Creating New Accounts

I_Am_Not_A_Cat

This happened a couple weeks ago but it has stuck with me. There was a discussion where someone said they no longer used their old account after receiving negative karma, and they made a new account. No one seemed to take issue with that.

Is it allowed to do that? I understand enforcement is difficult, but when it's known? People, women in particular, rely on karma for various reasons, but safety I would assume is the top reason. But if someone gets negative karma and then just deletes their account and opens a new one? Since there's now no way of seeing the negative karma (who knows what it said) that seems like it puts both members and professionals at risk.

pmvines

Yes you can delete and then create a new account you just cannot have more than one at once nor can you use same username . And yes it is a sketchy reason to create a new account . I have known of at least a couple of women who had bad experiences and before they could leave karma the user creates new account . It used to be that you couldn't leave karma if you were blocked, which is not the case now . So someone could simply block you and you couldn't leave them bad karma .

CuddleDuncan

Creating a new account to circumvent a ban or timeout is not permitted. And creating one to avoid bad Karma is indeed a pretty sketchy reason: I would Report that, if you suspect it happening, with any evidence you can. Let the mods decide what, if anything, should be done. (Note that sometimes bad Karma is untrue, perhaps out of spite.)

But joining a site, getting fed up with it, deleting your account, realising you miss it, and creating a new one .... that's just the ebb and flow of normal internet life, and is not suspicious in itself.

I_Am_Not_A_Cat

Isn't there a way to at least cut down on it? You don't catch everyone, but especially for those less technologically capable, banning the email (or at least they would have to reactivate it instead of making a new account) and the IP address would at least be a little protection. But currently it seems there's no policy against it, even in the rarer instances when it's known, and that seems like a major, at least somewhat preventable, risk. What happens if someone left karma about how some guy assaulted them, groped them or whatever and then does the same to the next person who had no way of knowing they were dangerous?

I_Am_Not_A_Cat

@CuddleDuncan there was a thread where some guy admitted it in the op. That's really what stuck with me, he admitted it and it didn't seem an issue.

I_Am_Not_A_Cat

How do I report it to a mod? I'm not even sure who is a mod.

Sideon

@I_Am_Not_A_Cat - there may be instances where members with karma (positive or negative) may have deleted their account, then created a new one and came back. I can think of only a few accounts that have been in this situation. Karma does not follow from account to account. @pmvines is correct in that only one account is allowed under the TOS.

There are other times when banned members may petition/appeal to reinstate their account. Let's just say that moderators have been very rarely convinced.

I_Am_Not_A_Cat

I have screenshots. I just don't know what to do with them.

Sideon

I'm a mod, @I_Am_Not_A_Cat - you can message me with the screenshots. Thanks.

CuddleDuncan

@I_Am_Not_A_Cat the situation you describe is not a matter for Karma, but for the police.
Bad Karma is for people who are late without apology, or rude, or not as clean as you'd like.

The problem with preventing it, apart from it being difficult, is that there are many legitimate instances of people creating new accounts - it's quite common.

And remember that creating a new account is not free, in the philosophical sense. It has a cost, in that you lose all the connections of the old account. It is also the case that people who have had an experience such as being left bad Karma, or a forum timeout, are often chastened by it and do learn the lesson. Those who do not usually come to the attention of the Mods pretty quickly. Yes it is unfortunate for the second person to suffer, but nobody is claiming that the system is perfect.

And as I mentioned, if you ever notice a problematic instance of this occurring, Report it. If in doubt, always Report.

OhioMike

Hey that's a good point about newer joiners who don't know about moderators. Typically you only see them here. Maybe a home page tab: "speak to a Moderator your choice" something like that maybe?