Major Changes To Forum Policy

it_takes_two

MSE_Dan wrote: »

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

Thanks Dan,i was more meaning of a query that was in a personal nature concerning a problem with using the forums

gordikin

How about an amnesty for those that were PPRd before the new system?

marleyboy

Some wonderful ideas Martin, my only worry is concerning AE's.

For example, lets say a particular Troll, gets the 3 strikes warning before a PPR, does this mean the Troll in question could simply return as an AE, with another 3 strikes warning?...and so on and so on.

I think the trouble with Newbies on MSE, is a small minority of them are AE's, I still think it would be a good idea if after the 3 trike rule, a PPR should include an IP block, it may or may not be 100% effective, but even 1% effectiveness is something.

I do find that there is a difference between those who are "regulars" and those who just have lots of posts or thanks, there is still this confusion that "thanks" or "post count" is some badge of honour, which for a newbie can appear confusing.

The "regulars" on the other hand, I see as people who do their best to offer a good service to MSE, are polite and courtious, particularly towards newbies, we were all newbies once. (we all try to help them feel welcome, like new recruits ).

Regulars generally know who the regulars are, who can be trusted, who offer a good service to others, their level of expertise, as well as the threads they associate with, they also know the nasty members, regardless of post counts or thanks counts. (Indeed a Troll, is more likely to have lots of useless and nasty posts, as well as plenty of thanks).

Some forum's offer a thumbs up or down ticker for each post in a thread, giving a new member a rough idea of a post's worthiness. (similar to the "like it" bar you have recently included in some of the threads).

Of course everyone on here, would love to see nastiness abolished in the forum's, but understand it is a virtually impossible quest. All we can realistically do, is report it when we see it whilst at the same time trying to reassure any newbie to ignore the nasty remark up until its deletion.

Whatever the results, MSE will continue to be the Cream of the Crop.

P.S. Good luck with the R.S.I. (I'm sure there will soon be a "copper" bangle Moneysaving Tip, included in the threads )

it_takes_two

Some users have been banned and never ever posted anything "nasty"

marleyboy

it_takes_two wrote: »

Some users have been banned and never ever posted anything "nasty"

I am sure if a user is banned, they can appeal the decision with the Mod's. Generally if a user is banned, there is a reason behind it.

aliEnRIK

it_takes_two wrote: »

Some users have been banned and never ever posted anything "nasty"

Can you give examples of that?

tomterm8

MSE_Martin wrote: »

2. Rudeness to newbies.

Sadly new posters seem to get abuse more often than they used to. Often its because they ask questions that've already been asked, or post in the wrong place.

From my perspective, there are newbies to the forum as a whole, but there are also newbies to particular boards. Sometimes, even someone with 10,000 posts somewhere may be entirely new to a subject area, and ask noob questions. And get flammed.

Really, I think a culture of politeness and respect for others should be encouraged whether they are new or not. Except for racist twits:p.

MSE_Martin wrote: »

if they've checked whether the subject already exists and where to get info - this will be tailed by the board.

I think it should also explain how to search.

MSE_Martin wrote: »

3. General Nastiness

It's time for a tougher stance, and I've told the abuse team that while in the past we tried hard not to PPR long standing posters, that protection sadly has to go; if someones persistetly causing trouble they will be PPRd. This one is starting immediately.

I think someone who comes onto the forum to immediatly spam / cause trouble should be treated differently to someone who has 1,000 posts. Basically, taking a little time to PM them / attempt it to cool things down often works wonders.

Of course, there is a point where formal measures need to be taken.

Frankly, if I were to recieve a "card" without having someone PM me / contact me prior to recieving it, then as someone whose posted on here for several years, I would be very offended and i would go ofskie. You wouldn't need to ban me. I would just leave.

MSE_Martin wrote: »

We are also lookng at post counts and thanks counts. Currently a (very) few posters with high post counts seem to act as if they are invincible and above the rules.

Though sometimes those posts are in the non-MoneySaving boards, and don't actually show any real contribution to the wealth of MoneySAving knowledge.

So we are considering discounting posts and thanks in the discussion baords from the post and thanks count - to make them a more reflective indicator. (obviously if people start posting nonesense in other boards just to build post count then they'll be deleted - red carded etc)

I don't really see the sence in this, unless you believe someone who regularly post in DT / Arms / House boards is a lesser class of user on the board whose views are less respected than someone who posts on DFW, for example. For what its worth, I think a lot of people on these discussion boards use the rest of the site, but often post advice under a different user name.

People with high posts should be just as vulnerable to official sanctions as someone with a low post count. There should be curtesy to people who are regular users of the board, but just because you are a prolific user doesn't mean that you should not abide by the same rules as everyone else.

it_takes_two

marleyboy wrote: »

I am sure if a user is banned, they can appeal the decision with the Mod's. Generally if a user is banned, there is a reason behind it.

Wrong,they can't

it_takes_two

aliEnRIK wrote: »

Can you give examples of that?

Yes but not on this thread or to anyone apart from a senior team member

aliEnRIK

it_takes_two wrote: »

Yes but not on this thread or to anyone apart from a senior team member

To be honest ~ your being very vague. If you cant post any actual examples then its completely meaningless as weve no clue what your talking about