Why not ban users from a thread?

[Cessna152]

Been there, done that, failed miserably.

See this thread and scroll down to "The Soapbox Experiment": http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f32/the-history-of-early-retirement-org-53657.html

Thanks - I see the same pattern repeated here as elsewhere.

Then the other option is for the someone(s) who has the motivation (e.g. long suffering moderators or people who like to argue disputable subjects) to start and host a completely different forum website where such people may post essentially unmoderated. They'd be pointed there from here and advised they have the option to use a different handle there so as to isolate any feared backlash, if so desired.

But I don't see anyone posting to this thread with the requisite motivation. The expectation is always that "someone else" will solve "the problem."

Personally, I'm not bothered by the things that trigger others. But then I used Usenet forums beginning around 1988 and 95% of those forums were entirely unmoderated.

By the way - I always wanted to suggest this "solution" to moderators of the forums I frequent - but until now hadn't:

Moderate only when a user clicks on the "Report this post". If the reported post is not spam or a physical threat, warn the reporting user and on a second false report kick the reporting user off the forum. Problem is that too many people think that policy is backwards while I think it is forwards.

 

[imokurok]

I, for one, appreciate the efforts to have an atmosphere of civility and value same. Kudos to moderators for their role in this, as well as the majority of posters (on many topics) I have read.

Some topics are important, but difficult, and people tend to believe what they believe. Some wise person said a sign of intelligence is to be able to consider a different perspective you may not agree with.

Most of the time I enjoy and learn from the threads. I just leave if it’s getting too argumentative to be worth reading further.

Sometimes I wonder if people understand a comment may come across harsher then perhaps they intended.

Humor and some clever snarky can be fun, but life is too short to indulge flamethrowers IMO.

 

[ERD50]

That's what I was getting at. If those who don't follow the rules get dinged and not allowed to participate for a few weeks they'll either get in line, leave for more active pastures or end up being banned for life.

I think that could work, but I've never been a mod. so I don't know. I also think more info on what was taken down (and even who) would help. Most threads that get closed, apparently have had the offending posts removed. So the mods know what went on, but the rest of us are just scratching our heads - what happened? We see the OK posts, but the thread is closed, it's confusing. Maybe more use of the <mod edit for xyz reason> would make us more aware of what is in and out of limits.

A forum I recently joined has an interesting feature which seems to help.

In addition to the "thanks" button, it also has a "like" button. And on that forum, folks are very generous with their "likes."

Getting that positive feedback really feels good. ....

That 'like' feature is in a more technical/scientific forum that I frequent. It works really well there, because it is understood that 'like' means you are acknowledging that the post was especially insightful and/or the poster put in significant effort to help others. And most subjects aren't as opinionated as many forums.

But on other forums, it tends to just be a 'popularity' contest thing, and/or one side trying to 'out-like' the other. Here, for example, those who like using an FA would be 'liking' each other's posts, and those pointing out the issues with FA's would also be 'liking' each other's posts. It gets pretty pointless. And someone with a valid, but minority opinion gets shouted down.

-ERD50

 

[MuirWannabe]

No changes. This forum is fine. In fact, it’s solid. Although perhaps they should, I don’t hear the mods complaining about their job of sometimes having to moderate a thread. And there’s rarely much to see further in any thread that’s been moderated. Usually by the time it’s closed the horse has been beaten to near death and the train has derailed already.
Just keep a good thing going as is. That’s my opinion FWIW

 

[tmm99]

Is there a way for me to tell if someone is banned or he/she has been told to not come back for two weeks, etc? Do they all get the "gone traveling" status or not? I am asking because sometimes people just stop posting (like Blue Collar Guy and Fedup) and I don't know if they don't come around anymore because they are banned or they are ...well, not.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[tinlizzy]

There are forums with an @ feature that you can use to get people's attention. (like @Blue Collar Guy and @Fedup) If they have notifications on they are alerted to join a thread you think they may like or just alert them that they have come up in the conversation.

That might be a nice addition to this forum.

 

[audreyh1]

There are forums with an @ feature that you can use to get people's attention. (like @Blue Collar Guy and @Fedup) If they have notifications on they are alerted to join a thread you think they may like or just alert them that they have come up in the conversation.

That might be a nice addition to this forum.

It’s easy enough to send a private message.

 

[tmm99]

It’s easy enough to send a private message.

You can send messages to people who are banned as well?


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[street]

So my question would how much of a problem has it been on this site? How many people in one year would be worthy of banning etc.?

I have seen some strong feeling toward one way verses another way but not always a bad thing either.

I have had a thread disappear from this site and I believe it got political and things didn't fit the sites protocol. If I remember right I did get a notification and a explanation/warning message. I was very embarrassed by what had happened but meant no harm to anyone or the site.

If there was a place you could go look at he names that have to take a time out would be a great motivator for behaving. IMO

Thanks for the great site and the work it takes to run it.

 

[Nemo2]

How about a perp walk for violators, deliberate or otherwise, followed by time in the stocks, (with, of course, immunity from prosecution granted ad infinitum to whomever suggested such an admirable solution)?

 

[MRG]

There are forums with an @ feature that you can use to get people's attention. (like @Blue Collar Guy and @Fedup) If they have notifications on they are alerted to join a thread you think they may like or just alert them that they have come up in the conversation.

That might be a nice addition to this forum.

@tilizzy

Like that. I've seen some messages like this on my Android from this forum.

 

[W2R]

How about a perp walk for violators, deliberate or otherwise, followed by time in the stocks, (with, of course, immunity from prosecution granted ad infinitum to whomever suggested such an admirable solution)?

Oh, I like that! We could also institute public caning as is done in Singapore.

Unfortunately, everything our rather large mod team does (other than banning obvious spammers like Nike/iPhone spammers) is done by consensus. Some of us are tougher than others. Our decisions usually end up being pretty middle-of-the-road and acceptable to most members. No decision will please everyone.

 

[ERD50]

No changes. This forum is fine. In fact, it’s solid. Although perhaps they should, I don’t hear the mods complaining about their job of sometimes having to moderate a thread. ...

But it appears to some of us outsiders, that closing a thread is the way mods deal with something so they don't have to get to the point of complaining about having to deal with it - it's done. Their choice, they are volunteers, I don't expect them to set themselves up for too much extra work over and above what they already do to keep this place clean. I think some of us are suggesting these other methods might do that without extra work for the mods, and still allow the conversation to continue.

So my question would how much of a problem has it been on this site? How many people in one year would be worthy of banning etc.? ....

It is a problem for those of us involved in a discussion, and sometimes putting in a lot of effort to find references to back up our position, only to have some poster with an attitude come in and start spewing venom and getting the thread shut down - depriving the rest of us of an adult conversation. I suspect there are a few posters who do this on purpose, when a thread is challenging one of their personal "agendas". A temporary ban for the troublemaker seems like a solution to me, but I am looking from the outside.

.... If there was a place you could go look at he names that have to take a time out would be a great motivator for behaving. IMO

Thanks for the great site and the work it takes to run it.

How about a perp walk for violators, deliberate or otherwise, followed by time in the stocks, (with, of course, immunity from prosecution granted ad infinitum to whomever suggested such an admirable solution)?

Seems to me something like a one week ban, doubled for each subsequent serious infraction would be self-regulating. If it started with a week, a 'third strike' would have them banned for a month, and they'd probably control themselves or leave. If they are obstinate, they'd be out for 2 months, and that's not much different than not being here at all. Maybe start cutting in half if a year goes by w/o trouble?

BTW, a forum I used to frequent had a "jail" (they called it that). That forum was run much looser than here, so anyone sent to jail had been pretty flagrantly abusive, and most of the other posters felt the violator deserved it. But it was kind of funny - the "sheriff" usually would ask the "inmate" to publicly state what they did wrong and how they will avoid it in the future before they would be allowed "out". Some of the conversations got pretty funny.

-ERD50

 

[Chuckanut]

The moderators are volunteers and, IMHO, don't deserve to be hassled. In this litigious age, I don't think the moderators really want to start saying too much about why people were banned or kicked off the site. They are unpaid volunteers who we owe a lot to.

In a class in business school, I remember a story about a Japanese man who owned a construction company. Workers from two of his sub-contractors were in constant conflict and it was getting personal. Over a period of two years, the owner slowly phased out the two companies and did not use them any more. Quiet, peaceful, problem solved. I get the impression that is what happens here to people who simply want to generate conflict for the sake of conflict.

 

[Chuckanut]

BTW, a forum I used to frequent had a "jail" (they called it that). That forum was run much looser than here, so anyone sent to jail had been pretty flagrantly abusive, and most of the other posters felt the violator deserved it. But it was kind of funny - the "sheriff" usually would ask the "inmate" to publicly state what they did wrong and how they will avoid it in the future before they would be allowed "out". Some of the conversations got pretty funny.

Sounds like it was moderated by one of the nuns who taught me in Catholic School.

 

[flintnational]

No changes. This forum is fine. In fact, it’s solid. Although perhaps they should, I don’t hear the mods complaining about their job of sometimes having to moderate a thread. And there’s rarely much to see further in any thread that’s been moderated. Usually by the time it’s closed the horse has been beaten to near death and the train has derailed already.
Just keep a good thing going as is. That’s my opinion FWIW

+1 Well stated.

I am not aware of any large human interaction that goes flawlessly. Yet, to me it seems this forum strikes a pretty good balance between issue discussion and civility.

 

[REWahoo]

The moderators are volunteers and, IMHO, don't deserve to be hassled. In this litigious age, I don't think the moderators really want to start saying too much about why people were banned or kicked off the site. They are unpaid volunteers who we owe a lot to.

^ What he said.

The more information the moderators reveal about the (mis)behavior of a particular individual the more the core discussions of the forum are derailed.

 

[CoolRich59]

I think that could work, but I've never been a mod. so I don't know. I also think more info on what was taken down (and even who) would help. Most threads that get closed, apparently have had the offending posts removed. So the mods know what went on, but the rest of us are just scratching our heads - what happened? We see the OK posts, but the thread is closed, it's confusing. Maybe more use of the <mod edit for xyz reason> would make us more aware of what is in and out of limits.

The other forum I frequent does this, but I think it's driven more by the personality of the owner/moderator. When a thread goes off the rails and he locks it, you can be sure the last post is from him explaining in no uncertain terms what was said or done that he found objectionable and what would happen to the malefactors if it happened again.

For those not on the receiving end, these posts can be very entertaining.

 

[rodi]

< Mod hat on >

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< Mod hat off >

 

[REWahoo]

Rodi, that's a lot of words to say "Don't be a jerk!"

 

[SecondCor521]

The rules are great.

The moderators are fantastic people. Rich, thin, with good looking and successful families. Impeccable table manners, too.

The forum is great.

The software can't ban a user from a thread.

Software can be changed.

There are other solutions. IMNSHO they don't work as well as banning a user from a thread would.

@JanetH or whomever makes this sort of decision, please consider spending the time, money, and engineering effort to enhance the software to ban a user from a thread.

I believe it would make the forum even greater for the banned posters, the remaining adults on the thread, the moderators, and the forum owner.

Thank you for considering the suggestion, and best regards to all.

 

[Alan]

People keep asking about temporary bans, which I answered in post 10. This infraction system helps us track and punish repeat offenders including those who repeatedly disrupt threads.

There is a points based infraction system to help the team track repeat offenders.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f32/new-infraction-system-35251.html

 

[Cessna152]

Rodi, that's a lot of words to say "Don't be a jerk!"

Indeed. There is no good reason for anyone except moderators to plow through that verbosity. And they only need to read it to maintain some level of consistency.

If the rules must be novel length, humble suggestion it begin with either:

“Call me Ishmael” or
“It was a dark and stormy night”

 

[redduck]

How about a perp walk for violators, deliberate or otherwise, followed by time in the stocks...

For the second offense, violators would have to spend time in dividend stocks.

 

[ERD50]

For the second offense, violators would have to spend time in dividend stocks.

Good one!

-ERD50