# Guest Trolls **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 7, 2004, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071 "2004-06-07T06:27:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/1 "2004-06-07T06:27:18Z")
The recent **SallyStar** trainwreck illustrates one problem with allowing Guest members to post. A Guest who turns out to be a troll, a sock puppet, or just an egregious jerk, can generate a lot of commotion before the mods and admins have a chance to deal with him or her. A proposal that I believe would vastly improve the situation: instead of allowing Guest members to post for x days, allow them to post x messages, regardless of the elapsed time. For example, you could say that a Guest can post 20 messages. If that Guest posts 20 times in the first two hours, he or she has to pay up to continue posting. If you set it fairly low, like maybe 10 free posts, you could almost stop worrying about sock puppets entirely - the sheer hassle of creating a new identity after posting only 10 times wouldn’t be worth the effort (or maybe it would - I guess a sock puppet is, by definition, a fairly obsessive individual!). Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Necro\_Romancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/50afbb/32.png) [@Necro\_Romancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necro_Romancer)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/2 "2004-06-07T09:57:50Z")
Good suggestion, **Early Out**. Another option could be limiting the number of posts a guest can make per hour or day? Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/3 "2004-06-07T10:41:35Z")
I’m pretty sure that the software won’t allow us to do either of those things. That’s the impression I got when we discussed this some months ago in modmail. I won’t swear to this, however. Lynn ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/4 "2004-06-07T13:11:55Z")
The obvious drawback is that a guest could start a thread, say in Great Debates, where the discussion got lively, and an arbitrary limit on posts per day, or total posts, would lock out the guest in the middle of the debate. Or the guest could have a lot of info to offer in several different threads, and not be able to Fight Ignorance in more than a few spots before being shut off. Either scenario would lead to frustration for potential new members. We’re already discouraging some with the subscription charge. A posting limit, IMO, would keep away even more new members who’d be well worth the trouble of dealing with the occasional idjit – which we get from time to time anyway. Then too… I shouldn’t confess this… but now and then it’s fun to have a free-for-all pileon like **Sally’s**. When it’s clear what we’re dealing with. When the Powers That Be have been alerted and we’re all just counting down the time. Yes, I know. But sometimes it’s just too tempting… like succumbing to an overwhelming urge for, say, chocolate… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/5 "2004-06-07T14:13:38Z")
I think that by ading such rules we will isolate more and more guests that may consider becoming members one day. I think we have to face up to the fact that we’ll ome across a **SallyStar** from time to time and live with it. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/6 "2004-06-07T14:14:09Z")
Hey, it [conjured up](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4937444&postcount=15) **Reeder** putting his arms around a despondent **Sam Stone’s** shoulders to say “Don’t worry, no one thinks she represents your side”. Would you really have wanted to miss that? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/7 "2004-06-07T15:01:29Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Hey, it [conjured up](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4937444&postcount=15) **Reeder** putting his arms around a despondent **Sam Stone’s** shoulders to say “Don’t worry, no one thinks she represents your side”. Would you really have wanted to miss that? I’ve got to admit, that got me all choked up. 😃 And **Lynn** , I figured that ability wasn’t built into the software, at least not this version. Something for the wish-list, maybe. Ultimately, **EddyTeddyFreddy** and **Ponster** may be right - the price of attracting new, interesting posters is having to endure the occasional onslaught by a moron or two (or, around school holidays, a handful of them!). ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/8 "2004-06-07T20:17:28Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > … The obvious drawback is that a guest could start a thread, say in Great Debates, where the discussion got lively, and an arbitrary limit on posts per day, or total posts, would lock out the guest in the middle of the debate. Or the guest could have a lot of info to offer in several different threads, and not be able to Fight Ignorance in more than a few spots before being shut off. > > Either scenario would lead to frustration for potential new members. We’re already discouraging some with the subscription charge. A posting limit, IMO, would keep away even more new members who’d be … nonono. a reasonable limit (imho two to three hundred) on total posts (not per day) would be way better than the current time limit imposed. anyone who’s involved enough to post 300 times will be too far gone to refuse the low, low price of $14.95. (not even fifteen dollars!!) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/9 "2004-06-07T20:28:07Z")
Generally speaking, these train-wreck types are caught and handled pretty quickly. OK, this was a weekend when lots of Moderators were out enjoying life, but still, the critter under discussion was only around for, what, less that 24 hours? Considering how long some of our less savory politicians last in office, I have to say, that aint too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/10 "2004-06-07T20:56:00Z")
I hadn’t even seen nor heard of this particular train wreck (in GD, I take it?), but I have seen plenty of good contributions (both questions and answers) posted by new guests, and even some who have subscribed in the time after the charter period. From my point of view, it looks like the good newbies are far outweighing the bad ones. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/11 "2004-06-07T21:02:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I hadn’t even seen nor heard of this particular train wreck (in GD, I take it?), but I have seen plenty of good contributions (both questions and answers) posted by new guests, and even some who have subscribed in the time after the charter period. From my point of view, it looks like the good newbies are far outweighing the bad ones. This particular newbie was too moronic to be contained by a single thread, or even a single forum! Just do a search on the name, and you’ll get the flavor. On balance, though, both you and **C K** are probably correct. We’ve actually been remarkably free of pest infestations of late, and most of the newbies have clearly done a fair amount of lurking before signing up, so they play well with others. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/12 "2004-06-08T00:21:16Z")
I made this same suggestion to **Tuba** a few months ago, via email, and she told me that, as **Lynn** suggests above, the software definitely cannot operate that way. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/13 "2004-06-08T01:29:02Z")
Though I’m loath to admit it, you might also consider that while our guests can add their particular flair and good questions when they are around whether they decide to join or not … and not to make for a hassle to the Mods … but now and then a single schmuck getting through for a brief period is not at all a bad thing. No matter how stupidly they act and whatever idiotic threads they decide to start, their “false pretences” invariably not only give us a question to discuss, no matter how inane, and a particular act of behavior or instance that galvanizes us as a comunity. Fighting ignorance will go no further if we wallow in stagnation, and the brief interruption of some bozo every now and then will help to point that out. Our Mods do a frickin’ amazing job, and we as members are on the lookout for the sundry types. Going so far as the OP is suggesting is not at all necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/14 "2004-06-08T06:31:30Z")
> [@Ringo](#): > > I made this same suggestion to **Tuba** a few months ago, via email, and she told me that, as **Lynn** suggests above, the software definitely cannot operate that way. Not as it stands, no. But it wouldn’t be terribly difficult to modify the scripts to do so, if the tech people wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/15 "2004-06-08T07:37:27Z")
Maybe not too difficult (I wouldn’t even remotely know), but I believe it invalidates the warranty. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guest-trolls/249071/16 "2004-06-08T15:55:46Z")
No, although vBulletin will not provide direct support for modified scripts. There isn’t any “warranty”, _per se_. There are several communities that do provide some level support for script hacks, however. From [the vBulletin FAQ](http://www.vbulletin.com/faqsales.php): > [@](#): > > **Does the license price include access to the source code?** > > Yes - vBulletin is a ‘visible source’ product, which means that you have access to the PHP source code of the product. You are free to modify the product in any way, provided you retain the vBulletin/Jelsoft copyright notices. For information about vBulletin code “hacking”, please visit our unofficial sister site, [vbulletin.org](http://vbulletin.org). Please note that we are unable to support any installations of vBulletin that have had the source code modified. For more information about the licensing implications of code modification, please review our license agreement. One of the main reasons they don’t like hacking the scripts is because it’s all too easy to wipe out a database accidentally if a bit of code goes wonky. Trust me, I know this to be true. :smack: