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Banning Members - Do's and Don'ts

Banning members is rarily an advisable policy primarily because they typically come back under another pseudonym. If at all possible, just put them on moderation. Then you at least know where they are and can moderate their posts carefully.

If you absolutely feel the need to ban a member, the following instructions are provided:

1. Go to your member list and in the upper right corner of the page click the word Ban.
2. When the page loads, enter the ID and email address(es) of the member(s) you want to ban from the group. This will block the ID/Member from joining the group.
3. Click Ban Members to complete the procedure.

If you ban someone thinking that will be the end of the situation, you are wrong. Anyone has the capability to create a new username and rejoin under the guise of a new persona. If you think that someone has done this even though they've been banned, you may do the following to track them down:

1. Click on one of the suspected posts and open it up.
2. Look for "view source" and open that up.
3. Copy the entire message into notepad and save it.

If you find identical instances of a problem poster, then you at least have the basic info collected on them and can call them on it. It's not their business to know how you obtained the information, but make them aware that you are onto them.

If the poster still insists on being a nuisance, you can report them to Yahoo through Member Services. Please use this form only to report Yahoo! members who may be abusing their services.

Further instruction on Banning Members can be found in the Group Members Help Section of Yahoo.