I'm leaving threads/goodbye threads

How many forum owners here allow these type of threads to go on? If a user makes a thread telling everyone that they're leaving the community - do you allow it? Or do you dislike this type of stuff, and not allow users to post good bye threads?

Personally, depending on the user, I might allow it, I might not. The situation hasn't come up yet for me.

 

They can post them if they want but I personally find them annoying depending on the issue causing their departure.

If it has anything to do with forum drama then expect no one to ever actually leave. People posting those topics do not intend to leave as their topics are posted for the purpose of attracting attention towards themselves which people are always willing to give on the drop of a hat.

If the topic is posted for any other reason then those people usually leave.

I usually enjoy pointing out their last active time when it shows them as being active on the forum after they claimed to have "left". Just shows how full of crap their departure thread really was.

 

I have an introduction forum, which is not meant to have goodbye threads,
I'm fine if the member makes a post saying that they're leaving in the thread which they introduced themselves in.

 

No problem with it. I've been on both sides. I've left a few share of communities of the years and well some I've kept my word. While others I've returned quickly afterwards. But I never make a thread though I personally only tell the few members who actually know me on a forum of my departure. Either by P.M or in a Chat Topic. I've found lately it's a lot better to just leave rather than cause any sort of emotion to the community. I'll be sure to do that in the next forum I leave.

 

Depends...

If they can not longer be on the forum due to some personal issue, losing the internet or something like that and they want to wish their friends a goodbye, then that is totally fine with me. I would want my buddies to know why I had to leave so they wont be wondering

However, if its meant to be dramatic and cause trouble, I will remove the topic. If its abused and posted again and again, I will help the member the member out the front door with a ban

 

In my experience most leaving threads are just attention seeking drama trains. I let them run their course unless things get out of hand. I once had a member leave and request he could post the thread and then I'd close it, I obliged.

My DJ board has a guy who has left and retired from the biz 5 or 6 times and even gone so far as to ask me to delete his account, which I have done 3 times. It's almost a running gag another member takes bets as to how long until he comes back (lol!). He's a good dude and I genuinely believe he just don't know what he wants/is doing. Heck, I even bust his chops about it.

 

That's how I always looked at it as well, and if you're not happy - there's the door. Come back when you want to because even though you're quitting, we're still going to be pushing forward.

 

They can post it in the general discussion section of my forum as long as they aren't badmouthing my forum, and saying I'm going to another forum instead. I would find it a bit annoying if a user of mine created such a thread, but I would reply saying something like "Goodbye, and we hope you decide to come back to us at a later date.".

 

It depends on the reason. If it's a long standing member who is going to be without internet or has found their life too hectic to keep up with, etc....then sure. It's a good way to say farewell to the whole community instead of simply disappearing.

If it's as a last ditch effort to bash the site and complain about it in some dramatic way? Nope, I get rid of it.

 

I think when a user post "I'm leaving", they're trying to bring drama to the site. A simple "My internet is going away, I'm leaving", I'll allow that but someone just posting that they're leaving because they're not happy with the way things are going - well, that thread won't go anywhere because I'll move it to the trash can as fast as they post it. There's no reason to allow it because it invites the drama lords out.

 

A thread on vb.com got met thinking about making a new publicly joinable usergroup with restricted permissions for members that want their account deactivated.

Basically, it would be a copy of unregistered/not logged in but maintain PM and maybe arcade permissions and carry a user title of self imposed ban or something like that.

I'm a little leary of leaving PM permissions open but most who want to close their accounts are just frustrated with other members at that moment in time.

If it's publicly joinable they can also remove their ban.

 

I have no problem with them. If I have an introductions section for them to say hi, then why not have a "farewell" section to say goodbye prior to leaving? Matter of fact, that's where I posted before I left my site, to let people know why I was leaving and not just disappear without leaving any trace.

Although, some people seem to abuse of goodbye threads. They say "I'm gone for good this time" and next month you see them online again, posting, as if nothing has happened.

 

Why have a farewell section when you can just make a sticky topic in the introductions forum?​

 

Yep, that's exactly what I was describing my policy as. Anything that is to create drama, is removed. If it's a complaint, it's removed. I welcome criticism, but it needs to be done privately and not in a way to stir up BS.

 

Why have an introductions section when you just can have a sticky topic in the offtopic forum?

Having an entire section dedicated to it (actually attached to the Welcome section) works better for me. That way people can create topics and others can reply saying goodbye to them too. If that was all just in one topic, it'd be a mess and I'd have to keep splitting messages into different topics.

 

Well, it depends, do you have a lot of new members that make introduction threads? If yes, then its better off in its own forum. Having it in an off-topic forum would confuse users who are new to online forums, so its best to have things set up for easier access/navigation.