Should we disable or remove members for constantly being unhelpful?

I found a member with 100+ pieces of advice, almost every single answer was off topic and unhelpful.

So...what should we do in those cases? I'm curious what the community thinks because to me, it's a serious problem. Eg, it ruins others enjoyment of the site if every question they ask all they get is sarcasm, ranting, or random mumbling in reply, and nothing that pertained to what they asked. Thoughts?

I agree, but that is a tough call. Possibly a graduated (e.g. stepped) series of actions.
1. A friendly general statement for the person to improve
2. A warning
3. Loss of the person's icons and pictures for a limited time
4. a limited time lock-out.
5. removal

I do think - as I'm sure you do Thedude - that this should only be used for hardcore violators, as almost everyone is guilty of this occasionally

Ugh, I'm so with you.
I find myself getting very irritated by certain users because they post answers that are completely off topic and are very unhelpful. I think it also frustrates the person who posted the question because they are trying to get logical answer then some user comes along who is supposed to be helping and they don't one bit.

Obviously it isn't expected that every user know the answer to every single question... but if they don't know the answer than they should just leave it for someone who does know the answer. I think some people just *want* to help someone so they kind of use their imagination a little too much and sometimes provide false information. Users just need to focus more on the things they do know, and if not than do some research before giving an answer they don't know a lot about.

I know today I was answering a question and I saw a post from someone and their answer was completely false so I had to post another answer on the thread clearing that persons advice up. I hate sitting there having to tell someone their advice is wrong, makes me feel bad but people cant be giving false information because it messes things up a bit.

I think we should give them a warning first and if they don't improve in a certain amount of days then its clear they don't care which should lead to a nookie cookie.

Hmmm, Maybe put the account on a probation and evaluate there advice on a whole level and set a standard that if they dont meet they will be removed...

Yeah so an evaluation of people abusing the site by giving off topic or completely unhelpful advice, maybe a warning, then a probation in which they will be evaluated... its a very tricky topic

no no no no no no

yes, I think we should
unhelpful advice is just that...unhelpful
as well as that it can also be very confusing for the people getting it
they might think some of the things said are true
or do something that the other person has said even
...I would say a lot of unhelpful advice is given on sexual topics as well
sex is one thing that a lot of people need help with
its annoying finding answers that are giving completely incorrect or stupid information!
and its not exactly helpul when someone asks a question just to be given an answer like "omg no way" ect

I agree with the idea of like, a suspension first.
and if it persists, THEN delete accounts.

(: but yeah, its so annoying when people aren't helpful and especially when its a very serious question.

 
I think the Advisors should take more interest in the Answers to Questions and Delete those that are off topic, sarcastic, ranting, or random mumbling.

They could at the same time Fun Mail the "offender" and advise them that that type of Answer is not appropriate and that continued posting of that type of Answer might cause Admins to take a serious look at their account.

I assume that Deleted Answers go into a Delete Que just like Deleted Questions do, so Admins would have the ability to override the Advisor's action if necessary.

Yes
It is best to stop a bad habit cold-turkey then to let linger on and on and on. But if you do need to wean it off then do it before you get to the triple digits.

I think if the person isn helpin out and causin problems or whatever, I think you should do somethin bout it, this is a place to give advice and help, thats what this person should do if htis person or anyone else wants to abuse this site I think they should be banned from it

I agree that someone who consistently answers off topic should be warned, then removed.
But, as we all know, censorship is a slippery slope.
Sarcasm, rants and arguments sometimes put the "fun" in funadvice, so I do not agree with ethmer that they should be removed from the question...
sometimes they are appropriate and necessary...

not at all... they might not have great advice but they might need help... and they try to be their best. but you should get rid of people who do bad stuff and comment nasty things

I think that you should disable the accounts temporarly so the people who don't give good answers would probably learn a lesson.
I don't know what else but, if they continue to violate the site's rules and regulations, then you should remove them completely from the site. This site isn't for sarcasm, or arguments. This site is for seeking advice and counsel.
So, Give those who violate the rules a warning like everyone stated in their answers, if that doesn't help, then disable the account temporarly. Or, like I stated remove them if this problem keeps up.

I agree that it should be looked into, but keep in consideration that some are more mentaly challenged than others. And there are some that are just not mature yet, while others seem to have that oh so usual dry since of humor. Any answer in my mind should be evaulated by the person asking the question. In life, I take the good advice and throw out the bad. I have seen a few answers that I would say are on the mean cold hearted-side and I really feel in that case that the person should be warned or cut-off. We are here to help each other, not be mean!!!

It would depend on the severity of your claim, but otherwise I agree with eaglewings and confused girl. Off topic advice doesn't bother me if it's relevant, the site is not only for answering people's questions but also for informing other members. What was thought to be unhelpful doesn't mean the advice will be unhelpful to all. What I find annoying is when false opinions are posted, but I don't expect the site to accommodate to my preference and remove them. In a way it can be helpful if they are corrected.
If a members only offence is being sarcastic, ranting, or randomly mumbling then it would certainly be unfair to remove their account. I realize this is a social site, but removing members because of their social skills is a little harsh.
I highly doubt that all members are going to alter their personality, if they gander the type of member in question.
However, if the advice they're giving is stupid, wrong, and in an out of hand manner then the removal of their account should be considered.

***However, if the advice they're giving is stupid, wrong, and in an out of hand manner then the removal of their account should be considered.***

There is a bigger problem with members posting questions that are pointless, or who treat the sight as their personal blog.

some people are just stupid but they don't really have bad intentions. give em a chance

yes I know im a common offender here but yeah if thats ALL someone does than they have no reason to be on here

Honestly, I don't know. Like, sometime's I'll post things that are COMPLETELY random and everything, but its not like it's ALL I do. Most of the time, I really TRY to give the person the best advice that I can.

Like I think Stephanie said, Some people really WANT to help, but really can't and they put down false info. So I don't know if deleting their account is really fair. I mean...some people actually THINK they're right when they're not.

But yes, the ones that ONLY put totally random and unhelpful answers on purpose, by all means- you SHOULD delete them. The only problem w/that is that they might have serious questions, just not good advice...

...even I'M confuzzled by what I just said so don't worry! -_-

Yes, absoutly. If over half of someones advice is either rude or not helpful, then what the heck are they doing here? Just wasting space as far as I am concerned.

definately if they are consistantly unhelpful. Its one thing to post the occasional off-topic comment (its a social sort of site afterall!) but if they dont actually contribute anything at all helpful to the site, whats the point?

I think there account should be disabled.I've seen a variety of question that has bad advice on there.There's even times where I can't understand the answer because it is such nonsense.
I think that some people on here just wants to look at there profile and have other look at there profile and see that they have a lot of questions answered.