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Suggestion and Policy

Have a way to disable alias privilege for those who abuse aliases.
Alan_Nimm 853 reads
posted

This may seem odd coming from an alias, but I think something needs to be done to crack down more on members who abuse the use of aliases, i.e. hide behind them to attack others.  From my observations, current practice isn't sufficient.

My suggestion is as follows:  first abuse of an alias gets the post removed and a warning.  Second offense results in loss of posting (ALL posting, handle and alias) for 30 days.  And the third offense results in permanent loss of use of an alias.  Of course, serious offenses, e.g. exposing someone's real identity, should result in more severe penalties such as banishment.

I don't know if Admin has the ability to disable alias privileges without disabling VIP services in general, but if that isn't possible I'd like to see that done, since IMO someone who has paid for or earned VIP status shouldn't lose all VIP privs just because of misuse of an alias.  But they shouldn't be allowed to continue to misuse aliases. Aliases should be only for benign purposes as are described in the alias usage guidelines, and nothing more.
Related Link: Acceptable reasons to use an alias

perfectstorm349 reads

Aliases get flipped. People lose posting privileges all the time. Suspensions usually start at a week for first offense then get longer and longer. Unmoderated members get moderated again. None of your suggestions are necessary as they already have rules in place. All that is necessary is that the existing rules get enforced. Personally I think they are. I know of many members who have been moderated, had aliases flipped, have been suspended and even banned. Perhaps the issue is what you consider an attack vs what admin considers an attack. These things are very subjective.

Anyway here are the guidelines from the Message Board Policies:

Posting rude and mean comments while hiding under an ALIAS will be reported to the site Admin for evaluation. If sufficient cause is found the post will be modified by Admin to EXPOSE your USERNAME.  Flipping an alias is an action of last resort and will only be done if Admin determines that other corrective actions are insufficient due to the nature of the comments in the post.
Positng mean or rude comments is prohibited.
Don’t flame someone or start a flame war. If you think a post violates TER’s guidelines, terms or policies, report by clicking on ‘Report this post’ from the post itself.
Posts which do not conform to these Guidelines will be removed.  Continuous or habitual posting of non-conforming posts may cause the poster to lose posting privileges for a period of time.  Further ignoring of the rules may cause the poster to be banned from TER.

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Alan_Nimm351 reads

turn off alias privileges for a VIP member without affecting other VIP privileges. If that can be done now, I'd like to see it enforced more strictly than it is at present. If it's not done now, I'd like to see it done as an additional method of enforcing the rules you referenced.  

I believe flipping an alias to expose the username is insufficient, as the offending VIP user can simply create a new alias in 30 days. I don't think that people who abuse aliases 3 times should be allowed to use an alias here ever again.  

I realize that rules already exist.  I know the rules for use of aliases and posting in general and I follow them. I am suggesting a change to those rules. I think that's consistent with the purpose of this board.

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