Temporary Vs Permanent Ban: How to Decide?

Paula Derrenger

Paula Derrenger

@paulad
Updated: Dec 4, 2024
Views: 1.6K

Question for experienced community professionals: How do you decide whether to permanently ban or temporarily ban a user from your community?

So we have a few members in our community (about 9k-10k active members) who are always trolling and spamming. But not all of their content is objectionable or spammy. Sometimes, they are the ones who create great, insightful discussions that really makes people participate and express.

I’ve reached out via DMs and emails, but no response. I’m unsure about 4 specific members and how to proceed with them.

Can someone guide on how to deal with these members?

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  • Kaustubh Katdare

    Kaustubh Katdare

    @kaustubh • Dec 2, 2024

    Permanent vs temporary ban - is always tough choice to make for community builders and managers. My recommendation is that 'permanent ban' is always the last option when everything else fails.

    To decide which type of ban you want to impose on user - consider the overall value they have added to the community. If their contribution is valuable and helps drive the community towards its goal; I'd suggest sending DMs or connecting over email.

    If they do not listen or respond, and continue with their malicious behavior, send at least 2-3 warnings. Give them reasonable chance to change their behavior and adhere by the community rules.

    If this doesn't work - impose a temporary ban for at least a week. Make sure that they understand the reason behind their ban.

    Ultimately, if none of the above works; ban them permanently. There is no coming back from this stage.

    So here's the overall decision making framework to decide between permanent and temporary ban:

    1. Step #1: Contact through DM or email
    2. Step #2: Send warning through your community platform or email or DM
    3. Step #3: Impose a temporary ban for at least a week
    4. Step #4: Permanently ban the member

    This strategy works with most of the communities with lot of contributors. I've imposed permanent bans on users who simply joined the community to advertise their services and spam. I hope this helps.

  • Paula Derrenger

    Paula Derrenger

    @paulad • Dec 4, 2024

    This is very helpful, Kaustubh. The framework makes a lot of sense. I like the idea of escalating the actions and giving members a chance to improve their behavior. Permanent ban is definitely a final call. My concern is more about the overall community harmony. I might be overthinking about people's reaction.

    I'd like to hear more about the specifics of implementing a temporary ban. How do you communicate the ban to the member and make sure that they understand why it happened? Also, should the duration of the ban vary depending up on the severity of the issue?