Banned for a WEEK!

[MagicYeti]

Well, its finally happened.

I've been banned from VMK for an entire week.


What did I do? Nothing that I haven't done numerous times before.

I was having a private message conversation..With another adult..a DIS member, actually!

It progressed to the point where it would be an interesting fact to know the GENERAL location of where this person was located at (We were discussing the proximity to Disney parks, I believe)


This person WISELY said "lets talk on DIS, I don't want to get band"

Next thing you know...I've been told I'm banned for a week.


My first reaction was OH NO.. I hope the other person was not taken down with me! Luckily, that wasn't the case.

My second reaction was... a WEEK!?! They must be cracking down on this.


I was asking for it, I guess! This time the big white glove came down and smacked my upside the back of the head.


Just letting all my friends know where MagicYeti is..and he shall return someday soon!


-Yeti "Now I know better" McGetti

 

[wishingblues]

i am so sorry yeti for your ban but at least mcghetti gets to come out and play for a while

 

[NiteBeforXmas]

aww Yeti! You will be missed! Halloween just won't be the same without you! And your "stocker" is just going to be heart-broken! LOL! Ok let us know if you need someone to pick up any stuff that will be sold over the weekend and on Monday!
aloha,
~Nite~

 

[PinkKimmy]

aww Yeti!your going to me Missed..

 

[Tinkerbelle739]

Sorry to hear it MagicYeti, hope the week goes by quickly

 

[debbiedoo]

oh no!!! Sorry to hear---one week??? now what are you going to do with the extra time??

 

[stejohno]

last night i got banned from vmk for 2 hours for saying that i live in scotland so i cannot go to a disney world or land!! so that is too times i have been banned but the first time was for NOTHING!! i dont have a clue what it was for but A WEEK?!?! stay strong!! lol

 

[tolkien7]

What? A week without my Yeti? What am I going to do? Who am I going to tease? (Notice how this has become all about me).

Well, Yeti, every time I see a pizza with lumpy toe-may-toes on it I will think of you. See you in a week, Squid Boy. Talk!

 

[Maleficent2]

WOW a week....sorry hope it moves fast for you but just think of all the things you can get done in a week not playing


Mal

 

[MiakodaWDW]

Yeti, that is the silliest reason for a ban I have ever heard. Especially since the person recommended to take the conversation elsewhere. So they even monitor our PM's? WOW. Like saying where you live or your age is going to tell someone how to find you and stalk and kill or kidnap you. VMK is TOO "safe" to the point that it is ridiculous. Boy, it they had seen the converstation I had in a private room the other night...oh my. I would probably have had a ban myself. I will leave it at that.....lol. Guess discussions of age/location/etc should be left to DIS.

I just do not understand how telling someone where you live could be a safety hazard. Or telling someone your age for that matter. Oh, someone finds out a girl is 11 and lives in Nebraska (example)? Boy, she is in trouble if that person is a stalker b/c they will sure know how to find an 11 year old girl in Nebraska!

VMK just kills me sometimes. they are so "safe" that they are making interactions difficult and not much fun. I am sorry about your ban. I don't personally know you, but I'm sure you will be missed.

~Mia

 

[JeanJoe]

OMG!!! I can't believe you just revealed that there are 11 yo girls in Nebraska! None of them will be safe!!!


(Yes, I agree. The VMK rules on the surface might make sense -- e.g., no phone numbers or addresses -- but in practice, they are absolutely ridiculous in not allowing even what time zone or country you are in.)

I just do not understand how telling someone where you live could be a safety hazard. Or telling someone your age for that matter. Oh, someone finds out a girl is 11 and lives in Nebraska (example)? Boy, she is in trouble if that person is a stalker b/c they will sure know how to find an 11 year old girl in Nebraska!

 

[Goofy05]

Well, its finally happened.

I've been banned from VMK for an entire week.


What did I do? Nothing that I haven't done numerous times before.

I was having a private message conversation..With another adult..a DIS member, actually!

It progressed to the point where it would be an interesting fact to know the GENERAL location of where this person was located at (We were discussing the proximity to Disney parks, I believe)


This person WISELY said "lets talk on DIS, I don't want to get band"

Next thing you know...I've been told I'm banned for a week.


My first reaction was OH NO.. I hope the other person was not taken down with me! Luckily, that wasn't the case.

My second reaction was... a WEEK!?! They must be cracking down on this.


I was asking for it, I guess! This time the big white glove came down and smacked my upside the back of the head.


Just letting all my friends know where MagicYeti is..and he shall return someday soon!


-Yeti "Now I know better" McGetti

That really stinks! I know myself, I have been very worried about being banned...My conversations tend to be a little too uh....shall we say unchildlike? he he Can't seem to help it! I've also been noticing that staff members have been popping up in a lot of the rooms I've been in lately. Is this a sign? Are they watching me for that 1 word or phrase? I never noticed them around as much before.
I so hope your week goes by quickly. I don't know what I'd do without my VMK friends for a whole week! Is your IP banned or just your character? It would be nice if you could make it for the events this weekend...

 

[stejohno]

i have noticed that too. because i was in a room and a CL_ was there and he was (as vmk calls it) 'Dancing' around the dictonary and here was me scared to speak in case i got banned for saying something that i souldnt. i thought CL_ people were very strick about people misbehaving with the dictonary but this one wasnt. lol

 

[DarkSideMoon]

what is vmk coming to? blah blah blah safe.... my butt, i think someone has power issues

 

[MagicYeti]

Thanks friends for your kind words of encouragement during this most difficult time.

Thankfully, I have MUCH to do this week. I am moving across town, family is coming days after I move, and work is hectic. Maybe this is a bigger sign of "Get the heck off VMK and get your stuff handled!"

Miakoda - How did you know I was living in Nebraska?! (*Gets scared...are you stalking me?*) lol


Just take this as a warning people! I knew they monitored PMs, but I thought they would be a bit more safe than public chat. This is not the case!

The icing on the cake is..days before this, I had to report two people that were talking -extremely- sexual in the VMK Esplanade. Sentence after sentence of inappropriate content were coming over the screen...

and one sentence by me, in PM, and i'm gone!


--Yeti "Time to get moving" McGetti

I just do not understand how telling someone where you live could be a safety hazard. Or telling someone your age for that matter. Oh, someone finds out a girl is 11 and lives in Nebraska (example)? Boy, she is in trouble if that person is a stalker b/c they will sure know how to find an 11 year old girl in Nebraska!

 

[VirtuallyMe]

A weeks ban does seem a bit extreme- and I admit that some of the precautions on VMK are a bit extreme- but not because saying things like real names, locations etc- is dangerous online- but because most of the older kids online can "dance" around the dictionary better than the adults do.

BTW- as a Nurse and Girl Scout leader I was asked to participate in a program for kids and adults to teach both groups about "Stranger Danger" and safety - I somehow ended up doing the internet safety talk to the kids- and in the process of it all got lots of information.

One thing they pointed out- was that the typical "stalker" hangs out and is usually well known on the sites they frequent- not as a stalker of course- but they are frequent posters to lists and things. And that most kids and adults would say that they never reveal personal information- and for the most part it is true- usually - but things are said- over time like the state, and then maybe the name of the school team, then maybe name of the city comes out and so forth and so on... and really it doesn't take much information to find someone if determined to do so. The additional problem comes along- when a "kid" becomes "friends" with this online stalker and they take their friendship to IM's, email, and frequently the phone. Once a phone number is exchanged you have an address just by googling the number.

Now- am I paranoid that everyone out there is a stalker- no- because thankfully there are very few of those sick individuals out there- but I am cautious- and in the past when I moderated a Harry Potter board like this one- with thousands of teens posting- I would frequently edit out personal information from messages- things like school names, cities (on the younger members)- just a minor thing to keep them safer- and to remind them- that although everyone is "friends" that they truely do not know the others and it is far better to be safe than sorry.

I did the same talk with my Girl Scout troop- at the time they were in 4th and 5th grades- and during the discussion one girl revealed that one of her "friends" sent her photos of himself without clothes -she didn't tell her parents just deleted them and stopped talking to them- so after the meeting I helped her to tell her parents and we also contacted the police- who were able to recover what she deleted and it turns out he was on the FBI most wanted list for child molesting... most of his messages started off friendly and then he started pressing for information from her and then he started trying to get her to meet up with him- luckily she never did... [/rant]

So what am I getting at is that as annoying as it is- the precautions are there for a reason. And because it is a site for kids- they need them there- There is a big list of rules and regs for children under 13 on the internet- of course I know as well as most that the rules have loop holes and the kids know how to get around them too- just like we have all danced around VMK's dictionary.

The thing that gets me about about the Big White Glove is the randomness- I know they can't police everything- but from what I've heard they often get the wrong people or fail to get both parties... my own husband got a warning message the other night and he wasn't doing anything- he had just entered a room with some of his friends (almost all in room were adults) and up pops a message about kissing and things like it being inappropriate on VMK- he called me over to see the screen of his computer and we were both confused- I guess before he entered the room someone had said something and then it somehow got attributed to him...

Another instance is the random kids who walk up and say inappropriate things and then stalk off- or the ones who fight - which I just think is silly to see them typing (-hits) and (-hits back) lol like it is doing anything- And just the other night- I had a mule who was getting things from other mules and was just in a quiet spot and in walks a girl who says "your ugly" - I respond thanks and that I'm sure her mummy is proud of her behavior and and she starts typing all this stuff with more ### and the the actual word beep that it was ridiculous- I just clicked ignore and went about my trading- but I wonder if those things get caught?

Anyway- sorry to rant on here about it all- but do have to say sorry about the ban and hope it won't be too bad for you while you are away...

 

[stejohno]

that is a bit big for a quick reply lol

 

[JeanJoe]

VirtuallyMe -

Thanks for the well thought-out, clearly articulated reply, especially pointing out both sides of the issue.

Perhaps if they had something like that, spelling out more of the risks and reasoning, on the VMK "For Parents" section, fewer people would be so annoyed.

 

[blizzard]

It is scary - the people that are out there. Although I have not been banned, I probably should have been at times.

I made a big boo-boo at the mule ball this past weekend. I was in a room talking to someone and was trying to guess who they were. I didn't even think about it, but started to guess their location (only because that's how I think of some players). I asked if they lived near DLR and then if they lived near WDW. The player then gave me the state (in VMK speak, which I didn't get right away). I eventually guessed their secret phrase and then realized that it was a Dis kid. Afterward's I felt really bad about convincing this person to give out what state they lived in. If VMK was watching, I surely would have been banned.

I guess I am posting this to show just how easy it is to get and give personal information even on VMK. Without the dictionary, it would be really easy. Often you don't even think about what you are saying or asking. It pays to be careful, and I know I will be more careful about guessing where people are from.

 

[tinkcollector]

Wow, I was told not to say how old I was one night, when someone asked me how old I was. I said as old as disneyland. The next thing I knew I was being told that I could not say that. Then they told me it was for my safety. I was surprised, then I thought okay as a mother I would not want my kids to express that. So, I think they were right. So, overall we do not get all the information that they get to get keep our kids safe so, if something seems wierd, I guess we should respect thier judgement. We need to all except we live in wierd times.