Inactive Accounts - Delete or not to Delete?

[camwatcherscafe]

yes

[kat200]

yes we delete inactive and zero posters accounts.

On joining we send a standard welcome pm to all members. We allow up to two months and if after this time we send a zero posters pm, saying we are sorry that they have found nothing of interest etc and encourage them to post and advise that if their account continues to show no activity it may be closed. This is often quite effective and once the lurkers make a couple of posts they often go on to become active members.

With regards to accounts that have been active and then become quiet we leave these,as at least we know the member is genuine and not a lurking trouble maker. They may come back later and it would be wrong to delete someone who had gone to the effort of joining and participating.

Sometimes we get a pm back with an excuse, if it is valid we give them the benefit of the doubt, some people we leave alone as we may know who they are by their email addy.

We would rather have active members, as opposed to a high membership, but the vast majority being non participaters.

[Tini♥]

My site recently went through an activity check and I had to delete 9 inactive members... A RP site is based on the activity of the members and when a member doesn't bother to log in, post, or even activate the account then it doesn't worth it. Especially when the user plays a canon character

I usually give a deadline for ex: new members must finish or post their application in a week's time after the day they registered. I also wrote that members taht doesn;t log in for a month will be deleted as well except the ones that will let us know that they are going to be absent...

I sent again and agin emails to the members that weren't active, asking them to come back or if they don't wish to continue to be members of the site to email me back telling me to delete their accounts... The last solution was to delete them, and that's what I did. Now more members log in every day... And the site's activity went up!

Sure the number can be something that attracts new members, but sometimes (and I see this more often now) people want a site with a specific number of members and a lot of activity

[kaito]

I tend to delete after a week if they don't give me a warning of being away. I post it and I used to give out emails and PM's but aftre so many sites I just got tired of it and just deleted those unactive that had 0 posts those who had more i waited longer to see if they'd come back. I guess I might of become unfair over it but they should take time to warn me if they want to stay on. I have the absent board in front of them.

[Former Member]

Deleting Inactive members brings a eventual change in the forums.A forum must not be too overcrowded with people who never post. People who tend to inactive may come up after some weeks (after that they might forget about the forum). So deleting them after 1 month is good. There is no probability (chances). Some people even tend to send e-mails or PM's and Stuff like that to bring back absent members. So deleting Inactive members is good in my opinion.

[Tumbleweed]

Nope, I don't delete inactive members and I'll try to explain why. Take Proboards, for example, I don't think they delete too many members (if any at all unless banned or someone request to be removed) and look at how many people just read and never post. It won't bog down your site if people are just reading unless you are having server problems.

And I don't care if you have a role playing site or not. I think it is rather rude to delete. I know I have signed up for many sites and I'd be pretty ticked if I came back a couple months later or even a year later and I was deleted. That is the whole point of registering for a site, so you can come back to it when you get the time.

If someone is not posting just think of it as providing entertainment to those folks. Your activities on your forum may be the highlight of their day...you just never know. In addition, in some cases people are just very shy, not good at role playing or socializing and may need a long time to get up nerve to post. In fact they may be learning from your active RP'ing members and may end up posting and become one of your best RP'ers.

My current Proboard sites (one is new with a tiny member base & the other approaching 400 members) are information and support related so it is expected many members get the info they need and leave without posting. That's what we are there for.

I also am a member of large non-proboard site with nearly 19,000 members and it's nice to know I can just log in once a year if I want.

As long as your board is active the member count shouldn't concern you in my opinion.

Edited to fix a typo.

[kreesta]

My co-admin and I delete inactive members about once a month, and take pride in our accurate member count. Where tumbleweed said that she owns sites which are support related, I completely understand where deleting inactive members isn't very important. On an RPG with a face claim and other things such as that, though, it could be different...especially with face claim. Celebrities which other people may want to use could possibly be claimed by someone who hasn't posted for months, etc etc.

[Angelique St. Clare]

I don't really like deleting accounts. I always have hope that they'll eventually come back. A lot of my members are really only active in the summertime, and so giving them only a short period of time to check in doesn't really work for for my board. I've had members disappear for almost a year and then come back again.

I'll delete inactive canons on occasion, just because I need to keep them fresh. And I'll sometimes delete the people who join and post once or twice before disappearing, but I usually give them at least 6 months to come back before I delete their accounts. But for the most part, I like to leave it open for people to return. Even if that means that I have a high member count that may not reflect the actual activity of the board.

[veggiegirl]

When they do finally come back and find their account has been deleted, some re-register and become active. That has been my experience. I would rather have a small active population than an inflated population of non-productive members.

[Angelique St. Clare]

I suppose that could happen, but I know how I'd feel if I went to a forum where I was a member to find that my account had been deleted. I'd feel unwelcome and unimportant. And I probably wouldn't go to the trouble of re-registering. I'd just move on.

I guess I just think that people make too big a deal out of member counts. As far as I see it, it's just a number.

[HoudiniDerek]

Apr 9, 2008 11:29:18 GMT -8 Angelique St. Clare said:

I suppose that could happen, but I know how I'd feel if I went to a forum where I was a member to find that my account had been deleted. I'd feel unwelcome and unimportant. And I probably wouldn't go to the trouble of re-registering. I'd just move on.

I guess I just think that people make too big a deal out of member counts. As far as I see it, it's just a number.

I have to agree. That is why I try never to delete people. I put it in the rules on the sites so that people know it is a possibility, but I only do it out of necessity most times...such as in an RP world because of the nature of them.

Otherwise, I try never to delete too unless it is a duplicate/spam account for someone.

[ronnie65]

I do at times delete inactive members, inactive to me being someone who has not logged in within the past 2-3 months. I do this mainly to keep the forum looking ordely....I recall when I considered doing affiliates that I saw many many boards with 1000 posts yet have 2000 members? I do not know how to do half a post...LOL. I also do not feel major obligations to pm or email my members concerning their pending deletion. I do not hassle you to join my forum you are more than free to read everything there as a guest....so why should I hassle you to post or even to log in. people join my forum at their own risk, they will log in from time to time, and they will obey the forum rules at all times. If they fail to do so I will most likely fail to notify them when I decide to use my delete options.

[OH SO COOPERNATURAL !]

If someone is inactive, then they're not really a part of the forum. I have activity checks on my own forums, and those who do not respond, get their accounts deleted. Plain and Simple.

Just registering doesn't make you a member of something. Being a part of the board does. What is the point of having an account that you don't use?

[veggiegirl]

I agree Coop;;; What is the point of having them in your member base if they are not there? If a member who is deleted does not come back, well, they would not have been there anyway. However, the members that do participate are made to feel as though they are part of our family. That's why they stay.

[Mandi]

See I'm going to through this exact thing at the moment. I have a whole bunch of inactive members at the moment and I'm deciding on whether or not to do it. So far I am indecisive and everything I have read so far has made me even more indecisive. I'm thinking of possibly deleting members who have only registerd and not bothered to return my emails with updates and what not. -holds my head in my hands- I'm so indecisive!