Banned user account

I just wanted to let everyone know that I've banned the account AlteredManx02. The owner of the account is obviously also using MadManx2084, as they've been rating albums 5 stars using both accounts within minutes of each other (could they have been any more obvious?). I've sent messages to both accounts regarding the rules, but have never received a response and they've not changed their behaviour. 

Please note that our goal has always been to have a friendly and open community where all members are treated with respect, so I don't take banning accounts lightly. I've left the MadManx2084 account active for now to give them an opportunity to follow the rules.

Bravo Ben. Interestingly, this move has immediately resulted in our By Site Rating charts having a new number one release too.

How bored are some people on the internet?  I mean if your goal in life is to see your favourite albums ranked in your preferred order to the point where you would cheat to get the desired outcome then I would suggest that you aren't winning at life.  Jeez!

Seriously, someone would bother doing this? To what end? I must be so out of touch because I just don't get it.

I just talked to MadManx2084 via private message, asking him what the whole motive behind his actions was, and boy do I have an interesting tale to tell. You might be find this hard to believe, but even though he has a Metal Academy account, he's so busy working on his own metal music projects, even when he's stuck at home during the ongoing virus, though he never intends on releasing them in any way. Apparently, what he has been doing in Metal Academy is rating many of the metal albums he's been listening to over his years, starting with the ones that deserve 5 stars, and eventually he would go down rating albums 4.5 stars, 4 stars, and lower. His tight schedule has made it really difficult to progress through his rating idea or respond to any messages. So he has apologized for what he has done and deleted all his ratings. But the story ain't over yet! This might be pretty unbelievable, but that AlteredManx02 account is stalking him! That account was made by someone with a slightly different username and clans and intended to copy his every move, starting with those ratings. The person who made the account even sent MadManx2084 a death threat email saying that they would steal his identity and murder him. I can't believe it! MadManx deleted the email and emptied the trash. He said that as soon as he's free from his schedule, he's gonna track down that stalker and turn that person over to the police. He has insisted that nobody help him because he's a tough guy who can protect himself and go solo in a mission like that. Guys, stalking is no joking matter. This video below shows someone else's experience with a stalker and how you can avoid that kind of situation:

It's times like that where we have to give someone the benefit of a doubt instead of just threatening to block them. Ben, you did the right thing of banning the stalker account. Who knows what that fake account would've done if they got their way? The lesson is: Don't jump to conclusions and watch out for people with actual criminal tendencies.

All I'll say on this topic is that Ben is much more generous than I would have been.

How bored are some people on the internet?  I mean if your goal in life is to see your favourite albums ranked in your preferred order to the point where you would cheat to get the desired outcome then I would suggest that you aren't winning at life.  Jeez!

I think it's mostly about cheating the three-clan system more than it is the charts (God knows why because it essentially achieves nothing for the user or the other members). Then once they've got two accounts with different clan selections they want both to have a reasonable status on the site so they double up their ratings.

Hey! Good timing for you to message me. I'm quite a busy fellow who has been working on my own metal music projects to share around my own state, though I never think of releasing them or uploading them online. I even work on them from home, which is convenient for the time of the virus. I've been using my own Metal Academy account with the motive to rate many of the metal albums I've listened to throughout my years, starting with the ones that deserve 5 stars, meaning that I would even get down to rating albums 4.5 stars, 4 stars, or lower. But because of my tight schedule, I barely have time to use this account to do my rating idea, nor respond to any of these messages. Sorry about that, and I'm sorry if you don't like my rating idea. You think I should delete my ratings? ...Oh why am I asking? I should! Oh that alternate account, AlteredManx02? Yeah, about that... Someone's stalking me! Someone created an account with a slightly different name and slightly different clans, and has the intention of copying my every move, starting with some of my ratings! I even got an email from the person saying that this was just the tip of the iceberg, that the person is planning on stealing my identity and murder me, and that "there could be only one of us." Yikes! Just what is that guy's deal? I deleted that email and emptied the trash. As soon as I find a clear gap in my schedule, I'm gonna track down that stalker and I'll turn whoever that is over to the police. And please DON'T help me, I'm tough and I can protect myself and go solo in this mission. But that doesn't mean you can follow my example. If someone's stalking you and you've had very little experience on how you can protect yourself, don't tough it out, reach out for help. Anyway, I gotta go. I need some rest before I do another project and track down that stalker. I might not be able to respond to your messages, but congratulations! You got a glimpse of Bigfoot. OK bye!

Message from MadManx2084 for you all to understand more of his dilemma.

My bullshitometer is reading so far of the scale I need a parallel universe to catch the actual reading.  If someone threatens to murder you, you don't wait for "a gap in your schedule" to report it - no matter how tough you are - since if it were true this "stalker" could be doing the same to multiple (and much more vulnerable) people and it would be the responsible act to report it immediately.

What utter nonsense.

MadManx said that he was gonna have to confront the stalker and report them to the police in person. Also it could be possible that the stalker might've only been targeting that one guy. He can't just call the police and say "Help, someone's stalking me!" without having more info from the stalker. Reporting isn't super easy nowadays...

So he and this stalker have exchanged addresses?  Sorry Andi, it’s up to you what you believe but there’s a lot of holes that can all too easily be poked in this story.  If this user does become public on the board I for one will be avoiding them.

I think you might want to stay open to the possibility that you're being played with here Andi. Let's just close this thread & move on, shall we?

Y’know, now that I think about it, this is starting to get ridiculous. At this point, I don’t know what’s going on in that guy’s head. I mean, really? Using two accounts to cheat the rating system and coming up with an insane lying excuse? Yeah, I’m starting to think that guy has to go. Ben, in case MadManx2084 ends up pulling another strange stunt like that, please ban him. I didn’t wanna have to make that request, but it’s for the best...