No never have, in an ideal world I would never have to but I think unfortuntely it is just a matter of time.

My criteria for banning of course would be personal verbal abuse of other group members. Depending on the severity of the abuse the person would either be given a warning or banned immediately.

Have you ever banned anyone for being inactive?

I myself would never ban someone for being inactive, because you never know what hardships that person might be dealing with - what if they're disabled because of arthritis and typing is painful for them, or what if they took an unannounced trip to visit a sick relative and can only return home months later? Some people can be so painfully shy or fearful of other humans because of past trauma that even participating in a discussion group is terrifying for them personally, but just to be allowed to be a member of the group means that they are able to read what others type, and when they're ready to take that risk, they'll put in their thoughts. Just being allowed to have their avatar show in your group could mean the world to them.

When one of my groups is still small enough to allow me time to do so, I send an inactive member a personal message or a hug message once in a while so that they know the group and I are still around for them when they're able to participate. I wouldn't demand to know why they are inactive or why they are so quiet. That's a personal, private matter, unless they choose to make it known openly in their journal or by other means. I would simply send a message like, "Have a wonderful week!" or "Happy Wednesday to you!" or "Thanks for being part of the group!"

I have two people currently banned from the Laughter Club, out of the more than 440 members. One of them has a vulgar moving avatar showing a naked child doing something unmentionable to a houseplant, and as long as she continues to use that image, she will be banned. If she changes the image, I will unban her; however, it's not up to me to get her to change it. The other person has been banned for verbally abusing others including myself, telling us that we are stupid and that we are going to be harmed. I might ban her forever, but there is a possibility she could be unbanned at some far distant time, say, at least six months from now. People make mistakes, and without forgiveness, they may be unable to learn other ways of interacting with their fellow human beings. On the other hand, some people just won't stop doing bad things no matter what, and in that case they do need to be permanently separated from the group through banning.

I would prefer that no one be in the banned category in my groups, and that's my ultimate aim. I hope banning will only ever have to be a temporary measure.

Amen to that.

Maybe it is just a dream but I would hope that even if a troll joined a group I founded it may be possible that they would go through some enlightenment.

On the other side verbal abuse of group members should not be accepted.

Actually I think the problem here is with DS management. If they were doing their job properly a ban button would not be required.

I think maybe DS maybe sorely understaffed maybe thats why it takes so long to get thru to anyone.

I guess banning someone would mean that they were abusive in DS in some way, to someone else or someone who repetetively talks abt doing harm to oneself or another. This should come with a warning from Administrator first.

I would always try to warn first but I can think of cases in which you should click the ban button and ask questions later.

The first priority for group founders and admin should be to protect the emotional stability of group members.

In bad cases you should not just ban but but immediately inform DS management and send a message to all group members telling them that they should consider ignoring the individual in question.

I have never banned any one but if I am placed in the position I would do so. I think any one who abuses this site or any of its members is a bannable offense. Is there some real good guidelines we could follow? Rules of the Road are very good guidelines but not all members seem to bother to read or adhere to them.

I have witnessed some very bad behaviour on DS I have of course reported it and the posts have been removed. What amazed me was I think I was the only one reporting it, other members seem to just sit back and let it happen.

I consider the main group I founded to be a safe haven from the general depression support forum. I know alot of its members do to. They believe they are not sufficiently protected out there on those big forums.