15.5. Encouraging Good Behavior

Unfortunately, trolls and spammers are part of the Internet landscape and are unlikely to pack up and go home, so encouraging them to move on to another site is (sadly) the answer. One basic idea is to give weight to the online identity that everyone has on your site. The more information an identity has about someone, the easier it is to determine whether he starts arguments all the time or plays nicely.

This approach is slanted against newcomers, but it is an accurate reflection of how the real world operates. People in general do not get full access to a community the moment they walk through the door; respect and trust are earned. That being said, you do not need to implement all of these restrictions on day one; a wait-and-see approach is often best.