We have a nice community, we also have one user here and there that causes quite a ruckas. How do we “ghost” or quiet a single user so everyone else can enjoy their happy lives without kicking out the user?
AI-generated summary
The discussion revolves around the best approach to manage a pesky user in an online community. Shawn_Kirsch initially suggests “ghosting” or quietly ignoring the user, but pfaffman and bartv advise against this, recommending instead that the community rules be clearly explained to the user, with removal as a last resort if they continue to break the rules. justin and Heather_Dudley concur with this approach, emphasizing the need to educate the user and use Discourse features to enforce community guidelines. Temporary silencing is also suggested by ondrej and Heather_Dudley as a viable tool for managing problematic behavior.
3 Likes
You could use the rails console to have all users ignore the user.
2 Likes
In my opinion you’d be better off to explain the rules of your community to this individual and remove him if he keeps breaking them.
13 Likes
That’s what I think too.
4 Likes
Fully agree. Start with a conversation defining expectations. If they continue to refuse to follow the community guidelines, you have every right to suspending the person for a length of time you feel appropriate. Your community isn’t a democracy; it’s yours to protect and nurture! One person not following the guidelines can ruin the experience for everyone else involved.
9 Likes
I would just send a warning. If they carry on just silence them for a bit
8 Likes
I have to agree. If your alternative is to have every other member ignore this user, why are you preserving their account? “Ghosting” is rude in real life, enforced this way on a forum it’s essentially bullying. Imagine standing in a room talking to people and no one’s even looking at you because you’ve been placed in an invisible box you can’t see.
Educate them on how to interact, use the features available in Discourse to enforce it, and then when they’ve continued to ignore your requests, invite them to move along.
Silencing temporarily can be a very, very effective tool.
9 Likes