great write up, Da-Czar

Geez, Man, I saw your tweet and thought *you* had been banned. Don't scare me like that!

great blog Da_Czar, I agree completely.

Well if you disappear I know what happened. Lol. Jk. I think first time should be a month (depending on severity) that gives time for thought. Next time 6 months. Then year. IMO. Nice blog

#2 my first thought too.

@LM1213 your hilarious... Honestly I was nervous writing it though.
@andrew I can't lie I figured I would get more people to read it with that particular wording. LOL
Thanks coolcraz and JohnDoe

Well said.

Good blog, Czar. Like you said, the spammers and trollers need no explanation as to why they are banned. But, when longtime contributors to the site go missing, I think it's reasonable to know why they are gone ... at the very least, let the contributors to the site know.

I've met a lot of great people at OS, but this is the only place we communicate. If one of us were to get banned, that friendship would vanish.

Didn't there used to be short-term bans? I seem to recall 30-day or 60-day bans being in effect a year or two ago, but I could be mistaken.

Czar you need to be a banned posters public defender lol

Them mods can enjoy the freedom and the power to ban just about anyone. I don't have a problem with that if they're just being reasonable and fair in doing it, I think it's just alright.

good post! well said. I agree.

I like that mods take action. I love video games and enjoy this site because most if not all of us have that passion in common.

People can "hate" with constructive feedback. Many people choose their words poorly. Sometimes I understand that gamers are passionate and we sonetimes forget our opinion matters but others' opinions are just as important.

EA is a whipping boy. Some of it deserved while most of it is basically "the thing to do.". I have been gaming for 30 years so I have a much broader scope when it comes to appreciating the work that goes into the games we have today.

If someone gets banned because they cannot be constructive, it is what it is. In my opinion, though, if a persob gets banned there should be some sort of dislogue through PM's to the individual so they have an opportunity to explain is the ban is marginal.

i agree man. this is coming from a guy who was here back in 2008 and was banned in 2010. up til then i had been a good poster who became active after i found this to be a quality site. helped ppl all the time, decent post, constructive, etc.

i made one bad post about pasta padre contradicting himself on what should be madden's default game speed on '11...which was the opposite of what he lobbied for in '10(and successfully got them to switch it after release which ticked me off). it wasnt even that bad what i said and they banned me for life. no warning, no watch it, chill, just gone without a explanation and in the thread that got me banned a mod says "not gonna happen here" as to make an example outta me for others. didnt matter all the good helpful post i had in the past, or the fact that even though i may have crossed a slim line (up for debate), i actually had something constructive in the post as well to equalize it.

i understand mods gota job to do, but i def think there should be a revision to the banning process and how deep of a thought process really goes into handing out lifetime bans. im all for cleaning up the site and making this one quality as compared to many of the other sports gaming sites, including ea's own. but u can go too far...and i def think some of the mods here go a lil too far with the power invested in them....theres a total diff between a troll saying stuff to rile ppl up as usual vs a longtime constructive member who never had an issue saying one thing thats borderline bad once. but in the end...it is what it is.

i feel u on this czar.

i think alot of these mods r on power trips myself.

i've read plenty of posts from people with constructive critisism, yet they get banned cause they made a valid point a mod might not agree with.

i rarley post if ever because of this same reason. don't know when a mod is gonna have a bad day and take it out on u. i feel that sometimes the mods act like Day Day from the Friday movies.

u a security cop acting like u top flight security of the world.

Czar, love your vid's and I think some Sports Developer should bring you in as a commentary/analys.
You have the "That" sound and Flava that will add to the game.

That's a "Gift"!!!

That being said, I'm an older guy who prides himself on being Professional in everything.

Often times in business, a good idea becomes a bad idea mainly due to it's implementation.

Sometimes a good idea becomes a bad idea, simply because it strays away from the original vision.

Visiting this site years before I joined, I can honestly say that things have changed pertaining to the expression of thought.

Seems that such a thought has to be in-line with probable exceptance, no matter the content being discussed, otherwise it's an automatic toss into the "Trolling" or "Complaining" bin.

I really enjoy reading views/thoughts that are contrary to my own dealing with games.
Sometimes it causes me to look at things from a different perspective, even if I don't change my mind.

Disagreement is not a Bad thing, but many times it's another poster with no intentions to add to the discussion, who takes the thought/thread in a negative direction that draws attention to a poster they don't agree with versus not replying and/or backing out.

For some reason, such posters are given more lee-way to post their disapproval than those who might have a valid thought, even if that thought might not be in-line with others thinking.

I don't know what the owner's original vision was/is, and I understand the effort to improve the overall package of this Social Site, but I believe that that improvement would be more prevelant if it's Member's suggestions were sought/considered within the framework of meeting that vision.

It seems kind of difficult to have a "Constructive" discussion were there is both aggreements and disagreements when New Game Threads are being created that have a notation of "NO Discussion"

Next, in big bold letters is the warning of "Instant Ban" for wanting to have a Discussion on a Social Site.

Again, a good idea can become bad simply due to it's implementation.

I really like this site and what it provides, but hope that the owners vision was/is "If you don't like, go to another site"!!!

Good write-up Czar.

I hope it and posters feedback inspires constructive thought and is not taken in the wrong way.