To ban a member or not to ban a member

[davey]

Forum URL: tssc-eastleighfc.proboards.com/

The forum above has around 600 members & is register to post.

Most of the time the chat on it is good natured and friendly but occasionally (one poster in particular) resorts to personal insults in a discussion - often aimed at myself. (berk, c*ck and butt) were used last week - I did an admin post on the forum publically warning all users about this.

I don't take personal offence to this as I'd like to think I am big and ugly enough not to worry about this but I have had a couple of complaints from other users about this sort of thing and I know it makes a few users feel a little uncomfortable and discourages them from using the forum. I also feel it reflects badly on our group as a whole (a football supporters club).

Has anyone got any advice on how to handle this?

Via personal message?

A short ban for the user?

3 strikes and you are out?

I feel a little caught between allowing "free speech" and censoring a user who is (IMO) a borderline troll.

Thanks

[Tommy Huynh]

Sept 6, 2016 12:31:53 GMT -8 davey said:

Forum URL: tssc-eastleighfc.proboards.com/

The forum above has around 600 members & is register to post.

Most of the time the chat on it is good natured and friendly but occasionally (one poster in particular) resorts to personal insults in a discussion - often aimed at myself. (berk, c*ck and butt) were used last week - I did an admin post on the forum publically warning all users about this.

I don't take personal offence to this as I'd like to think I am big and ugly enough not to worry about this but I have had a couple of complaints from other users about this sort of thing and I know it makes a few users feel a little uncomfortable and discourages them from using the forum. I also feel it reflects badly on our group as a whole (a football supporters club).

Has anyone got any advice on how to handle this?

Via personal message?

A short ban for the user?

3 strikes and you are out?

I feel a little caught between allowing "free speech" and censoring a user who is (IMO) a borderline troll.

Thanks

Hi,

This does not seem like a support question and is more about managing your forum. For discussions on various topics on managing your forum, please check out this section!

support.proboards.com/board/140/managing-forum

No one can really tell you how to operate and run your forum. That's up to you, the main administrator to determine what the policies are. 

[Brian]

Hi, davey .

I don't have a direct suggestion on what action you should take, but keep in mind that per the Terms of Service you're fully within your right to ban the member if need be. Even if an admin were to ban a user for a completely unjustified reason that's their prerogative as the admin of the forum, for better or for worse.

In your position I would personally consider the thoughts of your community. Has the user been reprimanded by staff and ignored their warning? Do you foresee the user's behavior remaining consistent? Is their presence negatively impacting your community as a whole? With those points in mind, weigh the benefits of each of your potential decisions versus the costs. You may ultimately need to decide if the user is worth keeping around or if doing so will cost you other users as a result. This isn't just limited to users directly involved but even potential registrants on the forum who have yet to join and are seeing these interactions as guests.



Edit: Moved this thread to the appropriate board.

[na11]

My forum using a four strikes banning process:
What happens if I break a rule ?

Depending on the severity of the infraction, a different course of action may be taken, but the usual practice is as follows :

1st rule break (Minor offence) :
Corrected, A PM may of been sent, no further action taken
For a more serious offence, a warning will be issued, this is a mark against your name letting us know you have broken a rule

2nd rule break.
Another warning, with a removal of forum access for 2 days.

3rd rule break
On your 3rd warning, you will receive a temporary ban, the length of which will depend on the severity of the incident.

On another breach of rules :

After this it will be assumed you will not learn your lesson, so you will receive a permanent ban, meaning you will never be able to visit the forum again.

If you have any questions regarding the rules feel free to PM any member of site staff, who will be able to clear things up for you.

Hope this helps you, you may also use it if you want.

[davey]

Thanks very much for your feedback.

Actually I think the thing that grates on me most (above insults) is the constant lengthy posts of said poster which often include spurious points in a debate, show little respect of another posters opinions (ignoring or misreading what has previously been said on a topic) or even flat out giving contradictory opinions in the space of a few sentences.

Whilst I find this behaviour objectionable does it warrant a ban?!

I guess the thing that makes me a little nervous of banning the poster is the reaction of a handful (if that) of posters which will probably be to castigate me as an admin for "not allowing free speech".

Just to briefly answer the Qs

Has the user been reprimanded by staff and ignored their warning? No
Do you foresee the user's behavior remaining consistent? Yes I think so
Is their presence negatively impacting your community as a whole? A little, yes

[Brian]

If you find their behavior undesirable or in violation of any policies you've set forth you may want to take that first step and potentially reprimand them at the very least. Taking no action leaves it in the hands of the community to deal with which can go any number of ways.

[Former Member]

Sept 7, 2016 13:41:13 GMT -8 Brian said:

If you find their behavior undesirable or in violation of any policies you've set forth you may want to take that first step and potentially reprimand them at the very least. Taking no action leaves it in the hands of the community to deal with which can go any number of ways.

And to go with that, choosing not to say or do anything about it tells that offender that either you guys just don't care or that he's above the rules, so, either way, he'll continue with the bad behavior. I, personally, would send the person a PM and explain to them that that kind of behavior and talk is not allowed as per the forum rules (if you have a policy about that) and ask them to tone it down. If they fail to show any improvement, then they deserve a ban at some point.

[davey]

Thanks. Forum rules are as follows:

"You must register to post on this forum and in doing so agree to abide as the ProBoards terms of service as well as the guidelines below:

Please do not make needlessly aggressive, controversial, antagonistic or extreme comments just to provoke reaction, as this may result in a temporary or permanent ban. Offensive, excessive bad language, potentially libellous or personally abusive messages will also be edited or removed. Persistent offenders will be banned. All forum users are asked to bear these rules in mind when posting."

If I do ban a poster can I still PM them after ban? Is it possible to ban them from some of the forums boards (but not others)?

[na11]

I don't think it's possible to pm a member after a ban.

Not sure about the second question.

[Brian]

You can technically PM them, but they won't be able to access the PM or receive a notification for it. The only way to contact them at that point is via email.

To prevent a user from accessing certain boards you can create a new hidden member group in Members > Member Groups and add the user to that group from the Groups tab of their profile. Then in Structure > Categories & Boards modify the permissions of each of the boards you wish to restrict the user from. In the Except members in the groups: sections for the access permission add the group you just created.

The user should no longer be able to access those boards following that change. Once you have those permissions set up you can impose this same restriction on multiple members at once by adding those members to that same group.

[Kami]

My suggestion: never be afraid or concerned about banning people. There are always going to be members that will violate the rules, either by the letter or in spirit, who will not adhere to any sort of reprimands. It's unfortunate when it happens, but in my opinion -- and in my experience these last ~11- years -- it's the only way some people will learn. I speak both as an administrator, and as a person that kept ignoring a forum's warnings / breaking rules back in the early days of the internet.

However, the only way you can communicate with this member after a ban is to email them. If you don't want them posting on specific boards, create a new member group set to 'hidden' so they can't remove themselves, then exclude that member group from being able to post and/or access the boards you want.

[xamayaxx]

I have been having a somewhat similar issue for a while now. I started with a temp ban, then another temp ban and now it's a permanent one due to actions that I cannot forgive.

From one admin to another, never be afraid to speak up for your site. Give our warnings, ban members, do what is best for your community as a whole. While I understand your worries (again, been there - done that), but your rules say 'Offensive, excessive bad language, potentially libelous or personally abusive messages will also be edited or removed. Persistent offenders will be banned. All forum users are asked to bear these rules in mind when posting.'

[Mandoli]

Sept 6, 2016 12:31:53 GMT -8 davey said:

I feel a little caught between allowing "free speech" and censoring a user who is (IMO) a borderline troll.

Speaking from experience, I've had to ban "trolls" because of personal attacks on staff (mainly myself). I like to keep things simple: Once you're banned permanently, you don't get to come back. No questions asked.

This troll thinks he can come back whenever he pleases. I actually have to turn on requests to join, because I've been "scolded" on other social media sites. "Why did you ban me when I was only looking?" Uh, because you've already had your one chance?

[Kami]

An important note about free speech: it only governs the government's ability to censor in certain aspects, but not all, and certainly not private citizens' and entities' ability to enforce boundaries. This is why there are laws about harassment, hate speech, defamatory speech, etc.

I'm not saying trolls are automatically doing something illegal, just that "free speech" is not violated for a private entity / individual for enforcing a boundary that the user agreed upon by joining the forum.

If someone is not abiding by the rules you set forth, or even just basic human kindness or decency, "free speech" is not applicable.

[Shentino]

My advice is to give them an attitude test. Be on the lookout for any signs of them violating the rules on purpose. Outright defiance is proof they are there to cause trouble, and having a rule against "being a jerk" lets you ban them for, well, being a jerk. And deliberately defying an administrator's rules or direct orders means they fail the attitude test and are no longer welcome on the forum.

And if you can PROVE that they're doing it, either by letting their post speak for itself or by providing context, the community will see for itself that they can trust your "calls", hopefully enough that you can be trusted to handle cases they personally don't see...especially for abusive PMs (which btw should be actioned on).

As far as "free speech" goes, the whole point of a discussion forum is for people to, well, discuss. You should never censor anything without a good reason, and by good reason I mean something that, if NOT dealt with, will hurt the peace of the board. This includes such things as:

* Personal attacks on other members
* Group attacks on people that are likely to include members
* Arguing about mod calls or admin calls outside the proper channels
* Backseat moderation. If someone not wearing a mod badge starts barking orders at other users, that's only going to cause confusion, especially if they happen to be wrong.
* Anything else that sabotages the peace of the board.