We all hate spammers – you know the type, they pitch up in Group chat and fire off an IM, complete with Surl for some sale or event that has nowt to do with the Group itself. Groups with open enrolment are, sadly, particularly susceptible to these idiots.
Deeply annoying.
But, in the case of large Groups, equally annoying is the tirades that then follow said spammer as Group members proceed to gnash teeth, yowl, shakes their fists and generally react – sometimes for several minutes at a time, the comments scrolling up the Group Chat window, and, well, spamming the rest of the Group.
Yes, spammers are a PITA but I really wish people would remember that by the time they’ve pulled up the IM window, typed a reply and hit RETURN the spammer is long gone. They’ll have closed their IM window and sodded off somewhere else – if not left the Group entirely to find another target.
So, before jumping on the bandwagon of condemnation (however tempting it may be), please spare a thought for the rest of your fellow Group members who have been equally affected and try not to become as much an irritant as the original culprit.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 
*shrug* Setting a group to Moderate is supposed to work, right?
Unless I need to have the group for
– Land management
– Receiving freebies
– Sending notices right now
– Knowing when SL is widespread wonky when chatter explodes
I hand it to my alt and get updates via IM-to-email
-ls/cm
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Group Moderation is limited in its effectiveness; while a Group moderator can ban the original offender, it doesn’t solve the aftermath issue unless one is really harsh – and in large “support” groups for products and services, this could be wholly counter-productive. A reasonable level of inter-user chat is expected as people assist one another – and is accepted by all. The irritant comes when there is a long stream of non-related spam-like outpouring, which is really down to people letting the moment get ahead of their self-restraint.
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This doesn’t just happen with groups, I’ve been at office hours where you get someone speaking out of turn followed by a round of “Let the Linden speak”, “If you don’t stop talking we’ll never hear the answer”, “Can you let the Linden speak” ….. this goes on for far longer than the initial message and is counter intuitive.
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Very true, and equally annoying. I raise the Group chat issue as – with respect – it can impact a far greater number of people. I’ve been at OH meetings where precisely what you describe has happened and the frustration level is palpable.
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