Hey fellas,
Was away from the Boards a bit and didn't see this until yesterday. I have been discussing with the mods behind the scenes.
At first I thought we were too hasty here. However, on further consideration:
- Last year, I specifically called out / demoted @Velasco in a thread where I told him "RESPECT SENIOR MEMBERS" because he was being deliberately confrontational with senior members, to the point of driving off one of the most notable OGs in PUA history
- One month later, in May 2020, I had to warn him again with a proper warning for flame warring with members (basically the same trend in all the discipline stuff we have had to deal with with him)
- He chilled out for a bit, but since has started up with it again. I'm not on here as much, but even I have had him remarking about stuff I've said in nit-picky / critical ways. At least in one case, I agreed with him, however -- the dude lacks tact, I can tell you that much
- Most recently, he took a teacher-student vibe with @Bismarck, a moderator, in a lay report of Biz's. Again, he maybe had some good stuff to share, but totally lacking in tact. When I first saw "Oh Bismarck banned him... oh Velasco was going at him" I sort of wondered if we were maybe being partial? Then I read the thread... then I read a follow up thread where Velasco was still chasing around Bismarck and trying to do a teacher-pupil thing with him... and it was crystal clear to me what it was
- As a further thing -- also putting him into the 'incorrigible' bin -- he has apparently been arrested for 'disdainful of authority' stuff. Nothing serious, just dumb stuff, but dumb stuff where he is disrespecting LEOs. I don't care if you like law enforcement or not (I think the American law enforcement is just nuts, personally), but it shows a general lack of respect for authority if you are going to just go up and start dissing cops in ways egregious enough to get you arrested. I've been arrested (several times), other folks here have been, but definitely not for "we just can't deal with authority and are going up and disrespecting cops" reasons
So basically, what I am seeing from
@Velasco here is the same stupid douchebaggery he was engaging in a year ago, which got me very close to banning him then -- the only reason I did not ban him then was because the other mods dissuaded me from doing it.
I like the guy overall; I think he is pretty sharp, he has a good instinct for game, and he is generally a helpful member.
The flip side though is you cannot run a community with people trying to status jockey with the top guys (or condescend toward junior members).
I hate saying goodbye to members who have good stuff to contribute.
We really cannot run a forum though where we have a guy who is just going around tactlessly undermining senior members.
I don't care what kind of organization you're running, if you don't maintain a proper hierarchy, the whole thing falls apart.
For anyone who still does not understand:
- Can you differ with senior members? You absolutely can. Do so tactfully, and it is fine.
- Can you status jockey with senior members? No. Sorry. Polite criticism = fine. Mockery, status jockeying, "Let me teach you because I know so much more" condescension, etc., none of that is going to fly, and if we allow it the whole place turns into a circus.
"The Skilled Seducer Flying Circus!" is definitely not what we want here.
@Velasco's had numerous warnings, and a lot of opportunity (almost a year, really), to knock off the disdain-for-authority stuff.
He kept it up, and we finally had to show him out.
Chase
