Purging the members list

[Count Duckula]

I was surfing through the LL member list, trying to find a few names. I came across a slew of names with "moderated" posts. Is there any way to change the status of banned users or remove them from the member list completely? Not sure how the forum software works. Just curious.

[Bolty]

Count,

We have 15 banned users here...I'm not sure what you mean by "moderated" posts, but we have to keep the banned usernames banned because that lets the forum software ban their email addresses. If a banned user tries to come back with another account and we catch them, we ban by IP then.

15 banned users out of 1500+ shouldn't make much of a dent, though. Am I missing something?

-Bolty

[Assur]

Hi

I was wondering if people who register but never post could be removed from the membershiplist, perhaps after three months? They are not doing anything for the Lounge, but could stilll lurk? How about it? Or am I being elitist?

good hunting

[Count Duckula]

15 banned users out of 1500+ shouldn't make much of a dent, though.  Am I missing something?

I'm the only one missing things, Bolty. Turns out that about a third of registered Loungers are taking the site's name a bit too literally. How can you be registered at this place since March 2002 and never post?!

By moderated posts, I mean that the person has made one or two posts, got one (or both) edited or locked by a moderator, and has henceforth departed. Any way to remove or change these listings?

[Kevin]

What would be the point in that?

The Lounge encourages people to lurk for months before posting to get a feel for the place. An entry in a table to maintain a userID does not take up much space, it doesn't really slow anything down, it doesn't really hurt anything. I know several people who are registered but don't post.

[Tal]

By moderated posts, I mean that the person has made one or two posts, got one (or both) edited or locked by a moderator, and has henceforth departed. Any way to remove or change these listings?

But they may not have moved on. Some decide after being moderated that they need to make a new name for themselves. Generally this is okay since most that choose a new name don't repeat the mistakes, but others continue to make the same mistakes. Its helpful in cases like that, at least from my experience, to have the history of the first username when making a decision. Though Bolty and Co. may handle it differently than I do on my boards. ;)

[Nastie_Bowie]

Aren't we over anal-izing the situation?

NB <_<

[Tal]

Aren't we over anal-izing the situation?

NB <_<

My apologies.

[Bolty]

I'm the only one missing things, Bolty. Turns out that about a third of registered Loungers are taking the site's name a bit too literally. How can you be registered at this place since March 2002 and never post?!

Isn't this pretty normal? Most online forums have a vast base of registered users who don't post. That's why user counts always crack me up, boards that go "wow, we have 10,000 registered users, we rock" amuse me...since maybe 1/10th of that number is actually active...

Anyhow, there are advantages to having an account other than actually posting - for example, the message system, topic subscriptions, post tracking, etc etc - and I have no way of knowing what "inactive" users may simply have an account for that stuff alone. I dislike having accounts automatically purge after a time period - I've heard of Lurkers here disappearing for 6+ months and coming back, and I think they'd be pleased to see their accounts still here.

Of course, I keep changing forum software and that breaks the accounts all over again :)

-Bolty

[icelord]

I'm an active member, but I have posted only 3 (maybe 4) times, that's because I like to read and practice all the things that you guys say in here, but usualy I've nothing left to say. When I "log in", the topics that I read are already full of information (very good) and posts, and it will be useless to post something like "Good point", "I agree", etc. because everyone know that.

Also, it's hard to me say something good because I can read english perfectly, but writting it it's like playing in hell with a level 5 necro. That's because my first languaje is spanish, and I think my english isn't good enough to post tons of info.

[[wcip]Angel]

Buenos nachos, Icelord
I'm not in any way speaking on Bolty's behalf here, but I suspect he'd encourage your to keep writing on this board despite any linguistic difficulties you might face. I think the general idea on this forum is that you don't have to write 100% grammatically and idiomatically correct English as long as you make your best effort. I have no trouble reading your English; it's the people using "lol", "1337" and "rofl" I have issues with.


4) Please post in real English. If English is not your first language (or even if it is *cough*), we do not mind spelling or grammatical errors...we do not mind typos from anyone either. However, we do not appreciate '|337 5|o33|<' or any unnecessary shortenings of English words - common abbreviations such as 'lvl' or 'dmg' are fine though. If you do not follow this rule, you will be flamed or ignored completely.

From the "Netiquette"-section of the Lounge.

[kRAYt]

As another point to consider, IceLord, the ONLY way to improve a skill is to practice it. If you continue to write and post in English for these forums, your writing skills will continue to improve.

As someone who has done text editing and proof-reading, I must tell you that YOUR English writing skills are at least as good as most High School graduates I've encountered, and better than many adults.

Keep up the second language skills practice!!!

kRAYt

P.S. The ONLY one I've seen on any of these forums who doesn't make any mistakes in grammar or spelling is Griselda, and she's an English teacher.

-edit: mispelled Griselda...DOH! :blink:

[Griselda]

P.S.&nbsp; The ONLY one I've seen on any of these forums who doesn't make any mistakes in grammar or spelling is Griselda, and she's an English teacher.

My spelling isn't bad, but I am a horrible proofreader. If you haven't caught any of my typos yet, you must be reading too quickly! ;)

I am a teacher, and I do speak English, but I'm not an English teacher, for whatever that's worth.

-Griselda

[Sheep]

*Hijacks thread with a vengeance*

Griselda, if you don't mind my asking, what is it like to be a teacher? I'm thinking of becoming one myself, but I'm not sure if it's really for me. Would you mind telling me what exactly this profession involves?

Thanks

[gekko]

Taking two months off for the summer, two weeks off for christmas, a week off during the spring, and working 5 day, 6 hours a day work weeks. :P And being paid KINGLY sums for the "work."

*ahem*

Actually, my parents are both teachers. They love it, although some of the kids they have to deal with... some of the stories they bring home (my parents each teach in two of the "poor" schools in my town).

A word of advice: don't go into teaching if it's for the money and the time off. You'll either be a lousy teacher, hate your job, or both. Probably both.

gekko

[[wcip]Angel]

Although I've already decided I'm going to be a teacher (English and history probably), I too am a tad curious.

[Tal]

I asked my friend who is a teacher her thoughts on the subject and her response was:

"Like nailing jello to a tree." - After a moment thought she changed her mind and went on to say that it can be very rewarding if you enjoy helping the youngsters. She also said it could be god awful if you get a group of kids that don't want to do the work and would like to play games instead. Her last thoughts on the subject was that she didn't want to talk about some of the parents. ;)

[Griselda]

I think I'm too close to it to be able to answer your question. I'd say it's like juggling- each moment requires you to re-evaluate the needs of each pin, and make sure you're focusing on the one that needs you the most (for example, there's a kid who needs a band-aid, one who thinks she might throw up, and some stranger just walked into the classroom- each thing makes you re-evaluate the importance of the other issues!).

At the moment I work with 3-5 year olds and college-age students, and I find the two groups surprisingly similar. For both groups, the trick is to find the right balance of encouragement and constructive criticism. You have to feel out the situation to decide whether to let the students make mistakes on their own, and learn from those, or to step in to prevent them from making the mistakes in the first place. Both groups have their own challenges. There are extremely stressful and scary moments, and there are rewarding moments. The college students are somewhat less likely to need help with toileting, though. :P

-Griselda

[Brimstone]

I'm a big fan of the "no-purge" policy personally - especially since the surfcontrol at work has blocked access to the LL since the resolution of "the slashdotting incident." Blasted slashdot... :angry:

[Sheep]

Thank you for your inside view. I still have a few years to decide, so I hope I won't make a wrong decision.