How can I know the reasons for a banned ID?

[reguser]

Hi,

I don't write much in PF mainly because my research is not mainly physics. I created this ID mainly to monitor my son who is genuinely interested in learning physics. He is very young and very keen in learning the new concepts and ideas about physics. He thought he can discuss and gain knowledge about physics and hence joined this forum. He has posted some research article in the independent research section also thinking that he will be given some good guidance from the knowledgeable people around.

But to his surprise, today when he tried to login using his id (dimension10), he got the following error message "You have been banned for the following reason:Spam troll" and "Date the ban will be lifted: Never".

I would like to know what are the reasons for banning a student who is so keen in learning physics? If he has done any mistake (which is definitely done unknowingly) it should be communicated before banning the id. I am a member of many different forums and before banning any id, moderators will PM the member well in advance. But my son did not get any message or warning. How can the id be just banned for life without giving any notice?

I need a justification for this kind of action. Hopefully, I will get a reply from any of the concerned authorities of the forum soon.

 

[Redbelly98]

Please stand by, someone will get back to you.

 

[reguser]

Please stand by, someone will get back to you.

Thanks, I am waiting.

 

[Pengwuino]

But to his surprise, today when he tried to login using his id (dimension10), he got the following error message "You have been banned for the following reason:Spam troll" and "Date the ban will be lifted: Never".

I would like to know what are the reasons for banning a student who is so keen in learning physics?

That doesn't answer your question? Signing up for this website requires you to read and agree to a Rules section, ask him what he wrote and how he did it. This site is heavily moderated and that is one of the reasons it is a fantastic site.

 

[reguser]

That doesn't answer your question? Signing up for this website requires you to read and agree to a Rules section, ask him what he wrote and how he did it. This site is heavily moderated and that is one of the reasons it is a fantastic site.

I have read each and every post of his (dimension10). I did not find any of his posts which are against the rules. Out of curiosity and wanting to learn more, he might have asked some questions in the forum. Is that considered going against the forum rules?

And isn't it important for the moderators to give warning/notice before banning the id? How will anyone learn without knowing what mistake he/she has done?

I understand that the site is heavily moderated. But to be a fantastic site, along with heavy moderation, I feel it is equally important if it gives a platform for students to discuss and gain knowledge. And I believe that is the one of the most important reason for this forum to start.

 

[micromass]

I can't see anything wrong with his posts. But there might be posts that the mentors removed and that you didn't get the chance to read... (but somehow I doubt that)

But you'll have to wait for the mentors to get a definite answer.

 

[reguser]

I can't see anything wrong with his posts. But there might be posts that the mentors removed and that you didn't get the chance to read... (but somehow I doubt that)

But you'll have to wait for the mentors to get a definite answer.

Thanks. He says that all his posts are there except for one where he has just acknowledged some information in the thread - "Where find String theory equation??". It seems he had replied "Wow! I really needed this. But can you please specify what X, gamma and lambda stands for?". Apart from this one post, all the other posts are visible.

He is a young boy. Children like him need encouragement and not discouragement. If at all unknowingly some mistakes are made, it can be conveyed before banning the id which is very depressing for the children who are very passionate about learning.

I will wait for the mentors to get back to me.

 

[Pengwuino]

He is a young boy. Children like him need encouragement and not discouragement. If at all unknowingly some mistakes are made, it can be conveyed before banning the id which is very depressing for the children who are very passionate about learning.

The mods don't ban people without good reason. One thing you must understand is that there are hundreds, if not thousands of people who try to join this forum, ignore the rules, and try to pose their inane physics theories. These people simply have no respect for the field and propose things that fly in the face of currently accepted scientific thought. The heavy moderation is here to keep these "crackpots" out.

How does this affect your son? Well, sometimes it can be difficult to differentiate between a curious child who doesn't understand the current state of physics and whom is trying to learn with a "crackpot" who blatantly disregards all scientific progress and has no interest in learning anything. Contrary to what micromass said, his postings could be argued to reflect those of a crackpot, especially the post where he claims to have a "theory of everything". This forum gets TONS of crackpots who say they have a TOE.

Also, your son writes extraordinarily well, so don't be surprised if people think he's an adult. The typical "very young" writer on this forum writes things like "so uhh do u know wut a tachion is? CAN SOMEON EPLEXAIN PLZ THX!". So once the mods know your son is very young, I can imagine they'll speak with him and explain exactly what can and can't be posted around here.

 

[micromass]

You know, peng? I actually agree with you. If he had been an adult, then there might be signs of crackpottery. So your son might want to add how young he is to some of his posts.

Then again, he wasn't banned for crackpottery, he was banned for being a "spam troll", but I really can't see spam posts in there.

I know the mentors will never post the reason in this thread, but I'm actually quite curious about it...

And also, congratulate your son for his great spelling!

 

[reguser]

The mods don't ban people without good reason. One thing you must understand is that there are hundreds, if not thousands of people who try to join this forum, ignore the rules, and try to pose their inane physics theories. These people simply have no respect for the field and propose things that fly in the face of currently accepted scientific thought. The heavy moderation is here to keep these "crackpots" out.

How does this affect your son? Well, sometimes it can be difficult to differentiate between a curious child who doesn't understand the current state of physics and whom is trying to learn with a "crackpot" who blatantly disregards all scientific progress and has no interest in learning anything. Contrary to what micromass said, his postings could be argued to reflect those of a crackpot, especially the post where he claims to have a "theory of everything". This forum gets TONS of crackpots who say they have a TOE.

Also, your son writes extraordinarily well, so don't be surprised if people think he's an adult. The typical "very young" writer on this forum writes things like "so uhh do u know wut a tachion is? CAN SOMEON EPLEXAIN PLZ THX!". So once the mods know your son is very young, I can imagine they'll speak with him and explain exactly what can and can't be posted around here.

Yes, if the mods don't ban the people without a good reason, I want to know that reason. At least by knowing the reason, I/We will understand what went wrong.

And my son doesn't fall into the category of people "who have no interest in learning anything". This he has shown in his posts by acknowledging the people from whom he has learned new aspects.

Regarding his write-up on "theory of everything", how will a student know if he is in the right direction if he doesn't discuss about what he has written? He did not claim that he has written a master piece. He has requested the forum people asking where can he send his paper. In fact he has asked whether there are any under 18 journals. He was advised by the forum members to post it in physics forum's independent research section. Till then, he was unaware of such section. Now what is wrong in putting his write-up in the independent research section? If the writing doesn't make any sense, it will be rejected with reasons. That's how we adult researchers also work right? Just because our work is not up to the mark, we won't keep it with us. We send it to journals, get it reviewed by the scholars and improve our work. In his case, he has sent his writing to independent research section as per the forum people's advice. He is ready to accept the rejection. But just because he has written something which is either not up to the level or a vast subject that a young boy normally won't attempt, will his id be banned?

And yes, my son writes very well. But he has mentioned in his posts that he is a young student. In fact, in one of my posts (in his thread "Where to publish theory"), I have also mentioned about it.

 

[Evo]

Let's stop jumping to conclusions about this member. It may have been a simple mistake, even mentors are human, and we are looking at it. Unfortunately the mentor involved has not been here today, which is why we have had a delay.

 

[Evo]

I'm happy to let everyone know that dimension10's ban has been revoked.

 

[micromass]

Welcome back dimension10!

Let me re-initiate you:

*slaps dimension10 with a mackerel... twice*

 

[OmCheeto]

So how old is dimension10?

Sounds a lot like a "Little Tiffany" scenario to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRXNNqNfQBs

Thanks. I managed to understand linear and bilinear vector spaces. This helped me understand tensor products, but I'm afraid I might be having a misconception. Is it true that a linear vector space is a function of 2 vectors such that the diagonal vector is a sum of the 2 vectors? Am I right to say that a bilinear vector space is a function of linear vector spaces and that a tensor product is a function of vector spaces.

Such that:

V(X)W=f(f(x,y)?

Yup, with that kind of language, I'd say he's up to something.

 

[reguser]

I'm happy to let everyone know that dimension10's ban has been revoked.

Thanks a lot everyone for your support and finally taking a fair and just decision.

 

[reguser]

So how old is dimension10?

Sounds a lot like a "Little Tiffany" scenario to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRXNNqNfQBs



Yup, with that kind of language, I'd say he's up to something.

Many thanks. He is 11.5 years old :)

 

[Evo]

Thanks a lot everyone for your support and finally taking a fair and just decision.

Your son is a very intelligent kid. You should be very proud of him.

 

[micromass]

He is 11.5 years old :)

Wow! Did not see that coming...
I hope he keeps it up, we might hear good things from him in the future!

 

[reguser]

Your son is a very intelligent kid. You should be very proud of him.

Thanks :)
Along with encouraging to pursue his interest, I also ensure that he is on the right track.
Hopefully, he will get a reply about the write-up which he has submitted in the independent research section.

Thanks for everything.

 

[reguser]

Welcome back dimension10!

Let me re-initiate you:

*slaps dimension10 with a mackerel... twice*

Many thanks for your support.

 

[Evo]

I apologize for the misunderstanding, if it was one. An 11 year old posting about string theory would be unusual, eh?

I deleted the post as spam because of the suspect nature of the post, which may have been an honest formatting mistake. The actual post was gobbledy-gook



How is it exactly that your 11 year old is posting serious questions about string theory anyway... I could still be missing something...

He didn't write that post, he just hit the "quote post" button, and asked for clarification of what it meant. Unfortunately it was this old thread from 2005. https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=3312876

You did the Evo function of "bad post"...ban.

 

[berkeman]

And you did the Evo function fix-it thing. Thanks again Evo.

 

[reguser]

I apologize for the misunderstanding, if it was one. An 11 year old posting about string theory would be unusual, eh?

I deleted the post as spam because of the suspect nature of the post, which may have been an honest formatting mistake. The actual post was gobbledy-gook



How is it exactly that your 11 year old is posting serious questions about string theory anyway... I could still be missing something...

Asked him. He didn't write that post. He just "quoted" it. But, while quoting, he must have deleted some characters (by mistake) and hence it has appeared like this.

He reads lot of materials (books, journal papers) on physics. He is doing it since 2 years. That is the only thing he does apart from his school curriculum :) And we (me and his father) are not in physics line so he doesn't get to discuss topics with us. So he comes here :)

 

[reguser]

He didn't write that post, he just hit the "quote post" button, and asked for clarification of what it meant. Unfortunately it was this old thread from 2005. https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=3312876

You did the Evo function of "bad post"...ban.

Yes, he just hit the "quote post" button. I think he was searching for threads on "string theory" as he had some doubts about it.

 

[Evo]

Yes, he just hit the "quote post" button. I think he was searching for threads on "string theory" as he had some doubts about it.

Like I said, smart kid. I can only imagine what he'll be doing by the time he graduates high school!

Don't ever be afraid to question an action taken, we're only human too.

 

[berkeman]

Very nice he is so interested in physics so early. Wish my son were as well. Good stuff.

 

[reguser]

Like I said, smart kid. I can only imagine what he'll be doing by the time he graduates high school!

Don't ever be afraid to question an action taken, we're only human too.

Thanks a lot for all the support given here.

And also, please inform him/me if he does some mistakes. Though unknowingly, there are chances that he makes some mistakes due to his urge in knowing something. He still needs to learn a lot about how to interact with people in the forum. That is something I am trying to teach.

 

[Evo]

It seems all of those posts are from the old sci.research forum we used to be affiliated with. Note that all of the members show to be N/A.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=56725&highlight=sci.research

I think we need to get rid of these posts or lock them at the very least.

 

[dlgoff]

Mentors in action. This to me shows why this forum is the best.

 

[Borek]

And also, please inform him/me if he does some mistakes.

You can be sure that's the way we act in 99.9% of cases. Sometimes - rarely - when someone necroposts and the post looks highly suspicious - we may react in a jerk knee manner. Unfortunately forum is constantly spammed by every kind of hackers, crackpots and trolls. I am afraid what happened to Dimension was just a sad case of bad luck, sorry about that

I guess just from the number of mentors that felt obliged to take a look at the situation and comment you can see we treat these things seriously

 

[Borek]

Could it be related to the Latex change, I wonder?

I don't think so. If you google for jabberwocky usenetcode (note that google splits "usenetcode" to "usenet code" be default, you need to force search for "usenecode") you will see the same script in many different places over the net, this code looks like some artifact.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

We modified a vb plugin for the usenet retrieval. The jabberwocky tag is indeed an artifact from that. We haven't imported usenet posts in years.

 

[ZapperZ]

We probably should completely remove all and any link to usenet articles and forums here on PF.

As a reminder, the Mentors have no idea how old, how young, how naive, how curious, how intelligent, how dumb, how silly, how talented, how [insert description here] anyone is, especially when someone is new to this forum. ALL that we can go by are the posts made by a member. At some point, we have to be fair and apply the same rules to everyone, even when we try to be flexible and judge each case individually when it is called for, which is why some time someone who should have been banned already has an extended lifetime on this forum. And age, unfortunately, isn't an issue. In fact, I would say that some of the most vile and profanity-laden complaints that I've received have come from teenagers and other underage kids. Certainly one could argue that they haven't matured enough to know any better, to which I could reply that being banned from here is the first slap of a lesson on being an adult by suffering the consequences of one's actions.

I'm all for encouraging young minds. Heaven knows I've volunteered constantly for many outreach programs and hosted many school kids coming to visit our facility. The difficulty here is in imposing some sort of a boundary on how things are discussed, keeping in mind how this forum has clearly expressed how such discussion should be conducted. This is something the Mentors often struggle with constantly.

Zz.

 

[reguser]

I guess just from the number of mentors that felt obliged to take a look at the situation and comment you can see we treat these things seriously

Yes, I can see this. Mentors have taken immediate actions and I really appreciate everyone's effort. Thanks a lot :)

 

[joesmith]

This ''Again'' shows the Greatness of this Physics Forum,,,I feel honored to
be deemed worthy to post here.I have read these pages for hours on end,,understanding little, but amazed non the less.
In troubled times it is Good to have something solid and non-changing to grasp/hold on to.This ''Library at Alexandra" (?spelling?) on the
internet provides a truth sanctuary unsurpassed ,,heavy moderation is a Good
thing (as Martha Stewart would say).
Humbly,,
a joe in Texas