BANS

[govalpo07]

Forum URL: (private)
I am the administrator for a board and have an issue with a member that I continue to ban but he somehow is able to just change his username and come right back.  I click on block global ID and all other options but he still uses the same email address and isn't blocked/banned.  Do we have anything we can do to ensure members are banned for good? 

[Kami]

Jun 9, 2024 15:13:15 GMT -8 govalpo07 said:

Forum URL: (private)
I am the administrator for a board and have an issue with a member that I continue to ban but he somehow is able to just change his username and come right back.  I click on block global ID and all other options but he still uses the same email address and isn't blocked/banned.  Do we have anything we can do to ensure members are banned for good? 

Are you 100% certain that it's the same email address and that this user isn't using like, variant letters? eg, lIl and III are not the same (the first is lower case L, upper case i, lower case L; the second is all uppercase i), or something to that effect? Additionally, are they using the same email provider? Is it always a gmail account, as a for instance?

If you're 100% sure that there's no possibility that they're sneaking variants / different providers by you, then a PB staff member will have to look at this during business hours which are M-F, 9am to 5pm Pacific (-8 GMT). As you noted, banning by all three options should force this user to create a new global account (email), username, and get a new IP every time and so it is abnormal that they keep returning with the same credentials albeit a different username.

Beyond that though... if the emails and usernames and IPs are all different with each registration, there's literally nothing anyone can do. It's unfortunately a limitation of the internet, not PB's software. There are a few more invasive ways to make it more difficult, but none of those options are viable or realistic for an online forum service (they're usually for downloaded software such as a competitive video game).

[Scott]

govalpo07 - unfortunately, as Kami pointed out, there is no banned for good as the user can use a different IP and email address.

[Kami]

Jun 10, 2024 8:09:16 GMT -8 Scott said:

govalpo07 - unfortunately, as Kami pointed out, there is no banned for good as the user can use a different IP and email address.

Scott - i think there's been a slight misunderstanding; OP is saying that this user comes back with the same email address despite the global ID being selected when banning. Just wanted to put that forward just in case there might be a system hiccup.

[Scott]

Kami - the user deleted themselves from ProBoards and then registered anew. Their global ID was banned, but registering a new global created a new ID number.

[Kami]

Jun 10, 2024 12:48:59 GMT -8 Scott said:

Kami - the user deleted themselves from ProBoards and then registered anew. Their global ID was banned, but registering a new global created a new ID number.

oh that's interesting, i was under the impression that global ID was tied specifically to that registration email. for clarity then the global ID ban is more along the lines of a forum level ban for all accounts created by that global account rather than putting a hard block on a specific email?

sorry, i'm just a little surprised since all the info provided by PB over the years equated global ID with email (including the description in the admin panel) as a 1:1 correlation, no mention of an account ID contingency.

[Scott]

Jun 10, 2024 16:24:23 GMT -8 Kami said:

oh that's interesting, i was under the impression that global ID was tied specifically to that registration email.

A global ID is tied to an email the same way a member account is tied to a specific username.  However for the function of privacy anonymization, both the global ID and user ID are numbers at the root level and deletion of a global or forum account breaks the association of email and username (respectively).

for clarity then the global ID ban is more along the lines of a forum level ban for all accounts created by that global account rather than putting a hard block on a specific email?

Yes.

sorry, i'm just a little surprised since all the info provided by PB over the years equated global ID with email (including the description in the admin panel) as a 1:1 correlation, no mention of an account ID contingency.

I know we speak of correlation when referring to the global account, but I don't believe we do with global ID, (though if I am mistaken, please PM me citing where so I can see about getting this fixed).

I apologize for any confusion. 

[Kami]

Scott tbqh the problem can entirely be with me inferring something that wasn't said, but i will check some stuff in the AM when im back at my desk and message you then :) thanks!

[Ɖσмιиιc ♰]

Hello, there is another way to use the PB forum admin console, You disable registration and if you want, create an email account that users have to email, then you have to verify them. Why not think outside of the box? Of course, it's a nuisance and might be frowned up but you want to keep bad guys out right? Well, take my tip. or not, I'm not PB admin or staff, just do what I can to keep out some people. Have a good one.

[moonbeam]

Jun 10, 2024 20:33:00 GMT -8 Ɖσмιиιc ♰ said:

Hello, there is another way to use the PB forum admin console, You disable registration and if you want, create an email account that users have to email, then you have to verify them. Why not think outside of the box? Of course, it's a nuisance and might be frowned up but you want to keep bad guys out right? Well, take my tip.  or not, I'm not PB admin or staff, just do what I can to keep out some people. Have a good one.

In this situation, disabling registration wouldn't be necessary. They know the email address being used, so it would be just as easy to turn on restricted registration.Then, if they see an account pending approval using that email, then can reject or ban it.

Using restricted registration also allows you to vet potential members without having to go through all the extra steps of having them email somewhere completely random first. Work smarter, not harder.

[Ɖσмιиιc ♰]

Yet anyone can create an anonymous email to evade such restricted registrations so it defeats the purpose. Anyone serious like this will invade as a good social engineer would.

If you want a more private community it's up to each admin how to run it. I'm only providing ways to vet someone. Take it or leave it.

[Scott]

Jun 11, 2024 6:12:13 GMT -8 Ɖσмιиιc ♰ said:

Yet anyone can create an anonymous email to evade such restricted registrations so it defeats the purpose.

Jun 10, 2024 20:33:00 GMT -8 Ɖσмιиιc ♰ said:

You disable registration and if you want, create an email account that users have to email, then you have to verify them. 

Anyone can create an anonymous email to use with this method as well. While I appreciate the tips, in the case of this thread, using Restrict Registration is the best option; and in general it is a best practice for vetting.

Please consider that creating a separate email account for new members to reach out to first before joining a forum adds extra work for the admin, limits the vetting process to the email account holder only, and results in extra unnecessary hoops for a potential new member to jump through.  

If you would like to discuss vetting practices, I invite you to create a thread on our Running Your Forum board. 

[moonbeam]

Jun 11, 2024 6:12:13 GMT -8 Ɖσмιиιc ♰ said:

Yet anyone can create an anonymous email to evade such restricted registrations so it defeats the purpose. Anyone serious like this will invade as a good social engineer would.

If you want a more private community it's up to each admin how to run it. I'm only providing ways to vet someone. Take it or leave it.

With all due respect, I've been running a forum for 13+ yrs. I've used restricted registration for the vast majority of that time. I'm really not sure you understand what restricted registration is, or how it works. With that in place, the person's membership is not usable until after a member of staff approves it. My staff and I are very careful and have a process we use before approving or denying. So I don't understand how you think that they can "evade" anything. And regardless, it would be exactly the same doing it your way. Just more work, and doesn't vet anyone any better than the actual forum tools.

I guess that's my long way of saying "I'll leave it".

[Ɖσмιиιc ♰]

Good for you. I vet different for private forums