[e_i_pi]

I'd like to say that I find the response of people in this thread to be appalling. Don't get me wrong - I'm not condoning the OP or his attitude, but the ease with which Moderators and Forum Leaders have slipped into open diatribe is saddening. Looking at the thread and responses with unbiased eyes, I see similar posts from the OP and the respondants - though the OP receives massive negative rep, and the respondants receive positive rep. To me, this seems like bad behaviour is condoned, as long as you're one of the cronies - a very bad message to put out there.

For one member to suggest changing someone's title to "Cock Sucker", receiving 17 rep for it, then a moderator actually changing their title to "Dick Sucker" and later "Idiot"... I can see this as nothing more than two people egging each other on, bullying a third, resulting in an abuse of power.

I am probably in the minority in terms of my outlook of what has happened, and I know it all occurred in the lounge, but I feel it is important that I communicate that at least one person on this site has seen this, shaken their head, and lost an awful amount of respect for those involved. I hope they enjoyed the time they took to bully a (albeit naive) new member, as that circlejerking episode is now front-and-centre on the home page of the site.

DIC said:

Welcome To The Caffeine Lounge
Welcome to the Caffeine Lounge! This is our off-topic forum for discussions related to non-programming topics including: sports, current events, games, music, movies, TV, food, drink, geek related (toys & technology), debates, life events, rants, and occasionally religion and politics.

The caffeine lounge can get a little wild, but that doesn't mean it's a free for all. Keep the name calling, trolling, bashing, and personal attacks out, and try to contribute worthwhile comments to the discussions. Have fun, but keep it real yo! TL;DR - We talk about stuff, don't be a jerk.

[WolfCoder]

Nope.

[no2pencil]

This really should be posted under Site Questions & Support.

I will start the response by saying that the actions by the administration team are never to be discussed in the open. Quite honestly, we're the ones that were asked to run the forum, & we do as we see fit. With that comes the obvious question "Are we abusing our power?".

It's easy to look at the aftermath & say yes.

But in the end what really took place? We dealt with a situation. Things are always deliberated in the background. Generally, no one of us makes a motion without going through channels. In the event that one does, what actions took place are still discussed.

As for 17 positive rep, we as administration have nothing to do with that. I've always been open that the rep system isn't used correctly for the most part. The rep system was even removed from the lounge. However, the people have spoken. Votes were cast in the way of positive rep that the actions taken & suggested were found by positive by the members of the site. We don't have control over how people felt & responded to the situation.

In a way Dream In Code is just administered by the members. You guys decided to jump someones shit if they get out of line. We're here to make sure everyone plays nice. Really, this was brought on by the op, & I will stand behind all actions taken by the administrative staff.

[Braber01]

I just want to say I've been bullied and harassed all my life and It makes me feel really bad to see that other people are going through the same thing I went through, It even got to a point where people from my school started to harass me online but nobody from school would do anything about it, because of that I tried to kill myself, I don't want that to happen to anybody else even if it is a new member. If I see that behavior In the lounge again I will report it to the FBI

[Kilorn]

Braber01, are you serious? People who take things online too seriously shouldn't be allowed to use the internet in my opinion. The internet has always been a place where you need a thick skin and if you don't like what you see in the lounge, then stay out of it. You have to understand the nature of the internet. If someone is acting like a complete moron, it's practically a sin to NOT call them on it. In my opinion the actions of the people in the thread in question were justified. If you think someone was being mean, then you need thicker skin.

[blackcompe]

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I hope they enjoyed the time they took to bully a (albeit naive) new member, as that circlejerking episode is now front-and-centre on the home page of the site.

Hilarious.

[macosxnerd101]

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If I see that behavior In the lounge again I will report it to the FBI

I want to point out that Dream.in.Code is private property. Freedom of speech does not apply, and nobody is being forced to use this site. If a member does not like it, they don't have to log on. If there are any questions about this, feel free to PM me.

I don't feel that any productive discussion will continue, and as this thread is calling into question administrative actions, I'm going to close this thread. Anyone with concerns or questions is welcome to PM myself or another team member.

[Curtis Rutland]

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For one member to suggest changing someone's title to "Cock Sucker", receiving 17 rep for it, then a moderator actually changing their title to "Dick Sucker" and later "Idiot"... I can see this as nothing more than two people egging each other on, bullying a third, resulting in an abuse of power.

For the record, his user title was never set to "Dick Sucker". I changed it to "Obviously Obsessed with D.I.C.". I later changed it to "Idiot" after his behavior continued.