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Banning someone because they admit to scamming?

Discussion in 'SteamRep General Discussion' started by Bob the Trader, May 4, 2016.

  1. Bob the Trader

    Bob the Trader New User

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    Steam:
    STEAM_0:1:35112492
    Hello all,

    I'm admin of a trading website and recently a user sent a report of a conversation he had with a Steam Friend.
    In that conversation, the user is admitting he has scammed several users (the Steam chat is screenshotted).

    Now I'm wondering, is it justified of banning somebody because they admit to scamming to somebody else? I do think he is scamming because he has the most typical scamming account (low valued inventory, wall of text with "trade rules", etc...
    But is it justified of banning this user on our platform ?

    I'd really like to get your feedback on it.
    Bob the Trader, May 4, 2016
    #1
    Roudydogg1 likes this.
  2. RuhaI

    RuhaI Partner Community

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    Steam:
    STEAM_0:1:60262405

    Yes
    RuhaI, May 4, 2016
    #2
  3. Bob the Trader

    Bob the Trader New User

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    Steam:
    STEAM_0:1:35112492
    Ok yes it is justified of banning him. It is our platform/website, we can do whatever we want.

    But the thing I want to remain is being fair. And since there has not been hard concrete evidence (ex: user could be saying that he is scamming, but it could be all a lie) it's kind of a grayzone.

    This is something I have been struggling with for a while, I am actively moderating our platform. And I see a lot of people trying to scam, or see scam profiles (they are easy to spot). But since there is no evidence, I can't ban them.
    Bob the Trader, May 4, 2016
    #3
  4. Roudydogg1

    Roudydogg1 ‎ SteamRep Admin Friend Community

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    SteamRep Admin:
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    If someone says "look at me I scammed someone" then at least @ our community I see no problem in doing it. You know the saying, "He brought it on himself".
    Roudydogg1, May 4, 2016
    #4
    Bob the Trader likes this.
  5. Nebras

    Nebras New User

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    Steam:
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    I wouldn't ban anyone without solid evidence if I were you
    Nebras, May 4, 2016
    #5
  6. You Are The One

    You Are The One SteamRep Admin

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    Steam:
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    I always error on the side of protecting the community I work with. I ban and then let them explain themselves in an appeal afterwards. I get some crap for it, because we run the site as a private site and users dont understand exactly what that means, (or lack of "right" they actually have to use our site) but its the best way imo to handle such cases.
    You Are The One, May 4, 2016
    #6
    RuhaI likes this.
  7. SilentReaper(SR)

    SilentReaper(SR) Retired Staff

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    SteamRep Admin:
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    SteamRep has the stance that ANY community can ban ANY user for whatever reason THEY see fit. As it is YOUR community, its up to you to decide if that is enough reason to ban such from your site/community/servers and whatnot.

    A ban on SteamRep has to have the proof available of the scam itself. In the past there have been huge misunderstandings with people claiming to "scam" while they meant they where sharking etc. (outside our policies to ban for). Hence we require an actual report to be there, where a victim is claiming that they have been scammed. If after that report (or before) that scammer admits to it, then that counts as proof for the scam (both sides agree there was a scam).

    Anybody can claim they scammed craploads of stuff, but if they are only bragging, and there is no victims at all reporting, SteamRep will not ban for it.

    Again: Any community may ban for whatever reason they see fit from their own services, for whatever timelength they see fit. We only require the Friend and Partner communities to ALSO ban the scammers listed on our site, which may contain (proved) bans from other communities (and some even choose to ignore bans from specific partner communities due disagreements in between them etc).
    SilentReaper(SR), May 4, 2016
    #7