So, I also hang out on the official Giants.com messageboards, which are usually a runaway trainwreck so bad that usenet looks moderated in comparison. Today, they axed an entire forum because it was apparently overrun by a few bad apples. I’ve been increasingly annoyed by the seemingly limitless ability of trolls to pollute their entire board, so I took the mods to task. One of them promptly replied to me with this:
Now, as much complaining as goes on around here about the moderators, nobody would deny that you guys run a tight ship. I’m very curious about the point #3. From the way he describes it, it is not possible to actually ban someone. I know from experience that you guys have had a fair amount of success with bannings. (Even before P2P.)
Does his gripe sound legitimate to you? Is it possible to ban “hundreds” of IP addresses for a single troll? If so, why don’t we see any of that around here? I figure there’s plenty of trolls with an axe to grind with the SDMB, and yet I don’t see anywhere near the level of trolling around here. Seriously, it’s like night and day.
The mods over there will actually listen to any suggestions that are reasonable. So I’m asking you guys…what’s your secret? How do you ban a troll?
This is true. It’s possible to ban user names and IP addresses but not the people behind the names and addresses. All someone needs is a valid email account and Internet access, both of which can be obtained for free. This jerk went by at least three different names.
It is certainly true that someone who is determined and sneakily clever can try to find their way around a banning. It is our hope that such efforts will not succeed, at least not for very long. Usually, such people give themselves away (one way or another) fairly quickly, and are not anywhere near as devious as they think.
When we find such a banned person who has returned, we usually cause all their posts to disappear from public view. Our thought is that will discourage them from trying to sneak back, because it’s pointless. Why try to sneak back if, when you are discovered, everything you posted will vanish into smoke?
Meanwhile, since this post is public, I deny the rumors about Lynn’s cousin Vinnie. Any of those banned folks who try to sneak back in, who accidentally wind up with broken kneecaps,… well, that’s none of our doing.
Is it typical for this board to threaten someone with physical violence over an event on the internet, even in a jocular fashion? I find this to be abhorrent. What makes this kind of chicanery any different from wishing death on someone. Of course you’re a moderator and most likely will ban my candy ass in a fit of pique at being questioned.
Yes, I’m humorless when it comes to violence or violent threats.
You, good sir, are not fit to clean my cat’s litterbox.
? Please note, I did say that I denied the rumors that we ever threatened (or did) violence.
But, of course, if you don’t like the mods, then we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t. We’re damned for even jokingly threatening violence, and we’re damned for even jokingly NOT threatening violence.
And I presume,inkubo, that you are fit to clean out your cat’s litterbox.
Meanwhile, since this post is public, I deny the rumors about Lynn’s cousin Vinnie. Any of those banned folks who try to sneak back in, who accidentally wind up with broken kneecaps,… well, that’s none of our doing.
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Yep, it’s just ole Dex, the truly badass of the Admins, threatening people again.
Actually, we’re much more likely to ban your candy ass for misusing words than for waxing indignant at facetious remarks. For the latter, we will just point at you and laugh.
There are things you can do to keep trolls at bay:
Close the account.
Block the IP from accessing the boards.
Email their ISP’s abuse account.
Throw a Luau for the miscreant.
#1 works, but can be bypassed by using a throw-away email account. That’s why many boards no longer allow Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. email accounts when registrating.
#2 works if the troll has a static IP, however all(?) dialup and most broadband connections are dynamic (static is often available at a premium).
#3 depends on people not responsible to the Chicago Reader to shut down the offender. Some ISPs are very good about this. AOL has been notoriously poor, and is a well-know spawn pit for trolls.
#4 is momentarily satisfying, but getting people to keep their mouths shut is a trick.
The mods here do the right thing (make threads disappear as soon as the troll is exposed) as said trolls tend to announce themselves shortly after creating a new account.
