Publicly calling out rule-breakers can feel like an effective way to maintain order, but is it really the best approach? Some argue that it deters others from making the same mistake, while others believe it creates unnecessary tension and alienates community members.
Should forums and online communities focus on education and private warnings instead? Or is public accountability a fair way to uphold rules and ensure transparency?
What do you think? Does public shaming help maintain order, or does it do more harm than good? Let’s discuss!
I think it depends what it is, what they did and how meaningful it is to tell the community. Which also means it depends on the community.
If they’ve been an obvious disruption, getting rid requires no communication - just as we wouldn’t notify the community about banning a spammer. (We might, if we’d had a particularly bad run of spammers, announce we’d taken new measures to combat spam, though.)
Similarly the more public the rule breaking, the less communication it needs - people will be able to see for themselves if someone is no longer posting because there’s been a wild explosion or meltdown. You lock the topic, you move on. If you gave that person a timeout, you can let them explain it on their return (since someone going rogue doesn’t have to be a banning offence, it can be a “go home, you’re drunk” moment)
The real test, I think, is if you announce it and people didn’t know about it. That does breed tension. Also if you do a knee jerk rule change with massive and sweeping consequences, it can feel like a rug pull.
Basically, a forum is for talking about things. If the forum itself is the topic of conversation, something has wrong wrong, and that’s really a criteria for whether you need to make a change.
It depends if the offender is the owner of an establishment locally that did something offensive or was serving bad food, then that could be a reason to name and shame.
If this person was causing a disruption within your community and broke so many rules that caused you to ban them, then I would just quietly ban them and send them a DM or let them know privately. There's no reason to prop up their ban publicly as it could foster others that saw this person as a influence. The Streisand effect would come into play.
Public shaming of rule violators can lead to alienation. It can alienate the person being shamed, leading to disengagement or even leaving the community. This doesn't solve the underlying issue and can make the community less inclusive.
My personal opinion is that it depends completely on the situation at hand.
If it's a minor rule/guideline violation, like posting in an incorrect area, it's completely fine to move the post, and add a post briefly explaining that you've moved it to the correct area and ask the member gently to review the area they're posting in next time.
If I felt the need a more formal warning was required, or even a ban, that action would never take place in public view. If a warning was issued, the member would receive a PM with details. This PM, and the fact that a warning was issued, is only known to staff. The offending post/content would be edited or removed. If a ban was issued, an email would be sent with details, including an end date if applicable, and details of an appeal process. None of these things should be done in public view, imo.
I think it's a great way to encourage retaliation, gossip, slander, and potentially more abuse. It's a good way to turn your forum into a toxic environment and get other people mad at you.
I think all disciplinary action, for the most part, should be done in private.
