Ignore Button in the MyEC Chat Room

Do you all know about the NEW feature in the MyEC chat room? It's the "Ignore"button.

To find this button, make sure you have popped out of chat first.This will make the chat room window bigger.

After you pop out, you can see the names of the people you are chatting with in the main room and in private rooms. Click on a name to see the drop down menu. Choose Ignore.

Why would you need to "Ignore" chatters in the MyEC chat room?

They are using abusive language.
They are communicating in a language that is not English.
They are attacking you or another member personally.
They are members who are banned regularly.
They are discussing religion or politics or something that is making you uncomfortable.
They are irritating you.
They are discussing a topic that doesn't interest you.

*Please report serious issues using the Report a Member form. A serious issue is typically related to the safe operation of this club and the security of its members. If the "ignore" button does not resolve your issue with this member, then you can use the form. If you think the member should be banned, take a screenshot of the abuse and send it to my inbox. Admin can't ban bad chatters unless you include the link to the member's profile page. (The name is not enough. These people play games by changing their names or avatars.) From the drop down menu choose "View Profile". Copy and paste the URL of the chatter's profile page and provide it in the report.

Discussion question: As many of you know, we have a few bad apples on MyEC. These chatters are banned weekly (sometimes daily). They aren't here to learn or teach English. They have nothing better to do. Perhaps they have no job, school, or loved ones. It makes me sad. These "members" change their names, email addresses, and avatars over and over. What suggestions do you have for this problem? Should we ban IP addresses? If yes, what about people who use public computers? Should we simply "ignore" them? What would happen if we all "ignored" these chatters and focused on all of the good things on MyEC instead? Would they become disinterested and leave?

Please share your suggestions and ideas!

Tags: chat, ignore

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Comment by Clarisse on May 7, 2012 at 9:07: yes i think they should be banned. Many men here treat this site as if it is a dating website. They will ask me to become theyre girlfriend which is really inappropriate. Some even talk about profanity. And then there is a girl (who i think is the re-incarnation of Hitler) a real Nazi who keeps on saying annoying things to me like "You look like a torn football" and "What are you doing here with that kind of face". I do not know what is her problem, I guess it's insecurity that's eatin her personality. I reported her using 'report a mamber" form. I just hope EC admins will do something about this.

Comment by Chandra on March 13, 2012 at 13:33: Thank you so much for this.

Admin Comment by Tara Benwell on March 9, 2012 at 15:43: @vBlueman I'm not sure what happened, but "Be nice" is as simple and clear as it gets. :)

Comment by Mr. Bob on February 29, 2012 at 18:11: This is a good thing and should be a big help. As far as banning an IP address goes, many places have a router that gives out IP addresses as people log on to the network. Only static IP addresses would work for banning the proper offender. I think that the continued participation of club members in asking the bad ones to behave is the best tool. And then, if they fail to act decently, the reporting of them to the administration.

As Joseph said, getting in an argument with these people and/or egging them on only confuses the issue. Ask them nicely once, then nicely again if they are too rude, then you can collect information about their misbehavior. Just remember that this site is run by people who are volunteering hours of their own time. They shouldn't be bothered for things that are not really serious. If you are very, very good and helpful to them maybe in a few months they will invite you to help. If you are only complaining when they hear from you, they may not want you as a moderator. They have to be very careful who they select.

Admin Comment by Josef Essberger on February 20, 2012 at 15:09: @vBlueman ~ 1. What would you suggest those "real consequences" should be please? 2. Please note that many people who complain about other users have in fact been participating in egging them on or provoking them. The best action is to ignore, not to inflame the situation. 3. Issues of he said she said are notoriously difficult to control. Hence the expression. However, issues of blatant bad language and rudeness are certainly ones that we take action over. And we appreciate reports with evidence if possible.

Admin Comment by Tara Benwell on February 17, 2012 at 14:57: @Syu Yes, that is my dream too. I have already put in a request to the developers. Unfortunately, we have no way to customize it ourselves unless they agree to do it! But, it would be great. I'll share your screen shot with them.

SpamBuster Comment by Syubidupapap on February 16, 2012 at 8:27: Can you make it like this? I once have said it also in my blog.

http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/ec-chat-room-lay-out-has-c...

Here I am giving you the image of it, so you can have an image about what was I talking about.

Admin Comment by Tara Benwell on February 15, 2012 at 17:23: Thanks for all of the suggestions. They are very helpful.

If you haven't already figured out how to "Ignore" a person in chat, please take the time to do it. This is a fantastic solution to almost all of the complaints we receive about chatters. If you don't like what the chatter is saying, please ignore him/her and teach others how to do the same. In English we say, "nobody wants to talk to a brick wall."

@Naveed ? Please be more specific about your unanswered question or suggestion.

Comment by Luty on February 11, 2012 at 15:13: @Arif and Naveed - of course, it is better if you can choose to allow private chat to your friend list or to everyone, and I do help people on private as much as I can, but there are some people that doesnt want to talk on main, but want you to left main and talk just to them. And they think I am not nice when I say I prefer to talk to everybody, even this person, on main...
I respect those who doesnt want to join the main for any reason like the speed is too fast for him/her, there are too many people, the topic is something that the person doesnt want to talk about, but I think they should respecting others preferences too.

@Naveed - I read all your comments here, sorry if I didnt get you, but what is the suggestion you made that everybody is doing the same and Tara is not answering you?

@Tara - Thanks again for this opportunity. I am back again to main.. and I will think about some other suggestions. One of your questions on "discussion question" is about banning IP address... as I know, at least here in my country, home IP address are not fixed... so.. you would be able to ban just people who are at work that uses fixed IP address. Moreover, if I share my connection at home with my mates, if 1 of them are banned, so, it means that we all wouldnt get access to this website anymore...
And troublemakers can think about many ways of swindling to keep here, while good people would just give up...
So, I still think it is difficult to do this.. nevertheless I am not a IT student.. so.. maybe I am wrong about it.

Comment by Naveed for you™ on February 11, 2012 at 7:04: Unbelievable, may be I am invisible or something. I did suggest the same things before any of those below but.. anyways it doesn't matter as long as we are working for the same cause. But I do not agree with you saying that we should consider the "good behavior" and "human nature" of those retards. Obviously you are the Admin so they will be nice when you are around and put up a puppy face so that you can cuddle and puddle them.
In some chat rooms the language use is automatically detected/omitted and is not added/forwarded, i know there many ways to write the same words in shortcuts or symbols, but at least a direct reference should not be allowed.
About private chat only allowed with friends, I do not prefer it, because as I have experienced many newbies contacted me in private and asked for guidance/help, which they might not boast the confidence to do in main chat.
Lastly, which I am re-stating again I think there are still others who enjoy such trash talk and join in/encourage, and if you warn them they say its just fun don't take it seriously, unfortunately some of my friends also walk the same path. I hope they take heed and stop.
Pardon me doc, if I sound rude/harsh.