Alternate Endings?
In an effort to bring some sort of reasoning behind one of our most misunderstood or misconstrued actions, the following should be noted:
Moderation is a process. We need to balance many things when we consider any action taken on a member’s account. Questions we ask ourselves… like, is this being done maliciously? Is it a joke? Can people tell it’s a joke? Have they done this with full knowledge of the rules? Etc.
Some things tend to tread the line of what’s allowed and what’s not. In this case… Alternate Accounts. As stated by Ben, no person may have more than one account active at any one time on the Org. Some people feel the need to create two, three or even more Alternate Accounts than that. We know that most are harmless and most likely utilize this ability to do so to get around the posting limits. Some use them as different personalities. Occasionally we get someone who uses them to harass or post things that shouldn’t be posted. Some are used to troll or bait. Others create Alt Accts to get around being temp banned or permabanned. Some are used to create a “celebrity account” so that they can partake in discussions as that famous person. We know if (for example) Morris Day were going to create an account here, it most likely would not be created as “MorrisDay” with his picture used as an avatar.
Rest assured, we know this is happening and know who the Orgers are. So, why do we allow this to continue when it’s clearly against Ben’s wishes? Most “Alt Accts” are harmless. We take that into consideration and moderate them accordingly.
We, as Moderators, reserve the right to ban any Alt Acct at our discretion – simply for existing. Again, it is against Ben’s wishes.
Not too long ago we had a crop of politically minded Alt Accts pop up to make fun of, or bait/slam the candidates and/or the people who supported them. We discussed their existence amongst ourselves and came up with the decision to delete them all, as it wasn’t worth the effort to continually have to moderate them. We knew they were Alt Accts, and we knew they weren’t the primary accounts of the Orgers who used them. So we took them out of the equation.
So what does all this mean? Here’s a quick break down:
* Alt Accts are not allowed.
* We can/will delete them if/when we’re alerted to wrong-doings from an Alt Acct.
* We could let them continue until other more serious rules are broken under the guise of the Alt Acct.
* This includes Alt Accts in the ChatRoom as well.
* Alt Accts created to get around a temp ban or permaban will be deleted immediately.
* As always, Moderators have final say on any deletions of Alternative Accounts without expectation of an explanation.
Thank you,
June7 on behalf of TheModSquad
July 1st, 2008 at 4:49 pm
What about the issue that’s actually in question here, not of alt accounts (who gives a fuck about them?), but about moderators’ judgement, overly harsh punishments and generally the org’s system of moderation as a whole? We’re beating around the bush here, and it’s really tedious.
July 1st, 2008 at 4:54 pm
This thread is about Alternate Accounts. Period. Discuss the issues you brought up on another thread.
July 1st, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Bravo! I applaud this decision.
July 1st, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Thank you, we appreciate your applause.
July 2nd, 2008 at 2:14 am
I think it’s great, and it’s fair!
Especially with those having ill intentions and are malicious.
Thank you!
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:14 am
Good for the mods that are cracking down on the alt accounts who’s main objective is to bait and create disharmony amongst us orgers. I appreciate what you guys are doing for us. Thank you.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:57 am
How would somebody know if it was one person with 2 accounts or simply two or more people working off of one machine.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:16 am
Ancient Moderator secret.
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I think it’s the malicious alt accounts that bring down the quality of the site. Again, the org is a special gift from Ben and if it means a lot to you, you should follow the rules, respect others and the mods decision. There is always always always a reason behind their decisions. Trust me we don’t have ban-happy mods. You must be doing something in order to gain their attention and get them to be thinking of banning you.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
i think we should respect ben and the site he created.
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
My friend and I use the same computer A LOT. I would hate for one of us to get deleted because the other one got into it with someone here
July 4th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
1. Pfffft. Some mods are good and some are shit. You’re dragging some good folks down with this whole Modsquad unity cringe-fest.
2. All the offensive posts made on this account are done by my wife while I’m in the bathroom, I swear.
July 7th, 2008 at 5:27 am
I think that ALL alternate accounts are bullshit, it’s not even funny and it makes you have to wade through endless crap and/or try to figure out who’s who, if you’re not in the clique/s/. Shut them down and have people ask for more posts instead.
July 7th, 2008 at 5:28 am
Oh, forgot - many people use the alternate accounts to avoid having to stand up for their posts or opinions. I feel that if you can’t stand for them, then shut up.
July 7th, 2008 at 9:00 am
The negative results, by far, outweigh any positive, with regards 2 alternate accounts.
One shouldn’t need an alternative account 2 support their opinion, or 2 help rally around their “cause”…
Any enjoyment that someone gets from being more than one personality is merely selfish indulging, which only causes unneeded clutter.
Banish them.
July 12th, 2008 at 1:46 am
I’ll admitt I catually have 2 accounts because there have been a couple of times where I have simply run out of posts and that is the ONLY reason why…and I know a couple of other people that only have two for EXACTLY the same reason. Mine is pretty darn clear that its me…I mean Chillichocaholic2 is hardly hiding lol
And I agree with teacher….lets have the limit of posts extended and maybe we can cut down on some of these alternate accounts
July 14th, 2008 at 10:54 am
:bullshit:
July 20th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I think they’re ok for when you run out of posts. If that’s a problem then just double the post limit
)
I only have one account though, but I care about others you see.
July 20th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Ugh! Stupid omg-eyed little-ass yellow emoticon got in there somehow. Please disregard that error, plus my last entire post in fact, plus any other posts of mine you find you don’t much care for.
July 28th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
ALert the person and ask them what all the accouts are for, then make a decision. someone may be on their nerves and they felt they had to switch their game around. I don’t understand the double post theory thing.
July 28th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
also, if i was gonna have an alternate account, i would alert a mod or admin or sumthin, so they wouldn’t have to doubt my intentions.