What if you heard from another forum owner (whom you trusted) that one of your current best forum members had trolled or flamed or caused other disruptions on his site. How would you handle that situation? Would you outright ban the person accused of having trolled on another site so they would not have a chance to do the same on your forum? Would you ask the person about the situation to see if they had another version to the story?
Would you accept an accused troll on your forum?
- Thread starter Beverly
- Start date
ForumsGroup
Resident
I find that some drama creates discussions, and depending on how good the troll is at controversial topics, it could mean some great discussions and content on your forum. But most of the time a troll is just someone who is abusive and doesn't follow your forum rules whatsoever.
I would never actually take action over something that happened elsewhere - no matter how much I trust the other person, I wasn't there, and I don't know the full circumstances (and what they might have been reacting to). To me that would violate a clear principle that people should be judged on their actions on the forum and the rules of the forum, and nothing more (unless it involved off-forum harassment or threats of violence against other forum members, of course).
I would keep an eye on the member to make sure that they weren't engaging in anything they shouldn't be on the forum, and consider myself warned that they might be a troublemaker, but nothing more than that. I won't ban anyone who hasn't broken my rules on my forum - that just seems unfair to me (and there are people around who spread malicious rumours about people that they don't like - I wouldn't want to fall foul of that kind of thing).
If they are genuinely a troll and a troublemaker, they'll do the same at my forum anyway, break the rules, and can be dealt with on that basis when they do, just like everyone else. I would never single out any member for 'special treatment' on the basis of things I have heard, or even things I know, from elsewhere.
I would keep an eye on the member to make sure that they weren't engaging in anything they shouldn't be on the forum, and consider myself warned that they might be a troublemaker, but nothing more than that. I won't ban anyone who hasn't broken my rules on my forum - that just seems unfair to me (and there are people around who spread malicious rumours about people that they don't like - I wouldn't want to fall foul of that kind of thing).
If they are genuinely a troll and a troublemaker, they'll do the same at my forum anyway, break the rules, and can be dealt with on that basis when they do, just like everyone else. I would never single out any member for 'special treatment' on the basis of things I have heard, or even things I know, from elsewhere.
I don't see many trolls yet, but I think they are so.. easy to distinguish from normal members that it's almost not possible for them to act so immature in one forum but goes perfectly fine in another one. But outside that, I can't judge based on words and proofs from somewhere outside my forum just like that. In this case it means the staff will have to monitor the member discussed more closely in case he's starting to get off the board.
Pre-emptive action on what may not happen which has probably been exaggerated by someone else is not the way to go. I would go about my business as usual and if they happen to display that behaviour on my forum, then I would take the appropriate course of action.
But having said that, there is an acceptable level of trolling in that it can simply be a devil's advocate, or generate discussion which is not bad in all cases.
But having said that, there is an acceptable level of trolling in that it can simply be a devil's advocate, or generate discussion which is not bad in all cases.
Bluezone777
Dinner Team Leader
1. The person being accused could actually be the victim while the accuser is the actual troll. Never buy what anyone says about another without visual evidence of your own. It's the only way you can avoid being deceived by others. Otherwise you just open yourself up to being lied to by those who are willing to do so for whatever reason.
2. Just because someone was trouble on one forum doesn't mean they will be trouble on yours. I imagine you would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't been banned from somewhere. If being banned from somewhere makes you a bad member then most people would be listed as trouble based off of that logic.
As for me, I wouldn't do anything unless I saw the same behavior on my board. Then again, I wouldn't need to hear the other person's warning to take that sort of action as it wouldn't change anything.
2. Just because someone was trouble on one forum doesn't mean they will be trouble on yours. I imagine you would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't been banned from somewhere. If being banned from somewhere makes you a bad member then most people would be listed as trouble based off of that logic.
As for me, I wouldn't do anything unless I saw the same behavior on my board. Then again, I wouldn't need to hear the other person's warning to take that sort of action as it wouldn't change anything.
ContentCreator
New Arrival
Hi everyone,
I would do the same as cenydd, keeping an eye on that member but not taking any action as lsong as the member is causing no trouble on my site. I never had this situation but it is always helpful to think about potential situations and find the right solution before an actual problem occurs, so thanks for bringing this question up.
Yours, ContentCreator
I would do the same as cenydd, keeping an eye on that member but not taking any action as lsong as the member is causing no trouble on my site. I never had this situation but it is always helpful to think about potential situations and find the right solution before an actual problem occurs, so thanks for bringing this question up.
Yours, ContentCreator
I've always had a rule on my forums that members are NOT to bring incidents on my forum from other forums. This goes for no matter how much I trust the person telling the story. If the person being accused on my forum does something on MY forum that requires action, I will do it on a case by case basis.
D
Deleted member 7467
Keeping an eye on a user based on someone else's word would create bias where you'd be more apt to view the user as a negative influence and would be quicker to remove the user.ContentCreator said:
And as for my views on this, I agree with David completely.
Sure I'd accept an accused troll, because accused doesn't mean guilty. They could just be bullied online or driven away from other forums for having a different opinion to the majority of posters.
Additionally, someone can be a troll on one site and a perfectly good member on another. It's not an all or nothing thing. So I'd let them join and treat them like any other new member.
Additionally, someone can be a troll on one site and a perfectly good member on another. It's not an all or nothing thing. So I'd let them join and treat them like any other new member.
THF_Martin
Addicted
I personally would not take action from stories of the user on another forum as there can be other reasons as to why that occurred at a different forum. I would monitor the user closely and only take action if it happened on my forum.
Black Angel
Resident
I'd take it on a case by case basis. If my friend advises me that that person is a troll, then I would take their words into consideration and keep an eye on them from then on, but if they are behaving themselves on my forum and haven't caused any trouble then I see no reason to ban them.
Especially since, they could have been the victim as someone else said previously, or they have decided to behave themselves and be more mature, etc.
I think it would be wise to give people the benefit of the doubt in this instance. As long as they behave themselves on my forum, and do not cause trouble that would put my forum in harms way, (like trolling another forum and then posting my link, etc., and in this case, I'd have to see screenshots of the posts with ips as well..) then they are fine.
Especially since, they could have been the victim as someone else said previously, or they have decided to behave themselves and be more mature, etc.
I think it would be wise to give people the benefit of the doubt in this instance. As long as they behave themselves on my forum, and do not cause trouble that would put my forum in harms way, (like trolling another forum and then posting my link, etc., and in this case, I'd have to see screenshots of the posts with ips as well..) then they are fine.
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