Not Spam

MSE_Andrea wrote: »

Hi WhoIsThat

We send a polite message to forum members who use the spam button to remove genuine forum posts.

Mistakes do happen though. If you'd like to discuss it further can you email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL]? We will be able to show you which post your click removed and find out whether it was a mistake or not.

Thank you!

Thank you for your reply.

I do not dispute the politeness of the PM received, but it does come across as somewhat threatening.

This is a copy of the PM I received from MSE ForumTeam 3 31-10-2018, 12:06 PM (I accept it was some time ago, but I have not been around since then)

[Edit: I have removed the PM from this post as posting it also would appear to breach forum rules (but I'm sure MSE can find out the contents if necessary)

• Why can’t I copy someone's private message (PM) to me on the forum?
  
  
  Private messages are private for a reason. Please don't copy them onto the forum.
  
  
  
  
  
  

]


So this appears to be the thread in question
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=606930

I think I remember the posts I used the spam buttom on in that thread. I used the spam button to alert MSE to those posts I considered Spam. That was on the the 26th and/or 27th October 2018

I can see there are no posts displayed now in that thread between the period 20-10-2018, 8:25 PM and 01-11-2018, 8:07 PM, and so presumably it was not deemed appropriate to reinstate the posts affected.

To the PM message itself, it says:

"Using the spam button to remove content tgat isn't spam is a breach of Forum rules."

Fisrt of all, I was not aware that I had the power by a single spam report that I could remove another,s post. Nor was I aware of the existence of any forum rule that suggested that attempting to alert MSE of posts I considered to be spam could result in losing my posting priviliges.

I have reviewed the forum rules again today, and can see the following forum rule relating to spam

• What's spam?
  
  
  Forum users mustn't post comments more than once on the forum (the only exception is members of the MSE Team; when needed). It's called spamming and most internet forums forbid it. Where spam is reported to the Forum Team, the posts are deleted and the user's posting privileges may be removed. Please don't quote any post you believe is spam, as this causes the team more work.

• Several boards on our forum have a spam button. If enough forum users click the spam button on a thread, that thread will automatically be deleted. The Forum Team may choose to leave it deleted or re-instate it.

From that, I presumed that that a post will only be removed automatically by use of the spam button if other MSE'ers also feel as I did and use the same button. (or the matter was subsequently reviewed by MSE and opted themselves to manually remove the post based on the spam button used)) Could it be that many MSEers were all equally mistaken by the suspicion the post in question was spam? Or is this not how the spam button operates anymore?
If a genuine error was made by all of us that reported the posts, why have the FT not chosen to reinstate such the post where such an error of judgement has occurred by all the MSEers involved?



I cannot find any reference to the forum rule referred to in the PM received. i.e. that the use of the spam button to help the forum team deal with spam much quicker, as referred to in this sticky post/thread by a BG on the Grabbit board, could result in losing posting priviliges if MSE then don't consider the post to be spam.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5799738


Perhaps the rule referred to in the PM could be highlighted please?



How can anyone possibly be aware what MSE ultimately deem is spam, until MSE have been alerted to it and considered it in the careful way I'm sure they do.
The fact that the posts were not subsequently reinstated is quite telling, I would suggest.



I accept we are all human and we canm all make mistakes.

Maybe I did make an error?
Or maybe MSE FT3 made an error in the PM sent to me.


I hope this is enough information for you to to identify the post involved.


Thank you in advance.