That's not a personal attack or claiming the man has no dignity. Can't you see that?

Consider this fair warning folks...question asked and answered here in the first two posts.

If this thread continues to get into bickering, we won't permit that stuff.

I enjoyed your posts, TL.

Come on back!

I was banned for a day for making a fairly benign joke in a thread, by altering a post. The guy whos post was altered, gave me a thumbs up...not that it matters much. I can't speak for Tracelifter, but I was about to say...."Whatever, you want to ban me in the Skit b thread for a mild joke, while allowing Skit B to have a protected forum for real crime?" ....I did not leave, however I understand.

Oh well. Come bace Trace!

Glad I will get to see him next week at PAGG. Always great talking with him in person

don't question the gods, uhhh mods.

He's resorted to resurrecting 10-year-old threads on RGP

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.games.pinball/KiYfPAzua4s/9UTYnCVx09cJ

He has a new hobby.

He's back over at RGP. Say hello to him there.

What happened between TL and Pinside is his business. I hope he comes back; I know I've benefitted from at least one of his tech posts.

Pez, please watch "The Whackness" and take its message to heart. Life is better when you focus on the positive, instead of the Whackness.

Welp, that sucks.

Got my first eject last week...still feel it was unwarranted, but hey...sometimes the truth hurts apparently, lol. I'm not really one to pull punches, and haven't ever had a thread eject that I remember before, much less any kind of warning (which given my messageboard history and personality is kind of amazing?!) so I was pretty hacked off...but just stepped away for a day or two and...meh...whatever.

Is he going? Last time I talked with him he said they weren't making it this year. Not the same without playing a game on FH with his son.

I am not trying to criticize a specific mod decision here, but would like to raise a general question as to the "can't criticize a mods' decision in public" rule. While I understand the intent, Doesn't that seem oppressive? It seems like a better approach would be to limit the amount of such criticism so that it's not too much, or to allow public comment on the threads that users create when interacting with the mods.

I think there's a whole subforum where you can debate Pinside rules. To me, criticizing a mod is kinda like criticizing a volunteer fireman after he puts out a kitchen fire in your house.

i think he got his feelings hurt

Also the comment of "tee hee! hilarious! Welcome to eject-ville?!? Evidently mods can criticize or poke fun at us