Mods. Help. Please. The madness must stop

[badboygolf16v]

Where have all the (for want of a better word) trolls come from?

Every thread is ruined by cynical cowards posting inflammatory rubbish.

There have always been a few, but now, it's just crazy.

Mods, I implore you, please stop them. This forum is ruined otherwise.

Anyone else agree?

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I'm afraid I agree.

I wish I had the power to stop it, but I do not.

 

[velosopher54]

Where have all the (for want of a better word) trolls come from?

Every thread is ruined by cynical cowards posting inflammatory rubbish.

There have always been a few, but now, it's just crazy.

Mods, I implore you, please stop them. This forum is ruined otherwise.

Anyone else agree?

I agree as well. Makes me wonder who they are and how much they get paid to write their drivel. Maybe it's just a couple people using multiple handles; they all sound the same...

 

[Barrus]

We should really all chip in to get BPC the medical attention he desperately needs and craves, that way the forum will become a nicer place. Perhaps with the end of Armstrong in sight and at least his racing career drawing to a close, he might cool down. That way the cynicism and the ad hominem of other posters stop as well, there reaction mainly stemming from their displeasure at this character

 

[B.Rasmussen]

I'm afraid I agree.

I wish I had the power to stop it, but I do not.

It's getting pretty bad, but thank you for trying at least. I know it's not the most fun way to spend your spare time.

 

[shawnrohrbach]

Where have all the (for want of a better word) trolls come from?

Every thread is ruined by cynical cowards posting inflammatory rubbish.

There have always been a few, but now, it's just crazy.

Mods, I implore you, please stop them. This forum is ruined otherwise.

Anyone else agree?

yes i agree. I know in some info security related forums we are required to register with our real names and the discourse is very professional. I highly doubt that would work here.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

As it's in the open, here are some of the ideas being kicked around. Whether they come to fruition or not remains to be seen. I have NO votes in the decision as to what changes will be implemented:

1. E-mail verification required before registering. While someone like BPC would probably create new e-mail addresses just to post, most people wouldn't, and considering he's probably been banned over 100 times now, it would at least cut it down.

2. The first 10 posts or so from a new user would have to be verified by a mod before the person were allowed to post freely.

3. Members must use their actual name and contact information when registering, and that this information should be accessible by administrators only (not mods, and certainly not members).

Or

3b. Everyone must include their actual name in their profile, with certain individuals of fame, or in the business able to have this waived by administrators upon pro-approval, allowing them to post under a pseudonym.

 

[Barrus]

Another option which I myself really like, probably best coupled with one of the other ones, put in a time delay between registering and being able to sign in and post. If you put a week or so between this, most trolls will not take the effort, and perhaps BPC stays away for an entire week
Also there is a problem with no. 2 because there is always the possibility that there is no moderator online, and this would increase the workload of the moderators dramatically

 

[velosopher54]

As it's in the open, here are some of the ideas being kicked around. Whether they come to fruition or not remains to be seen. I have NO votes in the decision as to what changes will be implemented:

1. E-mail verification required before registering. While someone like BPC would probably create new e-mail addresses just to post, most people wouldn't, and considering he's probably been banned over 100 times now, it would at least cut it down.

2. The first 10 posts or so from a new user would have to be verified by a mod before the person were allowed to post freely.

3. Members must use their actual name and contact information when registering, and that this information should be accessible by administrators only (not mods, and certainly not members).

Or

3b. Everyone must include their actual name in their profile, with certain individuals of fame, or in the business able to have this waived by administrators upon pro-approval, allowing them to post under a pseudonym.

3b is the only one I would object to. I wouldn't want some troll looking me up on the 'net. The 1st one is very common, in fact I was surprised I did not have to do so. Never seen the 2nd before but that sounds good, keep the riff raff out. Don't know how 3 would work. And would my info be guaranteed to be kept private?

 

[scribe]

Where have all the (for want of a better word) trolls come from?

Every thread is ruined by cynical cowards posting inflammatory rubbish.

There have always been a few, but now, it's just crazy.

Mods, I implore you, please stop them. This forum is ruined otherwise.

Anyone else agree?

It's a mess on both sides of the fence. If someone would admin me, I'd run a hatchet down each side.

 

[Benotti69]

Where have all the (for want of a better word) trolls come from?

Every thread is ruined by cynical cowards posting inflammatory rubbish.

There have always been a few, but now, it's just crazy.

Mods, I implore you, please stop them. This forum is ruined otherwise.

Anyone else agree?

Yep they are like malignant tumours spreading all over.

Well it shows how high they value (and hate) the coverage we fans give to the LIESTRONG saga and the information contained within the clinic is really de-mything the Uniballer and his crusade to become the first cancer charity founder billionaire.

So we in the clinic should feel a sense of justification at the good work done here for the betterment of cycling and debunking some of the doping myths that still exist within the sport.

Congrats guys keep it up.

 

[Barrus]

As it's in the open, here are some of the ideas being kicked around. Whether they come to fruition or not remains to be seen. I have NO votes in the decision as to what changes will be implemented:

1. E-mail verification required before registering. While someone like BPC would probably create new e-mail addresses just to post, most people wouldn't, and considering he's probably been banned over 100 times now, it would at least cut it down.

Just thought of something which might be used in the first one to keep BPC out almost completely, make sure the e-mail verification does not work with those free e-mail adresses and only with other ones, as most people have a more official one which does not come from a free e-mail provider, it would not be as easy for BPC to get such a new e-mail adress, without shelling out money for it, which might dissuade him. It is possible as I saw it work on another forum

 

[Mongol_Waaijer]

The sad thing is that the longer this scandal goes on the worse it will get.

 

[badboygolf16v]

3b is the only one I would object to. I wouldn't want some troll looking me up on the 'net. The 1st one is very common, in fact I was surprised I did not have to do so. Never seen the 2nd before but that sounds good, keep the riff raff out. Don't know how 3 would work. And would my info be guaranteed to be kept private?

I agree. 3b is one to be avoided if possible. Privacy concerns there.

 

[badboygolf16v]

It's a mess on both sides of the fence. If someone would admin me, I'd run a hatchet down each side.

True. Some of the trolling behaviour could test the patience of a saint. Most of us are far from beatific.

 

[MacRoadie]

I think #2 is wise.

It seems that the greatest vitriol appears within the first 5 posts, then the offender disappears back into obscurity. Give all new members a 10 or 15-post probationary period and see who the real ones are.

 

[velosopher54]

Just thought of something which might be used in the first one to keep BPC out almost completely, make sure the e-mail verification does not work with those free e-mail adresses and only with other ones, as most people have a more official one which does not come from a free e-mail provider, it would not be as easy for BPC to get such a new e-mail adress, without shelling out money for it, which might dissuade him. It is possible as I saw it work on another forum

Well, I'd be screwed, and anyone on someone elses computer would be screwed, too. Not fair imo.

I think even a free email address and a delay of several days would weed out a lot. Couple that with monitoring newbs closely for a few posts and I think a lot of these trolls will think it too much work.

Just adding, the free email sites have a limit to how many are free. BPC would be done within a couple weeks, or less.

 

[scribe]

I think #2 is wise.

It seems that the greatest vitriol appears within the first 5 posts, then the offender disappears back into obscurity. Give all new members a 10 or 15-post probationary period and see who the real ones are.

It wouldn't be difficult to make 15 nonsensical fannish posts. Look at acf94 for a template.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Trolls are common during tdf...

 

[elizabeth]

Just thought of something which might be used in the first one to keep BPC out almost completely, make sure the e-mail verification does not work with those free e-mail adresses and only with other ones, as most people have a more official one which does not come from a free e-mail provider, it would not be as easy for BPC to get such a new e-mail adress, without shelling out money for it, which might dissuade him. It is possible as I saw it work on another forum

Agreed - I run a forum and we use this combined with manual rather than automatic admission after the confirmation e-mail and it's worked well for us.

 

[top_tenz_finish]

Well, I'd be screwed, and anyone on someone elses computer would be screwed, too. Not fair imo.

I think even a free email address and a delay of several days would weed out a lot. Couple that with monitoring newbs closely for a few posts and I think a lot of these trolls will think it too much work.

Why wouldn't the email verification thing work if you used other people's computers? (Sorry no expert on these matters)

They have a pre-modded post thing on a couple of other forums I use, either for an amount of posts or initial time, I guess it must work. The only problem you have is that discussions and threads can move on quickly you can be thrown out of sync with everyone else. Whilst this might not be a problem for other users it may well discourage a potentially good poster from carrying on if they have been ignored or unable to join in.

 

[David Suro]

The forum IS laden with posts from people who seem to crave arguments.

In the absence of increased controls, I choose to ignore a lot of the posts. If more people with rational minds were to ignore the irrational posts, maybe they would just go away.

Always hopeful...

 

[alberto.legstrong]

We should really all chip in to get BPC the medical attention he desperately needs and craves, that way the forum will become a nicer place. Perhaps with the end of Armstrong in sight and at least his racing career drawing to a close, he might cool down. That way the cynicism and the ad hominem of other posters stop as well, there reaction mainly stemming from their displeasure at this character

perhaps instead of a thread for armstrong, just give him his own sub-forum, the thread is like sending out a wastebasket to a dumpsters job.

I think moderation for the 1st 10 posts of any new member. Google's message boards allow such moderation, it doesn't take long to make sure a post is legit and then hit a button. (I know, I know, battleships and rowboats...)

As for the free email addresses, I have used gmail exclusively for years as millions of others do likewise. Free email users have got to be allowed. But perhaps extend their probationary stint.

the more popular a site, the more it attracts trolls who have free time and want the biggest audience. It's sort lof like viruses being written for the ms platform compared to apple.
Oh well, I spend too much time here anyways.

 

[alberto.legstrong]

The forum IS laden with posts from people who seem to crave arguments.

In the absence of increased controls, I choose to ignore a lot of the posts. If more people with rational minds were to ignore the irrational posts, maybe they would just go away.

Always hopeful...

There are a lot of non-trolls/legit posters who are just nasty in a forum. I think behaving oneself in the face of stupidity in real life means that the anonymous interwebs permit a venting of their suppressed anger and frustrations. whatever the cause, the internet is a nasty place at times, even for people who are serious in their contributions. This is just one star in a galaxy of nasty.

 

[Mr.DNA]

Could someone check the logs to see if there are multiple usernames posting from the same IP? If an IP is associated with more than two usernames (two instead of one to give them benefit of the doubt), they're probably up to some sort of tomfoolery.