Did Zenbane and Atmos73 deserve the ban hammer?

No, there is was no single "death blow" but a few particularly heated  arguments over the last few days (most of which had been deleted by the volunteer mods, so they won't show in the post history). It was more of a death by 100 paper-cuts kind of thing. 

Yes. Deliberate trolling by anyone on a forum is unacceptable; it makes a forum a hostile and unwelcoming place. Why Oculus let this go on so long, considering the impression it would have given to new or potential customers looking for information, puzzles me greatly.

I'd damn near given up on the forum completely. I still might. I just hope Oculus have actually started upholding their own rules consistently.

cybereality said:

No, there is was no single "death blow" but a few particularly heated  arguments over the last few days (most of which had been deleted by the volunteer mods, so they won't show in the post history). It was more of a death by 100 paper-cuts kind of thing. 

No need to justify your actions. I'm pretty new here and I was already getting sick of it.  I think the majority interested in a rational and mature forum community will be fully supportive of your actions.  If you do allow them back in later, hopefully it's probation.

cybereality said:

One thing to note, I will consider unbanning them, maybe in a few weeks time. It just became too much, and the forum was becoming an unfriendly and negative place. If they return to the forum refreshed and behave themselves, I can be OK with that. But clearly the moderation and warning that has happened so far was not changing the situation, and I felt compelled to take action. Thanks.

The best forums are those where adults police themselves, because eventually acting like children gets you ignored by your peers.

Some of the worst forums are ones where one or two people get to decide what is and what isn't appropriate for others and make sometimes arbitrary and subjective decisions.

And the salt in the wound is when they go around removing posts as some sort of cyber version of unwriting history (and well look how that type of revisionism has worked out in the real world).

So unless server space is becoming an issue, I would say let them have at it, and in the end like temper tantrum throwing children, they'll get tired and go do something else; meanwhile everyone else will have ignored them and if an audience was what they wanted, then they'll have lost their incentive.

On a similarly and sadly related noted, I had to snicker at some of the comments in here about 'hostile environment' and 'unwelcoming.' 

Man, internet forums are like college campuses, a bunch of softies hiding in safe spaces.
No wonder this generation cannot function socially, they cower and run away from any sign of resistance.

Old school conversation : 

Hi,
Hello,
You're ugly,
You're fat,
Cool want to be friends?
Yes!

Millenial conversation :

Breh
BREH!
Yo, those are some wicked kicks
Ya breh, got them at a convention last week
Oh snaps is that the one where dude was
Ya you know dude?
Hellz ya, his Youtube is lit
Man you cool
Ya you too breh
:fist bump, man hug;


Seriously, quit slapping each other on the ass(ego) and just have a man conversation.

I'm surprised this even warrants a poll?

Those two guys couldn't leave each other alone and made it into a sport to antagonize each other. 

it had nothing to do with Oculus or any of their products or with VR as a whole anymore.
It was neither informative nor entertaining anymore so maybe a little chill out is what is required.

There's always a way to respectfully disagree.

@AndyW1384, I've been to several forms and had always been impressed with the above average levels of freedom and discretion given to members here, that's before volunteering to mod. After taking this position I've been keen to carry on the process in the same vain. People tend to behave mors like adults if you treat them as such.

I can't speak for the other mods but I'm not planning on changing my style, and I sincerely hope cyber doesn't change his. if this means we lose you as a member that would be a shame, we'd have to live with it.

Anyone who isn't new to the internet knows damn well "no holds barred", "self-policing", etc., forums do not work. Anonymity brings out the asshole in a lot of sociopathic people who don't feel constrained by social norms because they are shielded from the consequences of their actions.  Sometimes you have to sacrifice some personal liberties for more security, or in this case community standards.  If we had to use our real identities then sure, I'd support self-policing.

Looks like I might consider participating in this forum again..

Bring them back I say. It's not like they're actually hurting anyone.

If you don't like it ignore them, it's easy, you instinctively skim past there posts if you really need to. Personally it didn't bother me at all, in fact I thought it was amusing in a school playground kind of way.

I have enjoy coming here it has felt community and we have become almost as a family following something we love, geese i never even imagined myself into vr

Zenbane was a part of that, part of this family,
Very much Loco Uncle Zenbane..but yes