Recently, two members were given one-week "time outs". This action was deemed fair/necessary and unanimously agreed to by the moderating and administrative staff. The truth behind the stories is private among the staff and involved members and anything you hear from one person will only be "one person'* version". These individuals were not banned in the truest sense of the word. They were informed of the "time out" and are complying through their own actions.

In ONE of these two cases, a member chose to violate the terms of a disciplinary action that was left in their own hands to enforce. Trust.

Even more than that, this one member chose to share private email and PM content that was already shared with the entire Staff of the forum, including the site owner, Jeff Keacher. As always, nothing is hidden. Nothing CAN be hidden.

The stories spread behind the scenes are of a mutiny, consipiracy, or one on one. I can assure you that this is not the case, in spite of what another member sent out via PM'* this evening. If you know what I'm talking about, that'* my explanation. If you don't, you really don't need to waste your time.

Jeff Keacher (I will not speak FOR him) is fully aware of the entire situation, as is EVERY Moderator and Administrator on this Forum.

Any disciplinary action handed down to any member of this Forum is known to the Staff and is not secret nor one-handed.


In the long run, we've been through situations like this before, and we will again. The important thing to remember is that the Staff as a whole try very hard to take the 'high road' and not share private information publicly, including in our own defense. And we still will not. What happens between that member and the Staff remains between them. What that member chooses to share publicly is their choice, but they also have to be willing to accept the consequences of their actions, particularly when they're already on disciplinary action.

I would also like to add that one of the two “timeouts” occurred because the member lost his temper and blatantly disrespected the moderators of this forum…long before an admin was even online to talk to him. Further more, once admin action was taken, said member still didn’t back down from the issue, instead they brought up past issues. This leads me to believe his problem had nothing to do with the original issue at hand.

For a long time, members have been thinking that it was a “one man show” when it comes to staff decisions on discipline. Well I’m here to tell you right now that it’* NOT. Issues are posted on the Mod/admin forum, reviewed, and have MULTIPLE opinions mulled over before a decision is handed down. What has to be realized though, is that there are only 3 Members (other than Jeff Keacher) that can actually dole out disciplinary action. In a club of 9000+ members, that’* not a very large number, so yes it will seem like one or more person is “power tripping” when in fact they are doing their job. People have lives (member, mods, and admins alike) and not all can be on all the time, so action has to be taken by those who are, whether that gives them a bad IMAGE or not.

The reason that it seams like we are wrong in our choices is that we never (have or will) given out private information regarding the actions taken against any member on this forum, however the same cannot be said of the members that do get disciplined. They often feel that they should go telling everyone that will listen “there side” of the story thus creating the illusion that they were unfairly treated by one or more members of the staff. Its very unfortunate, but that’* how it is.

The staff of this club is very diverse... we are all different personalities...we have different relationships and friendships formed... we even live all across and up/down North America. We do not always agree over the "gray" situations. That being said, it is critical that everyone is given equal treatment...and while there are a lot of gray areas in the daily situations that arise... when it comes to time off and banning, it is usually crystal clear.

It is most difficult to Moderate your friends...sometimes that friend won't take you seriously... sometimes they even forget you are on the staff (which is actually a good thing, because it means that you haven't changed just because you are on the staff)... but sometimes, by not standing up to them, the overall effect can be negative to the club. Trust me... I know...

To make matters more difficult, the disciplinary actions taken on this forum are considered private for the sake of the person being disciplined. While this is fair to them, it puts the staff at a major disadvantage. If said person shares his/her view with others, soon their side is being told... and the Staff cannot divulge the other side without giving up the confidentially we bestow upon the members.

It'* a Catch 22...

I will continue to echo the points raised by my peers.

All decisions made on this forum with regard to the membership are posted, reviewed, and agreed upon before any action is finalized. This is not a dictatorship as it maybe perceived by the membership. All communication is shared openly among the staff and is used by all of us to make better, more effective and appropriate "punishments" for actions on the forum. Decisions are binding and enforced equally by all of us.

Do not point blame at a particular Administrator in this instance. We all share in the blame, the glory, the good, and the bad. We're a unified team and no person should ever be singled out.

I agree with the points made so far, and I'd like to make it clear that even though the majority of the staff may agree on an issue (that'* how major decisions are made), we each have our own opinions and input to the issues. Sometimes we disagree but in the end we reach a consensus.

The only time the administrator(*) will act without the consent of the moderators is when a member does something so blatantly out of line that a ban or other disciplinary action is necessary. Even though it may not be the fair thing to do, in some instances certain members are given much more leeway than would normally be tolerated.

In the end, unfortunately, only one person can actually "push the button," but that person has others backing them.

Just so we don't misunderstand here, there are actually 6 people that can 'push the button'. Site owner, 3 Admins, and 2 Senior Moderators.

Its not always easy, however, we all have a job to do on here. Regardless of what happens, there is a set of rules that have to be followed on the site. You have a chance to read them when you sign up as a member on our site, and yes I know for some of us its been a long time.

I agree with all that has been said above. Friends or not, it would be no different than employing friends to work under you at work, the only difference is sometimes It can make it harder to follow through with discplinary actions, however, its critical to the operation of our website.

For anyone that believes that this is a one man show....

It is....


and it belongs to Jeff Keacher.

He has asked for 3 members to do the dirty work, and for some reason we accept and put up with an undesirable amount of nonsense. In order to deal with that nonsense, we ask 10 other members to lend a hand. All decisions, good, bad and ugly are run threw and debated, most of the time taking several days/weeks to get to a agreement. Therefore, these event play out publicly for longer then they should while a course of action is being made.

As directed by Management. We have a new marching order, it is disciplanary consistency. No member is above any other member and discpline will reflect that.

Like it or lump it.

And if you lump it, there is a back button, click it a few times.

Much has been said and I completely agree with those who have spoken so far. Members of this forum know exactly where BonnevilleClub stands in a sea full of internet forums, and it'* no mystery why we tower above the rest. We wouldn't be the best if we had a staff that was divided, tyrannical, and biased. The myth that we are is completely inaccurate, and to develop a conspiracy theory knowing only one side of a story is asinine. As stated, the staff is a very diverse group of people. While we may not agree fully with every single minuscule detail, we stand together as one unit; one group of people who have the job of keeping this forum first-class, and we take this job seriously. Everyone must be treated equally, regardless of friendships, age, status, length of membership, etc. While the selfless, generous, and genuinely helpful nature of our members is a huge part of our success, this equality is what will sustain BonnevilleClub as the exceptional forum we are.