Phil has already been extended his final warning and suspension, so I want to be very clear about the circumstances. Given Phil seems to have both proponents and opponents, I imagine there will be something here for everyone to dislike. My intent is to be fair and clear and leave Phil's fate up to Phil, subject to the terms that have been laid out in the past.
I'll start by saying that the primary reasons for Phil's suspension have nothing to do with him being a "recreational player." I also believe that the primary reasons people go after Phil have nothing to do with him being a "recreational player," contrary to what he believes. This should be evident based on the fact that most people who participate in this forum are in fact not advantage players, yet they do not meet any sort of similar resistance and have not been suspended or even warned based on their playing style.
The reasons for Phil's suspension were:
1) Unrelenting repetition of the same points over and over, despite numerous warnings.
2) Repeatedly bringing up "Bob Dancer" aka "the Expert" aka "a famous author" aka however else he refers to him, despite promising not to bring him up any further in the Recreational forum. There is of course nothing wrong with discussing Bob dancer on this web site. However, Phil has a history of inaccurately portraying Mr Dancer's teaching that must be taken into consideration, in addition to doing so in the Recreational forum repeatedly where he has specifically stated he would not do so.
I have made explicit warnings about these things in the past. Ignoring these warnings is what led to his suspension (twice, I believe). Phil never actually acknowledges these warnings in the threads when I post them, which does not make me optimistic that he will last much longer here. The closest he came to acknowledging it was when he said:
Sorry, that's neither encouraging, or an excuse to continue repeating yourself. You are going to have to show some restraint and stop the repetition yourself, or the banning part is what will be necessary at this point.There are ways to halt the repetition. I can be banned or my posts shut down. I can run out of things to say or die at my computer. Or, we can admit that video poker is entertainment and entertainment is where you find it.
I think Phil has a lot to contribute sharing his experiences. He has a long history playing video poker, has learned a lot over the years, and has plenty of experiences he could share as a recreational player. I don't believe Phil does any of these things maliciously, I believe he feels he is being genuinely helpful. However primarily due to the points above, his posting history unfortunately becomes less helpful and more of a nuisance. I've hoped multiple warnings would be enough to get him on track, but at some point enough is enough.
It should be relatively easy to look at a post before submitting it and ask yourself: Have I posted this exact thing before? If so, don't post it again. Is this a post referring to Bob Dancer (directly or indirectly) in the Recreational forum? If so, don't post it. You may think something "needs" to be said. If so, let someone else say it. You have reached your quota on those matters.
Should I feel Phil has continued to ignore these requirements, I will not issue any further warnings. He will be banned and I will simply provide a link to this topic for clarity. I think he has had more than enough chances. Stick to sharing your trip reports and there is no reason you won't be fine. Throw in a one-liner about how "the expert" says _________ or continue "teaching" lessons that you have already monologued on and it will be over the line at this point. I sincerely hope it never comes to that.
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The other side of this coin of course, is billryan. And others to an extent, so this applies to everyone... but quite obviously and more directly, to billryan. I admit, I have allowed too much pestering to take place towards Phil and it now needs to stop. I've said something similar in the past, and I apologize to everyone for not enforcing it well enough. If you want to correct misinformation, you are welcome to do so. However simply replying to Phil in the Recreational forum in order to take shots or have a laugh isn't fair to Phil and isn't good for the community here. I think we can all recognize the difference easily enough without trying to come up with a definition. If your only reason for a post is to mock another member, it doesn't have a place here.
(Exceptions must be made in political discussion. There is no helping that these days... participate at your own risk!)
I'm sure I could say more, but I've probably said enough on the matter. I'm going to lock this topic as it's not really up for discussion, but more for everyone's awareness should action need to be taken in the future.
There is an easy path forward for everyone to get along and share their knowledge and experiences in this wonderful hobby that we all share without hostility or animosity. Let's all do our part to take that path an enjoy our time here.
Continue with Google