Greg Elmassian said:
… a flame war,
Since nearly all flames look alike, when they come together how do you tell which one is on which side?
Well, maybe Bob should review the newer members and see what they are using for names. Its hard for me to take the input given by someone with a goofy nickname, seriously. I, personally, think that real names should be used in most cases.
But, does anybody know, for sure, that I am using my real name? (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)(https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
I’ve thought about exactly what you said. If a person has a nickname, and later reveals his first and/or last name, no big deal.
Now if that person was using a fake name, many people would consider what would happen if people found out they were lying to the people they were chatting with? I think this minimizes this happening.
Again, from experience in a lot of forums, I have found on very few occasions that people were using fake names to intentionally mislead or hide. Almost all of those were weird, strange people whose posts pointed them out early on. I do remember one example in on one of the forums, and he had accidentally signed his real first name, then made up a (lame) story, and finally came clean under pressure. He was indeed hiding something. One other example on a train forum was a person who had been repeatedly banned from several forums.
But again, the point is that it really seems that a real name helps minimize unwanted behavior.
Greg
Greg Elmassian said: MLS is dying, hardly any posts
Greg Elmassian - real name
I wonder why?
Greg Elmassian said:
Bob! What happened? Latest new member “Adverse Camber”…
Quite likely folks signing up are just skipping to just filling out the fields. Honestly, that’s what I do. Of course it’s also possible the Camber’s named their kid Adverse.
" Rooster " said:
Greg Elmassian said: MLS is dying, hardly any posts
Greg Elmassian - real name
I wonder why?
" Rooster " said:
Greg Elmassian said: MLS is dying, hardly any posts
Greg Elmassian - real name
I wonder why?
You sly funny devil Rooster…you slay me!!!
" Rooster " said:
" Rooster " said:
Greg Elmassian said: MLS is dying, hardly any posts
Greg Elmassian - real name
I wonder why?
OMGram one of you evil bastards pinged me for negative reputation and I can see which one did it as well …but you know what “WHO FREAKING CARES”
LETS PLAY TRAINS !
Joe Zullo said:
" Rooster " said:
" Rooster " said:
Greg Elmassian said: MLS is dying, hardly any posts
Greg Elmassian - real name
I wonder why?
Point ?
We’re really not opening this up again are we? See my post dated September 27, 2017 9:30 AM EDT. I review every new user for a real name before approval.
Bob McCown said:
Effective immediately, I’m implementing something I should have done a long time ago. Starting today, I will not allow nickname-only profile names. You must use your real name. You can append a nickname to your last name (Such as “Bob McCown (Head Honcho)”) but that’s it. We all should know who you are, and where you are located. One week from today I will be disabling accounts I find that are nickname only. At that time, I will also disable the ability to change your profile name once created.
Well, that went well, from “Rooster” to “Deleted Member”…
This was 2 years ago, and we are reaping the benefits. You did know what to do, but what happened?
Sorry Bob, this will piss you off, but you have actually allowed this too… it was indeed the right idea in the first place.
This was 2 years ago, and
Greg, I think there was a clarification to the policy. Bob has real names in the profile but agreed to allow nicknames to be used on the forums. Hence Boomer Rooster, etc. I think part of the rationale was global personal security?
As far as I am concerned, if you can’t show your real name, DON’T POST. I would also like to see this feature removed, as I view it as a means for folks to hide from the rest of the forum. 
Stealth mode? If someone has to hide, why/what are they hiding?
David Maynard said:
Stealth mode? If someone has to hide, why/what are they hiding?
Not really. A few years ago there was lots of concern about identity theft. Train guys seem to have realised their identity isn’t so much at risk.
As someone who helps moderate a forum of 100k+ users, things that help to keep the peace have been:
-
Clear posting guidelines that spell out expectations of behavior
-
Clear consequences for violating said guidelines
Requiring real names seems great in theory, as it adds a personal element to each member, but name calling would still happen. A forum owner that doesn’t manage users even somewhat actively or have a moderating team, will eventually see that community fall apart.
Bob did have clear rules, but he was just too nice and didn’t want to enforce them. I understand, I didn’t want to have to bust heads, so I passed on being a supervisor in a previous life.
This is great, Bob is angry a couple of people are acting like children so at least one of them decides to tell him how to run HIS site.
I get your point Chris, but then Bob posts his aggravation at people that don’t follow the rules…
and yes he “retracted” part of the rule above, but never implemented the part I put in the green highlight, the ability to actually change your name once it is “approved”.
and it is without question the “BE NICE” rules are not being enforced…
Bob posted in several places “why does this keep happening”, and “why should I spend thousands of dollars to keep this site”… don’t ask for solutions or opinions if you don’t want them.
I’m not for the head in the sand solution, “ignore it and it will go away”, as I found with one member that has had it in for me for 10 years, ignoring it does not make it go away.
Greg