Inactive Accounts - Delete or not to Delete?

[Enchant]

In other threads, we have touched on the topic of inactive accounts. In this thread we will discuss the topic a bit more in depth. How important is it to have an accurate member count? Do you keep your inactive accounts or do you delete them? If you keep them, is it for the appearance of a higher member count or some other reason? If you delete them, how often and why?

I personally delete my inactive accounts. I usually have it done quarterly. If not it falsifies the forums actual posting stats. It makes the forum appear to be less active then it is. I would rather have low member count with high posting, then high member count with low posting. I do give notice via, post, pm and email when the time arrives.

[HoudiniDerek]

I have been given control of an RP forum recently. It is one of the few forums that I feel it is necessary to have an accurate member count. Every year, I plan to go through and delete unactivated accounts and accounts with zero posts...especially if they are over a month old. Since an RP is based a lot more on member-to-member interaction, I feel it is important that potential members know the true count of the forum. I also recount members after every member deletion...be it by them or by me.

On other forums, I don't really have a problem with inactive members unless it becomes problematic...as in half of them or more inactive. I try to focus more on providing a useful forum to the ACTIVE members before I start worrying about the inactive ones.

[Kami]

Feb 16, 2008 21:12:30 GMT -8 Enchant said:

In other threads, we have touched on the topic of inactive accounts. In this thread we will discuss the topic a bit more in depth. How important is it to have an accurate member count? Do you keep your inactive accounts or do you delete them? If you keep them, is it for the appearance of a higher member count or some other reason? If you delete them, how often and why?

I personally delete my inactive accounts. I usually have it done quarterly. If not it falsifies the forums actual posting stats. It makes the forum appear to be less active then it is. I would rather have low member count with high posting, then high member count with low posting. I do give notice via, post, pm and email when the time arrives.

Agreed. Having a high member count, when those members are inactive, makes the forum seem worse off in terms of activity than it really is.

I delete accounts every 30 days; the only ones who receive a notice are those with high post count and/or have been long-time members. They then have 2 days to get back to us or log in or their account is deleted.

[kelendria]

I used to delete inactive accounts about every six months but now I give them the benefit of doubt by 'awarding' them 1 post count & 1 karma point upon joining.
This is hopefully so it'll give them a head start & not feel too daunted or afraid to post.
I then use mass email to try & get them back, but with some unactivated accounts it doesn't reach them.
Maybe again when 4.5 hits us I will think about the inactive ones.
Do you then recount members after? Who does & who doesn't?

[Deputy Fife]

I never do because it makes me feel like I am trying to blackmail my members into being active, threats never work. You never know, you might terminate a members profile who might have just posted and BEEN an active member 3 weeks down the road but now won't because they are ticked off about being told what to do.

[kelendria]

I hate being told on forums that I must be active from the get go &that if I don't login within a certain amount of time then I get deleted.
To me that seems like my account wasn't that important & it doesn't bother the admin to begin with.
I've also been on forums where I'm told if I haven't been active (but have posted some time ago as appose to never having posted at all) that my account will also be deleted.
I haven't got time to keep visiting forums just to make sure my account is active (having said that I don't just join every forum for the sake of having an account)
Some people join forums & never post, or haven't been on for a while due to personal reasons, change of emails etc.
So on the flip side it isn't just about admins deleting accounts it's how the member feels about being told they have to be active or else.
A certain amount of time should pass before perhaps even considering deleting inactive members

[HoudiniDerek]

I agree that the timing of deletions are important. I mentioned that I tend to do it every year. Before I do though, it is preceded by a mass email to the members letting them know what to expect and why. It is usually given about a month in advance so members know that they need to come back and let me be aware of circumstances. The deletions tend to just apply to the members that have zero posts and/or unactivated accounts. Members that have posted at least once I tend to give the benefit of the doubt a little longer.

[📚 Dianne 📚]

Feb 17, 2008 9:08:44 GMT -8 @kelendria said:

I hate being told on forums that I must be active from the get go &that if I don't login within a certain amount of time then I get deleted.
To me that seems like my account wasn't that important & it doesn't bother the admin to begin with.
I've also been on forums where I'm told if I haven't been active (but have posted some time ago as appose to never having posted at all) that my account will also be deleted.
I haven't got time to keep visiting forums just to make sure my account is active (having said that I don't just join every forum for the sake of having an account)
Some people join forums & never post, or haven't been on for a while due to personal reasons, change of emails etc.
So on the flip side it isn't just about admins deleting accounts it's how the member feels about being told they have to be active or else.
A certain amount of time should pass before perhaps even considering deleting inactive members

I think I understand how you feel and it does sound a little snotty to be told that you need to be active to keep your account open.

But that being said, I have to admit that I have it in bold letters at the side of my forum, that you must log on every once in a while, to keep you account open. I run an information site and I fully expect people to only come when they need something...but to open an account and then to not come back at all for 6 months or more seems a little excessive. Why join then?

Enchant I like your idea of doing it quarterly, but I've been lax and seem to be getting around it bi-annually, I sent out a news letter last month giving everyone time to at least log on, and now seeing that most of the people who never came back after their initial sign up didn't come back with this notice...I think they need to go.

What I'm wondering, what do you do about accounts that were once very active and then the poster dropped off the face of the earth?

[Enchant]

As I go through and read your thoughts on the whole deletion of inactive accounts. I can understand the pressure of not wanting to be obligated to post. Which is fair.

The problem I personally have is....Why bother joining a community that you have no intention of not participating in. If you do not have the time, to come and at least post an introduction or something, or log in once every 90 days, then why should I bother to wait around? I mean a forum is for a community to interact with each other, not for voyerism. Each time I get a new member who doesn't contribute to the forum, they mess up the posting stats. That isn't fair to the community.

Like I mentioned, I give fair notice. I post onthe forum, I send mass pms and emails and the occasional Newsletter (when I get the time) There are exceptions when I will not delete an inactive account, and that is when the member actually pms, IM, emails me and ask me not to that they will be back. Then I give them some consideration to not being deleted.

I don't see what the big deal is. If that person really wishes to be a active member then they can always start anouther account. I do not think that it is inconsiderate considering I waited 90 days for them to log in or make it active...but that is just me.

[3000]

I believe that Member Count makes your forum look better.

So I leave members be. Some times they may even come back. I just leave them be, and only delete accounts if they are obscene or vulgar.

[HoudiniDerek]

Cats57: On your question regarding once active members, I leave them be. To me, if they were very active once and are not now, something has happened. One of my members used to be incredibly active and suddenly she was gone for a year. Had I deleted her I never would have known that she was in the hospital and recovering, which is why she was gone. To me, people that have posted get more leeway because I know they have TRIED to be active in the forum. Of course, that is an RP forum where I think active membership count is more important.

[kelendria]

I completely agree Enchant, but it's common for people to join a forum & never intend on posting.
I've experienced that in the three years I've had mine.
I'm not saying deletion shouldn't be done but yes as said already timing is everything.
Also as stated above if you have an RPG or information forum I can see why it's vital to keep members active.
I used to give plenty of notice too before actual deletion, that's at least fair.

[📚 Dianne 📚]

Actually, I'm not at all sure that my members have to be actually active. It's that because my info is time sensitive (in some cases) I just like to know that they log in to take advantage of what we offer.

As Enchant has said - why join if you (like you can with my board) can see the entire board as a guest (or at least 95% of it) if you have really no thoughts about coming back.

And doesn't that just bring up another issue? If you can see most of a board as a guest, and it may not seem be a place you ever wish to come back to...why join? Of course by these people joining, it makes my board look more popular than it really is.

HoudiniDerek - you have mad a very valid point as that too has happened to me.. I have had members post and then disappear - then we come to find out they had been injured or ill and couldn't post.

Is it a good thing to have ADMIN personally e-mail a person who had once been very active to see if they are OK? I don't want to look like a stalker ! Of course this only works for small boards with small memberships.

[rosebud]

I usually wait about a month before deleting an account on my board. Sometimes I contact the members and warn them through e-mail ahead of time regarding the account deletion.

There's a useful code that admins can use that allow members to make this 'away' status. On RPG boards, if the role-players are away, they need to give notice. I think this is a good method for any forum and not just RPG boards. Sometimes the unexpected happens.

Members might feel differently with this issue. However, the staff has the right to run the forum the way they feel they should. A lot of members don't like being warned, for example, but it must be done when the time calls for it. Unfortunately, the staff can't always please everyone. I think a month is enough time to give the member a chance to post and become aquainted.

[HoudiniDerek]

Feb 17, 2008 15:33:53 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

Actually, I'm not at all sure that my members have to be actually active. It's that because my info is time sensitive (in some cases) I just like to know that they log in to take advantage of what we offer.

As Enchant has said - why join if you (like you can with my board) can see the entire board as a guest (or at least 95% of it) if you have really no thoughts about coming back.

And doesn't that just bring up another issue? If you can see most of a board as a guest, and it may not seem be a place you ever wish to come back to...why join? Of course by these people joining, it makes my board look more popular than it really is.

HoudiniDerek - you have mad a very valid point as that too has happened to me.. I have had members post and then disappear - then we come to find out they had been injured or ill and couldn't post.

Is it a good thing to have ADMIN personally e-mail a person who had once been very active to see if they are OK? I don't want to look like a stalker ! Of course this only works for small boards with small memberships.

Sometimes I personally email them, especially if I have known them for some time or talk to them outside the forum in other ways, as I have done at times. Otherwise, I play the waiting game. Then, once I have determined that it is time to delete, I email the whole forum. This way it does not feel like I am singling out one member.