# Banned members sending private messages



## AndrasBP

Hello,

Have banned members always been able to send private messages? I don't know if this is normal but I personally find it strange.


----------



## Peterdg

I don't know if that has always been the case, but now a banned member can still send private messages only to people with whom he/she has been in contact before via a PM.

You can avoid this by leaving the conversation(s) and click the option 'ignore future messages'. You can also block/ignore him/her directly after clicking on his/her profile picture.


----------



## AndrasBP

OK, I see. Thank you for your help.


----------



## Paulfromitaly

If you leave that conversation, they shouldn't be able to contact you any more.


----------



## Bonjules

AndrasBP said:


> Hello,
> 
> Have banned members always been able to send private messages? I don't know if this is normal but I personally find it strange.



How about the other way around? If someone  who you had a good  relationship with on the forums  gets banned - this can be very upsetting and often you have no idea why it happened.
Are there rules (besides what you mention and it appears you had to have some PM interaction before)) of how one can contact that person? I didn't find any specifics; I always assumed when you get banned
you fall into  a 'black hole', you are just gone completely to everybody.
What if for some reason you wanted to stay in touch with that person? How would you go about it? Can they still  _receive  _PMs/Conversations, from anybody, regardless of previous contact?
If so for how long?


----------



## bearded

Paulfromitaly said:


> If you leave that conversation, they shouldn't be able to contact you any more.


Apparently  you can contact them by sending a new PM, though, to which they can reply. It happened to me (I don't know how long it works).


----------



## Bonjules

bearded said:


> Apparently  you can contact them by sending a new PM, though, to which they can reply. It happened to me (I don't know how long it works).


 Are you sure and  this works even if you never had PM contact with that person before? Is it at the disgression of the moderators on a case by case basis?
I think this issue needs some clarification so everybody can know exactly what to expect.

If any mods are reading this, please comment ( or advise if a new thread should be started regarding this issue, like 'contacting or having conversations with banned members''.


----------



## bearded

Bonjules said:


> this works even if you never had PM contact with that person before?


No: I did have PM contacts with the person before.  But I was referring to Paulfromitaly's statement (''if you leave that conversation, they shouldn't be able to contact you anymore''), to which I would add:  ...''unless it's you who contact them, in which case they will be able to reply within your new PM''.  I am not sure whether they can still use old PMs in order to contact you again on their own initiative.
I find it remarkable that some of us should be eager to not have contacts with banned members any longer, and others to keep in touch with them (the latter looks more natural to me).


----------



## DonnyB

Bonjules said:


> Are you sure and  this works even if you never had PM contact with that person before? Is it at the disgression of the moderators on a case by case basis?
> I think this issue needs some clarification so everybody can know exactly what to expect.
> 
> If any mods are reading this, please comment ( or advise if a new thread should be started regarding this issue, like 'contacting or having conversations with banned members''.


We're actually looking into all this at the moment.  First of all, these are system-set parameters and not anything over which the mods have any discretion.

They way it currently works is that a banned member can contact _you_ if, and only if, the two of you have an _existing_ conversation from before the ban was put in place: they can't start a new one.  You then have the option of replying to them, ignoring them or 'leaving' the conversation, whichever you prefer.

From what bearded has said, it _seems_ to work the same way in reverse: you can currently send them a new message if you have an existing conversation open, but what isn't altogether clear is whether you can initiate a new conversation with them. Again, they have the choice as to whether or not they reply to you.


----------



## Bonjules

DonnyB said:


> We're actually looking into all this at the moment......…..
> 
> ………………………. but what isn't altogether clear is whether you can initiate a new conversation with them. Again, they have the choice as to whether or not they reply to you.


Thanks for responding, DonnyB.
It is this latter isuue I have long found rather unsatisfactory and too harsh, if it is true that - ordinarily- you may have no possibility of
contacting the banned member.
I think we have to respect the fact that relationships and personal chemistries develop between forer@s over time, sometimes years!  and to be
cut off from that without even the possibility of saying 'Good by' seems unnecessarily cruel.

I am very happy to hear the issue is under review!


----------



## DonnyB

Bonjules said:


> It is this latter isuue I have long found rather unsatisfactory and too harsh, if it is true that - ordinarily- you may have no possibility of
> contacting the banned member.
> I think we have to respect the fact that relationships and personal chemistries develop between forer@s over time, sometimes years!  and to be
> cut off from that without even the possibility of saying 'Good by' seems unnecessarily cruel.
> 
> I am very happy to hear the issue is under review!


Yes, I can understand that, and indeed sympathize with it.   

I think I ought to just say, though, that that situation is _comparatively_ unusual.  A _much_ more common scenario, sadly, is where a member is banned for disruptive behaviour or 'flaming' in the forums, which had spilled over into the sending of offensive, abusive or harrassing messages, and the recipient then contacts us asking for advice on how to stop them.


----------



## AndrasBP

bearded said:


> I find it remarkable that some of us should be eager to not have contacts with banned members any longer, and others to keep in touch with them (the latter looks more natural to me).


It really depends on the banned member's personality. Some of them are banned for a good reason.


----------



## Bonjules

DonnyB said:


> .............................................................................................A _much_ more common scenario, sadly, is where a member is banned for disruptive behaviour or 'flaming' in the forums, which had spilled over into the sending of offensive, abusive or harrassing messages, and the recipient then contacts us asking for advice on how to stop them.


I can see how there are two sides to this; nobody should have to deal with offensive or even simply unwanted messages from anybody, banned or not.
Hopefully there is or will be a mechanism in place to easily cut this off.
Thank you DonnyB for looking at the whole issue  and taking it up with Mike and the other moderators.


----------

