Members that don't want to play by the rules...

[stargirl8605]

For those of you that have an RPG forum, you might know what I'm talking about...

What do you normally do with a member that doesn't want to play the RPG by your rules? I have a hard time trying to manage members like this.

 

[Jasonp]

Warn them , ban them -!- -D-

 

[stargirl8605]

Well for me it's like i want to be nice and not make my foum have a bad name.

 

[Jaosals]

Give them two chances. If they mess up on the second chance, ban them then. Depending on the degree of the offense, decide whether or not to ban them permanently or for a certain amount of time. And it seeems your site is phpbb, so you have the option to customise how long their ban will be.

 

[stargirl8605]

Ok I got an idea cooking up in my head. Thanks.

 

[Dylan]

Well for me it's like i want to be nice and not make my foum have a bad name.

Your members agreed that they commit them selfs to follow the rules and that they fully understand them when they signed up ;

By clicking on " I agree to these terms " below:
- You acknowledge to have fully read these current rules;
- You commit yourself to respect unreservedly these current rules;
- You grant the moderators of this forum the right to delete, move or edit any discussion subject at any moment.

So if they are breaking the rules and they fully understand them why should you do nothing ?

 

[stargirl8605]

I got a warning system in play now.

 

[Dylan]

You should have anyway but good to see you are taking advice and seeking it -😉-

 

[Violetstar]

Warnings, then a temporary ban (this gives them time to think about what they've done and 'time out' to cool down, then if necessary a full ban, it can be uncomfortable doing it but you have to take the needs of the rest of the behaving membership into consideration.

 

[stargirl8605]

Yeah that's true.

 

[Violetstar]

The first one is always the hardest, but it does get easier with time...I promise, I haven't needed to ban on my own forum yet, but I have when admin-ing elsewhere, and knowing that you're doing it for the good of the forum and your members does make it easier. I hope all goes well for you.

 

[stargirl8605]

Thank you. -happy-

 

[Murder he Wrote]

Well, as Community Team Leader here I always had a policy that if a Team Member didn't play by the rules they'd be given one chance and then they were out. I guess you could adopt this strategy into your RPG rules.

I think it's important that you have and maintain a good relationship with your members, but also send out the message that rules are there to be followed and that if they don't cooperate - they're out.

Additionally I think it's important that you're not intimidated by "using your power" or treating everybody the same. Recently we had a minor trolling problem with a member who had sustained 200+ posts and a fairly respectable reputation. However, rules are rules and no amount of post count / contributions were going to have effect on the member's discipline.

It's all about finding the right balance. ~smile~

 

[CyberFreak]

Well for me it's like i want to be nice and not make my foum have a bad name.

Unfortunately that is nearly impossible in this world. If you are nice then your members will run wild knowing they can get away with it which will annoy all your honest members. Additionally it will give your forum a bad reputation for being full of people running wild and for you not being strict and being in control.

Either way you are either going to be hated by some for enforcing rules or for not enforcing rules but i think it is always better to have a reputation for enforcing rules and making it a better place for the people that do follow rules. As they follow the rules why should they be punished by people running wild and breaking rules.

Obviously don't go too mad and stamp your authority on your forum like a 10 ton elephant standing on an ant but just make sure the members know the rules need to be followed and they will be punished if they don't follow.

 

[stargirl8605]

Yeah, good point. You people are very helpful.

 

[Dylan]

Thanks.

 

[Ascent]

Tell them to play by your RPG game rules. If they refuse, ask them why they're there in the first place and eventually if they continue to refuse, give them the ban hammer.

 

[AnAccount]

I thought most softwares have an option for setting the length of a ban? Anyway, I would do like anyone else, just simply warn and ban them.