A Policy for "departing members"

[crfriend]

One of the knotty issues that occasionally faces forum administrators is what to do when a community member decides to depart the community -- especially if the departure is a showy affair. After considerable contemplation, the administrative staff at SkirtCafe have settled on this:

Members who, for any reason, desire to part company with the SkirtCafe community are advised that usually the best option is to simply stop contributing and move on. This is by far the most common method; folks who "make a big scene" seldom do anyone any favors. The above having been said, if a departing member wishes to have his account deleted the administrators will comply, with the following provisos:

• The ex-member's account will be deleted in a timely fashion.
• Existing textual posts will be retained, but the ex-member's identity will be anonymized to the extent possible within the constraints of SkirtCafe's operating software. This preserves the continuity of threads for everyone else in the community.
• Uploaded images will be deleted in accordance with the policies listed on the sub-forums which allow attachments; linked imagery is beyond SkirtCafe's control.

SkirtCafe's administrators and moderation staff sincerely hope the above will not be necessary except in extreme instances; we strive to maintain a stable and polite forum that is welcoming to those who are interested in the expansion of men's fashion choices.

[Milfmog]

That sounds entirely reasonable Carl.

I would also suggest that you remove any final "I'm off" posts, irrespective of whether the poster requests account deletion. I'm off posts serve no useful function in the forum, are usually intended to have a go at the forum, a member or group of members or otherwise spread dissent and as a result they generally leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Have fun,


Ian.

[crfriend]

That sounds entirely reasonable Carl.

Thanks for that Ian. Whilst I admit authoring the foregoing, it underwent scrutiny right to the very top of the SkirtCafe "food chain", and involved a lot of contemplation on how to best balance the needs and desires of everybody involved.

I would also suggest that you remove any final "I'm off" posts, irrespective of whether the poster requests account deletion. [...]

I concur with your assertion in this case. I can't make a call on that single-handedly, but since your comment has appeared here, I believe that there will be some behind-the-scenes conversation on the matter. Thanks for tickling that nerve.

[Skirt Chaser]

Thank you for this fair and useful policy, mod team. It is frustrating when posts have been removed, a name change is an ideal solution to that. Definitely seconding the removal of flouncing posts, I have seen that policy be very successful at other sites.

[AMM]

I've noticed that some departing members go through and edit their posts down to nothing before they leave.

Is there anything you intend to (or can) do about this?

(I was tempted to say something about how childish it is, but then the whole "going off in a huff" business is already pretty childish.)

[crfriend]

I've noticed that some departing members go through and edit their posts down to nothing before they leave.

Is there anything you intend to (or can) do about this?

Something already has been done. Several months ago, a time-limit was placed on how long posts can be edited by their authors; once the window closes, posts automatically lock to edits. I forget what the value of the timeout is, but it allows ample time to go back and clean up assorted errors.

(I was tempted to say something about how childish it is, but then the whole "going off in a huff" business is already pretty childish.)

Well, that goes without saying.

[renesm1]

Good idea and well thought out. Personally I can't understand why people do such things. It's like television, if you don't like it, go off and do something else...


R