Managing Users Who Ask To Leave

[DieselMinded]

What would happen if a user then wanted to return to the community? I know lots of communities have things against multiple accounts etc so say one user wanted to return after a year but couldn't because you changed their email address?

Couldn't you just have them disable all of the alert options in the preferences page? They can log out and never log in if they don't want to. If they do, they can do so without any hassle.

if they wish to be eninstated you change their usergroup and ask them to update their email

 

[Steve Freides]

What would happen if a user then wanted to return to the community?

It's simple enough for a former user to create a new account then ask to have the two accounts combined. We handle this via PM usually.

-S-

 

[HostDash]

It's simple enough for a former user to create a new account then ask to have the two accounts combined. We handle this via PM usually.

-S-

I guess if it is clear for users that this is allowed then great. I do find in many communities however, creating duplicate accounts would normally result in a ban.

I guess this is case by case depending on the forum rules.

 

[jauburn]

I have yet to figure out what a user gains if, since I'm not deleting their posts, I delete their account

I suspect that most forum owners--who, I assume, administer a forum more as a hobby or for enjoyment rather than as a career--would be better served by deleting posts of users that request that their account to be deleted. Yes, in the case of a member with tens of thousands of posts, this would be a problem. But such users also have a large enough investment in your online community that account deletion requests from them are least likely. In fact, in my 11 years of admining, I can recall only one account/content deletion request from a user that actually mattered. I did not delete his content, and he didn't cause any resulting trouble.

By far, though, the majority of these requests come from users who have posted very little or have posted things of little value to the core purpose of your site. These same users can also often be the least pleasant to deal with--and yes, potentially litigious, as well--probably at least in part because they are in some state of irritation, having expended emotional energy on your site and been disappointed enough to want to erase any evidence of their having been there. So for you, the admin, the choice comes down to this: Do you want to stand your ground on the issue of not deleting content and deal with the worry that ensues from a user's expression of disgust, threat of litigation, or actual litigation? Or do you want to suck it up, delete the content, and move on?

@Anthony Parsons is correct when he says that most site owners "aren't as protected globally as they think when running a website."

Personally, I use this add-on to get rid of a user's content.

 

[Steve Freides]

I suspect that most forum owners--who, I assume, administer a forum more as a hobby or for enjoyment rather than as a career--would be better served by deleting posts of users that request that their account to be deleted.

I will respectfully disagree.

In my case, it's only happened once, but I took the opportunity to explain to the user _why_ I didn't want to delete all their posts, and they were fine with that. On our forum, many users keep a training log as a single thread - the departing user asked me to close the thread he'd started for this purpose and I did, but all of his content is still on the board.

I don't see it as a question of sucking it up and moving on - if and when keeping a departing user's content becomes contentious, we will deal with that case individually as we feel appropriate. I don't believe, at least in our case, that our departing users will choose to make an issue of this once our reasoning has been explained to them.

I'm not saying that what you're suggesting is wrong or unnecessary in all cases - a lot may simply depend on the tenor of the board.

-S-

 

[jauburn]

if and when keeping a departing user's content becomes contentious, we will deal with that case individually as we feel appropriate.

Sure. It's just a matter of whether you want to. This is partly about risk tolerance, partly about fully knowing what's at stake, and partly about being prepared for problems. If you think you have all three bases covered, then you're good to go.

I don't believe, at least in our case, that our departing users will choose to make an issue of this once our reasoning has been explained to them.

I would not want to be operating on the basis of belief or any degree of hope. Again, this goes back to risk tolerance. Also, once you have provided your "reasoning" to the user and he or she goes off, without communicating, you have no idea what that user may or may not be cooking up. Isn't that yet another source of stress for the forum owner? If not, I suspect it should be. Wouldn't the forum owner wind up with less stress by simply removing the content of most users if that was the request?

Smaller forums typically have the benefit of fewer opportunities for trouble.

There must be a Chinese curse in the making here somewhere: May your forum grow and prosper.

 

[ibrian]

I never delete member posts.

If someone wants to leave, I simply invite them to disable their account themselves, by changing their registered email address to something they cannot use. Fin.

In my terms it clearly states that members grant us non-exclusive rights to publish their content. That means the user has agreed we can publish those posts - and keep them up.

 

[Steve Freides]

Wouldn't the forum owner wind up with less stress by simply removing the content of most users if that was the request?

I increase my risk of being struck by a meteor every time I go out my front door.

Smaller forums typically have the benefit of fewer opportunities for trouble.

True, that.

I think we at ~50 - 100 posts per day on the forum I administer.

-S-

 

[Nebulous]

I usually comply with the request and delete the members account. I'd rather get them out of my hair for good and be done with it.

One time I deleted a member (and all his 11,000 posts) without flinching. I can only assume that his intent was to hurt the board by having his account and massive amount of content removed. That wasn't the case though, he was a negative person and having all that negative energy removed was actually a positive thing for the community.