Chat Ban Policy Question

[Deleted]

I was hanging out in the cbox this morning because I couldn't think of anything less productive to do, when the discussion turned to how chat moderators should handle people, who may be anonymous, who don't participate on the forum but come into the cbox just to spam, troll, or otherwise act inappropriately. So I made this thread to discuss opinions on the matter and/or get an official take from the administration.

Does the new three strikes chat ban policy apply to them?

My thoughts are that an informal warning for a first offense is usually appropriate (unless they're breaking rule 5), but I don't feel like there's a lot of value in giving temp bans to people who come here just to cause trouble, especially if the staff has no way of contacting them. If the staff believes without a reasonable doubt that the party in question is just aiming to be disruptive, going straight to a permanent ban seems warranted.

[Fluffy Lynx]

Usually people who are not part of forums don't adhere to the rules of said forum. So clearly the rules should not adhere to them.

If anonymous people come here just to troll, I'd say hit them with the banhammer, instantly. Its intrusive and unwanted, and I don't want to see people offended or angry because of some smacktalking random ****head that only wants to drag the forum down.

[Roin]

As I made my point known when the discussion came up in chat, I wanna reiterate it here as well. I am of similar mind with Lynx. While I think it can vary based on the degree (if someone comes in as an anon and calls us butts, I'd be inclined to see if he says he's joking or pushes his luck), I am also a firm believer in the idea that if they're not signing up... then we have no reason to protect them with the rules. If someone signs up and feels wronged that they got banned, I doubt they'll be able to put up any sort of argument. Truthfully, they're more likely to apologize if they're genuine, which would allow us to work with them.

TLDR: I think a brief/informal warning is already, but nothing short of temp/perm bans after that. It's not about coming off as mean or anything like, but about ensuring we don't have trolls disrupting and damaging the chat in such a way that new members coming in think that's how we run/allow things to be.

[Deleted]

Yeah, I meant to mention in my first post: If someone gets permanently banned for making a really bad first impression but is sincerely sorry and wants to participate, I'd be in favor of letting them appeal it, and possibly downgrading the permanent ban into a temp one in that case.