how and why

[KellyM]

how do the moderators decide whats a ****ty thread and what threads get left alone, i posted some really crappy **** few nights ago, it went for 3 pages b4 it was finally 'de-threaded' how is it that some posts get to go on forever about nothing, and others get shot down in there beginnings? just curios, extremely mellow tonight. V strange.

[IdahoMR2man]

Since we only have about 5 mods it's really hard for them to read EVERY thread. Ok...impossible. So that might be part of the problem.

Another thing is that (since I read your thread) they might have thought that you were going to come back and explain what the hell you were talking about. AND it REALLY wasn't causing any problems. But now we know it was just spam so I wouldn't suggest doing anything like that again.

And post questions in the Comments and Support forum. Thanks.

[Iben]

I would've closed that thread sooner, but honestly..I didn't notice it until today. It was a mistake that it went on for so long.

[IdahoMR2man]

Ha...beatcha.

[Iben]

shuddap. :p

[KellyM]

errrrrrrrrr ok so the posts that arent modified are the ones with over 1000 posts? or just because not enuf mod's. ev time im on theres a mod on, so better expalanation is needed here. thanks. like ya avatar iben btw.

[KellyM]

oh and p.s. i dont spam, i dont have a site that i own moderate or belong to, so please explain the full meaning of spam. thanks.

[IdahoMR2man]

Doesn't matter dude. There's a gajillion posts a day. You expect ONE person to read all those. Sorry but mods don't get paid or anything.

Basically spam is posting something pointless. Your thread was kinda hard to read as spam at first because it looked like something that might have meaning to someone. But you said in your first post on this thread that it was just for kicks or something. That's spam. It's ok. I don't think anyone is pissed at you for it. Just wouldn't do it again.

[KellyM]

so spam on comingsoon threads means......not like say...in ur e mail box n stuff? unwanted adverts and stuff, coz thats basically what i thought spam was, i.e. if i came on here trying to get people to try i cant belive its not butter OR margarine, its completely different sort of thing?

[Kris Hodgson]

Spam is unwanted advertising in your email box. But on message boards it refers to completely pointless posts. Like if you opened a new thread and just typed the word "Shazam!". That's spam. Basically, junk that doesn't have a purpose.

[IdahoMR2man]

Exactly what Kris said.

[JAE]

A "Shazam" thread is a great idea!

[KellyM]

so, i have a new question.

why dont you close threads with 44675 posts, and just basically get the relevant info from the thread to keep it going, so as not to alienate newcomers to the boards, and still keeping the regulars happy? i mean, who wants to trawl through 44000 posts to try to get the general gist of a continuing conversation?

[KellyM]

p.s. you a mod kris hodgson? i didnt realise you were, sorry.

[IdahoMR2man]

That's an interesting idea, Kelly. However most threads can be figured out what they are about by just reading the first post. I think if you close them though, you'll be alienating the veterans. But that's one of the best suggestions I've ever heard. Props.

And Kris isn't a mod.

[Sparhawk]

Originally posted by KellyMcGrady
p.s. you a mod kris hodgson? i didnt realise you were, sorry.

LOL - Kris a mod!!! *wipes away tear*

No Kelly, Kris isn't a mod. He's just all about the peace and love. A concerned citizen, like Idaho, who just wants to help things move along smoothly. Just don't call Kris illiterate.;)

[KellyM]

well yeah basically idaho get the main info mainly first say 5 posts from said thread, then any thread in between that changes the direction of said thread....hmmm, ok, thats a lil complicated for the mods i guess, maybe just the first post and say any relevant last postings of said thread, no, still maybe too complicated.

my general feeling is that when newcomers, (besides from being labelled newbies and being told theres already a thread in that category) feel alienated because they think this site is alrady extremely established and that there input is'nt needed.

if the established threads werent so extremely long with the already 'vet' members banter back n forth, the newcomers wouldnt feel so stupid.

[IdahoMR2man]

I agree with you. Noobs do feel alienated at first. I did. But their input is needed. I've seen some noobs suggest some REALLY good stuff. For instance, I don't know you from Pete but I think you've made some good input. Most of us will listen to anything anyone has to say. I'll admit that there is definately a group of friends on CS and it's hard for noobs to get into. But that's life frankly. It's always hard to make new friends. Just gotta find your niche.

[Iben]

I'm not quite sure I understand this. Do you want to have threads like "what's on your mind" closed, only to start a new one? do you have any idea how fast the pages grow in that thread? it would be pointless.

[IdahoMR2man]

That too.

[KellyM]

thats just it iben, not close them completely, leave the first few posts of said thread open and the last relevant ones that the continuing convo is about.

it is ridiculous to think that people will trawl throgh so many thousands of posts to contribute to an ongoing conversation. thats my point.

[JAE]

But a thread like Whats on your mind, is a quick one post. You don't need to read hundreds of pages to know what the thread is about.

Its like coming in on the middle of a conversation. You either take the time to learn what the hell is going on or start a new topic. But some of the older topics I caught on rather fast...perhaps because I'm me...:)

[Iben]

Originally posted by KellyMcGrady
thats just it iben, not close them completely, leave the first few posts of said thread open and the last relevant ones that the continuing convo is about.

it is ridiculous to think that people will trawl throgh so many thousands of posts to contribute to an ongoing conversation. thats my point. no one's asking you to read every post in such thread. It's pretty easy to catch on to what's going on, IMO.

[KellyM]

still fully missing the point JAE, if the damned thing wasnt so long, then more ppl would give it a once over and post, most ppl that come here look for the posts with the least replies, still thinking that they may have something diff to say, and thats just the community board your talkin about dude, im talkin about the other boards, the ones with a specific topic.

[Iben]

I know what you’re saying. But it’s pretty much impossible for us moderators to go to every forum and delete all posts, except the most important ones, in all the threads that have more than 5 replies. It can’t be done.

[JAE]

ahh, I see. But don't you think that people who get their posts erased may not like that? Or would you want a "condensed version" of the thread?

[TyRoss]

Originally posted by KellyMcGrady
still fully missing the point JAE, if the damned thing wasnt so long, then more ppl would give it a once over and post, most ppl that come here look for the posts with the least replies, still thinking that they may have something diff to say, and thats just the community board your talkin about dude, im talkin about the other boards, the ones with a specific topic.

Well to answer your question kelly the problem is we can't just close part of a thread. We'd have to start deleting posts to do what you're suggesting which will

1) take up a great deal of our time
2) piss off a lot of people when we start decreasing their post counts
3) make the section we deleted unreadable if anyone wants to reference or relive it later

but I understand what you're saying

[KellyM]

thanks for understanding, coz i was starting to get fully pissed off.

see your point entirely and theres only one solution mate - you need more mods.

p.s if its already posted, how does it take away from the overall post count of any particular person? around 60 of my posts have been deleted, for whatever reason, but my post count hasnt differed in the least.

also, if it was posted before by a particular person, wouldnt it still be availible from the subscribed thread in the user CP of the person that posted it?

[Iben]

if we delete a post, it's deleted completely. And then we'd have to decide which posts were important enough to not get deleted, we'd piss people off, break up conversations, make other peoples' posts look out of context etc etc..

[KellyM]

yeah iben i see the point of that, but what i said was, just do the first few posts of say the trivia boards, the stupid q's in community (i.e. this one) mainly the ones that are really frequented and are always in the todays post threads, which are, mainlt the ones i just stated. in view of the matrix LOTR and star wars, only cut in and mod the ones that get replies over a certain limit, deleting the posts with just emoticons or lol answers (that is just wishful thinking) i know.

but the others i mentioned are worth a think about, and by the way, ya'll need more mods.

[spiderman_2k]

I think it works fine as it all is, it has worked for years and will work for years to come, simple as that.

[PsychoMike]

I've had no problem with getting involved with many of the longer threads. I figured if I posted enough times some one would pay attention, and respond.

[AnotherAlias]

I always thought that deleting posts that weren't offensive, rude, racial, or pornographic was a violation of our 1st amendment rights. (if emoticons worked with my browser, I would have placed a wink smiley here)

I mean to go through threads and picking and choosing posts to delete such as posts with just a smiley or a clapping hands emoticon, sounds tediously time-consuming and a waste of people's talents.

Instead of people using smilies, should they just post "LOL"? Or maybe a long essay as to why you think anotherperson's post was funny or amusing. I'm not usually one to post a smiley or just an LOL!, (even though I might have done just that, the other day) but is it really worth the time to delete those as opposed to offensive posts?

I'm trying to put in as many thoughts as possible into this single post so it doesn't get deleted. But apparently the size or scope of the post may not come into play as much as a Mods opinion about said post.

After reading this thread I will definitely put as much thought into my posting in the future. It's quite possible I missed the tone or some of the nature of this thread but I suppose that's the price I pay for having to use vicodin and skalaxin today.(doctor's orders)

AA

[Sicy]

Hey um all you have to do is type the code for the smilie and it will show up for everyone else..

like ;) for a winky smilie.. :o for embarrased..etc...

Unless you are just joking about your smilies being broken

[JBond]

Originally posted by AnotherAlias
I always thought that deleting posts that weren't offensive, rude, racial, or pornographic was a violation of our 1st amendment rights. (if emoticons worked with my browser, I would have placed a wink smiley here)

I mean to go through threads and picking and choosing posts to delete such as posts with just a smiley or a clapping hands emoticon, sounds tediously time-consuming and a waste of people's talents.

I think you think we take out many more posts then we really do. I rarely delete posts and I have never deleted a post with just a smiley. This is a "family board" and we have the right to take out things that wouldn't be appropriate for all to see, just as cable does...or should movies be shown in their true form for all children to see?

[IdahoMR2man]

Originally posted by JBond
or should movies be shown in their true form for all children to see?

Well actually, Jbond, I think -


*Idaho has been banned. He is a big douchebag with too many opinions. Post has been editted by Jibbs for the sake of all humanity*

[AnotherAlias]

Originally posted by JBond
I think you think we take out many more posts then we really do. I rarely delete posts and I have never deleted a post with just a smiley. This is a "family board" and we have the right to take out things that wouldn't be appropriate for all to see, just as cable does...or should movies be shown in their true form for all children to see?

So, it is exactly as I stated when I mentioned "offensive, rude, racial, or pornographic." I agree that offensive material has no place here. I thought people were complaining about deletion of short, one thought- albeit miniscule- types of posts. Such as a single smilie in response to something they felt was humorous.

To answer your question....I believe a certain amount of censorship is necessary for our children. Isn't that why we have Rob In Phoenix? LOL!

AA

[JBond]

Well if small posts were being deleted, I wasn't aware of it.