Any way to outright block apps/browsers from using your site?

[Clover13]

This is related to the whitespacing issue I posted about yesterday.  Outside of banning a non-compliant member, what other options do I have to prevent the usage of a given app/browser that is problematic with IPS sites?  The inconsistent behavior of the app/browser is simply not dissuading the member enough as sometimes it posts correctly, but other times it inserts 10 scrolling pages of whitespace and completely disrupts the readability of the site for everyone.  I've had a number of PMs with the member, and it's at the point of instituting a ban which would be a shame because has posted years of good content on the site.  I'd rather have a passive aggressive approach of outright blocking his app and still giving him a choice to browse/use the site with an alternate browser.

Any ideas?

[My Sharona]

Probably not the solution you're looking for but you could always place the offending member into a group whose postings require moderation approval before showing to the membership at large.

[Jim M]

7 minutes ago, My Sharona said:

Probably not the solution you're looking for but you could always place the offending member into a group whose postings require moderation approval before showing to the membership at large.

This would be the applicable solution here. Just let them know that if they discontinue use of the troublesome third party browser, you will lift the mod queue. I honestly wouldn’t waste any time on someone who you provided a solution to a problem with and they don’t want to do it. 

[Clover13]

13 minutes ago, My Sharona said:

Probably not the solution you're looking for but you could always place the offending member into a group whose postings require moderation approval before showing to the membership at large.

I think you can set that at the member level too.  Might send the message, but I feel like it puts more work on mods and myself.  I'm already doing that implicitly as I have to track his posts to clean them up right now when they go haywire.

1 minute ago, Jim M said:

This would be the applicable solution here. Just let them know that if they discontinue use of the troublesome third party browser, you will lift the mod queue. I honestly wouldn’t waste any time on someone who you provided a solution to a problem with and they don’t want to do it. 

The only reason I care is because of the impact to viewability to other members.  It basically corrupts an entire post/page when the whitespace is introduced, so the member simply has to stop using it.  A ban will certainly get the message across, but moderating every post for approval just puts more work on us rather than him unless the delay to visibility bothers him enough.

Edited December 29, 2022 by Clover13

[My Sharona]

59 minutes ago, Clover13 said:

I think you can set that at the member level too.  Might send the message, but I feel like it puts more work on mods and myself.  I'm already doing that implicitly as I have to track his posts to clean them up right now when they go haywire.

The tracking would be alleviated because they would go into a queue and your UCP toolbar will alert you, and any other administrative staff who has such permissions, that there are posts needing moderation. And, as Jim alluded to, since the member in question has been duly notified, I would not give priority to having to review them.

Letting them sit and becoming a bit stale might motivate the member to get with it. You do however want to process them with some expediency because you do want to incentivise him/her. Judgment call as far as how much time to let elapse.

Edited December 29, 2022 by My Sharona