Putin isn't banned....he's alive and well...

:-( Putin was easily my favorite forum poster.

Can we have him lie in state somewhere?

I think Putin brought a lot to this forum. He was an insufferable contrarian and took several posts to even get him to acknowledge his or your own humanity, but he was on point when he did argue. I've never come closer to seeing North Korea as a legitimate, or at least understandable government, as when I spoke with the person going by "Putin33." Whoever he was, he has a vast knowledge of history, an academic repertoire few could ever match. The pace with which he churned out his ideas disproved any notion that this was some Google warrior. He had really read all those things, on a stunning variety of topics.

Sure, his personality was pure poison. He was a bitter man. But is this not a forum of bitter men?

+1 Chaqa. LOL.

He was great, will be missed. All very too bad :-(

Couldn't agree with you more Thucy. When it came to arguments, Putin gave me more of a run for my money than any other guy here. The fact that his opinions went against the grain made him a bit bitter, and he entered arguments with a chip on his shoulder, but he was spot on in his knowledge.

What was he banned for?

Only banned person so far that made positive contributions to the forum.

Too right. I think by the end he was just tired of being shit on all the time. But when it came to knowing his shit, he put everyone here to shame. Many of his opinions were still way off-base , but damned if he didn't make a lot of us look like fools for not knowing the actual history behind our own opinions. He showed us all that the world is a much more complex place than some here gave it credit for.

He was humorless, but he was also tireless. This place was obviously a place for him to blow off his ideological steam - I doubt others in his personal life would listen. I can certainly relate to that. I wonder what he will do now, now that he has lost our community. I know I would dread to lose it. I dread losing it a bit less now that Putin is not among us, though.

What always bugged me as someone who tended to agree with Putin more than most is that people would automatically discount anything he had to say because of who he was. Obviously, his demeanor exacerbated things, but I've always wondered how much of that came from knowing that he was always going to be vilified for his beliefs. He was always much friendlier in game and in discussions in which he wasn't arguing with people.

This banning hurts the site a lot more than any of Draugnargate did. RIP.

I'll miss Putin. He was an ass, but he offered a different perspective in the Forum and was willing to argue his beliefs. He didn't deserve all the shit he got.

Laissez-faire doesn't work for forums either. Some sense of decorum is required. I don't mind people getting squelched or banned for being jerks. I am probably more of a jerk in games than on the forum. Just wait till some anon games wrap up. ;)

"Laissez-faire doesn't work for forums either."

This is purely opinion.

#FreePutin

Perhaps I wasn't looking close enough, but I never saw him be anything like as extreme as certain other banned users were. His opinions were different, sure, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. As someone also of a fairly leftist view, I even agreed with him relatively often. Although, not always.

Wait, we banned Putin but not maple?

#FreePutin #FreeMumia #ReBanSandGeese

Agreed, there was absolutely nothing wrong with his forum presence in my opinion. A positive member who CDed in live games a little too often. Definitely one of the best contributors and it is a shame.

"This is purely opinion."

webDiplomacy.net decided it was necessary to institute forum policies. Laissez-faire doesn't work. QED.

laissez-faire != no rules

laissez-faire capitalism requires laws prohibiting fraud, theft, vandalism and physical violence

#FreePutin #FreeCash #SundgusXXX-ForPresident

I am sad to see Putin banned. I have been advised by Zultar that Putin had at least two temporary silences, and was banned because he then stated that he would refuse to moderate his behaviour even slightly. That's begging a ban, even if it seems harsh. However I am still very sad to see such a valuable contributor get banned.

We should offer amnesty to all banned individuals at New Year's (not cheating bans, but censor bans) and put this all behind us.

I honestly think that idea has merit. I would certainly support something of that sort.

Yay. Bring Putin back!

I love these anti-American forum posters -- what a different perspective that an average American won't see. I say keep 'em coming so I can shake my head and chuckle.

It's unfortunate Putin couldn't keep his strong opinions and stay in line with the guidelines.

Chaqa, does that imply Draugnar could be reinstated, or would we also unban the two multis he created after his ban?

I'm not too sure if multis created to bypass a questionable forum ban == multis created to bypass game restrictions / metagame.