sugestion Split up energy in mortgages and homes

MSE_James

EssexHebridean said:

@MSE_James - one thing I suggested recently was that the reporting system could be enhanced with a “misinformation or fake news” option - in the specific context of the energy board this could really help as a way of dealing with the conspiracy theorists  - at the moment we follow the guidelines of politely setting them straight, but in many cases it falls on wilfully deaf ears and they just immediately repeat the nonsense elsewhere! 

It's a good suggestion but in the meantime I would note that:

- the list of reporting reasons is already quite long, so we need to balance simplicity with granularity

- the 'non MoneySaving' option is probably the best option for now if you wish to report potentially harmful content that's drastically out of line with MSE's MoneySaving ethos

Spoonie_Turtle

MSE_James said:

EssexHebridean said:

@MSE_James - one thing I suggested recently was that the reporting system could be enhanced with a “misinformation or fake news” option - in the specific context of the energy board this could really help as a way of dealing with the conspiracy theorists  - at the moment we follow the guidelines of politely setting them straight, but in many cases it falls on wilfully deaf ears and they just immediately repeat the nonsense elsewhere! 

- the 'non MoneySaving' option is probably the best option for now if you wish to report potentially harmful content that's drastically out of line with MSE's MoneySaving ethos

In that case could the option simply be changed to say 'Non MoneySaving (includes misinformation)' or something similar?

People not reading this thread - and I had no idea this board was even here, let alone how to find it - may not think of using that option, especially if the misinformation is talking about financial effects.

EssexHebridean

MSE_James said:

EssexHebridean said:

@MSE_James - one thing I suggested recently was that the reporting system could be enhanced with a “misinformation or fake news” option - in the specific context of the energy board this could really help as a way of dealing with the conspiracy theorists  - at the moment we follow the guidelines of politely setting them straight, but in many cases it falls on wilfully deaf ears and they just immediately repeat the nonsense elsewhere! 

It's a good suggestion but in the meantime I would note that:

- the list of reporting reasons is already quite long, so we need to balance simplicity with granularity

- the 'non MoneySaving' option is probably the best option for now if you wish to report potentially harmful content that's drastically out of line with MSE's MoneySaving ethos

Good tip - thank you. I do agree that the report list is on the long side and can understand the reason to not make it longer - but the misinformation thing really is important - some of the stuff we're seeing could actively cost someone a lot of money if they assume it's good advice and just follow. 

MattMattMattUK

MSE_James said:

EssexHebridean said:

@MSE_James - one thing I suggested recently was that the reporting system could be enhanced with a “misinformation or fake news” option - in the specific context of the energy board this could really help as a way of dealing with the conspiracy theorists  - at the moment we follow the guidelines of politely setting them straight, but in many cases it falls on wilfully deaf ears and they just immediately repeat the nonsense elsewhere! 

It's a good suggestion but in the meantime I would note that:

- the list of reporting reasons is already quite long, so we need to balance simplicity with granularity

- the 'non MoneySaving' option is probably the best option for now if you wish to report potentially harmful content that's drastically out of line with MSE's MoneySaving ethos

The problem is that misinformation is a major issue, there are some posters who continue to post information they know is incorrect and others who post conspiracy theories. Allowing misinformation and conspiracy theories a public platform and to be spread to potentially vulnerable people is potentially harmful. When conspiracy theories or verifiably false information is posted again and again and subsequently reported it is not removed is an issue on any site, but especially on one that is attempting to offer people help with financial matters and where the majority of solutions involve hard facts and rationality. 

EssexHebridean

MattMattMattUK said:

MSE_James said:

EssexHebridean said:

@MSE_James - one thing I suggested recently was that the reporting system could be enhanced with a “misinformation or fake news” option - in the specific context of the energy board this could really help as a way of dealing with the conspiracy theorists  - at the moment we follow the guidelines of politely setting them straight, but in many cases it falls on wilfully deaf ears and they just immediately repeat the nonsense elsewhere! 

It's a good suggestion but in the meantime I would note that:

- the list of reporting reasons is already quite long, so we need to balance simplicity with granularity

- the 'non MoneySaving' option is probably the best option for now if you wish to report potentially harmful content that's drastically out of line with MSE's MoneySaving ethos

The problem is that misinformation is a major issue, there are some posters who continue to post information they know is incorrect and others who post conspiracy theories. Allowing misinformation and conspiracy theories a public platform and to be spread to potentially vulnerable people is potentially harmful. When conspiracy theories or verifiably false information is posted again and again and subsequently reported it is not removed is an issue on any site, but especially on one that is attempting to offer people help with financial matters and where the majority of solutions involve hard facts and rationality. 

Agreed. It is beginning to take up an appreciable amount of more responsible forum members time in politely correcting the misinformation as we have been encouraged to do, and also the opens us up to the risk of this then creating a “grudge” situation where we then get malicious reporting occurring against us, risking posting bans. A “misinformation” option would mean we could simply and easily report it and see it removed (ideally several reports for one post for this option would see the post removed from view until it was reviewed?) rather than having to risk our own - in many cases - long history of (hopefully!) helpful forum use in this way.