Do You Delete Inactive Accounts.

How about spam bots? I'm deciding if I should delete bot accounts or not.
 
I'm a bit wary about deleting accounts but that's because the first forum I ever created dealt with an illness that involves memory loss so I prefer to send out an email once or twice a year and ask that who ever has not posted to get back to me if they still want their account. I find it's a good way to remind them that they are a member.

I also will delete someone who has never posted, but only after I've contacted them and had no response. Usually it's when they've been registered for quite awhile.

The thing is though, not everyone is going to be a continuous forum user. I myself go through phases where I will be an avid forum user to hardly using them at all (not including my own) so if someone becomes inactive they could very well become active again. Those people I won't delete.
 
Like most people, I don't choose to delete members that have never posted or never came back to the forum right after they signed up. I've sent bulk mail to them in order to get them back, to no avail. It doesn't matter anyway as I have lot of members that are active 🙂
 
I think deleting inactive accounts is wrong, because one thing they are good for your stats, which will be good for reviews and things but otherwise it's wrong, simply because you never know if that person is going to want to come back and post. The only time I would delete an account is if the person was permanently banned from the forum.
 
No just in case they decide to return later, i've seen people return after a year and more, circumstances change, computers break down, people are skint (me included lol) and folk get ill or have family stuff to deal with, when moving house it can take months to get back online
 
I never delete them, I just leave them there to keep a higher member count -8)-
 
I don't delete inactive accounts. I've actually had one member recently make his first post in the introductory forum who joined two years ago. I also like the high member count.
 
No, because if they ever decide to come back and see that their account has been deleted, then it just turns them off. Really, who wants to go through registration again…? I have had it happen to me several times in the past, and it turns me off, and I never return to those forums.
 
Phoenix said:
No, because if they ever decide to come back and see that their account has been deleted, then it just turns them off. Really, who wants to go through registration again…? I have had it happen to me several times in the past, and it turns me off, and I never return to those forums.

I feel for you. I have joined forums and later stopped going to them because of lack of interest, and I get emails of the fact that I've been inactive, and that really turns me off more than anything. If I'm going to continue recieving emails like that, they are not worth my time or energy when I could be posting elsewhere.
 
Well my forum is kind of new, we have 110 active users. to day i found out we had 60 unactive users!! i was shocked. and you know what i did, i activated every single one. probaly most of them are bots but i have forun if a bot is inactive and you activate it, they dont post spam again? i now have 177 members, which is great!
 
I don't ever delete inactive accounts,though It has nothing to do with post counts or member count as I'd rather have a good community overall.

I keep my inactive members because even though their inactive,I still send them updated emails and news reports on board upgrade,new sctions..etc in hope of getting them active again.^_^
 
to me active members is more important than member count therefore. considering my forum is 6 years old i get rid of 0 posters after a year. Plus i give them 3 or 4 chances to come back and post. If still nothing then its bye bye.
 
I dont know if this is odd but i get about 7 inactive users a day!

Is that alot of not alot?
 
I will keep them there for three months and then go for the kill.
But i delete banned members straight after they are username banned, ip banned, e-mail adress banned and anything there is to banning on a PHPbb forum.
 
The only accounts I delete are spam bot accounts. I even keep the banned accounts because it makes the forum look more active. Anyway, it's too much unnecessary trouble.
 
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