# Question for Admins: REALLY old / inactive accounts



## p e p p e r (Jun 9, 2016)

Do you guys ever purge really old accounts?  I would love to change my user name to pepper (without spaces)

They have 12 posts total & haven't been on since 2008, I tried contacting them a while ago and not surprised that  they never responded 

http://www.belltreeforums.com/member.php?582-pepper


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## Alienfish (Jun 9, 2016)

Not an admin, but yes tbh they should clear out user names once in a while... I wanted Noire with an e at the end way back and there was some really inactive dude who hadn't been on for like 4-5 years who had it and they never did so I had to go with Noiru in the end.


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## seliph (Jun 9, 2016)

pls purge the Null account


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## LambdaDelta (Jun 9, 2016)

I doubt they will, just for even the .0000000001% possibility of them ever returning. plus purging would also mean screwing up posting archives more than they are already, which they probably don't want either


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## Jacob (Jun 9, 2016)

I don't think this is a bad idea, it should be like strict though. There is always the possibility for these people to come back, but it seems like *pepper* hasn't even transferred to TBT 2.0. 
I think anyone who hasn't been online since the new forum was created should be able to have their names slightly changed upon request.


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## p e p p e r (Jun 9, 2016)

Jacob said:


> I don't think this is a bad idea, it should be like strict though. There is always the possibility for these people to come back, but it seems like *pepper* hasn't even transferred to TBT 2.0.
> I think anyone who hasn't been online since the new forum was created should be able to have their names slightly changed upon request.



They joined TBT on June 19, 2008 and made a few posts & that was the last time they were on - so they were active for *ONE* day


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## Alienfish (Jun 9, 2016)

p e p p e r said:


> They joined TBT on June 19, 2008 and made a few posts & that was the last time they were on - so they were active for *ONE* day



Yeah a lot of account are like that or they never posted at all. Also there are probably lots of old alts and stuff they could remove


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## Jacob (Jun 9, 2016)

p e p p e r said:


> They joined TBT on June 19, 2008 and made a few posts & that was the last time they were on - so they were active for *ONE* day



Well that particular person was one for more than a day I think (Pretty sure they were on for 2 days haha), but since they never switched over, it just says that they were on for 1 day.

For example: Smart_Tech_Dragon_15 

He has over 10,000 posts, but it says he was only on for 1 day because he never switched over to TBT VBulletin. I think the people who never switched over are the ones who can have their usernames altered.* Mainly because during the switch of forums, I think the Admins Emailed all the current members with new account data. 
If they haven't replied to the email within like 8 years, they almost certainly lost all contact with TBT and their old accounts right?
_* Excluding previous staff
_
(Basically I think you _should_ be able to get the username "Pepper" haha)


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## Llust (Jun 10, 2016)

an idea could be to ban or lock the user if they're inactive for a certain period of time and they'd have to retrieve their account through email. another forum board im a part of does this for security reasons. by doing this, their username should be available to use. if the old user activates their account, perhaps give them a free username change? but before the fact, the mods should send out an email to the inactive user requesting permission for the username change. if they dont respond within lets say two weeks, their usernames will be temporarily swapped until the inactive user returns


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## Justin (Jun 10, 2016)

It's on the list of something to consider in the future, with strict requirements on what accounts would be inactive enough to qualify. There will probably be a charge for it though.

I used to do it on a case-by-case basis a long time ago, but that felt unfair to some people without a clearly established process, so not anymore. (except for say the newest staff)


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## Alienfish (Jun 10, 2016)

I hope you do, there are a lot of random accounts that are barely used and a lot with just similar name people have made for some or none reason so yeah.


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## Hanami (Jun 10, 2016)

ahh i agree. i hope this is implemented bc i rly want my username to be my rl name. the user with my name hasn't logged on since jan 2013 and has 0 total posts.


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## hydrophonic (Jun 10, 2016)

They shouldn't purge old accounts that aren't used for the simple reason that they belong to somene, wether they visit this site or not, and they have the right to keep them. When you buy a house but don't visit it for a long time, does the government take it away from you? No. Same with accounts. I'd really love to have that Versace bomber my friend has but don't use because it doesn't fit him, but i'm not gonna take it from him because nevertheless it's HIS bomber and not MY bomber.


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## Nightmares (Jun 10, 2016)

These are forum accounts we're talking about here though 
Not really comparable to houses.

If they come to the website again (I doubt) they can easily make a new account; it's not like they even had anything on their old ones anyway...


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## hydrophonic (Jun 10, 2016)

I know, it was an example. The thing is, why should the admins purge those accounts? Just to give users the option to change their usernames? As if BTB had nearly all combinations of letters, signs and numbers already taken and new users couldn't register lmao. What if those old users suddenly came back remembering their username and password (nearly impossible, but hey)? Why were they accounts revoked? All of a sudden, only active accounts matter? I'm explaining myself like sh?t, but i guess it's pretty clear what my point is. I don't care if Robin Hood gave food to the poor, because that food was stolen and it shouldn't have in the first place, period.


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## debinoresu (Jun 10, 2016)

Azabache said:


> I know, it was an example. The thing is, why should the admins purge those accounts? Just to give users the option to change their usernames? As if BTB had nearly all combinations of letters, signs and numbers already taken and new users couldn't register lmao. What if those old users suddenly came back remembering their username and password (nearly impossible, but hey)? Why were they accounts revoked? All of a sudden, only active accounts matter? I'm explaining myself like sh?t, but i guess it's pretty clear what my point is. I don't care if Robin Hood gave food to the poor, because that food was stolen and it shouldn't have in the first place, period.



plenty of forums/websites have a method of purging old accounts. just slap it in the rules that "if you are this inactive for this long your account will be purged" and bam theres their reason for being purged. and yea active accounts obviously matter way more than acciunts with like 10 posts who havent been on since 2008. active/inactive isnt really comparable to rich/poor here lmao


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## Aali (Jun 10, 2016)

I think they should purge old accounts, if they haven't been on in years and were only active for like a day, chances are they won't be coming back. and even if they did, they could easily make a new account.


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## hydrophonic (Jun 10, 2016)

debinoresu said:


> plenty of forums/websites have a method of purging old accounts. just slap it in the rules that "if you are this inactive for this long your account will be purged" and bam theres their reason for being purged. and yea active accounts obviously matter way more than acciunts with like 10 posts who havent been on since 2008. active/inactive isnt really comparable to rich/poor here lmao



That's it, but i guess TBT doesn't have that clause (not that i remember)? I wouldn't have a problem with it then. All accounts have the same value, there aren't first class and second class members, ones might contribute more on the forum, but that's it. Lmao what i meant with that example is that the accounts shouldn't be purged just to benefit active users, because they original members have the right to own their accounts wether they visit the site or not (unless a clause regarding lack of activity is signed).



Aali said:


> and even if they did, they could easily make a new account.



Well, and active users can still post with different names than the already taken ones.


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## ZetaFunction (Jun 10, 2016)

I agree with this, but only partially.  Like Azabache said, it’s not really fair to the inactive members if they _do_ randomly stumble back upon TBT.  Every now and then I see a post in the Welcome section where an old member returns from a many-year hiatus, and if you were an old inactive member and wanted to come back, but found your account banned or revoked, I can bet you’d be really upset.  Especially when you/they find out it’s just to give someone a username change because their username isn’t perfect.  Yeah… a lot of usernames *really* need fixed, but the good of the few doesn’t really outweigh the good of the many, if that makes sense?


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## p e p p e r (Jun 10, 2016)

Justin said:


> It's on the list of something to consider in the future, with strict requirements on what accounts would be inactive enough to qualify. There will probably be a charge for it though.
> 
> I used to do it on a case-by-case basis a long time ago, but that felt unfair to some people without a clearly established process, so not anymore. (except for say the newest staff)


Thanks for considering this Justin.


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## Nightmares (Jun 10, 2016)

Lucanosa said:


> I agree with this, but only partially.  Like Azabache said, it’s not really fair to the inactive members if they _do_ randomly stumble back upon TBT.  Every now and then I see a post in the Welcome section where an old member returns from a many-year hiatus, and if you were an old inactive member and wanted to come back, but found your account banned or revoked, I can bet you’d be really upset.  Especially when you/they find out it’s just to give someone a username change because their username isn’t perfect.  Yeah… a lot of usernames *really* need fixed, but the good of the few doesn’t really outweigh the good of the many, if that makes sense?



Yeah, the ones who come back have thousands of posts / TBT / collectibles though.


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## Alienfish (Jun 10, 2016)

Nightmares said:


> Yeah, the ones who come back have thousands of posts / TBT / collectibles though.



amen.

also there is difference with coming back and just being annoyingly inactive for 5 years or whatever. they could at least send an automated e-mail to those people and let em know if they want stuff back


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## Bowie (Jun 10, 2016)

I kinda wish they'd do this. I wanted to change my username a while back and I couldn't because it had already been taken, by someone who, if I remember correctly, hadn't been on since 2010 or something.


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## seliph (Jun 10, 2016)

I need this so Thunder and Seroja stop calling me Neville


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## Red Cat (Jun 10, 2016)

I think this is a bad idea. With usernames, it's first come, first serve. If someone beat you to it, it belongs to them and you just have to think of something else. If we were really going to purge accounts, what would the time of inactivity be for an account to be purged? Maybe some of those people will come back when the next main AC game is released.


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## Nightmares (Jun 10, 2016)

Red Cat said:


> I think this is a bad idea. With usernames, it's first come, first serve. If someone beat you to it, it belongs to them and you just have to think of something else. If we were really going to purge accounts, what would the time of inactivity be for an account to be purged? Maybe some of those people will come back when the next main AC game is released.



So many didn't come back for New Leaf though....


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## vexnir (Jun 10, 2016)

Not a bad idea, but like it's been said, better to keep it very strict. My account is 2 years old, which is not that long I suppose, but I tend to disappear for 6+ months sometimes and come back. So it's still possible inactive people intend to use the site - although if it's been inactive since 2008, that's a small chance.


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## Tensu (Jun 10, 2016)

This is a good idea, but they would have to be absolutely sure that the old person will never come back. For instance, they'd have to contact the person and ask if it is ok. Hopefully something like this can be implemented in the future.

- - - Post Merge - - -



p e p p e r said:


> They joined TBT on June 19, 2008 and made a few posts & that was the last time they were on - so they were active for *ONE* day



Dats my birfday


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## seliph (Jun 10, 2016)

Maybe send old inactive accounts an e-mail before purging them so no one would "lose their precious account" or whetever


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## King Dorado (Jun 10, 2016)

In the real world it's called "abandonment," and people who abandon their email addresses, domain names, and even tangible property lose them for good every day.  It would be entirely reasonable and appropriate to recycle usernames and even collectibles from abandoned accounts.

Plus, I'm sure that the admins could provide anyone who felt their "rights" were violated with a full refund of the membership fees they paid to join this forum...


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## Skyfall (Jun 10, 2016)

I think going forward, it's pretty easy to implement.  Just have a pop-up that says "if you are not active for ___ days, your account will be deactivated and your username will be released.  All your TBT and collectibles will be forfeit".

Going backwards, i.e., accounts already in existence and those users were never on notice (from the initial signup) that their accounts can be suspended for inactivity, that's a bit trickier.  There's always the small possibility that they will come back once the next version of animal crossing comes out or whatever.

But asking admins or mods to email every single one to tell them their account is about to be suspended is an arduous task.  (And remember guys, these peeps don't get paid, this is a side project for them, so that's a lot of time to ask.)  Unless there's a way to mass email them.  Then at least they know they're about to lose something if they don't sign in.


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## Alienfish (Jun 10, 2016)

^I mean like an automated thing going out for people being inactive x amount of years or whatever if it would be possible, on the other hand if you are dedicate you are still here regardless of hypes


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## Llust (Jun 10, 2016)

i noticed that there a lot of good, available usernames you can choose from on tbt. it's a small community compared to most others, so in some cases, i assume finding a different username shouldnt be an issue


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## Blu Rose (Jun 10, 2016)

just be 12 and be all "xXx_#-$$$[username here]$$$-#_xXx"

in all seriousness, some of the future purged accounts likely hold some memories for the admins as well.  i mean, imagine just throwing that all away!  i would hate to do so
and to whoever brought up that it was like abandonment, i don't think people ever lose their identities.  i get that tbt profiles aren't exactly means of identification, but the fact is that everyone in the united states has a social security number to identify them for literally forever (after all, they are retired after death) seems to be totally legit and unique and i just really think that there is a level of sentiment attached to each number
granted, i think in numbers a lot so that's just me i guess


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## Chicha (Jun 10, 2016)

I've see lots of other forums purging accounts that have more than 3-4 years of inactivity. I think that's more than reasonable to purge them honestly. I personally think if you haven't been active for 2 years, your username should be up for grabs. This is especially for accounts who have never validated their e-mail or only have 1 day of activity.

I do understand that's a very tedious task. Maybe the staff could consider adding on volunteers specifically to help purge?


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## debinoresu (Jun 10, 2016)

toukool said:


> I've see lots of other forums purging accounts that have more than 3-4 years of inactivity. I think that's more than reasonable to purge them honestly. I personally think if you haven't been active for 2 years, your username should be up for grabs. This is especially for accounts who have never validated their e-mail or only have 1 day of activity.
> 
> I do understand that's a very tedious task. Maybe the staff could consider adding on volunteers specifically to help purge?



yea, they could hold off the purge to a summer and then get volunteers who have more freetime during summer to help operate.


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## Chicha (Jun 10, 2016)

debinoresu said:


> yea, they could hold off the purge to a summer and then get volunteers who have more freetime during summer to help operate.



That's a good point. Maybe the staff could get people willing to volunteer by having a chance to get a purged member's collectible after helping out? Those who volunteer could be entered into a lottery? idk how that would be implemented but I'm sure they'll be plenty of people wanting to help for that. I know I would, haha.


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## Justin (Jun 11, 2016)

Justin said:


> It's on the list of something to consider in the future, with strict requirements on what accounts would be inactive enough to qualify. There will probably be a charge for it though.
> 
> I used to do it on a case-by-case basis a long time ago, but that felt unfair to some people without a clearly established process, so not anymore. (except for say the newest staff)



I want to clarify in regard to the other posts in here that I'm only referring to the idea of allowing old usernames to be used by newer users -- that is likely to be offered at some point. We would do this by having a strict criteria of what counts as "inactive enough", and then the old user would simply have their username changed. Their account would otherwise remain exactly the same including their TBT Bells and items. We have no plans at all to actually remove accounts, TBT Bells, or items.


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## Jared:3 (Jun 11, 2016)

Justin said:


> I want to clarify in regard to the other posts in here that I'm only referring to the idea of allowing old usernames to be used by newer users -- that is likely to be offered at some point. We would do this by having a strict criteria of what counts as "inactive enough", and then the old user would simply have their username changed. Their account would otherwise remain exactly the same including their TBT Bells and items. We have no plans at all to actually remove accounts, TBT Bells, or items.



Tbh I think you should remove old users, they can just create a new account if they come back


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## Trent the Paladin (Jun 11, 2016)

Jared:3 said:


> Tbh I think you should remove old users, they can just create a new account if they come back



Personally I don't like that idea. There's been a few websites where I've had things saved, but haven't been on in ages. If they decided one day to purge, all of that would be gone and whatever mark I left gone as well. While yeah they might not come back, there is a chance they will.


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## Alienfish (Jun 11, 2016)

Llust said:


> i noticed that there a lot of good, available usernames you can choose from on tbt. it's a small community compared to most others, so in some cases, i assume finding a different username shouldnt be an issue



Eh well, but then there are smart people getting their dibs on the perfect one and then go offline just cause so, yeah.


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