too bad to hear this, Jewel.
Well, I'm just going to write a very short (i will try too) experience as an admin/co-owner in another forum and car club, in México, and about Renault Clio cars. When we started, we were open to all the people who wants to join in, we start to grow very fast, and when we have almost a year online we start to have some problems between some members, and in almost most of the cases talking, al the people get understood.
This problem with a few guys, just started to cause serius problems in the forum, talking about security matters, not on internet, but in real life. Why? We make a lot of meetings, race days, road trips to some places here in México, so we start to have real problems, not only web discussions and agressions in the forum with this guys. So thats when we have to sit an talk about what we have to do. So we ban this user (searching that his ip, isn't in use by another user, etc). We never heard about him again, he was just a guy with nothing to do than cause problems to all users.
Then, 6 months later, we have another off-forum problem, but some peolple related it with the forum, this was a Stolen car. We actually don't know it this is true or not, but what we can do? The users want like a forum, but, at the same time a club, and a same time a lot of security being here. They want to feel free to post pictures of they cars, pictures of the meetings (this include family), etc. So, we started to think that we were an open book, everyone can know where are we going to meet, where are we going to go and when, what car has everyone, and in some cases all the equipment it has. After a few months in getting feedback from the users, from other forums, we (admins, mods and users) decide to close the forum, but first we make a big search into the members, so we only keep the active ones, and the know ones. The ones that never post, and never answer an MP or email, we just send them 3 mails with the warning of deletion.
Then we only accept new members by recomendation, and if a new member wants to join, we ask a lot of personal data so we can keep a record, and we can know that all the users will be safe and happy in the Forum/Club.
Now after a little more than 2 years we have almost 850 users, in all the country and a few ones in other countrys. ALL OF THEM VERY HAPPY, and no trouble at all.
This is my experience, may be will sound extreme to more than one, but, its what happend to us.
So, answering to Jewel, an Admin/owner can do anything in its forum, but, what he do, will affect all users, thats why, you have to ask and do things to the benefit of all, and not only for you. And I'm sure your case is wrongly banned ip.
But, forums on the internet are a lot. Good ones, just a few.
Take care all, sorry for the long post.
Has nothing to do with this site obviously, just one I visit regularly, and tried to become a member.
