Question for Admins: REALLY old / inactive accounts

[p e p p e r]

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

 

[Alienfish]

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.

 

[seliph]

pls purge the Null account

 

[LambdaDelta]

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

 

[Jacob]

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.

 

[p e p p e r]

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

 

[Alienfish]

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

 

[Jacob]

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)

 

[Llust]

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

 

[Justin]

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)

 

[Alienfish]

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.

 

[Hanami]

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.

 

[hydrophonic]

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.

 

[Nightmares]

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...

 

[hydrophonic]

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.

 

[debinoresu]

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

 

[Aali]

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.

 

[hydrophonic]

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).

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.

 

[ZetaFunction]

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?

 

[p e p p e r]

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.