To my mind…
It’s a simple yes or no answer.
Sure you can put your reasons and arguments for and against but it’s more the numbers I’m interested in.
A year ago I’d have voted no, today I voted yes. In this past year my thinking has changed; personally I have only one account and find the idea of multiple accounts as bad as the idea of having multiple mothers in law! However, despite what the original ethos of TNUK was we have to accept that it needs to move with and reflect today’s social media and the world around us. Now although I personally am bemused by the idea of pretending to be a different lorry driver to the one I actually am (why not pretend to be an astronaut or special forces God ffs?) I do understand that often these multiple account holders provoke a reaction (good or bad, it matters not) and without their input some of these threads would die halfway down page one.
To summarise; views and comments are the lifeblood of any forum so more views and comments equals a more successful forum. Note that I didn’t write a “healthier forum” because I don’t necessarily believe that multiple accounts promote a healthier forum (in fact they often contribute to a certain unwanted toxicity), but it’s an inalienable fact that this and most other forums need views to live.
It is technically possible to disguise ones identity, log on using various devices etc so to try and ban multiple accounts is pretty much impossible anyway isnt it?
If you are upset about idiots, fools, and trolls posting on here, well, I agree its a pain, but banning multiple accounts really wont stop it.
I dont like trolls any more than anyone else does, but I wont waste my energy getting irate about it. Seems they are a fact of life all over the www? Bit like bad drivers on the roads: they are there, they shouldnt be, but we gotta live in the real world. Some threads and some members seem more than a little suspicious. Yes, and I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt. If they, or others get a kick out of thinking Im a gullible mug? Hey, Ive given them all a cheap laugh and its cost me nowt!
It matters not to me either way.
Robroy under grumpy old truckers login.
In a word NO - but as Admin aren’t interested and certain members take great pleasure in feeding the trolls, some of whom have multiple accounts themselves, I choose to dump all and sundry in the Troll Bucket for when I do visit, which is becoming more and more seldom.
I’d say no only because I don’t understand what multi account holders get out of it. Why don’t people just want to be themselves and tell others about their real lives? If it’s because the reality is so crap they feel the need to have a fantasy life to post about, they really ought to do something about it. If it’s because they like antagonising others from being the mask of a fictitious character, then they are pathetic trolls that really ought to do something more productive with their lives.
Grumpy_old_trucker:
It matters not to me either way.Robroy under grumpy old truckers login.
Don’t confuse things eh mate ffs, 
I’m really Carryfast. 
Way I see it is why tf would anyone want to have anymore than one user a/c anyway ,…other than for purposes negative to the forum and/or to cause mischief and ag.
Case in point as most of that crew are on pre.mod anyway 
, and the rest invariably, and eventually follow, never to be seen again.
On other hand 99% of the time you know EXACTLY who they are by their (ineptly disguised) unique style of posting. 
, but they are too stupid to realise.
After saying that I’m still not sure if at least one (no name) who is of popular opinion a multiple user, …actually is.
Ok I’m on about UKtramp, I’m either right or ■■■■ gullible.
Stanley Knife:
In a word NO - but as Admin aren’t interested and certain members take great pleasure in feeding the trolls, some of whom have multiple accounts themselves, I choose to dump all and sundry in the Troll Bucket for when I do visit, which is becoming more and more seldom.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+1
sums it up nicely.
rule 1…dont post pish or its the naughty corner threat.
rule 2…its ok for multiple id trolls to post pish as it generates the inevitable response traffic.
there can be no reason to be a multiple id user other than to troll.end of.
I didn’t vote because (IMHO) the vote is pointless for the reasons given by Franglais.
(Posted at 09:00, third post from top.)
I feel that, if we banned second/third accounts, it sets up a competition scenario because the trolls may see beating the system as a victory, so then there has to be a winner and a loser. This isn’t going to happen because it would be extra work for the Mod/Admin Team and the circle of toxicity would continue.
The simple thing that lots of people still completely fail to realise is that you have the option (= it’s YOUR choice) to simply scroll past what you think is a troll post, or a post from somebody who you believe has more than one account.
The best action in this case is to simply press the report button to flag it up. Simples.
Now I’ll say it even more plainly… Those who get all uppity and get their knickers in a twist after a reaction from a troll have only themselves to blame for feeding the troll in the first place. This is the core reason that many topics get locked or removed.
I’m all for feedback and sensible polite questions, but that has to be balanced by the management reserving the right to manage.
Just so that folks know that the Mod/Admin Team are STILL taking things seriously, two obvious trolling topics were recently taken down and sanctions were taken before anybody had chance to get into anything.
The only other thing I can add to that is that there are other targets on the radar and further action isn’t far away. 
In the interest of balance I’d like to point out something that imo is very pertinent; this actually isn’t real life! All it is when we boil down to the crux of the matter is an electronic fantasy world where whatever we post or read has absolutely nil effect on our real everyday lives. Why stress about something over which we have little or no control?
NO … Why lose the fun …
the maoster:
In the interest of balance I’d like to point out something that imo is very pertinent; this actually isn’t real life! All it is when we boil down to the crux of the matter is an electronic fantasy world where whatever we post or read has absolutely nil effect on our real everyday lives. Why stress about something over which we have little or no control?
That may well be true for some, but not for others. Last night I read a post that effectively mocked someone for being ill. If I was in their position I’d be quite upset. Internet words or not.
Surely the whole multiple accounts thing is a smokescreen and irrelevant. If a user is baiting the forum, they need to be sanctioned. It seems to me like too much pressure is being put on the posters who are reacting whilst the baiters are free to carry on.
The poll is flawed, it may be a simple yes or no to you but what about people like myself who genuinely couldn’t care less.
Anyway, as has been said it’s not really possible to stop people having multiple accounts because unless they clueless enough to give evidence of multiple accounts it is for the most part just an assumption.
But unless the multiple accounts are being used to disrupt the forums why would it bother anyone anyway 
I suppose the simple answer is this, if you can prove that someone is not who or what they say they are start a thread in Bully’s and post your proof, then everyone will be warned and can ignore them or the admin team can ban them as trolls, on the other hand if you start a thread accusing someone of not being who or what they claim to be and have no real evidence to back up your claims everyone, including the admin team, will know that it’s you who needs watching.
To my mind it’s the people who constantly bang on about multiple account holders or stalk people accusing them of not being who or what they say they are but provide no evidence to back up their claims who are the biggest pita
As much as I don’t like idea of wasting my time replying to trolls if I can’t be sure that someone is just trolling I’ll continue to give people the benefit of the doubt or just ignore them.
I’ve never really bought into this idea that so many people have multiple accounts I tend to see it as a few peoples paranoia, but like I said, if you have proof that someone isn’t who or what they say they are, for instance if you’ve noticed them post something that shows they’re not who or what they claim to be, start a thread and post the proof then many of us will be grateful to you.
I’m not bothered either way, I find just believing everything anybody says removes the stress. The power of the written word should never be underestimated especially in how it’s received by the reader. These days it’s not so much seeing is believing it’s now reading is believing.
But this place doesn’t have a troll issue just some members buggering about.
Might as well let them continue because it is almost impossible to enforce one person one account. How are you going to police it in an age where there’s a plethora of free email providers and most people’s IP addresses change on a daily or even hourly basis depending how they go online?
If someone is on BT Internet the only reliable way to block them would be to block the entire BT customer base of over 9 million people and even then that only works as long as they don’t go online on their mobile phone or any free wifi.
tachograph:
1…The poll is flawed, it may be a simple yes or no to you but what about people like myself who genuinely couldn’t care less.2…Anyway, as has been said it’s not really possible to stop people having multiple accounts because unless they clueless enough to give evidence of multiple accounts it is for the most part just an assumption.
3…But unless the multiple accounts are being used to disrupt the forums why would it bother anyone anyway
4…I suppose the simple answer is this, if you can prove that someone is not who or what they say they are start a thread in Bully’s and post your proof, then everyone will be warned and can ignore them or the admin team can ban them as trolls, on the other hand if you start a thread accusing someone of not being who or what they claim to be and have no real evidence to back up your claims everyone, including the admin team, will know that it’s you who needs watching.
5…To my mind it’s the people who constantly bang on about multiple account holders or stalk people accusing them of not being who or what they say they are but provide no evidence to back up their claims who are the biggest pita
5…As much as I don’t like idea of wasting my time replying to trolls if I can’t be sure that someone is just trolling I’ll continue to give people the benefit of the doubt or just ignore them.
6…I’ve never really bought into this idea that so many people have multiple accounts I tend to see it as a few peoples paranoia, but like I said, if you have proof that someone isn’t who or what they say they are, for instance if you’ve noticed them post something that shows they’re not who or what they claim to be, start a thread and post the proof then many of us will be grateful to you.
NOT having a pop here btw…
1…but if you ‘‘couldn’t care less’’ tacho mate, why bother reading the blatantly obvious content thread, then responding.
Dave and the mods have repeatedly said this (including to me tbh) …just scroll through, so it must have an element of interest for you to respond to the thread.
2…Like I said most of them are instantly recognisable to give themselves and their other i.d.s away instantly.
3…What other motive could it possiblly be?
A classic example my old mate ‘‘Nobroy’’
Could that be for any other reason than a (failed ) attempt to wind me up. if so give me an example.
Opposite effect from me tbh, because apart from being flattered, … The way I see it is if I have ■■■■■■ off someone as challenged as the likes of him, so much that he feels the need to parodise my username 
, I reckon I’ve achieved something , and it says more about him than it does about me in terms of taking this forum far too bloody serious.
4…How can you actually ‘‘prove’’ it , unless you are a mod who has accesss to i.p.address.
At the end of the day it’s your opinion/theory, based on posting styles.
For eg…there is one guy on here who has had the same pops at me using the same subject matter, not to mention the same spelling mistakes, under at least 2 of his guises, so you don’t need to be Jack Regan to suss him/them out.
(Incidentally …why is it ME who attracts these ■■■■ whits on here?? 
)
5…Yeh maybe so, but that is what the Feedback forum is all about, pita is again down to personal opinion.
6…It’s already been done on many of the (locked ) Feedback threads, including this one albeit non specifically.
Yes let it continue because it really doesn’t make a blind bit of difference.
Some people on here clearly have an ego way too big to be constrained within just one profile, so let them have more and play their silly games, it’s up to each user to decide whether to go along with them or just ignore them.
If you try to play their games then you’ve only got your self to blame for any ■■■■ hurt.
What if more than one person in a household is a member using different devices but the same modem 
tachograph:
I’ve never really bought into this idea that so many people have multiple accounts I tend to see it as a few peoples paranoia, but like I said, if you have proof that someone isn’t who or what they say they are, for instance if you’ve noticed them post something that shows they’re not who or what they claim to be, start a thread and post the proof then many of us will be grateful to you.
That’s exactly what it is : paranoia. I have one such paranoid stalker who follows me around like a shadow and screams “multiple accounts” at any given opportunity but despite numerous requests for proof we’re still waiting.
I’ve said it in the previous thread on this subject and I’ll say it again : the issue is not the members who are perceived to be trolls, the issue is with the the members who scream “troll” at anything they don’t or does not align with their beliefs. They’re all delicate, professionally offended, insecure snowflakes that couldn’t fight or argue their way out of a wet paper bag if their life depended on it and are completely out of their depth on internet forums where they don’t have the security of a Facebook ‘like’ button that all their fans can press to show their endorsement and make them feel all empowered. Mob rule mentality.
It’s pathetic. It’s the kind of thing I’d expect to see from 12 year olds bickering in a school playground : they like to dish it out as a mob but can’t take it when the tables are turned : “Mummy those nasty trolls on the internet are saying horrible things to me. I don’t like it and the moderators and admins aren’t doing anything about it, please make it stop mummy!”.
Maybe they should get their mums to post for them instead so that the delicate little petals don’t get all offended? I don’t see any downsides to be honest - the quality of the conversations and discussions would improve immeasurably even though they don’t know anything about trucks or the transport industry and it would have the added bonus of not having to witness grown men bickering like prepubescent children calling each other trolls. What’s not to like?
I struggle to understand why these alleged “troll” posts are such a problem for people anyway. More often than not the author is not particularly bright and has left gaping holes in their claims which can be easily exposed leaving them looking extremely foolish. As noted above, when such vocal people make bold claims but can’t actually substantiate any of them, a few robustly-worded lines which amount to “proof or stfu” tends to have the desired effect of seeing them return back to the hole from which they crawled out of whilst they nurse their wounds and question whether it’s worth the effort continuing to bait members that have a bite to match their bark.
Alternatively people could just ignore any dumb threads where it appears that the author’s sole objective is to get a rise out of people as this also has the same effect of taking the wind out of their sails if they don’t get any bites. Unfortunately this seems to be an alien concept to most truckers and so nothing ever changes and it’s all the mods/admins fault for “not doing anything about it” .
Dry your eyes, MTFU and take some personal responsibility for yourselves and your actions instead of blaming the problems on everyone but yourself.
Dave: if you can find a way of auto-banning anyone who writes the word “troll” then do it. It would solve a lot of problems and would also remove all those members who are posting on the internet without their mum’s permission.
ROG:
What if more than one person in a household is a member using different devices but the same modem
Whaddya reckon the chances of that are in reality Rog?