Almost 17 hours after the very brief conversation about Insane_Kangaroo's akill (the last thing I said about the matter was at 12:08am), and after I had been completely idle for about 5 hours in general (the last thing I said, at all, was something about how I went about choosing Simba for my nickname at 11:54am), I switch to the virtual console that I had IRC running on, and notice this: [furnet] *** You are banned from FurNet (You have pushed the limits on reasonable behaviour and you are nolonger welcome on furnet) -:- Closing Link ... which happened at approximately 4:55pm WTF? REALLY?! So, of course, I just fire up mIRC on a local machine instead of the shell that I normally use, log back in, and ask in #Furnet, "what gives?" Here is that (brief) conversation: ( ** Simba is Ranley ** ) * Now talking in #furnet <&Lymril> Hi Ranley. Hi <&Lymril> Welcome to FurNet technical support. How may we abuse you? So what's considered "pushing the limits on reasonable behaviour"? <&Lymril> That's a polite way of saying, "Being an obnoxious asshole." Okay, so chatting is being an obnoxious asshole these days? Like... just friendly, non-heated conversations? <&Lymril> No, no. Like calling FurNet admins "fascists" for akilling someone who has been causing a lot of problems. Okay, so speaking one's mind is a bannable offense. Wow. <&Lymril> So, Ranley, why are you so concerned about Simba's removal from FurNet? You can't tell me that that is not a fascist maneuver. Maybe I am Simba. <&Lymril> What? Are you calling us fascists? <&ShivalWolf> sooo your now ban evading Yes. Of course I'm ban evading. How else was I supopsed to talk to you? Closing link: Ranley[208.company.com] (User has been banned from FurNet (Bye Bye Simba)) ............. Then the game of cat and mouse (where, crazily enough, I'm the mouse) began. I'd fire up a few of the many shell accounts that I have access to, log in with a snarky user/nick name, and get banned a few more times without getting a word in edge wise. Then, I connected using a not-quite-so-snarky and obvious connection and have been on ever since (under the radar). What have we learned? 1. The Furnet admins are tyrannical fascists (in other words, they proved me right) (merriam-webster.com: tyrant: 2 a : a ruler who exercises absolute power oppressively or brutally b : one resembling an oppressive ruler in the harsh use of authority or power) fascist: 2: a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control ) 2. The Furnet admins are hypocritical and don't follow their own rules ( From the Furnet Code of Conduct: IRCOP/Helpers page: You will not interfere with channel management You do not have to take abuse from users, but by the same token you may not at any point use your o-line or increased services access to exact revenge. AKILLS are for use when someone breaks the Code of Conduct for Users only. They should not be used for channel moderation. A warning should precede all AKILLS The duration of an AKILL should no longer than 1 week for most first offenses. AKILLS longer than one week should be accompanied with supporting documentation to justify the extended period, including but not limited to repeat offending, threats to disrupt the network or solid evidence of illegal activity. ) 3. Anyone who expresses an opinion in a channel on Furnet, even using a calm, orderly, logical method, is subject to a full, network-wide, permanent ban with no warning. 4. Network bans are ineffective at solving problems stemming from differences of opinion for the obvious reason that the Internet has a lot of IP addresses and if you ban them all, nobody can use your service. If you disagree with someone and think that you have no chance to convince them that your opinion is more logical or correct, ceasing input is the only effective way to deal with it. (effectively, that's called ignoring) 5. Everyone should move to AnthroChat so that they don't fall victim to this tyrannical oppression. And before you think to yourself, "Well, you evaded their ban, so you're breaking their code of conduct for users", I'd like to point out the ol' chicken and egg scenario. They broke a bunch of their own rules first, then I broke one to get around their hypocrisy. Not only that, they're trying to break the rules of basic human rights and freedoms. Those rights supercede any rules that they can come up with, themselves. I don't often express much of a sense of entitlement, but when it comes to freedom of speech, I admit that I'm a bit overzealous about being entitled to it and defending others' entitlement to it. "Well, hold on thar, Pilgrim", you might say, "This is a private network, not a place for freedoms and rights! They can ban you for sneezing, if they pleased!" Listen to yourself, for just a second. If you seriously are fine with standing by while they're power gaming, that's fine. Just stay on Furnet, 'cause really... you're more pathetic than the admins are. As for the rest of you with actual, common sense, please move your channels and your friends to where this kind of human rights infringement doesn't happen. You'll thank yourself.