The use of ALTs

AFLfan

Hey Guys,

I hope you all are well. I wanted to address the use of ALTs on this forum. For those unfamiliar with the term, an ALT is when a banned forum user re-registers under an "alternate" identity. This is against forum rules, but unfortunately we are somewhat at the mercy of people having multiple email addresses.

I am not sure what drives someone to want to continue nitpicking an issue or continually disparaging another member when they have been asked to mellow out, but it happens on occasion. In fact, I banned someone right before writing this post for just that reason. Perhaps they get enjoyment out of the idea that they are getting under PSA's skin, or pulling one over on us. The truth is that neither is the case. It takes me less than five seconds to delete a forum member and then I'm onto the next thing. No skin off my nose, nor that of anyone in the office.

I typically find out about ALTs pretty quickly. The truth is that I usually let the person go and if they behave, then they stay a forum member. There are a couple of ALTs that are active right now. They know who they are, and so do I. As long as they are respectful of others and the forum, they will continue to enjoy this forum. If not, I will ban them. They may try to reinvent themselves again with a whole new email address and such, but if so I will just delete them again when I find them. It won't be the first time that has happened, nor do I suspect it will be the last. It really is just a waste of time for the both of us, but such is life.

What I am trying to say here is just be respectful of others and things will be fine. That doesn't mean that you have to agree with every statement posted on here, but it does mean that you need to be civil in your disagreement. That's really all I'm asking. If you prefer a more free-wheeling board where you can say anything that comes to mind, then there are other forums that allow that sort of thing. We just don't do that here.

Thank you to those who follow the rules. I hope that you enjoy your time here. As always, feel free to drop me a PM when you wish.

Todd

Insider2

I was looking at the "Best of" and this post was of interesting. Then I saw that you are a mod. I think the main reason folks use an ALT is because interacting, learning, disagreeing, etc on CU is just as addicting as a drug habit must be! They cannot bear to lose the "high."

I began writing on forums about three years ago. I was put on a "vacation" (banned) for two weeks and many members missed me and my comments as much as I missed their community. I was banned forever on another for ruffling a long-time member's feathers for "outing his misinformation" in a disagreeable way. I've learned to play nice now as CU is the best forum of all for U.S. coins.