Is it time to introduce moderators in here?

It is growing pains. The person you are referring to has been booted off most modeling forums and it was only a matter of time before he found his way here. Many members here are semi-newbies to trolls and do not know enough to just ignore him. Worse yet is that an established member actually started a forum post about him. A staffer must have been present this past weekend since that post vanished. This plays to a troll's desire to be the center of attention. Just the ego boost he needs to continue on.

You will notice he posts several inflammatory posts in succession. The first one didn't get an immediate response so subsequent posts are made until someone takes the bait.

And his supporters? Well, he does trade and send free stuff. His supporters just haven't fallen afoul of him yet. It'll happen sooner or later.

Rob Gronovius wrote:

This plays to a troll's desire to be the center of attention. Just the ego boost he needs to continue on.

In that case, it must irk him no end that I have no earthly idea who we're talking about

Oh bloody hell, you mean my ex has found THIS place too?????

i agree that some time and energy is being wasted and it's effecting the culture of the FSM forum for the worse. in lieu of sensible folks ignoring fire-starters i support moderators. seems that FSM staff have people doing just that. maybe instead of adding forum members as moderators they need to change who (add more to the moderator duty roster) and how often they moderate to clean it up a bit. i think it's too early to add general population moderators. could create more problems than it solves.

I think the admins do a pretty good job of cleaning up. They might take a day or two to respond during weekends, but let's face it, they have lives, family, jobs and other duties that interfere with their first love of moderating forums.

They also seem to have a tendency to stay out until they're asked in to do something about it. Frankly I appreciate that. Gives us a certain latitude to act like children, I mean ourselves! Round the clock surveillance is unsettling, and I think the boards would take on a very restricted feel.

OTOH I think moderators with certain restricted powers might also come in handy. Somebody that could prune out bad posts, but are unable to actually ban anyone, might have some merit. But who? My first thought is I wouldn't want volunteers, as they can get a bit "too" diligent. You can't force it on people, as they don't always give it their best effort. Nominated people that are voted in seems to be the best approach, but even that approach can have it's problems (can everyone spell "hanging chad"?).

No, I think in the end we just put up with a couple of days of bad posts on occasion. We (meaning ME!) need to learn how to deal with trolls better, and Rob is right. Removing their food source is the best way to deal with them. I've learned my lesson!

I think the admin did the proper thing here. This troll requires heavy handed banning. If you let him stay, he will just continue with the antics that got him booted off of Missing Lynx, HyperScale, Armorama and several other sites.

Rob Gronovius wrote:

I think the admin did the proper thing here. This troll requires heavy handed banning. If you let him stay, he will just continue with the antics that got him booted off of Missing Lynx, HyperScale, Armorama and several other sites.

Oh, absolutely! As one who received nasty emails from this troll, I'm willing to get even more heavy handed if the need be. What I meant by my post was that admins should be able to ban (obviously), but moderators need to be, well more moderate!

This comment is probably best addressed directly to DV or the other FSM staff.

What about the possiblility of having a rotating "stand-by" FSM moderator (with the power to administrate the forums) on call over the weekend? It would only require one FSM staffer to "pop in" two or three times over the weekend - maybe and hour or two at most - and make sure everything is satisfactory. This duty could be done from work or from home (with the proper software).

Another alternative would be to have one FSM staffer have the software to fix the forums from home, but then have FSM staff rotate the task of checking the forums. If they spot anything that needs addressing, they could call the "fixer" to take care of the actual "clean-up" activities.

While these solutions wouldn't prevent malicious forum activity, they would greatly imrove the "response time" by cutting off trolls before they are able to really get going. I don't know how long it took you guys to edit all the garbage this morning, but if you compare any amount of time to the 10 or 15 minutes it would have taken to block the troll on Saturday, the benefits of a weekend administrator become readily apparent.

Thanks...

I am also guilty of feeding the troll at the beginning, but took the advice from most of you and stopped responding to its comments.  Once I stopped, he looked for other ways to get into my head.  Didn't let it bother me and I guess moderators did the job of cleaning the forum.  I learned my lesson and will not let the troll ever get to me (unless he sends another threatening email). 

m1garand wrote:

I am also guilty of feeding the troll at the beginning, but took the advice from most of you and stopped responding to its comments.  Once I stopped, he looked for other ways to get into my head.  Didn't let it bother me and I guess moderators did the job of cleaning the forum.  I learned my lesson and will not let the troll ever get to me (unless he sends another threatening email).

Threatening e-mails are best handled through his and your ISP. Trying to fight him e-mail to e-mail is a losing battle.

Rob Gronovius wrote:

Threatening e-mails are best handled through his and your ISP. Trying to fight him e-mail to e-mail is a losing battle.

The Troll's ISP and I have made a deal. He has either had his account yanked, or they are preventing his emails getting through to me, which has the same result as far as I'm concerned.

However if he EVER harasses me by email again I WILL report him to the police. And not just to the local constables, but directly to the police in his hometown. He may think himself clever, but I know I am. I have managed to track down this individual real name, and have his address and phone number. Easily done in these computerized days...

By the way Rob, if we ever get to the point of requiring moderators, I will insist that they be knowledgable about models, life, and netiquette, and I'm nominating you!

Bgrigg wrote:

Rob Gronovius wrote: Threatening e-mails are best handled through his and your ISP. Trying to fight him e-mail to e-mail is a losing battle. The Troll's ISP and I have made a deal. He has either had his account yanked, or they are preventing his emails getting through to me, which has the same result as far as I'm concerned. However if he EVER harasses me by email again I WILL report him to the police. And not just to the local constables, but directly to the police in his hometown. He may think himself clever, but I know I am. I have managed to track down this individual real name, and have his address and phone number. Easily done in these computerized days... By the way Rob, if we ever get to the point of requiring moderators, I will insist that they be knowledgable about models, life, and netiquette, and I'm nominating you!

I had a dinner with a friend of mine who is working for the Law Enforcement agency and he said that if the email is coming outside of your state, it maybe handled by the FBI and these days, they take email threats very seriously. 

As Jeff H. mentioned, we don't need to sink down to the troll's level by responding directly to him, but we have to go above and beyond his head.  We shall have the last laugh as he is facing jail time. 

Or you could just hit the delete button and move on. After a while with no response he'll get the message.

LPT319 wrote:

Or you could just hit the delete button and move on. After a while with no response he'll get the message.

Good advice in theory 

But once threats are made, and continue to be made, then further steps are necessary.  If this person isn't able to control themselves and live by the rules of civilized society, he could potentially be a threat and a danger to others as well. 

What the hell that guy told you?  Did he made death threats or what?  As I understand this, he is not allowed here anymore but he can certainly log under another name, right?

Even though someone is banned, they can still e-mail from their private e-mail accounts if they know your private e-mail.  That troll really needs some therapy, or some justice 

It's not so much that he said anything really bad, the fact is that getting in people's "faces" is just plain rude. Harassing emails are every bit as bad as harassing phone calls. And his emails (all of which went unanswered) got progressively ruder and more vulger. They weren't much different than the bullies we meet in school "whatcha gonna do baby" that sort of stuff. Sure I can ignore it, set up a filter and never see them again. But they end up finding another target, then another, and another.

I learned a long time ago that I can shove a problem off on others and duck the work, or I can shoulder the responsibility and finish the job. I will not allow a bully (or troll) to bother me, or others. I have stopped my car in order to break up a fight, I will intercede when I see an jerk beating on his woman and you better not park in the handicap zone without a handicap!

Sometimes (not too often) I need help.

And that's why I called for help. I ended up reporting the troll twice. Once as a "head's up troll is back" and the other as a request to remove the troll.

But I will repeat. If I ever get another email from the troll again, I will inform the authorities, both here in Canada, and in the troll's hometown.

It's clearer now.  I never heard about that kind of guy.  What kind of pleasure can he get from that?  It is really stupid.  And why is he hanging out in modelers forum?  Couldn't he visit some asylum forum or somethign?

You're lucky then, Yann! Trolls come and go on forums. He claims he can broker "deals" but most of the ones I've heard of have ended badly. He's been kicked of off other armor and model forums, and now he's been kicked off of the best!

Not theory..if you see an email from that address hit the delete button and it goes away. But thats just my take.

Another thing is if you go to the authorities, and after all the legal wranglings if he is convicted; he'll probably receive a slap on the wrist and a fine;  most a mild jail sentence. That might serve as a lesson, but then again it might encourage him to pursue a more threatening tone following whatever punishment is metted out.

Just really think through all the courses of action and potential blow back.

LPT319 wrote:

Not theory..if you see an email from that address hit the delete button and it goes away. But thats just my take. Another thing is if you go to the authorities, and after all the legal wranglings if he is convicted; he'll probably receive a slap on the wrist and a fine;  most a mild jail sentence. That might serve as a lesson, but then again it might encourage him to pursue a more threatening tone following whatever punishment is metted out. Just really think through all the courses of action and potential blow back.

I agree.  I already spent to much time for that guy.  Bye

I would hope not, but if the troll(s) keep showing up, maybe we do need someone, especially on weekends

grandadjohn wrote:

I would hope not, but if the troll(s) keep showing up, maybe we do need someone, especially on weekends

 

Purhaps we need a Troll Patrol?

Seems that we already do!

Bgrigg wrote:

By the way Rob, if we ever get to the point of requiring moderators, I will insist that they be knowledgable about models, life, and netiquette, and I'm nominating you!

Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I've already got a similar job as the head of Armorama's Terms of Service Enforcement team. Besides, there are certain members here that would be in an uproar if I was made a moderator at FSM. I'll leave the policing of this site up to the hired help.

I will remind folks that just ignoring the troll's posts is the best remedy.

P.S. the "lawyer line" spewed by many trolls has yet to cause a website to shut down or even allow the troll entrance.

seems to be working somewhat. 

m1garand wrote:

seems to be working somewhat.

However, that's still a response and he's feeding off those as well. No response at all is best unless there's someone present on a regular basis to delete offending posts as they occur.