Demi-ban: screen all future comments from specific user

[azurelunatic]

Title:
Demi-ban: screen all future comments from specific user

Area:
comments, comment screening

Summary:
Force-screen comments from one particular user, when it's just that user whose comments warrant screening.

Description:
Occasionally there is a user who may be commenting in a particular journal or community in such a way that they do not quite warrant a ban, but fully warrant review from the admins/owner just to make sure their comments are productive.

Everybody else is commenting all right, it's just that one person.

Setting [class that includes commenter] to have their comments screened (whether that class be everyone, non-Access/Members, or anonymous) would be overkill for this situation, because they haven't brought along friends, it's just them. Turning on screened comments tends to dampen discussion and can be a lot of work to unscreen.

A demi-ban which makes all that user's future comments screened, but leaves everybody else's alone, would solve this problem on a technical level.

On a social level, this person could then use another account to evade the demi-ban and not be subject to screening. That's something that is likely to be noticed, and then the admins/owner would have to decide how to handle it. (The admins/owner may well decide that it's time to actually ban both accounts.)

Evading a demi-ban should not be a ToS-able offense. Evading an actual ban still should be.

Poll #10464 Demi-ban: screen all future comments from specific user

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 84

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
67 (79.8%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
7 (8.3%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
0 (0.0%)

(I have no opinion)
10 (11.9%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[moonvoice]

I actually think this is a fantastic idea for another reason:

I have a couple of people on my journal who only like responding to my screened entries, because they're very sensitive about having other people reading their comments (for privacy reasons), especially if they want to share say a personal anecdote. I actually know people who would want to be voluntarily 'demi-banned' in order that all their comments could be screened unless they agreed otherwise.

Imho, the idea of being able to screen the comments of a particular user has a lot of applications, both in communities, and in people's journals, where sometimes even filtering stuff down still doesn't always make some people comfortable enough to comment where other people can see what they want to say.

[cmshaw]

+1, and it would be good to have the interface language reflect this usage as well!

[amadi]

+1

[montuos]

+1

[azurelunatic]

That makes perfect sense. I hadn't thought of that.

[amianym]

+1!

[montuos]

+1

[silverflight8]

I think it should have a name that makes the function more clear, but other than that, sounds good.

[inthetatras]

Maybe like "selective screening"?

[msilverstar]

+1

[kyrielle]

+1 This goes well with the alternate use above, also.

[inthetatras]

Yeah. I'm not so big on using the term "ban" even in a demi-form here. "Selective screening" feels more neutral and all-encompassing.

[susanreads]

Yes! That would allow people to use it in either of the ways discussed.

[azurelunatic]

I like that a lot.

[matgb]

Havign never needed it, I hadn't noticed this wasn't an option. Definitely a good plan, one of the main blogs I help run has a couple users that are on auto moderation because they can't stop beign insulting and dismissive, but are also at times inciteful, useful and also fairly senior figures.

I hope I'd never need it, but it would be something I'd want as an option if I were setting to run something big and public facing.

How would it work for comms? Both single user comms and actual group comms.

[azurelunatic]

I'd imagine in the same way banning would: any administrator could set it for the community, it would be effective in that community only (each community/journal would need to set it separately, or as part of a (does not exist here/yet) "apply to all my administrated areas" group action), and any administrator could view the community's selective screening list, and any administrator could revoke it if they saw fit.

[elf]

I love this option. I know some of the anon memes would love it; it'd allow people to request screening instead of banning to avoid accidentally outing themselves. (I expect some of those would like a feature for "screen/block all logged-in people but allow anon comments," but that'd be an entirely different feature.)

I like the term "selective screening" instead of "demi-ban;" that makes it obvious that it's not necessarily a punishment.

[siderea]

This is tagged as "bugzilla: implemented". Was it? I haven't found an interface for doing this.

[denise]

Yup, implemented with the last code push, we're just behind on the FAQs. It's a console command; you can check the reference for screen_list/screen_set/screen_unset.

[siderea]

Great! Thanks!

[siderea]

BTW, just wanted to let know you I've started using this, and it's awesome, and I'm so grateful you implemented this.