[Chloe xxx]

I have been banned from Digital Spy for no reason other than I have apparently been banned before (which is rubbish, I've only had one account!).

I've broke no rules or T&C whatsoever but am under the impression I was banned because of in-posse posters accusing me of being another user!

I sent them this email:

Dear Digital Spy,

I have received an email saying I have previously been banned from the site when this isnt true in the slightest, I havnt broken any forum rules yet have still been banned and not given a proper reason why. The only reason I can think is that you take the opinion of forum members who presumed I was another poster as fact and have banned me for this reason. What is the point in having a discussion forum when you block posters for no reason at all? I'll be taking this matter further as I have heard from other web users you have banned them for ridiculous reasons also which arn't against the forum rules. My guessing is that you have a few posters whom you take every word they say as gospel and ban any member who differs in opinion to them. Its no wonder you have so many posters trolling your forum and baiting and accusing other FMs. As a forum I find your service a disgrace and will be advising others looking for a debate to go elsewhere as you are biased towards certain FMs and dont give new ones a chance without banning them, for the simple reason other FMs are accusing them of being another poster. I'd like you to get back to me on this matter at

Yours,

Has anyone else been unduly banned from DS? Using the forum is akin to walking on eggshells!!

[madders94]

Me, my mom and my dad are all on there under different accounts, different emails but the same IP because we're all on the same network.

First, they banned me for being a PBU, and banned my Dad at the same time. Then we went back under different names because although we tried to tell them what had happened, they refused to enter into any correspondence with us - and yet they didn't ban my mom! Then, I got banned for no apparent reason, and they refused to tell me why - I sent numerous emails asking, no reply, and then I sent a few emails telling them what I think of them, guess what? They said if there were any more instances of this, they'd report my IP.

So I signed back up again (more to annoy the mods than anything else because I hate them), but also because sometimes, you can get a couple of good debaters on there amongst the idiots they have most of the time (namely the big DS clique, whom the mods will never ban because I think most of them are moderators themselves), and it can be quite fun and informative. Then they banned me and my mom, but not my dad's new account.

They banned my mom for posting a reply to someone who was slagging off people with mental illness (not the first time - apparently, when a DS clique member posts a derogatory post, they're fine and dandy but as soon as an "outsider" comes in to say that their views are offensive, down comes the ban hammer. They banned me for being a PBU (I think) which, in all fairness, I was, but they never actually told me what I was banned for!

I'm fed up of it now and won't be going back - the moderators they have there are basically chubby old men who like having a bit of power in between their games of World Of Warcraft and pretending to be young girls on forums. It's why I like TSR - the mods are strict (the recent changes in H&R prove that) but they're also fair - I've never seen a member come up as "Banned" unless they really do deserve it.

[Chloe xxx]

I totally agree with you inthat they ban posters with a different opinion to the majority but the in-clique posters can get away with anything and dont receieve a ban! They also ban you if someone else from the same house tries to make an account, I made another one on a proxy IP address afterwards just because I was so irritated at some of the pathetic posters on there, and was banned again a few hours later when said posters clocked on I was the same poster! Which is fair enough but I never broke the forum rules in the first place, just got into a heated debate about benefits which clealy riled the in-posse posters. I wont be registering again as I cant be bothered which is a shame as there is some good debates on there but think I'll be using this one from now on as it seems active, its hard to find an active enough discussion forum!

[madders94]

Have you been on diabolik.tv? It's basically another forum where the DS clique go to slag off and bully anyone whose opinions they disagree with, when all of them are old enough to know better

[Chloe xxx]

No, might check it out though i enjoy winding the ds posse posters up haha

[bornfishy]

(Original post by madders94)
Me, my mom and my dad are all on there under different accounts, different emails but the same IP because we're all on the same network.

First, they banned me for being a PBU, and banned my Dad at the same time. Then we went back under different names because although we tried to tell them what had happened, they refused to enter into any correspondence with us - and yet they didn't ban my mom! Then, I got banned for no apparent reason, and they refused to tell me why - I sent numerous emails asking, no reply, and then I sent a few emails telling them what I think of them, guess what? They said if there were any more instances of this, they'd report my IP.

So I signed back up again (more to annoy the mods than anything else because I hate them), but also because sometimes, you can get a couple of good debaters on there amongst the idiots they have most of the time (namely the big DS clique, whom the mods will never ban because I think most of them are moderators themselves), and it can be quite fun and informative. Then they banned me and my mom, but not my dad's new account.

They banned my mom for posting a reply to someone who was slagging off people with mental illness (not the first time - apparently, when a DS clique member posts a derogatory post, they're fine and dandy but as soon as an "outsider" comes in to say that their views are offensive, down comes the ban hammer. They banned me for being a PBU (I think) which, in all fairness, I was, but they never actually told me what I was banned for!

I'm fed up of it now and won't be going back - the moderators they have there are basically chubby old men who like having a bit of power in between their games of World Of Warcraft and pretending to be young girls on forums. It's why I like TSR - the mods are strict (the recent changes in H&R prove that) but they're also fair - I've never seen a member come up as "Banned" unless they really do deserve it.

Genuine question - do you say "mom" in real life? It must sound really strange with a UK accent.

[madders94]

(Original post by bornfishy)
Genuine question - do you say "mom" in real life? It must sound really strange with a UK accent.

I'm from the West Midlands so "Mum" sounds unnatural with my accent - it makes me cringe to say it "Mom" is the only thing that sounds natural with my accent

[Nerfeious]

Same experience with that place, there seem to be protected users who can troll as much as they want while others are banned for no reason at all...other than having a differing opinion from the moderator I guess...or one they can't argue adequately against...

"
Your posting privileges have been permanently revoked and you are permanently banned from Digital Spy in accordance with paragraph 17 of our Terms and Conditions:

'HEARST MAGAZINES HAS THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE YOUR ABILITY TO ACCESS THE SITE AND ITS SERVICE, FOR ANY REASON, WITHOUT NOTICE.'"

When that is what you have to resort to when banning people, it kind of reveals exactly how arbitrary their reasoning is, even they can't find a good rationalization for their behavior.

The lack of transparency in that forum has obviously led to corruption.

[physicsnut]

DS are trash you're better off just on the tech and computers section on TSR, the moderators on DS are real idiots, they ban people not because of forum rules but because they disagree with you!

[Nerfeious]

Well probably, their technical section seems to be permanently staffed by the few misfits that haven't been driven off, a clique of losers. The computer section has people who shouldn't be giving advice, and the home theatre area has folks who wax nostalgic about crts, and repairing those old tubes, and give horrible advice as well. No point arguing with them as you may get banned, which leaves those no lifers running the circus.

Its interesting what poor management and a bunch of strict and arbitrary conduct rules creates perverse results. Instead of civility they have created a system where the thin skinned rule the day.

[ANARCHY__]

Want to get around this stuff? Proxy.

EDIT: Will not post links due to it potentially violating terms of TSR but I am sure that simply bringing the topic up is not a violation in itself. If not, I would be happy to delete the post.

[Nerfeious]

Signing up for a new account is no issue, the culture and its results are toxic regardless.

[alphadime]

For me, posting things on the Digital Spy forums was like playing Russian roulette! I would post perfectly valid, kept to the T&Cs and rules and on-topic replies to people's threads, and post threads of my own. I would be just happily reading through the threads when BAM! The dreaded message of "you have been banned for x amount of time", and eventually "Your posting rights have been permanently revoked" and they also said that they will file a report/complaint to my ISP if I try to go back on the site. Yet people who post far worse stuff than what I would ever have dreamed have posting are still posting stuff on the Digital Spy forums now, and I have yet to see the "Banned Member" status under their name!

So, I signed up for another account using a proxy, and after about a handful of posts, that new account gets banned too, so I have signed up for yet another account and that has yet to be banned!