You know guys... sometimes you take things way too far sometimes and get all worked up over nothing major. I mean it's the weekend! Let's try and relax!
Oh by the way, I'm Otaku-Man; founder of the ADLM (Anti-Drama Llama Movement). For those of you who are wondering, I just checked and the ADLM is NOT banned, and everything else looks good and frosty. My group's been around since the beginning of March, we've got over 500 members (not too shabby), and our goal is to just try and encourage people to do good around FA and help one another out. And as far as I know, the admins know about it and are okay with it so long as we don't start any trouble.
Speaking of admins, let's take a look back here at what tsawolf said about group accounts, noting that tsawolf IS an admin.
If I remember back to Administration 101, I believe that groups/clubs are permitted at the discretion of the administrative staff. Unlike normal accounts, they can be removed if there is any trouble surrounding it, even if it is not the fault of the group/club owner. The club/group may also be removed if an administrator believes there is the possibility of trouble surrounding the aforementioned, even if none has occurred. Additionally, there are no ban lengths or formal appeals, like there are for normal accounts. It's just... over.
What interests me most is this phrase:
"...are permitted at the discretion of the administrative staff."
In essence, if the admins are cool with the group, then it's all good. If there's a problem or the group can easily become a source of problems, then the group gets shut down.
As far as I know, there is no explicit rule under the TOS or AUP that says that group accounts aren't allowed. What's more is that the admins don't have an admin rulebook either. There's no strict set of guidelines, qualifications, or standards for the admins. It's all more or less played by ear.
But that's another story for another time. Let's take a look at why the groups that were banned were banned.
First, the AmericanFur group:
I'm not sure if you know this or not, but that's actually the SECOND American Fur group here on FA. The first was this one here:
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/americanfurs
This group was the first, but had some problems when the group account was taken over by one of the assitants going so far as to change the password. The guy who made the group then said "Forget it, I don't have time to deal with this, I'm out." So the other one, AmericanFur (singular tense), was formed by someone else as a means to fill the gap. For a while it was good, and it started collaborating to make a US state and territory list of groups made by other furs. Now these state groups are totally separate, not made by the same person, and help furs in a state find one other, organize furmeets, and generally have fun and hang out and be social.
(I for one encourage that.)
Now apparently there was some issue with this group that I honestly have no idea about. I wasn't there, I didn't hear anything, I couldn't tell yah. What I do know is that people went to the guy who made the ORIGINAL AmericanFurs (plural tense) group to come back, and after a while, he did!
So now we had TWO American Fur groups, and my GUESS (I don't know for certain) as to why this second group closed was because some folks didn't like it, and it was no longer necessary now that the original group was back up and running. I could be wrong, but that's my guess.
Second, the ConservativeFur group:
This one actually makes a bit more sense to me as to why it was shut down. Politics, along with religion, are two things that you NEVER EVER talk about with associates or people you don't know very well. They are often very divisive, argumentative, and are known for much mud-slinging. I personally don't mind if someone is a conservative, or a Republican, or whatever, just as long as they don't try and shove their platform or beliefs down my throat.
By having that group there, it was just begging for there to be journals, threads, and activities to promote political viewpoints here on FA, which is an ART community. If it was a political community with a city hall like forum, then that's one thing, but here it could easily lead to all kinds of trouble. Hence, why it was shut down.
Now I notice some of you mention that there's a democratic group as well which, at last check, wasn't shut down. I feel that if the conservative group was shut down, then that one should be too. No matter what side of politics it is, it can easily break apart friendships, relationships, and cause mud-slinging here on FA. If the democratic group hasn't been shut down by now, then it should be.
Third, and lastly, the GanjaArmy group:
This group really shouldn't come as a surprise. At last check, smoking weed is illegal, and is also a very strong topic of debate and argument. Until laws are passed that say otherwise, marijuana is a very, VERY difficult topic.
On the GanjaArmy group page, the administrator that closed it wrote that group accounts aren't allowed, but apparently, according to tsawolf, that is a mistake. The administrator who closed that account errored on that statement.
HOWEVER!
What they WERE right about was that posting photos of illegal paraphenalia IS illegal, and if left alone, could get FA into a lot of trouble. (Remember, as owner, everything falls on Dragoneer's head, so the last thing he wants is legal liability for what someone else does.) Whether the group was "NARCed" or not is rather moot. What matters is that the group was banned not so much because group accounts aren't allowed, but because what they were doing violated the law.
And that's no good.
Finally,
@Glaice
The regional groups are for furs to share what part of the world they live in and find and make new friends with other furs on FA who are in the vicinity. They can arrange gatherings, hang out, and be social.
The gender and orientation groups are so people don't confuse someone's characters with who they really are. You'd be surprised how many people think girls are guys and vice versa. It also helps when meeting other people. Whether straight or gay, sometimes a hook up happens here on FA. These groups just help eliminate some confusion.
The gaming and computer groups are for people to connect for social gaming. They can share GamerTags, Friend Codes, Network IDs, and the like so they can hook up, play games, and have fun. There's a lot of gamers on FA.
And lastly, CleanArtist and ILoveYiff are for people to state on whether they like their art clean or dirty. The two groups are good friends and encourage peace and harmony amongst those involved in a common FA argument: Does the furry fandom need an image makeover? If you aren't familiar with that, don't worry about it.
And...
@Rigor Sardonicus
I wouldn't say I'm so much of a kiss-ass as I am someone who just wants to go by FA's rules so I can keep doing what I want and like to do. Simple as that.
Okay, I'm done. Nothing else to see here folks, move along.
~Otaku-Man
