Hi, Mr. Cole. Mind if I ask how you pronounce "Roun"? Does it sound like "oh", "oo", or "ow" like I just stubbed my toe? Just curious.
I can't speak for other members, nor our mods, though I was given the title of Spiritual Leader for a reason by AbsoluteDog, a guy all of us regulars respect and love. And I feel confident when I say that if you were given a warning about your behavior and dismissed it to continue going on doing what you were doing, then you deserved the Shoutbox-ban. I have never heard of a case where someone was banned from the Shoutbox or the site itself without fore-warning.
However, if you can honestly tell people that you had not been given prior warning by a mod before receiving your ban from the Shoutbox, then I would apologize for the apparent injustice you've suffered, Mr. Cole.
You're correct in your belief that a person should not be persecuted for being who they are. But by that logic, the same should be said for animals like bears, sharks or piranhas that are a risk to your safety, should you happen to be in their habitat. It's just their nature.
Humans also have a nature. A nature to protect themselves and even each other, should they find themselves sympathetic to one another.
In this case, Mr. Cole, you had apparently been offending your fellow community members. You had apparently said things that were rubbing people the wrong way, and in a small dose it may have been excused. But if you were overdoing it and causing too much friction, you have to understand that people eventually refuse to put up with it anymore. And whether to defend themselves or someone else against it, they'll do what they're allowed to do by law (the rules, in our case) to put a stop to it.
You may think you had done nothing wrong. And amongst your friends it may be seen as innocent fun. But amongst people who don't know you, and who have a different standard of what they find amusing, you can't expect a reaction similar to what you get out of your friends.
It's like a white person walking into the middle of an all-black neighborhood and shouting the N-word like he owns it.
Be glad that you were only Shoutbox-banned. We don't want to lose members, but we aren't willing to tolerate ones who refuse to treat people the way those people are comfortable being treated. It doesn't mean you have to "stop being you". It just means: dial it down a few notches.
Show us that you understand. Show us that you know you wouldn't want someone wandering into your house and behaving in a way that irritates you or that makes you uncomfortable. Then you're likely not to receive any more flack for the incident, and won't have to worry about losing your Shoutbox privileges again unless there's another incident - which there shouldn't be. Right, Mr. Cole?
Just hang in there and try to understand. You are not being crucified. You're just being taught a lesson. You're not the first one to receive it, and you're not likely to be the last.
I hope to see you around the forums and, one day soon, in the Shoutbox, Mr. Cole. Be good.