So The Bored thread is now closed

violetb_2

Hi - I know this will get deleted very quickly s the original has now been closed, but I think it is a real shame that forums are closed or deleted so arbitrarily - sorry no idea how to spell that one!!

In creating a space for forums, Martin should have or could have expected this to create a life of its own and sooner or later there will need to be some clearer thought and guidance about what is and isn't allowed. At the moment it feels that all praise is allowed and dissent is removed.

The original poster in saying she was bored was raising a valid point about the nature of discussions on forums and did not deserve the thread to become so negative especially in my opinion from Martin who I expected to be a little less touchy and perhaps more professional.

This is a public website, openly touted at every opportunity by Martin - what does he expect?

Mark7799

Although the OP made some valid points (and I agreed with many of them) the thread degenerated towards the level of a slanging match as several others have recently - there is a good example of this on the Budgeting and Current Accounts thread right now.

Agree with your comments that as the site grows this is likely to be happening more and more.

violetb_2

Thanks Mark - I think you made my point better than I did!!

Quasar

ts_aly2000 wrote:

Thank you to all that posted, to those that agreed with me, and thanks even to those that proved some of my points entirely. We know who you are... :rolleyes:

I briefly spoke with Martin last night regarding the thread, overall he's a great guy just trying to make the financial world a bit better for all of us. So to him we all have a huge debt in kind. He just comes across as down to earth and just normal like the rest of us.

What was said in the thread possibly needed to be said. Some things have now been aired, and it adds to a well balanced rounded forum. Thankfully no-one threatened to come round to my house with a sledgehammer so in open forum usenet terms things are looking pretty good.

We will always have the stirrers and the wind-up artists, that just comes part and parcel with the Internet and everyone being anonymous. But again, on the whole things are looking pretty good.

I'll leave it at that on a positive note. Hey aren't we all nice :rolleyes:

Aly xx

:T Great post!

I have to say that I often do get bored with some threads so I just stop viewing them. I have had posts and threads deleted, but I accept that I am guest in Martin's house, so to speak, so I don't have total freedom. I have been at the receiving end of insults and attacks but haven't even reported them because, well, I just don't care that much about what anyone thinks or says about me on a faceless forum - or rather I used to care, but not anymore.

On the whole I enjoy MSE more than other forums because there are many supportive people here, as well as a few unsavoury characters whose sole purpose seem to attack users for no reasons. These are best left alone, or at the most given an appropriate answer and then ignored.

Thinking about the help MSE offers to those who are heavily in debt, and the 100,000 strong membership, one has to conclude that something is definitely right about MSE.

violetb_2

Thanks for the reply TS aly - it was good to hear you have had a chance to talk more about it. Maybe there will be more guidance on the forum in the future to stop the negativity and unpleasantness taking hold. Good to see you are still here.

Edinburghlass_2

violetb wrote:

Thanks for the reply TS aly - it was good to hear you have had a chance to talk more about it. Maybe there will be more guidance on the forum in the future to stop the negativity and unpleasantness taking hold. Good to see you are still here.

The guidance for users is in the rules at the top of the board, report the post/thread no matter which board you find the negativity and leave it to the Forum Team Out of some 207,000 odd threads it really is a very small part of MSE, although sadly the vibes from some spread throughout the whole forum.

FORUM TEAM

The forum team is here to deal with illegal/abusive/offensive posts that are reported to [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL] either directly or by clicking on the report an abuse icon in each post. If you report a post/thread please remember the following:

1) Please be patient. Some issues reported require discussion with other members of the MSE team before action can be taken. In some cases this can take several days. Repeatedly emailing and asking what’s been done causes the team additional work and only serves to delay action.

2) Several thousand posts are made on this forum each day. None of the Board Guides, Forum Team or MSE Team, especially Martin, are able to read every single post. Please assume they have NOT seen it rather than have.

3) The motto “Please be nice to other MoneySavers” includes all site users. Starting an abuse report saying “I can’t believe you haven’t removed this” is not polite and will not win you any plaudits.

4) Neither the Board Guides, Forum Team or MSE Team (again not even Martin!) are on the site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Night-owls reading the site at 3am on a Saturday morning should not expect a response before Monday. If you do get one before then, consider it a bonus!

5) Removal of forum users’ posting privileges is not taken lightly. No payment is asked from you to use this site therefore our first consideration must be towards protecting the site from increased cost and legal challenge. Posting on MoneySavingExpert.com is a privilege not a right and we can refuse permission to post without giving a reason.

6) For clarity, Posting Privileges Removed will sometimes be abbreviated to PPR

We are not required to justify our actions externally. As long as Martin and the Web Manager are satisfied that the agreed criteria are being followed, the action taken by the forum team can be considered final and appropriate.

Quackers

Quasar wrote:

, but I accept that I am guest in Martin's house, so to speak, so I don't have total freedom.

:T I like that way of thinking