# banning/deleting acc'ts of one-time necroposters **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 20, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982 "2011-02-20T05:27:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cyningablod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Cyningablod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyningablod)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/1 "2011-02-20T05:27:24Z")
Ever since SDMB threads got indexed on Google, we’ve had more than a few incidents of zombie drive-by threadshitting (which constitutes three infractions/rule breaks at once, and makes for a pretty funny mental image, too!). The most recent example that I noticed was [this two-year-old thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=518297) in the Pit, in which a new member named **victorvodka** dropped in and [necroposted](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13483170&postcount=188), making what I’m sure he thought was a cute and witty remark. (In reality it was just unfunny misogyny.) **victorvodka** has posted no replies yet to our criticisms of his newbie crassness. Nor has he posted anything else in the day since that zombie thread comment, so the jury’s still out on whether or not he will stick around and become a productive Doper, or whether he joined just to make one single stupid comment. So here’s my question: If someone joins just to do a zombie drive-by threadshit, if s/he doesn’t post anything else thereafter in say, a week or a month, can the offender’s account just be deleted? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/2 "2011-02-20T05:30:51Z")
Accounts don’t get deleted, just banned if needed. If he comes back(or any of 'em), they’ll prove their worth or entertainment value as they flame out. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/3 "2011-02-20T05:31:35Z")
> [@Cyningablod](#): > > So here’s my question: If someone joins just to do a zombie drive-by threadshit, if s/he doesn’t post anything else thereafter in say, a week or a month, can the offender’s account just be deleted? Why bother? If they don’t post, why does the account need to be deleted? Some sort of satisfaction for seeing “banned” under their name? ---
**Author:** ![Cyningablod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Cyningablod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyningablod)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/4 "2011-02-20T05:36:26Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > Why bother? If they don’t post, why does the account need to be deleted? Some sort of satisfaction for seeing “banned” under their name? Truthfully, yeah. There’d be some real _Schadenfreude_ in that for me. 😃 But more practically: Maybe if we had a rule in the User Agreement to the effect that zombie drive-by threadshitting (hereafter referred to as ZDBTS, or “zidbots,” heh heh) were verboten, then it would discourage this sort of thing. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/5 "2011-02-20T05:38:42Z")
> [@Cyningablod](#): > > Truthfully, yeah. There’d be some real _Schadenfreude_ in that for me. 😃 > > But more practically: Maybe if we had a rule in the User Agreement to the effect that zombie drive-by threadshitting (hereafter referred to as ZDBTS, or “zidbots,” heh heh) were verboten, then it would discourage this sort of thing. Just a thought. Except that few, if any, read the rules before opening an account. Hell, most of us haven’t really read the all the rules. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/6 "2011-02-20T07:32:35Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Except that few, if any, read the rules before opening an account. > Hell, most of us haven’t really read the all the rules. 😃 Which raises the question… Kneecaps or thumbs? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/7 "2011-02-21T14:14:45Z")
FYI: Google was indexing well before you joined up, **Cyningablod**. [Early March of 2009](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10923896&postcount=231). Anyway, if some idiot post wouldn’t be enough to get anyone else banned I don’t see why we would ban a newbie over it. Certainly not for the sole reason that it happens to be a pet peeve of yours. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/8 "2011-02-21T15:45:49Z")
Yeah! Only my pet peeves should be acted upon! ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/9 "2011-02-21T18:12:31Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Except that few, if any, read the rules before opening an account. > Hell, most of us haven’t really read the all the rules. 😃 _sigh_ I agree with this. Had I done that upon joining, I would have read the section about the goat and the octopus, and I would have been a lot more wary. ---
**Author:** ![Cyningablod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Cyningablod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyningablod)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/10 "2011-02-21T18:18:47Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Yeah! Only my pet peeves should be acted upon! No, **MINE**! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/11 "2011-02-21T19:33:46Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > Had I done that upon joining, I would have read the section about the goat and the octopus, and I would have been a lot more wary. Did you notice the recent upgrade relating to substituting squid and/or cuttlefish for the octopus? I don’t know if that applies only to new members… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-deleting-accts-of-one-time-necroposters/571982/12 "2011-02-22T02:17:46Z")
Squid/cuttlefish is for south of the equator; octopus is still required on this side.