Old/New handles

Debate topic for the day.
Sometimes people leave the board only to return later under a different handle.

I see 2 general groups.
1. Those who were in good standing. IE: They left but were not banned or asked to leave. They guested or disabled their accounts when they left. When they returned they started using a new handle. Maybe there were RL issues. Maybe a stalker, maybe they were outed, maybe they made mistakes in the past and want a fresh start. Maybe they simply did not like the old name any more. Does not really matter as they left of their own volition and were free to come back under the rules of the board if they so desired. And, they are not using multiple handles.
2. Users who were banned for life because of their actions on the board. Does not matter what they did. It was deemed enough to get them kicked off and not be welcomed back.

The rules of the board are that we are not suppose to link old handles with new ones. For group 1 I can see and support that. We may guess but cannot know for sure if linking the handle will cause a real problem for that person. Unless they say it’s OK, we should respect their privacy and not try to link old and new handles even if we are sure who they really are. We may not like the person, may even hate them, but they still deserve their privacy and protection of the rules of the board

But, the second group displayed they are a threat to the board in some manner. They often have multiple handle at one time. They may return as fast as they are banned with a new handle. Some are quickly caught and banned again. But some learn how to do things like mask their true IP address, etc so identifying them can hard to know for sure.With enough posts, it can become clear who they might be based on how they post, their reviews, content of their posts, etc. Sometimes openly challenging them can be enough to cause them to slip up and reveal enough to catch them. But even though you might be sure, it’s still hard to prove.

So, the issue is how to help get people from group 2 removed again but not break the rules and respect the rights of group 1?

Many on here, including me, have accused some of being these prior banned handles. And the vast majority of the time, it is proved correct. Heck, there is one guy who the mods even admitted was someone who had been banned and should have been banned as soon as he was spotted but the mod decided to give him one last chance But we are breaking the rules to do so even if it is with the best of motives.

How do we protect ourselves and the board members from people from group 2 without unfairly hurting people from group 1?

Thoughts?

Good question. Seems like anyone with a previous handle gets lumped into the same assumption even though group 1 is vastly different from group 2.

I wish they would have a "Banned" thread where names of those who have been banned are posted and the duration of their ban. If they are found under another handle, ban that handle and tie it back to the originally banned handle so there is an obvious history connected to the person who keeps doing that.

Since that isn't ever going to happen (and the shady types know it, love it and exploit it the hell out of it - just like they do the no posting PMs policy) and having watched a few banned handles come back multiple times in the short time I have been a member of this community, I think the best strategy is two fold:

A) For the person who keeps quietly creeping back in as themselves: don't keep banning them bc it just takes more time to find them again when they come back - an endless loop of cat and mouse. Let them keep the handle and watch them like a hawk until they get themselves banned again for the same offenses as before. Make it common knowledge that they are a POS under a new handle but don't ban them for it bc its just gonna start all over again under another new handle.

B) For the person who obsessively trolls under multiple handles: ban them as soon as you discover them and delete their posts as if they never even posted - takes away all their power and leaves them with very little payoff in the end.


Maybe its just me since I seem to be a pretty popular target for the banned crowd but i really wish they would have a banned members thread. Of course the assumption is that it would mean less drama if people's agenda were that obvious which is why it will never happen. As the old saying goes: if it bleeds, it leads.

Just went out and bought my "Group 1" t-shirt ... I'm so proud!

Seems like a non-issue. Protect? From what? Verbal assault? Outting? Bad manners? Disagreeable politics? No "respect"? What can they do to you, reach out through the monitor and punch you in the nose?

I realize that the internet is a real and present danger to those who expose themselves to risk. Women on here have been beaten, robbed, raped, mistreated, stalked...but THAT is a much larger social issue than somebody trying to get back in to a SHMB to continue a vendetta or just be stupid and act out under a different name. Like the man said, "but that a rose by any other name would smell as..." by that I mean poop still smells like poop, and it follows that those banned for their behavior should be easily spotted by exhibiting that very behavior, so who cares? Ignore them till they get banned again.

Seriously, and I am dense, but multiple handles, sock puppet accounts, back room PM sharing of "information" from areas off limits to people because of their gender, recent review count or lack of friends...that's all pretty tame. Even BitchWaffles/SweaterPuppies whoever...how dangerous was that? Rude, irreverent, funny and probably of great distress to the mods because they had to work, but for the rest of us, why care? There have been people come and go, forget their passwords, had their accounts hacked...or were batshitcrazy flaming assholes...what does it really matter who they were before they became who they are now? Well, unless you have safety concerns, but WTF. Here's a good one, while I was in Frankfurt somebody tried to build an account here and used my hobby email..WTF? How dumb was that? One email and one account.

I hear you laughing...what... I'm gonna be my own sock puppet? Fuck that, I can get in enough trouble all by myself.

This is the wild west. Handles and no last names...handles subject to change.

I will go ahead and out myself. I am really Leon Sandcastle

I was thinking of changing mine to Assfuck, but I already ordered my group 1 shirt.

Yes, it is about safety. Some people don't have a limit to how destructive they will get and there have been very serious issues with people doing REAL things in REAL life. Not just on the internet. I'm talking about people who have taken board conflicts off the board and made a point to destroy someone else's REAL life. It doesn't happen often but it does happen and those people do come back without having changed much.

What did you say the other day? "Bitches be crazy and shit". Indeed. We all know a few.

If you are a frequent poster but rarely hobby then no it probably wouldn't seem like that much of a risk. However, to people that actually have something to lose, the threats from others can be very unsettling - like pming someone who you have never met their exact location. Shit like that turns from innocent internet insults into scared to leave the house in two seconds flat. Yes, those types are a very real threat.

Well I have always been Tara. Always have and always will. And have been banned for life and still always will come back Tara.

But Tara, your in a group all of your own! :-)

+1 for "Ban Thread" !!!

I feel that this site is for information exchange.
If rules are broken and penalties given, why NOT let others know?


If a provider is banned for outing a hobbyist.....many hobbyist will never see her again because she may do it again. This is information I feel that everyone should know (Not just the mods)!


If a provider is banned for multiple handles.....(whatever)....I understand and agree with the rules.


Things will only get better, if things change!

I understand why providers would come back with a new handle for whatever reason. This is their livelihood. On the other hand, if a dude comes back with a new handle and writes the same dumb shit that gives him away, fuck him. He should have been smart enough to be discreet enough to not announce who his prior handle was so blatantly.

There is already precedent in place for handling old handles, new handles, and sanctions for outing old handles for people who changed it for good reason, even if it was in disgrace.

I wish they would have a "Banned" thread where names of those who have been banned are posted and the duration of their ban. If they are found under another handle, ban that handle and tie it back to the originally banned handle so there is an obvious history connected to the person who keeps doing that. Originally Posted by thathottnurse

Before ASPD cratered and went away, there was a Banned thread that was stickied.

Multiple handles were typically listed if they had all of them.

Better would be if they would keep any handle of a person who was banned for outing others for any reason on ECCIE. If they have done it once there is nothing stopping them from doing it again.

I would love to see a stickied thread that contains the list of Banned members and a quick summary of why.

I'd bet there is such a list somewhere in the staff area, otherwise how could they keep track of the reasons for bans and the multiple handles?

We have too many stickies as it it...

I switched from alecia to anastasia a few years ago simply from boredom. I never left...does that mean I can have my own group too?