Forgiving Gen Y

When a child reaches the age of 18, their slate is wiped clean,right? Not in all cases. The Web and its inhabitants do not always forgive - and they certainly don't forget!

For instance, around the age of 16 or 17 (which is longer ago than I would like to admit), I won auctions for a couple of items on eBay, and for some reason or the other, I wasn't able to follow through. Was it irresponsible and worth being given the kiss of death (negative feedback on eBay)? Surely, it was.

However, 7 or 8 years down the road, I'm a different person: a homeowner with multiple college degrees and responsibility on many levels - not exactly that same kid surfing the net back in '99 without a care in the world. So is it right to judge me based on a couple of simple mistakes made a decade ago? The US Government would have forgiven a minor for things much more serious by now. A sour deal that old is really no indicator of current responsibility.

But the Web is just like that fabled elephant who never forgets. And I've moved on, having created a new Web identity. Yet every now and then, someone finds that bad feedback and is able to link it to me - I do a lot of deals online for computer parts and the like. It really is benefiting nobody. Isn't it time to be forgiven already?

Maybe it is. Your parents told you to forgive and forget, right? It might not work in every circumstance, but in just as many (or more) it can - and will often benefit the Web site as well. For instance, a person banned from a Web forum can attempt to come back in a few years and when identified, be forgiven but sternly warned (assuming the charge is less than heinous).

In many cases, the banned user is outgoing and/or passionate. These qualities in a teenager may get them in trouble on the Web, but later in life, it can allow them to get you more hits. These outspoken individuals are more likely to drive others to your site if welcomed back. That person can be the one to contribute content that drives 20,000+ hits, ultimately driving ad or affiliate-sales revenue.

Can it really pay off? Sure. The situation above is not only a true story, but a personal one.

It would be understandable to not want to take that risk. Your Website may be your baby - and your baby doesn't deserve to be run amok with hooligans. But know this: those users are already on your site. They've created new usernames; they've registered with different credit card numbers.

So when they approach you and ask for their old username back, don't take that as an admission of guilt and take further steps to ban them. When they reach out to have archaic feedback removed, don't let it fall on deaf ears. Review their more recent history and be fair. They're going to be on the Web for quite a long time, and can you really afford to lose all of those clicks?