Major Changes To Forum Policy

Quasar

LOL I meant to click on "reply" but clicked on "spam" instead!! :eek:
I spent 5 horrified seconds then I remember the "not spam" reversal. Phew...

Anyway I just wanted to reiterate that very often people see abuse and nastiness where there isn't any. While we all have a duty to be civilised in our replies, I also believe that people who feel often offended should look at whether their could be a bit more restrained in their own reactions, perhaps asking for elucidation rather than assuming the worst?

superscaper

Quasar wrote: »

LOL I meant to click on "reply" but clicked on "spam" instead!! :eek:
I spent 5 horrified seconds then I remember the "not spam" reversal. Phew...

Understandable mistake to make for such a newbie.

Bogof_Babe

Surely if you feel a poster has been "nasty" to you, all you need to do is quote his/her post and write underneath "I take exception to that", then see how many thanks YOU get - if you get a few you can take it that other people also feel the post was objectionable, and if it is bad enough then you can report it to abuse.

Without having ever noticed any of these unpleasant posts it is hard to understand the nature of them, but I feel they might be the result of misunderstandings, rather than a deliberate attempt to upset someone. Or even just differences of opinion, as previously suggested on this thread.

We are all adults, and apart from trolls and spammers (who get dealt with anyway) we all want to enjoy the boards without intentionally causing distress to others. Don't we?

Incidentally I agree that we can't let the compers call the shots about the use of the thanks button. It is for thanking people, not marking your place.

Quasar

superscaper wrote: »

Understandable mistake to make for such a newbie.

Pants to you too.

Oh I found the trouble with the printer :rolleyes:
I'll post an update on my thread.

superscaper

Quasar wrote: »

Pants to you too.

Oh I found the trouble with the printer :rolleyes:
I'll post an update on my thread.

Yeah definitely weird. And shows you what we technies know (nothing!!).

AirCooledHeaven

Just my 2p worth:

All the stuff that Martin is unhappy about exists on every other forum on the internet. Forum behaviour reflects human nature and the relative anonymity of forums allows the best and worst of people's personalities to be laid bare. Every forum has it's 'types' of poster and they are pretty much universal, as observed here:

http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/

Cliques are formed, posters get flamed, posters are offended, posters seek offence, posters are arrogant, posters are knowledgeable, posters are ignorant, posters are intelligent, posters are stupid, posters argue etc etc. It's just life, it can't be changed in reality and it can't be changed on line, it just has to be accepted and managed as best as possible.

I was surprised to discover that board guides are expected to 'look after' multiple forums, I think there should be a board guide for each forum and they should be allowed to apply some level of moderation, but without stifling the thread. Just to weed out the obviously offensive and unhelpful posts, while allowing the thread to develop in the organic way threads do.

I think the 'thanks' system should also be removed because it is not consistently applied by posters. Some people invest time and effort for a really helpful and well researched answer and get no thanks, others post frivolous answers and get thanked. There are people who never thank anything, and people who thank everything. I think people view their status in terms of how many times they've been thanked, but a simple post count, and 'money saving status' should suffice to display their credibility. It's also my experience that those with the highest thanks count don't always post the best answers and can be rather arrogant, but they are held in reverie by newbies. Surely it's thanks enough to know that one has posted a helpful reply without an official pat on the back?

Karl.H_2

I took a gap from the money-saving forum some time ago but have decided to come back - I was glad my account wasn't suspended so I haven't seen any recent developments of people being nasty. Personally, I think post counts should be hidden because some posters may see users with a higher post count and assume that person's advice is better than someone's with a lower count.

I strongly agree 'thanks' should be for all boards except the social board. Although I don't use it the Bar place, I can see how 'friends' on the forums will 'thank' each other.

Furthermore, I think the reporting system can be made easier. For example, the user can click it once and a report is generated; having to send an email takes time and effort.


Anyway, so what if someone asks a question which has been asked before. I bet upwards of 80%+ of questions have been answered, discussed, etc. on the forums and MSE main website. Because of the board's growth, lots of common issues have been discussed but 'newbies' may want the reassurance to having a direct reply and to seek personalised guidance.


The hardest thing is to admit a problem, and someone coming on here and saying publicly they are in debt takes courage; being made to feel unwanted and a fool for being in debt won't help them.

My apologies if what I have said has been mentioned, but I do not have the time to read through all these pages of replied.

JoeyG

People seem to be forgetting a big advantage of the thanks button is to stop the inevitable 'I agree' and 'me too' posts... I tend to read alot of threads but don't reply to many, instead I will usually thank the person who has voiced my opinion (you may well ask why I haven't done the same on here :-P)

Quillion

I must admit the sarcastic comment i used to get on the comps board stopped me posting not worth the hassle.

uktyler

MSE_Martin wrote: »

General Nastiness

A good start is to look at how the forum teams operate. I had a posted edited by the forum team tagged with "personal abuse". The post was not abusive, it may of been impolite, but it was NOT abusive.

The team employed by this site can brand people as abusive, with no apparent comeback. The don't notify any users of edits, and as far as I can see there is no appeals procedure.

You expect us as posters to be nice, but your staff can accuse us with no right of appeal, is this going to change?