Banning someone "popular"

[The Visitors]

So I seemed to have run into a wall I was not expecting and wondered if anyone else has ever had this experience? My community is mostly (not all) made up of another communities user base... ie .... They were closing their forums and a lot of members were looking for a new place to go.

What end up happening was three of the members from that well known (original) community, started to advertize their site there (myself & 2 others). The other 2 communities closed & imploded in on themselves. Which left me the last man standing (but that's a good thing, as all their users migrated to mine).

Traffic was good (60+ new members over night) and about 300+ visitors.
Threads 1,021 and Posts 16,914 :cheer:

So one day, I get someone who sent me a copy of a PM (Private Message). It turns out one of my more "popular" members is sending PM's to a lot of my members, asking them to join another member's site. Now had she been doing this to only a few of her friends, there would be no issue. But she was slowly mass PM`ing my community (under ground movement).

I confirmed this when I made 2 accounts on my own community & soon after got the PM.

The results was for me to temporary ban her for SPAM. Well this didn't go over so well. A few of her friends (also popular among the community), made a large & public fuss to her deference & claimed that I and my staff had lied about here (not true). The results was many of the members jumped ship (not all, but I would say about 50%).

So has anyone else experienced such a drama / issue?! Will I in the future always have to worry about someone else's popularity among my community & sometimes pick favorites?

 

[SheepishWolf]

Did you try just talking it out with the member who started the whole thing? And if they're claiming you're lying about it, prove them wrong with screenies (in a professional, calm way)

 

[MrJohn]

If they broke the rules, it shouldn't matter how "popular" they are, they should have to follow the same guidelines that everyone else has too. I would suspend them for a week or two first, then if they still do it, a permanent ban.

 

[The Visitors]

Did you try just talking it out with the member who started the whole thing? And if they're claiming you're lying about it, prove them wrong with screenies (in a professional, calm way)

I of course tried to talk to the member in question via PM (Private Message), but she replied via the forum (publicly). Denying being a spammer & also freely admitting to sharing the link, but only with her friends (which was untrue). She then proceeded to also accuse me & staff members of reading their private messages (PM`s). Which was not true, but surely did not help matter by putting doubt in everyone else's thoughts about who was running the place (me & staff).

The link in question was "blacklisted" by me before she started passing it out. In fact she had some trouble, trying to over come the "blacklist".

We had someone join and attempt to mass spam it before she started sharing it. Turns out she knows the person who runs the other community & just decided to continue "his" work ... ie .... Campaign it on my site.

I banned her for 7 days and the ban isn't even over with (yet), but it seems as though everyone packed up and left. I'm still hoping that maybe many of my members have just been busy because of Thanksgiving Holiday. But I've never seen things come to such a crawl since this was over with. Her ban is almost up & I'm tempted to just make it permanent, but I'm sure that will only add to the "public out cry".

On top of this some of her other online friends took to "hinting" mistrust about me & the staff (they are also well liked).<br /><br />-- 28 Nov 2010, 19:20 --<br /><br />

If they broke the rules, it shouldn't matter how "popular" they are, they should have to follow the same guidelines that everyone else has too. I would suspend them for a week or two first, then if they still do it, a permanent ban.

That was my way of thinking also... Can not say it has been respected though.

 

[MrJohn]

Yea well the community has to know who is in charge. When someone challenges your authority by breaking the rules, they have to be punished just like someone who is not so popular. This might make you look like the bad guy in the short run, but the community as a whole will follow the rules better after seeing an example. I would make a post visible to everyone, stating what happen, what rules were broken, and what consequences are following. The more honest you are with the community the better. Best of luck.

 

[USHost247]

Doesn't matter is the member is popular or not. Doesn't matter if they are a celebrity..Rules are rules and they must be followed.

 

[Nebulous]

I'd start off by simply removing their ability to send PM's.

 

[Ascent]

A "popular" member in your community who goes corrupt is like a virus. You need to remove them as soon as possible before they start swaying the minds of other members (their friends, etc) against you.

BOF has had tons of these situations. I have no problem using my banhammer.

 

[The Visitors]

I'd start off by simply removing their ability to send PM's.

Done that for their return (should she return). vBulletin does not have such an option by default, to single our 1 member at a time. I had to search to find such a MOD on vBulletin.org<br /><br />-- 28 Nov 2010, 20:49 --<br /><br />

A "popular" member in your community who goes corrupt is like a virus. You need to remove them as soon as possible before they start swaying the minds of other members (their friends, etc) against you.

BOF has had tons of these situations. I have no problem using my banhammer.

This is what I think that happen. She was banned quickly, but had a few friends (a large group) cry and basically continue her propaganda. I suspect (not 100% sure) 1 of my MOD`s may also be secretly behind her as well.

I feel like the city of Troy.... Trojan house came right through.

 

[Ascent]

I'd start off by simply removing their ability to send PM's.

Done that for their return (should she return). vBulletin does not have such an option by default, to single our 1 member at a time. I had to search to find such a MOD on vBulletin.org

-- 28 Nov 2010, 20:49 --

A "popular" member in your community who goes corrupt is like a virus. You need to remove them as soon as possible before they start swaying the minds of other members (their friends, etc) against you.

BOF has had tons of these situations. I have no problem using my banhammer.

This is what I think that happen. She was banned quickly, but had a few friends (a large group) cry and basically continue her propaganda. I suspect (not 100% sure) 1 of my MOD`s may also be secretly behind her as well.

I feel like the city of Troy.... Trojan house came right through.

Yeah, I feel ya. It can be very frustrating. You just need to get rid of them and move on, as it can save your community from falling apart. New members will join, and these "popular" members will soon be forgotten about.

 

[Acorn]

uggh forum drama. I know what this is like.

I would've just used my word filter to remove the link to the site. Also it's a good idea to make it clear from the start that ads by PM are unwelcome and spam.

Besides...if your forum really is better, they won't just leave it. Not in my experience. If they are attached to the place, someone sneakily PMing them to join their own board will really only annoy them. They might try the other board but will soon see it is inferior.

This person seems rotten as well and if they really are that bad they won't last too long as a prosperous admin. They used underhanded means to try and sabotage your community and probably they wouldn't hesitate to keep on doing that to anyone they pleased.

 

[AnAccount]

If they broke the rules, it shouldn't matter how "popular" they are, they should have to follow the same guidelines that everyone else has too. I would suspend them for a week or two first, then if they still do it, a permanent ban.

Exactly. You all know the real world saying: "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime". I think this saying holds true for forum owning as well. Even if her little "friends" insist that she be unbanned, if she's still doing her punishement, you'll have to eventually put your foot down and say something like, "hey, I know you're all upset, but this member broke the rules. No member gets prefrential treatment regardless of his or her status on this forum." That's how I'd try to explain it anyways.

 

[The Visitors]

We'll wait and see what happens upon her return. I should have done a full, no holds down, point of no return ban... But only did a 7 day ban. Kind of wondering if I change that, if anyone will notice. lol (sure they would).

I did long ago do as other here have suggested. But I also think it has to do a little with me being "the new guy" ... ie ... Many of these members have been in contact upon the original community for 2 - 5 years. Suddenly there is this drastic change & they're all looking to find some place they can all stick together... I come along & offer that chance, but I'm still a little "wet" behind the ears... Both in terms of the original community and also in age. I personally do not think the age bit matters, but there have been a few to point it out (the majority of my user base is 50+ it would seem)

 

[Fergal]

If I was in your shoes I'd most probably permanently banned the member. She has deliberately set out to damaged your forum and your reputation and is quite likely to do the same when she returns.

There is a huge difference between someone who offers suggestions and constructive criticism to your forum and a member who deliberately sets out to harm your community. In my experience the latter is unlikely to come good and you are better off without them.

If your members are discussing the topic, bring closure to it as soon as possible. Explain your reasons for why you banned the member, basically spend some time writing a statement about it. Stick to the truth and don't get emotional or over critical of the banned member.

It's a difficult situation, good luck with it.

 

[Kino]

Ah man that sounds like a tough situation you were in. I think you did the right thing. No member on the site should get special treatment at all. No matter if they're staff or just a regular member. You did the right thing!

 

[Guardian]

I had a mutiny once. Had to go away for some time so I left my 'most trusted' mod in charge, while I was away he carted all 20 active members off to his board, so I had no posts in almost a month, so I ended up closing.

 

[The Visitors]

I had a mutiny once. Had to go away for some time so I left my 'most trusted' mod in charge, while I was away he carted all 20 active members off to his board, so I had no posts in almost a month, so I ended up closing.

That sucks. To come back and find out that someone you left in charge, basically told everyone to join their NEW site. Wow. I'd be p***ed.