Banning Trolls at VJ

[mawilson 2,133]

Please don't tell me "Charlie Brown," is a long standing member who gets a kick out of starting and maintaining a troll thread, then laughs at people who took the post seriously, then pops back a few weeks later to start the process again.

Yes, he is. I even know who he is - had his speech patterns analysed B)

[Mags 112]

where the people with 'power,' on the board condoned and laughed along with trolls.

I can assure you that I certainly don't laugh along with or condone trolls, have you ever seen me do such a thing?

Edited as I put in WAYYY too many commas.

Edited September 22, 2007 by Mags

[bakofoil 27]

One thing you have to understand is that many of the recent trolls that we have had here are actually long standing members with duplicate accounts.

Please don't tell me "Charlie Brown," is a long standing member who gets a kick out of starting and maintaining a troll thread, then laughs at people who took the post seriously, then pops back a few weeks later to start the process again.

This isn't my site. I'm here to just spend some time with others in the same boat while waiting on my K1 process, tell a few jokes, and update my time line and share advice.

I seriously hope the admins and site owner's don't condone 'long standing members,' using multiple accounts to screw around with 'n00bs.'

I may be new to the board and to the visa process, but I was on the net while it was still mainly a university project and using BBS before that. This would be the first site I visited regularly where the people with 'power,' on the board condoned and laughed along with trolls.

Seriously, if people get a kick and laugh doing stuff like that they need to get a life.

Indeed. You know, a few days or so ago I was beginning to sense a bit of an issue with 'n00bs', to the point it was beginning to grate on me almost as much as the process itself was. I think the answer here, is to develop a thick skin and ignore the ones who keep taking a bite for whatever reason. Seemingly, if 'many of the recent trolls have been long standing members with duplicate accounts' and the mods are aware of this then what else is there to do?

Fortunately, there are MANY long-standing members who are more than willing to share their experience with us 'n00bs' in a more patient and understanding manner.

(edited for punctuation)

Edited September 22, 2007 by babblesgirl

[Mags 112]

Indeed. You know, a few days or so ago I was beginning to sense a bit of an issue with 'n00bs', to the point it was beginning to grate on me almost as much as the process itself was. I think the answer here, is to develop a thick skin and ignore the ones who keep taking a bite for whatever reason. Seemingly, if 'many of the recent trolls have been long standing members with duplicate accounts' and the mods are aware of this then what else is there to do?

Fortunately, there are MANY long-standing members who are more than willing to share their experience with us 'n00bs' in a more patient and understanding manner.

(edited for punctuation)

I'm just going to clarify something. The mods do not have access to any personal information regarding members here. We can't see IPs and we cannot disable accounts. We ask for clarification if our "radars" go off about something, that is all.

The same goes when a member here tips us off regarding something. We cannot be everywhere all the time, we do NOT police the board and every single thread. We respond to PMs from members and will act if we see something whilst reading posts in our own "travels".

If you have a complaint about something or someone then PM us. Don't wait around for someone else to report it, for us to come along or simply just complain about it in that particular thread. Us coming upon it simply might not happen. I ALWAYS answer PMs sent to me and if you see someone who is acting in a trollish way LET ME KNOW and if it is a valid complaint (most are) I promise you I will act on it.

Thanks.

Edited September 22, 2007 by Mags

[eric&gen 0]

Maybe Charlie Brown is also know as ric flair and a few other accounts behind him lol.

[mawilson 2,133]

That's why I think there should be a group for Trolls. If a moderator *suspects* that

someone is a Troll, they should move them to "Trolls" - until and unless they can prove

the moderators wrong (i.e. guilty until proven innocent.)

[bakofoil 27]

I'm just going to clarify something. The mods do not have access to any personal information regarding members here. We can't see IPs and we cannot disable accounts. We ask for clarification if our "radars" go off about something, that is all.

The same goes when a member here tips us off regarding something. We cannot be everywhere all the time, we do NOT police the board and every single thread. We respond to PMs from members and will act if we see something whilst reading posts in our own "travels".

If you have a complaint about something or someone then PM us. Don't wait around for someone else to report it, for us to come along or simply just complain about it in that particular thread. Us coming upon it simply might not happen. I ALWAYS answer PMs sent to me and if you see someone who is acting in a trollish way LET ME KNOW and if it is a valid complaint (most are) I promise you I will act on it.

Thanks.

Thanks. I appreciate that you are in a difficult position here and that what you do is voluntary. My comments were not directed personally at you nor were they intended to criticise the moderators in general. My comments are more about the systems in place here.

My point is, there is something amiss in the system somewhere if these things are happening and as a result of duplicate accounts. Prior to this conversation, I had assumed that trolls were chancers, people bored who had chanced upon the site, people who had no emotional investment in the process. It's understandable that they would not care whether they misled a newbie or anyone else.

It is shocking, therefore, to hear that 'many of the trolls' are long-standing members who..well I have no clue why they would do it, or why a system is not in place to remove them. I don't know what your powers are and I am not suggesting therefore that you are not doing all you can.

[Jaseball 0]

where the people with 'power,' on the board condoned and laughed along with trolls.

I can assure you that I certainly don't laugh along with or condone trolls, have you ever seen me do such a thing?

Edited as I put in WAYYY too many commas.

How do I know you aren't "Charlie Brown?"

Here are the facts of this place as I understand it:

1) Mods can't ban accounts

2) People are allowed to make multiple accounts

3) Some long standing members here who have long since finished their visa journey have multiple accounts and enjoy trolling so much and starting BS threads their second or third or forth accounts have more posts than my only account I have here.

4) If a troll is a known 'long standing member,' and they laugh at people and create long, false, pointless threads with multiple pages they see it as a game and gain enjoyment, but won't get banned.

5) People stay anonymous

6) Mods can't track IP's

If this is the case fine, but I feel this behavior and attitude does a disservice to legitimate people who register and are seeking advice and help. They don't know who's a long standing member, nor do they probably care to learn the intricacies.

As long as I'm aware of how things are here I can adjust my own outlook and participation accordingly.

[eric&gen 0]

If you want to eliminate trolls then start charging a small monthly fee to new members only lol. maybe that will see who is and who is not a troll cant afford the monthly fees just to cause havoc lol.

[Welshcookie 17]

If you want to eliminate trolls then start charging a small monthly fee to new members only lol. maybe that will see who is and who is not a troll cant afford the monthly fees just to cause havoc lol.

Can....open....worms...everywhere.....

VJ charging for immigration advice?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

That's why I think there should be a group for Trolls. If a moderator *suspects* that

someone is a Troll, they should move them to "Trolls" - until and unless they can prove

the moderators wrong (i.e. guilty until proven innocent.)

Excellent idea.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

or you could just include the IP address of each post - lots of other message boards do that and it prevents multiple accounts and people posting inflammatory stuff from their work computers

[Sinergy 3]

Heres a thought, and i know...its well common sense and well, oh geez hard to realize but, if you dont feed the troll the troll will not post anymore. ignore the troll, dont talk to the troll, dont reply in threads made by the troll. the more you give them what they want, the worse they get.

begging for a ban, after the mods CLEARLY state what they do and dont do is pointless

[almaty 19]

trolls are chopf##ks...but some offer great entertainment

[Fandango 1,440]

What thread was this???