You made your policy of banishment (reduction to vistor status) AFTER the fact, with no advanced warning of the consequences going forward.
Wouldn't it be less monstrous and a positive deed to give the 3 a final second chance?
Even if they don't put their work back up, at least you have given them the option to do that should they choose. The policy going forward (from the time you announced it)is carved in stone. I agree with the policy and it may help future incidents.
Let's be real here:
#1 CL Woods personally attacked a new member of the site because she decided on her own that his screeenshot was unacceptable. The words "pedophile" were thrown around because she felt a screenshot of a desktop who had a wallpaper of a girl in a swimsuit who looked sexy and too young (in her opinion) warranted that.
That is a clear violation of WC rules. Calling people perverts and pedophiles and what not are pretty serious. It's actually libelous.
#2 The people who were put to visitor were people who said they were leaving. They weren't exiled. They were put to visitor so that they could no longer post anymore. I simply made sure they made good on their threat.
Because I don't think they had any intention of leaving. I believe they were playing the WC game of "Do as I command you to do" in which the player removes their work, threatens to leave, and fans then say things like "This isn't worth losing a 'valuable' member of the site, just do what she wants" and then everyone hugs and the work is restored.
If CL Woods didn't have a deviantART account, I might have taken her more seriously. But she does and to me, that meant her threat wasn't serious. She simply believed she should have her way here.
#3 If someone wants to contact Zoomba and make their case that they will not engage in the above 2 types of behavior, we are prepared to listen to it.
But regardless, the days of people bullying other people are over around here. I've seen it in the forums for a long time. And I know another thing - I've received literally dozens of emails from long-time users who had become lurkers who absolutely agreed with what I did and said they had stopped participating because the forums had become "oppressive" and "cliquey". Even now, the forums are starting to get some life back to them. But it will be a long road.
Having read things like Cl wood's journal on deviantART, I am confident that we did the right thing.
I wouldn't think this was necessary to point things out but you will note that not a single person here has accused those who disagree with me a "zombie" or other degrading name.
We support your right to have your own opinions and to disagree and we support other people having the right to disagree with you in return. We don't dehumanize people because of their opinions. People who are in their "Best behavior" mode that still manage to accuse those that don't agree with them as being "unthinking zombies" are not the kind of people we want being active in our forums.
I think the worst that was said of those who were forced to not return was that they were "bullies" which, if someone else can provide a better term for someone who uses intimidation and insults and coercion in order to achieve their objective then I'm open to it.
But I'm pretty comfortable being on the side that thinks people have the right to have their opinion and that those who disagree with me do so out of principle and have their own legitimate world view (as opposed to dismissing them as mindless zombies incapable).