The last two weeks have been pretty rough on the forum members as well as the moderator team. And we've all agreed that it's time to move forward.

In an effort to clarify some of the policies and procedures related to forum guidelines, and avoid some of the issues that have come up previously, I'm publishing the process that the moderators will be following for dealing with inappropriate posts and images.

First, let me say that we don't like banning good members. There are plenty of great users that contribute to the site, for the good of the cycling community as a whole. And for every knowledgeable and helpful member, there are hundreds, if not thousands of others that rely on their contributions to learn how to train better, tape bars or true a wheel. These are our are valued members. But there are also a handful that only come to the site to troll, argue, and post inappropriate comments and images. They will not be tolerated.

Currently, we use a three strikes system based on infraction points. Three infractions will trigger an automatic 1 week ban. This is nothing new to members that have been around a while, other than the fact that it is automated now. Spammers still get banned right away, and moderators still have discretion in applying infractions and warnings. But we are working towards a more uniform standard. And unless a post or image is grievously inappropriate, two or more moderators will determine what action to take, rather than one person making that decision alone.

In an effort to allow an avenue for appeals, Donnamb and myself will refrain from giving infractions or bans as much as possible. By not being directly involved with the issue, we hope that anyone with a question will feel comfortable approaching us for a discussion.

As far as banned members, there will be a locked thread here in Announcements listing the following information about banned members:

Username
Reason for ban
Return date

We may or may not publish the moderator that banned them as well. What we do not want to see is a bunch of threads requesting more information. That sort of baiting the moderators and admins will be considered trolling. You can contact the banned member, or one of the moderator/admin team, and we will give you as much information as we can fairly provide. But there will be no open discussion on the forums. Those threads will be locked and trashed immediately.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact any one of the moderators, Donnamb, or myself. We're all looking forward to moving forward.