That's true. However, removing the account from the database frees that name for use in the future. Trust me, there are many more offensive names in the database. The key is that only those people who saw it while he was active actually know it's there. The vast majority don't take the time to flip through tens of thousands of screennames looking for the offensive ones.
but if anyone else quoted the offensive named poster, it's still there for all to see. i didn't know what it was till i saw someone else's quote...
Does this new forum software have the ability to filter out bad screen names? What about the emaill address these trolls are signing up with. Are there any patterns with the addresses that can be filtered out? Keep up the good work mods and Danny!
Is it possible -- or feasible -- to require moderator approval for all posts from a new member for a period of time? If technologically possible but not permanently practical, can it be activated temporarily at the first hint of a group attack? Then disable it after they've had time to get sufficiently discouraged enough to give up.
On another forum I belong to, it takes an e-mail activation to an administrator for a new account. That filters out the spam bots if there is no response, and the obvious user names can also be filtered. We also have moderators in Europe, and the US. This helps with the time of day issue for monitoring. Just a thought
