Troublemakers in Chat

[Talk Host]

The administrators have received a couple of complaints from regular members about some rowdies Tuesday night in chat. Thanks for keeping us informed.

For now, since it was the first time, we need to keep an eye on it and see what happens. The best thing is to do is what our mothers all told us when we were in school....ignore them. In very short order, they will become bored an go away. I checked their screen names, and they don't seem to be registered members.

Since this is a new phenomenon in Chat, I have to consult with Darrel and Tony to see how we go about blocking people. Since it is a "live" feature, I honestly don't know how to do it. I'm sure there must be a way.

Let's see if it becomes an ongoing problem. It is our primary goal to keep this a fun, secure place for our members.

JLK

[Taltarzac]

The administrators have received a couple of complaints from regular members about some rowdies Tuesday night in chat. Thanks for keeping us informed.

For now, since it was the first time, we need to keep an eye on it and see what happens. The best thing is to do is what our mothers all told us when we were in school....ignore them. In very short order, they will become bored an go away. I checked their screen names, and they don't seem to be registered members.

Since this is a new phenomenon in Chat, I have to consult with Darrel and Tony to see how we go about blocking people. Since it is a "live" feature, I honestly don't know how to do it. I'm sure there must be a way.

Let's see if it becomes an ongoing problem. It is our primary goal to keep this a fun, secure place for our members.

JLK


I am sure there is a way to block registered people from message boards and the like. I got blocked for three months in 2002 after my Summer of 2002 flame war with an extremely nasty anonymous poster on Findlaw's message boards. He used hundreds of aliases and sometimes variations of my own names in a satirical fashion. I would have been better off just to ignore this man but he made a lot of remarks like threatening to reveal the names, addresses, phone numbers of all my relatives he could find on the Internet; threatening to stalk me from message board to message board within and outside of Findlaw; and made many obscene, libelous, and sophomoric remarks to the point where I had trouble ignoring him.

His motive for doing this was the attention he got from the other posters. These pests are usually men from what I have read about Internet trolls. Trolls seems to be what you call these posters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll

I did not actually figure out who this anonymous person was until November 2004 but he sure ruined my experience on Findlaw's message boards trying to figure out who was doing this to me. He kind of lost interest in baiting me when I figured out this was just the alter ego of a person I had been trying to help with his legal research for a few years who had a usual handle but used hundreds of aliases to hide his troll identity.

One good thing, I have not seen hide nor hair of this man since June 2006 or so on any message board I frequent. Hopefully, the various legal problems I was trying to help him with caught up with him. :cop:

[JohnN]

On a chat board I've seen, the owners of the board (forum) give a few, selected, trustyworthy folks the admin capability to block. Basically, deputizing them. Just a thought

[Taltarzac]

On a chat board I've seen, the owners of the board (forum) give a few, selected, trustyworthy folks the admin capability to block. Basically, deputizing them. Just a thought


Sounds like a good idea. I am never in the Chat Board on TOTV myself. I think I tried it a couple of times and it was either empty or I got bored with what was there. Hear that it can be interesting though.

I am usually watching DVDs--Comanche Moon; Gone, Baby, Gone-- in the evenings or catching various shows I like-- Monk and Dexter -- to watch.

[Donna]

I would imagine it is very difficult to keep people out, http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/lurksmiley.gif (http://www.millan.net)they can always come back under another name..I would highly doubt there is any way to keep our chat room free from vermin...http://www.millan.net/minimations/toolminis/xanimal_eek.gif (http://www.millan.net)

We all know by now who belongs there and who is there to harass, we keep our eyes open... http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/kickedoutsmile.gif (http://www.millan.net) I would say the majority of the chat pack are chat room savvy...http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/chatsmileys.gif (http://www.millan.net)

[ConeyIsBabe]

On another very popular site I frequent, there is often discord in the "chat room" and one of the features is an IGNORE button that anyone can use; just highlight the troublemaker's name, and he/she is invisible to that person initiating the ignore. If everyone hits "ignore" at the first sign of trouble...... it's all over.

[RCT]

If you find out who they are, I would reccomend public humiliation, as in throwing rotten tomatos at them in town squares, that sort of thing. :joke: Seriously though, the previous suggestion of ignoring them til they see no reaction, and they won't bother anymore is a sound approach. I have dealy with some in my experience on the web, and find this works. If they get no attention, they aren't getting what they are there for, in a sense.

[KathieI]

I hit the ignore button for one of them and so did DickY but we were the only ones who couldn't see what he was saying, so all the others were being harassed by him. CIB is right, we will all have to hit ignore so we can't see his comments.

He wasn't pleasant at all and especially at the end when we were throwing "cyber" tomatoes at him and trying to ignore him, so he finally logged off. He listed under 3 names, which I won't mention here, so not sure how that works. There were actually 2 and they sounded really young and were goofing like they had nothing better to do.

What's really good about our chat room is that we all stand up for each other and try to stop something before it really gets ugly. But, you don't want to overstep your limits and be insulting someone who is a new person to a chat room, usually we try to guide them along into our discussions and I think 90% of the time, we're successful.

I saved a copy of the chat dialogue but because I had "ignore" for one of them, his comments are not seen just the reaction from the rest of the chat packers.

Thanks admins, for anything you can do but we will "lynch" them the next time, have no fear.

This is a very convoluted post but I think I'm still groggy from anesthesia. Sorry folks. Kath

[Taltarzac]

I hit the ignore button for one of them and so did DickY but we were the only ones who couldn't see what he was saying, so all the others were being harassed by him. CIB is right, we will all have to hit ignore so we can't see his comments.

He wasn't pleasant at all and especially at the end when we were throwing "cyber" tomatoes at him and trying to ignore him, so he finally logged off. He listed under 3 names, which I won't mention here, so not sure how that works. There were actually 2 and they sounded really young and were goofing like they had nothing better to do.

What's really good about our chat room is that we all stand up for each other and try to stop something before it really gets ugly. But, you don't want to overstep your limits and be insulting someone who is a new person to a chat room, usually we try to guide them along into our discussions and I think 90% of the time, we're successful.

I saved a copy of the chat dialogue but because I had "ignore" for one of them, his comments are not seen just the reaction from the rest of the chat packers.

Thanks admins, for anything you can do but we will "lynch" them the next time, have no fear.

This is a very convoluted post but I think I'm still groggy from anesthesia. Sorry folks. Kath


Did not know the TOTV Chat had an "ignore" feature.

I thought my Findlaw pest of about 4 years was a 13 year old or so as many of his posts were on that junior high school maturity level but he turned out to be a person with-- according to him a 6th grade education-- who was about my age. Now, right around 50.

Your post seems OK to me, KathieI.

Why were you under anesthesia?

This is my 1600 post on TOTV. 024 040 wav :beer2:

[KathieI]

Due to popular demand, I was having my mouth sewed shut!!!! (chatty Kathie??)

Tal, I can't imagine anyone blocking you from a chat room! They had to be nuts!!

Thanks for your comments. Kath

[Taltarzac]

Due to popular demand, I was having my mouth sewed shut!!!! (chatty Kathie??)

Tal, I can't imagine anyone blocking you from a chat room! They had to be nuts!!

Thanks for your comments. Kath




I posted a bunch of copies of letters I had received from 1991 through 2002 in my victims' of crimes fight for access to practical information on Findlaw's various message boards in the Summer of 2002. Must have ****ed some people off especially the man who attacked me online for about 4 years (2002-2006). He had been a defendant in various civil and criminal legal actions but they had not been able to nail him just yet. His tactic on Findlaw was to attack judges-- all judges-- in the hopes that it would look like he was framed or at least not getting a fair shake in the courts.

I hope that the legal system he was in eventually got their man so to speak. Have not seen him post on Findlaw since June 2006.

I still post on Findlaw's message boards occasionally.

[Donna]

Tal,
I told you to come into chat, you sure did miss one exciting night...LOL

I call that place the Chat Asylum....

[Taltarzac]

Tal,
I told you to come into chat, you sure did miss one exciting night...LOL

I call that place the Chat Asylum....


Last night, I was watching Blade the daywalking vampire hybrid battle regular vampires on the Blade: the Series DVDs. Maybe, the TOTV Chat Room would have been more entertaining?

[ldj1938]

Everyone has an IP address that you should be able to block.

[ldj1938]

http://www.hostmysite.com/support/dedicated/IIS/blockip/

That link gives you the details of blocking a specific IP from entering your website. :cop:

[Talk Host]

Thanks for the information. We are not ready to block anybody yet. Let's wait and see what happens.

[Donna]

I agree with Jan.. :agree:

There is always going to be another lurker/troll invading our chat room...We cannot block every one, we must just deal with it and hope they go away...If we ignore them,I am sure they will fade away...

[Taltarzac]

The lurker/troll could just switch computers too as it seems the troll who bugged me so much on Findlaw's message boards for 4 years did. The System Operator on Findlaw must have had one very big headache from the hundreds of posts this troll forced the Sysop to delete. Unfortunately, a good deal of my own posts went when the Sysop yanked the thread the troll had corrupted.

Think the Administrators on TOTV and especially the other TOTV community members have done a great job with keeping TOTV overall a very good Internet experience.

024 040 wav :clap2:

[Donna]

Tal,
Still waiting for you to join us in chat... ;)

[Taltarzac]

Tal,
Still waiting for you to join us in chat... ;)


Our computer is in the guest room and we have been having a steady stream of visitors the past few 10 days going through the 15th or so of March, 2008.

I will try to get there some night though.

[scottke]

Glad to see the reaction to the other night. I really wasn't sure how to react to either of the two people on chat so I listened for a while then I checked out of chat. My husband couldn't understand why I was leaving. Just said it was wierd and not just the usual chatters. Glad to see someone brought it to the administrators attention. Go chat pack.

[Muncle]

http://www.hostmysite.com/support/dedicated/IIS/blockip/

That link gives you the details of blocking a specific IP from entering your website. :cop:

I suspect that many if not most users have dynamic IP addresses. Would this procedure handle those?

[redwitch]

The best way to take care of people like those mentioned here is to put them on ignore. They're making their comments for attention. When they don't get the attention, it's no fun. I've been known to tell people I put them on ignore and then don't just cause I'm inherently curious. However, once I say they're on iggy, I won't respond to them. But iggy really is the best thing you can do.

[Donna]

You don't even have to put if ignore...If you don't answer them, it is the same thing...

[redwitch]

True, Donna, but it is hard to not reply to someone, especially if they are saying mean things about a friend or the like. That's what makes iggy such a sweet feature. If you're one of those who can not reply, go for it. If you're not, then iggy the bahstahds.

[KathieI]

When I put them on ignore, I couldn't even see their comments which was better yet otherwise I was getting very angry. But being the nosy-body I am, when I would see the reactions of the rest of the group, I would be wondering what the jerk said and sorry that I couldn't see the comments. Anyway, they're gone, let's not make more of them cause that's what they want.

IMHO Kath