Kindly Bring shima back ...

[doc.Shah]

Whoever administrators banned shima should bring her back and un-ban her.
shima is one of the most helpful members of this forum.
I request moderators to bring her back.
Thanks

[dr_kg]

what happened? why was she banned? come on guys she has been so helpful to all of us here.

[medicalbiology]

Why she is bannned???

[doc.Shah]

Originally Posted by medicalbiology

Why she is bannned???

Dunno .. But its so sad. she was mentoring me for my step-1 prep and providing continuose help and assisstance. I even dont have her email or anything, I am already feeling messed-up. cmon mods ... Un-ban her.

[mdsoon]

^

[palakas]

If this is true, it is definitely sad. I've started to come to these forums just to read Shima's opinion on these since I found her to be highly informative.

I know sometimes she can be a bit intense and/or seemingly mean. But she played a valuable role on this forum by actually having a consistent presence when it came to answering questions and providing feedback.

Anyway, hopefully this isn't permanent.

[doc.Shah]

Originally Posted by palakas

If this is true, it is definitely sad. I've started to come to these forums just to read Shima's opinion on these since I found her to be highly informative.

I know sometimes she can be a bit intense and/or seemingly mean. But she played a valuable role on this forum by actually having a consistent presence when it came to answering questions and providing feedback.

Anyway, hopefully this isn't permanent.

I hope so too ....

[Sabio]

Here at USMLE Forums we take violation of copyright seriously. We operate under the laws of the United States of America as we are based in USA. Shima was banned because of copyright violation through private messages and was reported by 3 different users.

Please read our forum rules (link at the bottom of any page) to understand our rules, privacy, and copyright policies.

One thing for sure, she was not banned because of her attitude or because of any of the posts she has posted. We (just like you) miss her and we were happy to have her in the forums but we cannot bring her back.

We are sorry.

-

[drstarter]

Originally Posted by Sabio

Here at USMLE Forums we take violation of copyright seriously. We operate under the laws of the United States of America as we are based in USA. Shima was banned because of copyright violation through private messages and was reported by 3 different users.

Please read our forum rules (link at the bottom of any page) to understand our rules, privacy, and copyright policies.

One thing for sure, she was not banned because of her attitude or because of any of the posts she has posted. We (just like you) miss her and we were happy to have her in the forums but we cannot bring her back.

We are sorry.

-

I'm sorry but I disagree with this absurd outcome. She should have been warned or notified of her offence before being banned. On a side note, she's entitled to express her opinions no matter how lucrative they're. Since this forum is based in USA, it's a free country!

I'm going to stop using this forum as a means of protest, until she's brought back. No one else has been as useful or contributive to this forum as Shima.

BRING SHIMA BACK!!

[Sabio]

Originally Posted by drstarter

On a side note, she's entitled to express her opinions no matter how lucrative they're. Since this forum is based in USA, it's a free country!

Once again, we did not ban her because of her opinions.
She was banned because of copyright violation which is a criminal act in USA.

-

[doc.Shah]

Originally Posted by Sabio

Once again, we did not ban her because of her opinions.
She was banned because of copyright violation which is a criminal act in USA.

-

Was she warned before banning her from the forum. I know shima was respectful member of this community, she would never do any copyright violations knowingly.
Maybe it was a mistake from her side.

[rohit39]

Originally Posted by Sabio

Here at USMLE Forums we take violation of copyright seriously. We operate under the laws of the United States of America as we are based in USA. Shima was banned because of copyright violation through private messages and was reported by 3 different users.

Please read our forum rules (link at the bottom of any page) to understand our rules, privacy, and copyright policies.

One thing for sure, she was not banned because of her attitude or because of any of the posts she has posted. We (just like you) miss her and we were happy to have her in the forums but we cannot bring her back.

We are sorry.

-

While i can understand your point of view, and why you had to ban her, i notice a huge discrepancy in the moderators actions. I've noticed for way too long that across the forum there have been discussions of entire NBME blocks, USMLE world questions, posts regarding the emailing of links, pdf documents of copyright material etc. Technically shouldn't those come under your jurisdiction too? But its not, because that would result in 80% of your members getting banned.

I'd suggest letting her off with a final warning, as the help she provides on the forums is invaluable.

[medicalbiology]

Plz unban her..ther should be warning system...

[doc.Shah]

Originally Posted by rohit39

While i can understand your point of view, and why you had to ban her, i notice a huge discrepancy in the moderators actions. I've noticed for way too long that across the forum there have been discussions of entire NBME blocks, USMLE world questions, posts regarding the emailing of links, pdf documents of copyright material etc. Technically shouldn't those come under your jurisdiction too? But its not, because that would result in 80% of your members getting banned.

I'd suggest letting her off with a final warning, as the help she provides on the forums is invaluable.

Righlty said. this forum is all about helping each other, sharing experiences, and motivating step takers. If u start banning memberz like shima, then what purpose will this community serve.
I again request to give her a final warning, and un-ban her.
Thanks.

[Sabio]

Originally Posted by rohit39

While i can understand your point of view, and why you had to ban her, i notice a huge discrepancy in the moderators actions. I've noticed for way too long that across the forum there have been discussions of entire NBME blocks, USMLE world questions, posts regarding the emailing of links, pdf documents of copyright material etc. Technically shouldn't those come under your jurisdiction too? But its not, because that would result in 80% of your members getting banned.

I'd suggest letting her off with a final warning, as the help she provides on the forums is invaluable.

NBME: Discussing NBME concepts is not copyright violation. Old NBME forms have their copyright expired so it's OK to paste the questions. You can discuss the concept but you cannot copy paste the question.
Otherwise, if you notice other NBME questions being discussed please let us know so that we remove them. Also read here
http://www.usmle-forums.com/site-new...questions.html

PDF Documents: Please let us know which PDF document is a copyright violation and we'll remove it immediately.

Emailing Links: That's not copyright violation on the part of the website hosting the discussion.

USMLE World Questions: Again you can discuss concepts but you cannot copy paste. Most of the times we don't know it's a USMLE World question. Once we know, we remove it. USMLE World LLC communicates with us on a monthly basis and we fully comply with their requests of posts removal.

-

[Member12345679]

Originally Posted by Sabio

NBME: Discussing NBME concepts is not copyright violation. Old NBME forms have their copyright expired so it's OK to paste the questions. You can discuss the concept but you cannot copy paste the question.
Otherwise, if you notice other NBME questions being discussed please let us know so that we remove them. Also read here
http://www.usmle-forums.com/site-new...questions.html

PDF Documents: Please let us know which PDF document is a copyright violation and we'll remove it immediately.

Emailing Links: That's not copyright violation on the part of the website hosting the discussion.

USMLE World Questions: Again you can discuss concepts but you cannot copy paste. Most of the times we don't know it's a USMLE World question. Once we know, we remove it. USMLE World LLC communicates with us on a monthly basis and we fully comply with their requests of posts removal.

-

This is really terrible. By banning Shima, you're not only affecting her but you're affecting other members of the forums, including myself, who have been looking up to her for very helpful and reliable information. We're all doing everything we can to be the best applicants possible for residency and having Shima banned only makes it more difficult to do so. While I completely understand your reasoning for banning Shima, I do hope you take a moment to look at this situation from a completely difficult perspective and see how Shima has contributed to the forums in a positive way and made a huge difference.

[Novobiocin]

Originally Posted by Sabio

Here at USMLE Forums we take violation of copyright seriously. We operate under the laws of the United States of America as we are based in USA. Shima was banned because of copyright violation through private messages and was reported by 3 different users.

I have been silent about this issue so far as I was very puzzled, saddened and horrified about shima's ban and was trying to figure out what might have gone wrong.
I completely understand the reasoning behind her ban and I congratulate Mods for following the rules fairly, even if I feel sad writing this. I have no doubt that this is the best forum among all other USMLE forums. I won't be wrting this if I had slightest doubt about the fairness of the Mods on this forum.
However, I am concerned that shima might have been a victim of a "setup" due to her "opinions" recently since hardly anyone "reports" copyright violations let alone THREE users especially around the time of a very heated discussion in a particular thread.
I. therefore, request Mods to kindly look into the these "three" users who reported her since I strongly believe that she is being victimized here for her blunt but honest opinions and "copyright violations" was just a ploy to get her banned.
I have received similar PMs and very inflammatory/personally insulting posts directly aimed at me but have been careful enough not to fall for them and Mods have done a wonderful job of taking care of those posts. This is the reason why I have so much faith in the Mods here and believe that they will do their utmost to look into this matter to keep the productive members like shima helping others for a long time because I strongly believe that helping each other is what this forum is all about.
Thank you Mods for the fair but difficult job you do here and I do support a "warning system" to be implemented especially for the productive members of the forum since the last thing I want for this forum to deteriorate into a place where nobody cares about others.

[doc.Shah]

Originally Posted by Novobiocin

I have been silent about this issue so far as I was very puzzled, saddened and horrified about shima's ban and was trying to figure out what might have gone wrong.
I completely understand the reasoning behind her ban and I congratulate Mods for following the rules fairly, even if I feel sad writing this. I have no doubt that this is the best forum among all other USMLE forums. I won't be wrting this if I had slightest doubt about the fairness of the Mods on this forum.
However, I am concerned that shima might have been a victim of a "setup" due to her "opinions" recently since hardly anyone "reports" copyright violations let alone THREE users especially around the time of a very heated discussion in a particular thread.
I. therefore, request Mods to kindly look into the these "three" users who reported her since I strongly believe that she is being victimized here for her blunt but honest opinions and "copyright violations" was just a ploy to get her banned.
I have received similar PMs and very inflammatory/personally insulting posts directly aimed at me but have been careful enough not to fall for them and Mods have done a wonderful job of taking care of those posts. This is the reason why I have so much faith in the Mods here and believe that they will do their utmost to look into this matter to keep the productive members like shima helping others for a long time because I believe that helping each other is what this forum is all about.
Thank you Mods for the fair but difficult job you do here and I do support a "warning system" to be implemented especially for the productive member of the forum.

I completely agree to novobiocin here, Mods should look into this issue. We all respect and completely agree to forum rules, but no one should be banned with out prior warning.
If this forum start users like shima, then it will be loss for whole forum. it wont effect her anyways, she is done with her steps with flying colors, but struggling test-takers like us will lose lots of help and guidance.

[nishaa]

I too agree with novobiocin, must be a plot to get her banned, but its a loss to the forum when the number of active members has drastically decreased. We need well informed people to be a part of this forum. Will hope that shima is back somehow.

[Sabio]

Let me put it this way.

This is beyond just a simple violation. Banning Shima was necessary to protect the entire website and to protect other members and to protect Shima herself.

We cannot disclose further specifics.

It was not a setup, our database search has validated and documented the incidents.

If you ask Shima right now, she'll tell you, I don't want to be back and thanks for banning me.

We are also in the process of permanently deleting all her private messages.

Think about it, why should we ban a very active user that has been helping our members! It must have been a necessity.

-

[Novobiocin]

Thanks Sabio for the clarification. I know that you didn't have to give us the clarification but the fact that you did speaks volume of your sincerity & fairness. I never had any doubts that you will do the right thing.

I am beginning to understand the scale of the problem.

We will miss shima immensely but if it is in the best interest of everyone (including her) then let be it.
I am satisfied with the resolution even if the end result may not of our liking.
I am hoping that everyone else is satisfied too and lets end our quest to bring shima back.
Good Luck shima.

[doc.Shah]

Originally Posted by Sabio

Let me put it this way.

This is beyond just a simple violation. Banning Shima was necessary to protect the entire website and to protect other members and to protect Shima herself.

We cannot disclose further specifics.

It was not a setup, our database search has validated and documented the incidents.

If you ask Shima right now, she'll tell you, I don't want to be back and thanks for banning me.

We are also in the process of permanently deleting all her private messages.

Think about it, why should we ban a very active user that has been helping our members! It must have been a necessity.

-

Yeah, rules are rules, we will miss Shima, Its okay.

I will still try to be a useful member of community. I still think this forum is very decent and helpful.

Thanks to Sabio and any other mod for giving us constant feedback.

I just any other good member of forum is not banned, Kindly implement a strong warning system.

Thanks to all for supporting the cause. and keep helping each other, as much as you can.

Let us close this case for the better.

Regards

[Medicine23]

Lol you people are weird. Talking about conspiracies to get a member kicked out of a random forum.

Everything shima has posted can be found with a little bit of research, stop being lazy, I'm sure you don't need someone telling you to get matched you should have good scores, be within 5 years since graduation and have usce. These are all obvious. Google is your friend.

People in the thread acting like someone died LOL