Closed Accounts

stovelid

I can think of one or two that post in a very similar fashion to departed posters. It doesn't have to be formerly problem posters either.Obviously It's just a hunch but I assume others have similar hunches too. I'm hardly going to name them, am I?

_blank_

I'm just waiting for SOTS to come back.

That would be awesome.

LuckyLloyd

stovelid wrote: »

I can think of one or two that post in a very similar fashion to departed posters. It doesn't have to be formerly problem posters either.Obviously It's just a hunch but I assume others have similar hunches too. I'm hardly going to name them, am I?

Jesus, this is ridiculous. There are obvious cases about the place at present. Are people really going to deny that to be the case?

LoLth

admin stuff
please. dont go naming names. Even if you do feel that you are 100% sure. Instead report them to an admin , be prepared to be asked why you think so. DONT try to "name and shame" , its not fair to the other user if you do turn out to be wrong
/admin stuff

@LuckyLloyd : I dont think anyone is going to argue that there arent re-regges or users that have closed an account to open a new one (or multiples). However, what is obvious to you may not be obvious to others and even if you explain there may not be enough evidence to support full scale nuking. However any report would be logged and may be the tipping point needed at a future date or the last piece in the puzzle to make a connection between two, or more, accounts.

Also note that re-regges that obeyed the rules but closed for whatever reason , and decided to return are not an issue really. Its ones that broke the rules and re-reg to escape the consequences or those that re-reg to continue with the disallowed behaviour that are of more concern.

LuckyLloyd

LoLth wrote: »

Also note that re-regges that obeyed the rules but closed for whatever reason , and decided to return are not an issue really. Its ones that broke the rules and re-reg to escape the consequences or those that re-reg to continue with the disallowed behaviour that are of more concern.

Again, I disagee with you on that. Every time that is done willy nilly it damages the integrity and history of the site.

pickarooney

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Jesus, this is ridiculous. There are obvious cases about the place at present. Are people really going to deny that to be the case?

I don't think anyone is denying it but I don't think most people pay enough attention to who posts what and how to pick up on any patterns.

Mercurius

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Again, I disagee with you on that. Every time that is done willy nilly it damages the integrity and history of the site.

How does a non-trolling, never-been-banned re-regger, like myself, damage the integrity of the site?

LuckyLloyd

Mercurius wrote: »

How does a non-trolling, never-been-banned re-regger, like myself, damage the integrity of the site?

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

The problem here is not merely about trolls who would normally have been sitebanned and rereg countless times. It's about people who have been here for years with thousands of posts to their name having the option to abandon ship on their identity and history within the community without good reason for doing so.

A foundation point of any good forum based community is screenames counting for something, and people having a history (whether it be good, bad or indifferent). I am aware that many people view the Internet as something seperate to real life, but I strongly disagree with such views. There should be no major disparity between you (the person behind the keyboard) and your Internet persona (the boards.ie screename). You should be accountable for what you say here, and have what you say to be searchable. The current setup flies completely in the face of that.

People should be allowed to close their accounts upon request providing they have good reason to do so. People should not be able to close their accounts because they want to change their name, or they want to disassociate themselves from posts they made X amount of time ago. Or because they had a bad week on here or in real life and decided to pack it in for a while - so many of those cases return, and when they return it should be under the same screenname.

.

Mercurius

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

.

Sorry for missing the above post.

I choose to re-reg because I don't wish to identify with an online persona (there is a separation despite your best wishes), or become obsessed with post counts or thanks counts, which I did do in the past.

By re-regging I can leave when I want and come back when I want, and by closing the account I'm not tied down by the weight of my online persona.

I move on and come back at a time of my choosing.

I've managed to cure an unhealthy addiction to the site by doing so.

Why should I be denied that choice?

Edit: I also browse Reddit, which allows throwaway accounts, and there doesn't seem to be a problem with integrity or community on that site, nor does it seem to have dented it's popularity.

LuckyLloyd

Mercurius wrote: »

Sorry for missing the above post.

I choose to re-reg because I don't wish to identify with an online persona (there is a separation despite your best wishes), or become obsessed with post counts or thanks counts, which I did do in the past.

By re-regging I can leave when I want and come back when I want, and by closing the account I'm not tied down by the weight of my online persona.

I move on and come back at a time of my choosing.

I've managed to cure an unhealthy addiction to the site by doing so.

Why should I be denied that choice?

Edit: I also browse Reddit, which allows throwaway accounts, and there doesn't seem to be a problem with integrity or community on that site, nor does it seem to have dented it's popularity.

You can say X now, say Y later, throw the toys out of the pram if it suits you to do so, etc. And the encouragement of throwaway online personas simply weakens strong and genuine conversation.

Obviously your position and mine are at opposite ends of a spectrum though, so we'll probably have to agree to disagree.

Callipo

DeVore and boards.ie always said popup ads would never be allowed, in the past.

Now look at it.

Time move on with necessity. People grow older and wiser.


Never say never and other things like that.

Steve

Callipo wrote: »

DeVore and boards.ie always said popup ads would never be allowed, in the past.

Now look at it.

Time move on with necessity. People grow older and wiser.


Never say never and other things like that.

If you're talking about the campaign against internet censorship then technically it's not a popup, it's an overlay.

Facts & correctness etc.

Callipo

Steve wrote: »

If you're talking about the campaign against internet censorship then technically it's not a popup, it's an overlay.

Facts & correctness etc.

OK.

So technically......Overlay. Not POP UP

Sorry for being stupid about something POPing up, my eyes aren't what they used to be.

Overlay.


eh OK


Never say never.

Steve

I wasn't having a go there Callipo, pop-ups were / are a seriously nasty thing and have thankfully all but been eradicated from modern browsing.
They were the stuff of dodgy sites, especially before tabbed browsers, where the ad would open a new browser with another dodgy site which would itself open another one - etc, etc.. back then it was a benefit to have a lame slow pc so you could keep up with them and close them before it crashed everything..

Mr.Biscuits

Mercurius wrote: »

I've managed to cure an unhealthy addiction to the site by doing so.

Actually, I think this raises a good point:

Would it not be better have been better to make it so that members could re-open an account that they have closed after a set-time period has passed - like say, six months or so? As no doubt reasons like the above are why some users close their accounts along with need to study for exams etc.

pickarooney wrote: »

I don't really get what someone has to gain by closing an account in this way.

Cause' they get to be a smartarse and no doubt feel smug thinking: 'Ah closed it before you could ban me'.

Think a good solution to this would be that users could only close accounts that were opened for at least one month.

Mercurius

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

You can say X now, say Y later, throw the toys out of the pram if it suits you to do so, etc.

I wouldn't be encouraging the allowing of overlapping accounts, as that could weaken integrity.

One per person is fair. I just don't see why having the same one should be compulsory.

And the encouragement of throwaway online personas simply weakens strong and genuine conversation.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Obviously your position and mine are at opposite ends of a spectrum though, so we'll probably have to agree to disagree.

Fair enough.

old_aussie

Why not block the IP address from being reused?

_blank_

old_aussie wrote: »

Why not block the IP address from being reused?

Becaue most people don't "own" the IP address they post from.

I post from

1. work (from 2 different networks)
2. home
3. my parent's house
4. my friend's house

So that's 5 IP addresses, I know there are definitely other Boards.ie users in my job, and I live with another Boardsie.

My parents and siblings who live at home possibly use Boards too, but I don;t know for sure.

My friend who's house I sometimes I bring my laptop to also uses Boards.

Also, even if it were the "Home" IP address they blocked, most, if not all, ISPs use Dynamic IP addressing, meaning I'm not always guaranteed to have the same IP address anyway.

Boards.ie: Neil

Mr.Biscuits wrote: »

Would it not be better have been better to make it so that members could re-open an account that they have closed after a set-time period has passed - like say, six months or so? As no doubt reasons like the above are why some users close their accounts along with need to study for exams etc.

No it would not be better. It clearly states when closing that this is not reversible. Once that button is hit there is no going back and your personal data is gone from our end bar the hashed email address.

For the people who close their accounts for study, they should get a bit of cop on and find better ways like creating a random password and change it to that, then when they've failed their exams anyways come back and reset their password :pac:.

old_aussie wrote: »

Why not block the IP address from being reused?

Majority of IPs aren't static, and in the case of mobile operators they route traffic through about 50 IPs so blocking one IP means you block a sizable chunk of traffic, not something i'd like to do :pac:.

minidazzler

Callipo wrote: »

DeVore and boards.ie always said popup ads would never be allowed, in the past.

Now look at it.

Time move on with necessity. People grow older and wiser.


Never say never and other things like that.

Are you serious? That was one overlay that could be quickly dismissed. It's not a pop up and not an ad.

pickarooney

Mr.Biscuits wrote: »

Actually, I think this raises a good point:

Would it not be better have been better to make it so that members could re-open an account that they have closed after a set-time period has passed - like say, six months or so? As no doubt reasons like the above are why some users close their accounts along with need to study for exams etc.



Cause' they get to be a smartarse and no doubt feel smug thinking: 'Ah closed it before you could ban me'.

Think a good solution to this would be that users could only close accounts that were opened for at least one month.

They can still be banned after they've closed their accounts. In the example above the posters were not in danger of being banned but just closing their accounts to start afresh but for me there's no reason this would be of any more benefit than just not logging into the original account any more.

Steve

Mr.Biscuits wrote: »

Actually, I think this raises a good point:

Would it not be better have been better to make it so that members could re-open an account that they have closed after a set-time period has passed - like say, six months or so? As no doubt reasons like the above are why some users close their accounts along with need to study for exams etc.

Back in the day, the admins, being generous souls, facilitated people with 'study bans' on request. Sadly it got to the point where the requests were too numerous and keeping track of who was genuinely banned vs who was on a requested ban became untenable.
'Closed account' status is no different, if people can't discipline themselves to not use the internet when there are more important things to be getting on with in their life then it's not really boards' fault.

Mr.Biscuits

Steve wrote: »

.. if people can't discipline themselves to not use the internet when there are more important things to be getting on with in their life then it's not really boards' fault.

Of course it's not Boards "fault" if someone needs to study / has addiction issues with regards to posting etc (how could it be?). I just feel that along with closing an account permanently, there was also an option (alongside the current permanant option) to close their account for set periods of time like say 'six-months' 'one year' etc, after which time the account would then be available again to that user.

In no way am I saying that Boards are to blame for anybody's personal circumstances - just a suggestion is all as I personally don't see the harm in letting a member of the forum have that option. It could still made clear that what they are doing cannot be reversed and that their accounts will be closed for the time period that they have chosen.

pickarooney

Would that not be the same as a six-month ban?

Mr.Biscuits

pickarooney wrote: »

Would that not be the same as a six-month ban?

In that both are unable to log-in for six-months? Well, yes.

Is your suggestion that should someone wish to take a six-month break from using Boards but yet (for whatever reason) doesn't feel disciplined enough to just avoid the forum - what they should do is: just try and get themselves banned for that time period instead?

Listen, I can accept that my suggestion is not going to become an option for users anytime soon, if ever - fair enough, but such replies seem to be just reply, for reply sake.

pickarooney

Mr.Biscuits wrote: »

In that both are unable to log-in for six-months? Well, yes.

Is your suggestion that should someone wish to take a six-month break from using Boards but yet (for whatever reason) doesn't feel disciplined enough to just avoid the forum - what they should do is: just try and get themselves banned for that time period instead?

Listen, I can accept that my suggestion is not going to become an option for users anytime soon, if ever - fair enough, but such replies seem to be just reply, for reply sake.

I don't see why you wouldn't take my reply as the straightforward and logical suggestion that it is. If you can't trust yourself to stay out of a place for a while, ask the owner to bar you. You never know, they might oblige.

If you were able to close your account and re-open it at any stage because you lack the willpower to stay away the option would be worse than useless.

Dubhlinner

Mr.Biscuits wrote: »

Actually, I think this raises a good point:

Would it not be better have been better to make it so that members could re-open an account that they have closed after a set-time period has passed - like say, six months or so? As no doubt reasons like the above are why some users close their accounts along with need to study for exams etc.

Possible solution for ya. Go to your webtext page for your phone and type something random and non-rememberable eg reiughaiweubgiubdafugyjh

Copy this text and use it as your new boards password. Then schedule it to be texted to yourself in six months time.

Wibbs

Dubhlinner wrote: »

Possible solution for ya. Go to your webtext page for your phone and type something random and non-rememberable eg reiughaiweubgiubdafugyjh

Copy this text and use it as your new boards password. Then schedule it to be texted to yourself in six months time.

That's clever

dr.bollocko

Strikes me as a straight forward way of getting your sheet cleaned.
Got a bunch of previous bans and infractions and worried it'll be held against you? Just close yer account and re-reg. Another indication that the method we use to store these bans and infractions is fundamentally flawed. Particularly with relation to those of us who have learned our lessons.

Overheal

What's the alternative?

Maybe instead of what works IRL (3 strikes, etc; progressively harsher sentences) mods should just start getting progressively harsher on the behavior thats causing the problem, not the user exhibiting the behavior. ie. ban the use of 'thats gay' as an acceptable phrase (we did this) instead of putting up with users that say it, until theyve said it too many times (ie. first time "meh dont do it again", 5th time "ban!"). Just as a [bad] example.