So I have a guest on my board claiming to have created a character which somehow seems to have the name of one of my canons. We've tried explaining that the names were randomly chosen, but he/she's not having any of it and is starting to worry me. Do I hit "ban" or does this make it worse.

I'm very afraid that what is all a misunderstanding and coincidence may result in my board being lost. Advice?

If they're being unreasonable and provoking your members you might have no choice but to ban them, frankly. They're probably just trying to stir up trouble. Then again, I haven't really had this problem since my board is just getting back on it's feet.

Wow, that does sound odd. Yeah, I'd press ban and tell them just to leave, I don't know what exactly they are doing, I'm not to sure what you mean. They joined as one of your canon's? Either way, whatever is happening and your alarm bells are ringing then you probably have some reason to be worried. Maybe not ban them, let things pan out a bit and if you are sure you have reason to believe they are up to no good, then just ban them and forget about them.

I really don't get the point of some people. Do they actually go out and look for a place to annoy people?

Is it a common name or is it a name that's not used that often? If it's a common name, I'd tell her politely that it's a coincidence. If it's not a common name, I guess I'd be a little bit suspicious too, if I were in this person's shoes, but coincidences are still possible. I've never been in this situation, but if I were, I'd probably tell them nicely that I understand their concerns, but that I haven't copied anything, and any similarity is purely coincidental. Then I'd warn them not to spam my c-box/boards with accusations, and tell them that if they kept it up, they'd be banned. I think actually banning the person comes across as a little bit defensive, so I might explain that the banning is a result of them being disruptive to the board, and not because I have anything to hide.

I don't think there's any danger of losing your board over this though. I think (... I hope) Invisionfree checks claims of plagiarism a little bit better than that, and complaining to IF that someone 'stole' a name, especially if it's a normal name, is a little bit... stoopid in my opinion.

Wow, I just read the conversation... They seriously resorted to all caps? Yeah, time to cut them off.

The name used is Michael Harper. For a post potter site. Turns out I used RP with this person. (Harper was a contemporary of Harry's. The son was named by a member who didn't like the original choice of Steven) *sighs* Coincidence. nothing more.

However I'm worried they'll go to IF and report the board.

Change the name temporarily. Wait until the person leaves. Then turn it back.

They seem to be too busy insulting you, from what I can see...

As long as the rest of the character's traits are different, there is really no need for her to be upset. The name is nothing more than a combination of a common first name and a common surname.

I wouldn't mess around with her. Explain it's a coincidence, and that unless your character and hers has more than just a name and gender in common, she has no grounds to make a scene. Ask her kindly to drop the subject or leave. If she doesn't comply and continues to make a big deal out of it, ban her.

o.O

I went to your board and read the convo, and I gotta say this person is either ten years old or incredibly silly. As for the name... practically anyone could have come up with a name like Michael Harper, especially since Harper is a fixed surname. It's a very common name, and as far as I know, names aren't copyrighted. There are tons of people out there with identical names. Think their parents were being copycats? I don't.

I wouldn't change the name of the canon though. It makes it look like you've done something wrong, and as far as I can see, you haven't. Practically ANYONE could come up with the name Michael randomly.

Thank you for the support. I've banned her. The only problm is my coadmin and I lost the access login/password for the cbox and can't keep her out of it.

If you have to, remove the C-box temporarily or place it somewhere that only members can access.

You could put a c-box in a separate section and password-protect it, then give the password only to members.

Ok, things have quieted down. Thank you for all your support and advice. It was much appreciated.

I'm glad you got the situation under control. I would hate if something like that happened to me over something as silly as a name.

I wish I had gotten here before the situation was rectified however, because then you could have told her that Harper is one of the 200 most common names in the U.S. Lmao. And Michael? It's the second most popular male name in the U.S. e___e;

EDIT: I read over the conversation and wow, this NAT ! person seems ...stupid. :\ I wouldn't have changed the name of the canon; if they reported you for stealing a character name, I doubt IF would have done anything since they have more important things to worry about than that. I say you try and find the c-box username/password (you should be able to get it emailed), ban the IP and then change it back. LOL.

lol @ "I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THIS"

The Ban button is your friend.

Utilize it.

ETA: Nevermind. Good job.

Unless the person somehow managed to copyright the name "Michael Harper" then they are ridiculous and BAN THEM PLEASE. Even if the name was unique, you really can't copyright a name. As long as the character itself is different. Who cares anyway if you steal someone's name, it just means you like the name. Happens in society all the time and you don't hear moms complaining.

Ban them. You never need a reason to ban someone. You have rights as a board owner, and those include preventing certain people from getting on your forum. Its your online property, granted you follow the terms of the host.

So the dust hasn't hit the ground quite yet. Does anyone know if banned users can see the sideboard? One of the girl's friends has started spamming the cbox. I tried putting a new one up, give my members a fresh start, but couldn't get posts to stick.