1. When judging members, do you consider what they have done on other forums? Why/Why not?
No. I do not. Different forum, different experience. I give each person a fair chance. I may not always know why things went the way they did for them on other forums. They could have been the victim of power-abusing staff, or, they could have been an a**hole. I don't, and won't know what the case is with them on other forums, and so, I am not going to assume that I do and jump to conclusions.
The only time that I would hold something against them, is if they are a spammer, as in, a spambot. If I see a name, and it looks odd, then I will look into it, on Google, or look up their ip on
http://projecthoneypot.org and if I see that they are in fact a spambot, then yes, I will ban them. I usually wait until they post first and then ban them.. but that is only if neither the name, or the ip look up yield results.
2. A spammer on another forum signs up on yours. Would you ban them even though they haven't done anything on your forum?
See answer number 1.
3. A spammer on another forum is a dedicated member on your forum and later you realize. Would you ban them?
See answer number 1. And, in addition, the operative term here is "
later" if they used to be a spammer, and now, they are not, and this has been shown in the fact that they are, and have been a dedicated member of your forum, then doesn't that mean that they have seen the err of their ways, and have decided to behave themselves? If you used to be a immature, spamming, trolling a**hole, when you first started out on forums, and you've realized that that was the wrong thing to do and act on a forum and you decided to change your behavior for the better, would you want someone holding that against you everywhere you went?
Bottomline, I choose to give people enough rope to do what they want with it. They'll either hang themselves with it, by being an a**hole, or they can use it to pull themselves to safety by doing the right thing. Whether they are members on my forum, or people I know in real life, if you give someone a chance, they'll either sink or swim on their own.
4.You find that a dedicated member on your forum goes and spams someone else's forum. Would you ban them?
Having been in this situation before, I will say yes, but only if I get proof. If they are spamming that forum with our link, or impersonating my or any of my staff when they do it, then absolutely, but not without proof. If I have a member who does this, knowing full well that their bad behavior on other forums could bring trouble for me, or my forum, then that means that they really could not have been all that dedicated to my forum now can they? A dedicated member would stand behind you, not contribute to your downfall.
If you didn't ban that member, you would be considered an accomplice and they would likely think that you were the mastermind behind the whole incident. Which, would bring even more trouble for you. It is better to nip the whole thing in the bud. As I said, I have been in this situation before, only, it was with my brother's forum, and so, I'll just tell you what I did. I privately contacted the owner of the forum they spammed, by signing up and apologizing for their behavior via pm, and tell them that neither I, nor my staff had anything to do with it, and furthermore, we don't condone this behavior. I would ask the owner for the email and ip of the alleged spammer, and double check it against my list of members, and if there is a match, then I would ban that member, and inform the other owner as such.
If there isn't a match, then I would inform the other admin as such, and tell them that I cannot ban someone without proof. I would ask them to contact me if the spammer strikes again, and in the meantime, I would wildcard ban the ip address and the email of the one they gave me (as it would be obvious that that person is a trouble maker) and then post a notice on the forum and send out a mass email informing all of my members that anyone found spamming another forum or website with our link, or impersonating any of the staff while doing so, will be ip banned from the forum.
5. You know that this person is a spammer on another forum but a dedicated member on yours. They apply for staff. Do you let them?
See answer to question number 4.
Furthermore, I do not hold applications for staff. I have to have known them for some time, and have worked with them previously. However, if it is known that this person is an active spammer, then, no, I would not consider them for a staff position at my forum.
6. A spammer on another forum is staff on yours. You trust them, but then you find out they are a spammer. Do you keep them?
If it is known on the other forums that, that person is staff at my forum, and there is trouble as a result, then I would talk to that person about their behavior. I would tell them that while, they can do as they wish when they are not on my forum, at the same time, if they choose to do the wrong thing elsewhere, then they cannot be staff at my forum. I would tell them that it is nothing personal, but I would rather not be associated with someone intentionally does the wrong thing, especially if, their bad behavior elsewhere is traced back to me because it is known that they are staff at my forum, and as a result, I am forced to deal with the trouble from it. I would tell them that their behavior reflects poorly on the forum, and tell them that they can either stop their bad behavior, or I have to demote them.
