How do you large off-topic forum owners handle your feuds and trolls?

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dawg

Well-known member
If you get big enough and are around long enough you will deal with it.

Sometimes i just want to pack it in and jump out a window. With a large community you have a mass amount of people that seem to be friends one minute and the next some are feuding. The problem is they drag you down with it, threats of lawsuits for slander, this person threatened me etc.. It can drive an admin insane.

You may say that the simple answer is banning these people, it really is not. Because a lot of these people could be long time good members and you just dont go around mass banning without a very good reason. Seems like one feud ends and another begins. How do you guys handle the stress?
 
You'll have to start with the mindset. What do you want? Honestly think it out loud, and decide that's your decision. If you don't want trolls, then make that clear. Post a thread saying you don't want trolls here and the next person who deliberately try to troll is either warned, or banned. Your choice of rules. It has gotten out of control, and you don't want it to fester.

As for these feuds, just calmly talk to each member (via PM's/PC's), and tell them to chill it or have repercussions done.

You're going to have to make a hard choice. You're now at a crossroad - whether they stop (because you want it to stop), or continue (for the sake of popularity, or keeping the old members), or let the forum descend into chaos. Eventually everyone calms down, but you said that one feud ends at the expense of the new one brewing. So, your choice, really boils down to "Do I want to keep these trolls, or do I want to please them?"

I'm not trying to hurt you or anyone, but that's what it boils down to.

If you have to put in a bunch of bans, so be it. I've seen it happen and they eventually calm down, or get distracted by something else.

Start thinking about it, because the earlier you deal with it, the better.
 
Carlos said:
You'll have to start with the mindset. What do you want? Honestly think it out loud, and decide that's your decision. If you don't want trolls, then make that clear. Post a thread saying you don't want trolls here and the next person who deliberately try to troll is either warned, or banned. Your choice of rules. It has gotten out of control, and you don't want it to fester.

As for these feuds, just calmly talk to each member (via PM's/PC's), and tell them to chill it or have repercussions done.

You're going to have to make a hard choice. You're now at a crossroad - whether they stop (because you want it to stop), or continue (for the sake of popularity, or keeping the old members), or let the forum descend into chaos. Eventually everyone calms down, but you said that one feud ends at the expense of the new one brewing. So, your choice, really boils down to "Do I want to keep these trolls, or do I want to please them?"

I'm not trying to hurt you or anyone, but that's what it boils down to.

If you have to put in a bunch of bans, so be it. I've seen it happen and they eventually calm down, or get distracted by something else.

Start thinking about it, because the earlier you deal with it, the better.
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If you only knew my friend lol. Some of these feuds have spanned multiple forums, all the way from sherdog, bodybuilding forum, SternFanNetwork, and more.

I know of one feud that started on SFN that lasted 10 years lol. 10 years! Thats what i am trying to tell you, there is no answer for it. I am used to it now but still, sometimes it gets me down. I just was curious how some of you guys handle the stress.
 
dawg said:
If you only knew my friend lol. Some of these feuds have spanned multiple forums, all the way from sherdog, bodybuilding forum, SternFanNetwork, and more.
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I had that a few times, it was not as bad as yours, but the way I dealt with it was telling them to knock it off or you're gone. They kept going, and they got banned. It's that simple. As a matter of fact, I found the same human spammer on one of my sites, went to my other site to repeat the garbage. I recognized the username, and investigated the IP address, I IP discouraged and banned the user on that site, and the original.
I know of one feud that started on SFN that lasted 10 years lol. 10 years! Thats what i am trying to tell you, there is no answer for it. I am used to it now but still, sometimes it gets me down. I just was curious how some of you guys handle the stress.
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Well, on that community, you should have acted as a referee in that feud, which is probably why they threatened you with a suit. They seem to think you're responsible for the feuds because you let it fester that long. Clamp down on them, and be done with it.
 
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Carlos said:
I had that a few times, it was not as bad as yours, but the way I dealt with it was telling them to knock it off or you're gone. They kept going, and they got banned. It's that simple. As a matter of fact, I found the same human spammer on one of my sites, went to my other site to repeat the garbage. I recognized the username, and investigated the IP address, I IP discouraged and banned the user on that site, and the original.

Well, on that community, you should have acted as a referee in that feud, which is probably why they threatened you with a suit. They seem to think you're responsible for the feuds because you let it fester that long. Clamp down on them, and be done with it.
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You cant ban these people my friend. they are expert forum dwellers. they can have 20 accounts on your forum in a matter of days. You either learn to adopt and you fold. I never fold. I will continue forward.

I am giving myself a little break right now though by closing registration for a few days. If you think that pro forum posters cant pass moderation you have never administrated a very large forum.

By the way, I dont own SFN so it was none of my business what was going on.
 
dawg said:
You cant ban these people my friend. they are expert forum dwellers. they can have 20 accounts on your forum in a matter of days. You either learn to adopt and you fold. I never fold. I will continue forward.
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Nope. With xenForo, you can find one IP address and match it with a similar user, and in a few clicks, they're gone. That's why I love the current ACP-side user profile. Makes my life easier. They can make 50 accounts, and I will catch them within seconds.
I am giving myself a little break right now though by closing registration for a few days. If you think that pro forum posters cant pass moderation you have never administered a very large forum.
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I have. 3 times. I've seen problems like this before and I know how it ends.
 
Carlos said:
Nope. With xenForo, you can find one IP address and match it with a similar user, and in a few clicks, they're gone. That's why I love the current ACP-side user profile. Makes my life easier. They can make 50 accounts, and I will catch them within seconds.

I have. 3 times. I've seen problems like this before and I know how it ends.
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I appreciate your thoughts man, this is why i love this community. you can talk about silly stuff like this with other admin.

The ip matching does not work with pros my friend. People that are tech savy, that use proxies, VPN servers etc... We are talking major leagues here.
 
dawg said:
I appreciate your thoughts man, this is why i love this community. you can talk about silly stuff like this with other admin.

The ip matching does not work with pros my friend. People that are tech savy, that use proxies, VPN servers etc... We are talking major leagues here.
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You think I'm trying to be funny? Good luck, then. Not my problem if you don't want to listen to me. Go. Do what you want.
 
dawg said:
Huh? I didnt say anything about you being funny. I was referring to the way these people act as funny. :eek:
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Go back and read your post. Look at it from my perspective. "Major leagues stuff here." It's like you're trying to insult someone.

EDIT: Re-reading the post again, I was only confused about this part...
dawg said:
I appreciate your thoughts man, this is why i love this community. you can talk about silly stuff like this with other admin.
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I thought about it, and I see what you mean.

But this...
The ip matching does not work with pros my friend. People that are tech savy, that use proxies, VPN servers etc... We are talking major leagues here.
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Can rub some folks the wrong way. However, I have this to say, If you come from the assumption that people use proxies, VPN servers, etc... You can either choose to let the user post, or ban the person. It's like this, every time I see members sign up, and end up in my moderation queue, I check their IP address before ANYTHING else.

If I see a Russia IP address, it's either rejected or banned.
If I see a India IP address, it's gone.
If I see a Pakistan IP adddress, it's banned.
You know how it is.
 
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Carlos said:
Go back and read your post. Look at it from my perspective. "Major leagues stuff here." It's like you're trying to insult someone.

EDIT: Re-reading the post again, I was only confused about this part...

I thought about it, and I see what you mean.

But this...

Can rub some folks the wrong way. However, I have this to say, If you come from the assumption that people use proxies, VPN servers, etc... You can either choose to let the user post, or ban the person. It's like this, every time I see members sign up, and end up in my moderation queue, I check their IP address before ANYTHING else.

If I see a Russia IP address, it's either rejected or banned.
If I see a Pakistan IP adddress, it's banned.
You know how it is.
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Not all forums are the same or can be handled the same. I have owned forums for over 10 years now, no two were ever alike. that is what I am trying to say. what works for you might not work for me.

When i said major leagues i was referring to the expert trolls themselves, not any forum in particular. When you have a few nice members on a forum you have no idea these kinds of people exist.
 
dawg said:
Not all forums are the same or can be handled the same. I have owned forums for over 10 years now, no two were ever alike. that is what I am trying to say. what works for you might not work for me.
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I see. I see.
When i said major leagues i was referring the the expert trolls themselves, not any forum in particular. When you have a few nice members on a forum you have no idea these kinds of people exist.
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Ah, I see. Well, I'm sorry for jumping the gun; jumping to conclusion too quickly. :(:oops:
 
Carlos said:
I see. I see.

Ah, I see. Well, I'm sorry for jumping the gun; jumping to conclusion too quickly. :(:oops:
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No worries my friend. I am not the best writer. I have thoughts and want to get them out but when i hit the keyboard the words don't usually match the thoughts lol. I am just horrible at it.
 
dawg said:
How do you guys handle the stress?
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Review your site T&C's, and ask "are they breaking them?". If they are, then I step in and deleted or thread ban. Then you cannot be considered to be taking sides or being inconsistent. If they aren't breaking T&C's, then I let them duel it out, grab the popcorn, and enjoy the show.
 
Mouth said:
Review your site T&C's, and ask "are they breaking them?". If they are, then I step in and deleted or thread ban. Then you cannot be considered to be taking sides or being inconsistent. If they aren't breaking T&C's, then I let them duel it out, grab the popcorn, and enjoy the show.
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Good advice, you have to ignore a lot of it. also the first part of your statement is true, you just have to keep at it. It really can turn into a full time job.
 
One of my sites is small, however; it's also one of the most troll centric topics on the web... a combat veteran community. Veterans themselves are bad enough, let alone want-to-be weekend warriors who claim they've seen combat, blah blah blah. I had little issues overall, until recently arguments have climbed. My simple fix is closing the thread / thread banning the member.

I agree... these members often have lots of good insight, they create mind engaging threads, they just suck at times engaging with actual people in conversation, nationalities and other such differences. Usually if just the one person, thread ban... if multiple are arguing in a thread, lock it, and they more often than not move on. If they create another and try to continue it... lock it... they stop quick enough, clearly getting the message that they can't beat moderation.
 
If you're having problems with members dodging IP bans, there's one or two add-ons available in the resource manager that places a cookie on user computers to help detect alts. Most of them can be dodged by clearing one's cookies of course but it's another course of action.

As for feuds, we probably take a more proactive approach than most -- probably because our site is primarily composed of teenagers, I think we have a certain duty to mediate and teach problem-solving skills. Usually we make sure that personal feuds are kept private and not on the boards for all to see -- so we delete or edit any posts that drag things out into public. Then a moderator will usually have a one-on-one discussion with those involved and try to help them reach a solution, even if it's as simple as putting the other person on ignore and minding your own business.

If they're continuously interrupting threads and generally acting like children after you've attempted to help then it's probably time for a ban.
 
Once you are large enough you can easily axe the trolls. Only small forums have the compulsion to retain existing members. But as far as trolls are concerned dealing them while in budding stage is the best thing to do.
 
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