Major Changes To Forum Policy

magyar

The_White_Horse wrote: »

Just because someone is asking for help, doesn't mean they can't be called an idiot.

Yes it does, if they need help now. If someone is careless and walks off a cliff, you would just call an ambulance, you wouldn't tell them they were an idiot for walking off the cliff.

You might do so later, when they'd recovered. You might hope it would stop them doing it again.

So there's a time and a place for everything.

gwinnie

MSE_Martin wrote: »

Ok a fwe clarifications.

1. You WILL still be able to thank every post. Just posts in the MSA, Discusssion time, MS polls, and poss house prices debate boards WONT be added to the thanks count.

Under this new system, posting, say, "woohoo I'm in" on the flylady thread in OS gains you 40-odd addable thanks but giving a concise explanation on renewable energy in DT can only garner empty thanks. Neither is strictly moneysaving but one provides a wealth of knowledge while the other enhances strong community bonds.

I appreciate it is a privilege posting here, not an automatic right, and that includes the functionality of the forum software. But having a privilege taken away can be a toughie, particularly for those who were not on the extremes of the behaviour spectrum.

The more I think about it, the more I think a two-tier Thanks function says that this is a two-tier community.

Just my thoughts

milliemonster

The_White_Horse wrote: »

Makes sense, but you have to remember that some people log on and off quickly and don't even know half the boards exist. I have never been to the arms. i just see a post, wherever it is, and reply to it.

Just because someone is asking for help, doesn't mean they can't be called an idiot.

Of course it does!, the whole ethos of this forum is to provide help and advice and be NON JUDGMENTAL! whether you agree with someone or not, if people are asking for help, they don't deserve for someone to offer their opinion on how stupid they are or have been, most of the time, people know that themselves without someone who knows little about them telling them so.

Just calling people an idiot is offensive and completely uncalled for, I agree sometimes people are mollycoddled a bit too much and by asking for advice a poster is laying themselves open to advice they may not wish to read but calling someone an idiot is not offering advice

Bogof_Babe

I don't think newbies have the monopoly on starting new threads where one already exists, so any measures brought in to avoid this should be attached to all new threads. Goodness knows how it would work though, given that a lot of headings are just something like "Great new savings account" which gives no clues until the thread is posted and read.

Actually that is a bugbear of mine, thread headings that do not indicate what the topic actually is.

Another major bugbear of mine (sorry I seem to be on a roll now ) are people who quote an entire post, maybe several paragraphs long, then just make a one line comment about it, sometimes even e.g. "that's exactly what I meant". I've just tried to work out what the multi-quote button does, but I couldn't see how it differs from the ordinary "quote" function.

Is there any way the system could be set so that when you select "quote" it asks you to highlight which part of the post you are replying to, which would be easier than having to highlight and delete the parts you are not replying to? Of course you could still highlight the whole thing, but it might focus the mind a bit, and avoid all that scrolling through a post you've already read, just to find that someone agrees with it!

magyar

gwinnie wrote: »

Under this new system, posting, say, "woohoo I'm in" on the flylady thread in OS gains you 40-odd addable thanks but giving a concise explanation on renewable energy in DT can only garner empty thanks.

It already does Gwinnie, it already does....

gwinnie

magyar wrote: »

It already does Gwinnie, it already does....

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind... :A

Poppy9

I do think that many posters who start threads in DT or MSA will now start them in the main board to keep accumulating posts and thanks and these will become discussion threads which will go off topic and thus create more work for Board Guides.

However many people proclaim that the post or thank count is unimportant if they feel aggrieved that these are still accumulating in other boards where people just post "Hi, what are we doing today" then they will seek to work within the system to continue accumulating posts/thanks as they will see it as a slight on them as a poster in saying their friendly posts/discussions are less valid than those in OS, competitions etc.

Gorgeous_George

MSE_Martin wrote: »

So we are considering discounting posts and thanks in the discussion baords from the post and thanks count

That'll hurt.

MSE Martin

Money Saving Expert
Fantastically Fervent MoneySaving Super Fan




Join Date: Jan 2001
Post Count: 6,448
Thanked 33,156 Times in 4,225 Posts

GG

it_takes_two

Martin,whats your policy on any of your team responding to emails concerning a query?Do you encourage replies to customers of your site?Or not?

Former_MSE_Dan

it_takes_two wrote: »

Martin,whats your policy on any of your team responding to emails concerning a query?Do you encourage replies to customers of your site?Or not?

I'm sure Martin will answer too but in general we just get way too many emails and PMs to have any hope of answering them all and still getting any other work done!

We do our very best to try and sort out any big issues people may have where a bank has wronged them, and of course we take in as much feedback as we can, which is extraordinarily helpful when writing pieces for the email or just getting new ideas. But sadly we aren't able to set anything in stone - sometimes you may get a reply, sometimes it isn't possible.

Hope this helps

Dan