This is the thread that I wanted to see, since the original thread’s OP had been addressed and answered. That is why I closed that thread, because the new conversation was a tangent and was also going in circles. And, by the way, HB, I had no problem with your approach in that thread. You had a valid question & concern, and went about it the right way. And, pretty much the same thing here.

I’ve read through your comments here, HB, and I understand your point of view. And I would much rather see self-moderation, because it makes our jobs easier. And the fact that LHO decided to edit his post after making it did factor into my decision.

But take a look at that blue banner up above. Not only does it advise people to ‘be constructive and respectful’, it also reminds them to ’think before you post!’ LHO failed to do both. And I directly witnessed him doing so. Now, he did have second thoughts, and that’s a good thing. But the offense had already been committed. And I had already decided to enact some level of discipline, on both Merc & LHO.

A Moderator witnessing an infraction is just as valid (and in fact, potentially more so) than a post report. And if a post is reported, we have a permanent record in our Mod Forum of that version of the post, even if it is later edited. In fact, we have banned people for pre-edit posts in the past. A number of the ‘IDC Noobs posting Goatse’ bans were enacted that way. Someone tricks them into posting Goatse in the wrong place, it gets reported, and then the Noob panics and tries to edit it to avoid a ban. And they still get banned.

I’m not going to name names as to who likes to pull that IDC prank. But that right there is your precedent for banning someone for a pre-edited post. Once a rules violation post has been reported (or viewed by a Moderator, which is just as valid), then it’s subject to review.

If you edit your post before a Moderator sees it or before it is reported, then we’re probably not going to take action, except in very rare cirgreat timesstances. But once either of those two things happens, it’s definitely subject to review. And this situation is NOT the precedent for ‘banning for a pre-edit post’. That’s been happening for a long time.

As far as the time delay between his post & edit, I didn’t see that at the time. And it still wouldn’t have mattered. I’m not about to set a precedent and say that an edit within 1 minute gets you off the hook but an edit after 5 minutes doesn’t. If we see a potential violation, either with our own eyes or via a report, we’ll make the decision based off of that post, not a re-edit. Otherwise, that just opens the door to letting people post Goatse in Game Discussion for 59 seconds.