Macrumors Petition to Change iPhone Sub forums

=w= · Sep 8, 2013

cambookpro said:
I appreciate what you say here, but two and a bit weeks on and hardly anyone is using the Carrier prefix. It is annoying, because when visiting the iPhone forum, I don't want to see whether T-Mobile or AT&T or Deutsche Telekom are having a big sale, or have improved their contracts. I want to talk about the iPhone.

Just to illustrate my point, I've attached a screenshot from today showing only a portion of the first page. 9 out of 26 topics are about carriers. That's over a third of the discussions. The vast majority of these also don't use the prefix, making it very hard to filter them out.

I just think the idea of a Carriers sub-forum should be revisited.

I admit that i'm a pretty lazy browser.. and opening up the iPhone forum and seeing something like this makes me quickly exit said forum.

Also, I wouldn't call the moderators of this site lazy. If anything, i'd call a few of them a bit overzealous. (Don't take this too personally, because I have a very small sampling of this site -- because, you know, i'm a lazy browser)

Muscle Master · Sep 8, 2013

cambookpro said:
I appreciate what you say here, but two and a bit weeks on and hardly anyone is using the Carrier prefix. It is annoying, because when visiting the iPhone forum, I don't want to see whether T-Mobile or AT&T or Deutsche Telekom are having a big sale, or have improved their contracts. I want to talk about the iPhone.

Just to illustrate my point, I've attached a screenshot from today showing only a portion of the first page. 9 out of 26 topics are about carriers. That's over a third of the discussions. The vast majority of these also don't use the prefix, making it very hard to filter them out.

I just think the idea of a Carriers sub-forum should be revisited.

Good chance in hell the mods are gonna listen.. It was a waste of My time bringing this issue to their attention

=w= · Sep 8, 2013

Muscle Master said:
Good chance in hell the mods are gonna listen.. It was a waste of My time bringing this issue to their attention

I'm on your side with this "issue".

But your way of approaching the situation at this point is borderline childish. It just sounds like you're whining.

Have you ever been a moderator on a website? Especially on a site of this magnitude, there is a lot more that goes into making such decisions than "oh this guy made a thread, let's do it".

Creating more sub forums makes things harder to access (yes, one click is considered "harder" when it comes to the internet) and assessing the pros/cons of adding a new sub-forum and having people wade through threads they care nothing about is a process.

*Batman* · Sep 8, 2013

=w= said:
I'm on your side with this "issue".

But your way of approaching the situation at this point is borderline childish. It just sounds like you're whining.

Have you ever been a moderator on a website? Especially on a site of this magnitude, there is a lot more that goes into making such decisions than "oh this guy made a thread, let's do it".

Creating more sub forums makes things harder to access (yes, one click is considered "harder" when it comes to the internet) and assessing the pros/cons of adding a new sub-forum and having people wade through threads they care nothing about is a process.

This does seem like a large forum and I bet it's difficult to keep up with a lot of it. Assuming as much, I think I have to agree with you.

Carlanga · Sep 8, 2013

I can't vote on your poll, but IMHO your idea is not good. All of it.

The mods took initiative and met you halfway and that says a lot of them since you post very little for them to care about your thoughts on the forum. You cry wolf because you didn't get exactly what you wanted and that just looks childish.

IMO not even the carrier prefix is needed and just take space, tags can help someone use the search function and takes the same skill level to add a tag as it it to add a prefix.

You keep rocking mods.

cambookpro · Sep 9, 2013

Carlanga said:
I can't vote on your poll, but IMHO your idea is not good. All of it.

The mods took initiative and met you halfway and that says a lot of them since you post very little for them to care about your thoughts on the forum. You cry wolf because you didn't get exactly what you wanted and that just looks childish.

IMO not even the carrier prefix is needed and just take space, tags can help someone use the search function and takes the same skill level to add a tag as it it to add a prefix.

You keep rocking mods.

I agree that the mods do a fairly good job overall, but personally I think that was a bit insulting to the OP.

To be fair, the carrier prefix situation actually impacts people who read the forums more than post - for all you know, he's reading the forums 10 hours a day which would affect him more than someone who posts 100 times a day in other forums. Obviously I'm exaggerating, but you see my point.

I think a prefix/subforum is needed as I don't go to the iPhone forum to talk about carriers - I go there to talk about the iPhone. Tags aren't the answer as how many people do you think use tags? Answer: practically nobody.

I still think this is an issue, but I personally think it needs a more permanent solution that prefixes, as guess what - very few people use prefixes, either. (See my earlier post for evidence).

Carlanga · Sep 9, 2013

cambookpro said:
...

I disagree, I wrote based on what he/she has written on this thread.
You are bias because is an idea you like, but the way he/she has express themselves on the thread tells otherwise.

I mentioned tags, because they already exist and I know people don't use them. I don't believe a carrier subdivision is worth it. Nor any new subdivisions, why give a carrier subforum, then go get a sub for iPhone size, color, cable connector, av, audio, music, video, etc etc etc it would never end and at the end most will just post in the general heading.

0000757 · Apr 15, 2014

I think this should be revisited once again.

I have used the carrier prefix and I know some others have as well, but it's hardly being used.

Here's some information. Attached are 2 screenshots of the first 50 topics in the iPhone forums, not counting the topics that were moved by moderators.

Out of the first 50, 17 are related to carriers. That's slightly over 1/3rd of overall discussion.

Out of these 17, only 3 actually use the carrier tag. That's only 17%. Nobody is really making use of the carrier tag.

Out of these 17, only 4 actually mention anything related to the iPhone in the title. That's less than 1/4th of the topics that up-front relate directly to the iPhone.

The proposal is to create a devoted subforum for discussion of all carriers, US or Worldwide or whatever. There's no need to create a subforum for TM, one for Verizon, etc. but instead just make one large one.

Just like cambookpro, when I go to iPhone, i want to talk about the iPhone, not my iPhone bill or what carrier I should switch to next.

If you look in the Alternative to iOS, there are a few carrier related questions, but most of the discussion is what the subforum is actually about. Out of the first 50 posts in that forum, there were only like, 3 or 4 posts relating to carriers (~6-8%).

Muscle Master · Apr 15, 2014

chrf097 said:
I think this should be revisited once again.

I have used the carrier prefix and I know some others have as well, but it's hardly being used.

Here's some information. Attached are 2 screenshots of the first 50 topics in the iPhone forums, not counting the topics that were moved by moderators.

Out of the first 50, 17 are related to carriers. That's slightly over 1/3rd of overall discussion.

Out of these 17, only 3 actually use the carrier tag. That's only 17%. Nobody is really making use of the carrier tag.

Out of these 17, only 4 actually mention anything related to the iPhone in the title. That's less than 1/4th of the topics that up-front relate directly to the iPhone.

The proposal is to create a devoted subforum for discussion of all carriers, US or Worldwide or whatever. There's no need to create a subforum for TM, one for Verizon, etc. but instead just make one large one.

Just like cambookpro, when I go to iPhone, i want to talk about the iPhone, not my iPhone bill or what carrier I should switch to next.

If you look in the Alternative to iOS, there are a few carrier related questions, but most of the discussion is what the subforum is actually about. Out of the first 50 posts in that forum, there were only like, 3 or 4 posts relating to carriers (~6-8%).

He broke it down a lot better than I could... So how bout it moderators?

Muscle Master · Apr 15, 2014

Blue Velvet said:
How much did you pay last year towards the salaries of the staff and the site's running costs? How much work have you put into supporting and maintaining this site and its caretakers apart from running your mouth?

Haha... Got me there and this is when I should had shut my mouth , I never saw this post, that being said with the amount of ads this site has vs the amount of traffic.. I can only imagine that macrumors is doing very well...

That being said I like this site.. I'm more of a reader than a poster.. Nevertheless I'll do my part with the upkeep of this form.. Will make a contribution in a week or two

tigres · Sep 26, 2015

Well after reading this thread, and agreeing on a carrier specific forum; what exactly is the point of not having one.

It is nearly impossible to not discuss T-mobile or AT&T (etc.) on iPhone only forum. If we want to discuss locations, LTE data maps, service, etc- an iPhone forum is really not the place to do it.

HOFO has no problem with it, and I need to go there to find what I am looking for.

Muscle Master · Sep 29, 2015

How bout it Mods.... Change of heart?

willmtaylor · Sep 30, 2015

With the current organization, I think carrier prefix is enough. There are too many issues that span across multiple carriers to create subforums for each. I don't think this would be a beneficial solution.

On the other hand, I see the value in a subforum exclusively for all carrier-specific issues. Maybe one could then use prefixes of each major carrier?

Muscle Master · Sep 30, 2015

willmtaylor said:
With the current organization, I think carrier prefix is enough. There are too many issues that span across multiple carriers to create subforums for each.

I beg to differ, its my point exactly.. you have so many particular issues that pertain on AT&T, particular issues that pertain on Tmobile and Verizon. quite a few from foreign carriers. Then on top of that.. you have all the bendgate questions, faulty iphone threads, buyers remorse threads, screen quality threads, and everything else that would pertain in the iPhone subforum. No disrespect.. its a organizational mess... not that its the Mods and admins fault. we just have thousands and thousands of daily members and need to adjust according

willmtaylor said:
On the other hand, I see the value in a subforum exclusively for all carrier-specific issues. Maybe one could then use prefixes of each major carrier?

This is a step in the right direction... then there would be an issue of a member searching particular things... lets say sigal issues on Sprint... its a lot to filter for a particular subject where you have a bazillion other carrier threads all grouped into one... search options is limited. and even you can admit that if you have little patience to find a thread relating to a problem you may have on sprint... you'll just make your own thread... which as a result adds to the congesting here

tigres said:
what exactly is the point of not having one.

What Tigres said.. What is the point of not having one.. And if it's Mod man power.. There's plenty of senior senior members who could fill the ranks

SandboxGeneral · Sep 30, 2015

The admin and moderator team took another look at the idea and we feel the current setup is still the best way to handle the issue. In 2013 the 'Carrier' prefix was added to help members sort through the threads, which have it tagged, to find more specific information.

That combined with the forums search function can greatly aid members in finding specific information they are looking for.

Recently, the site owner implemented some forum structure clean up to help reduce forum bloat and we want to keep the forums as tidy as we can for easier overall navigation.

Adding forums for specific carriers would introduce too many additional forums and fragment discussions across them, especially when some problems may or may not be related, but could fall under multiple forums.

Additionally, trying to figure out who the major carriers are across the globe and to create forums for each would be too much clutter and bloat, causing site navigation to be too overwhelming and complicated.

Lastly, if we were to add a lot of additional forums, that would likely increase moderation work to move threads erroneously posted in the wrong forums.

In summary, we believe if the membership chooses to use the prefixes, combined with the search function, they can find what they're looking for.

tigres · Sep 30, 2015

SandboxGeneral said:
The admin and moderator team took another look at the idea and we feel the current setup is still the best way to handle the issue. In 2013 the 'Carrier' prefix was added to help members sort through the threads, which have it tagged, to find more specific information.

That combined with the forums search function can greatly aid members in finding specific information they are looking for.

Recently, the site owner implemented some forum structure clean up to help reduce forum bloat and we want to keep the forums as tidy as we can for easier overall navigation.

Adding forums for specific carriers would introduce too many additional forums and fragment discussions across them, especially when some problems may or may not be related, but could fall under multiple forums.

Additionally, trying to figure out who the major carriers are across the globe and to create forums for each would be too much clutter and bloat, causing site navigation to be too overwhelming and complicated.

Lastly, if we were to add a lot of additional forums, that would likely increase moderation work to move threads erroneously posted in the wrong forums.

In summary, we believe if the membership chooses to use the prefixes, combined with the search function, they can find what they're looking for.

Sandbox,
How do I search for only t-mobile carrier issues currently?
I'm at a loss, I get nothing but pre-orders, shipping stuff, etc. How does one exactly use the Pre-fix?

SandboxGeneral · Oct 1, 2015

tigres said:
Sandbox,
How do I search for only t-mobile carrier issues currently?
I'm at a loss, I get nothing but pre-orders, shipping stuff, etc. How does one exactly use the Pre-fix?

Like this: https://forums.macrumors.com/search...e&g=1&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=99&c[prefix]=12

Use the advanced search, Threads and Posts, Keywords 'T-Mobile', Search titles only, in the prefix list choose Carrier, choose the iPhone forum and decide if you want to search child forums or not and then display results as threads and search.

Screen Shot 2015-10-01 at 5.39.10 AM.png

Screen Shot 2015-10-01 at 5.40.35 AM.png

willmtaylor · Jun 17, 2016

I've been flagging several threads recently in the iPhone forums to include the carrier prefix. However, mods are declining to add it saying "No moderation was deemed necessary."

I'd happily stop flagging these threads and apparently wasting Mods' time if someone could explain to criteria for determining the necessity of this prefix.

Thanks.

E.G.

This thread about VZW's Device Payment Plan:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/question-about-verizons-device-payment-plan.1970346/

Or this one about Sprint's BOGO Deal:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-6s-sprint-bogo-deal.1974722/

Or this one about upgrading with VZW:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/upgrading-iphone-mid-cycle-verizon-question.1977672/

OllyW · Jun 17, 2016

willmtaylor said:
I've been flagging several threads recently in the iPhone forums to include the carrier prefix. However, mods are declining to add it saying "No moderation was deemed necessary."

I'dhappy stop flagging these threads and apparently wasting Mods' time if someone could explain to criteria for determining the necessity of this prefix.

Thanks.

Use of the prefix is not compulsory but I think they do come in useful. I always add them to threads I see reported but it seems not all the moderators are doing the same.

I'll alert the rest of the team and ask them to respond.

SandboxGeneral · Jun 17, 2016

OllyW said:
I always add them to threads I see reported

Me too.

willmtaylor · Jun 21, 2016

OllyW said:
Use of the prefix is not compulsory but I think they do come in useful. I always add them to threads I see reported but it seems not all the moderators are doing the same.

I'll alert the rest of the team and ask them to respond.

SandboxGeneral said:
Me too.

...so no additional insights or explanations? Should I keep flagging or just not worry about it? Those 3 threads above, for examples, still have no prefix.

SandboxGeneral · Jun 21, 2016

willmtaylor said:
...so no additional insights or explanations? Should I keep flagging or just not worry about it? Those 3 threads above, for examples, still have no prefix.

I updated those threads for you.

Please feel free to continue to send in reports. That's how we are able to keep the forum running well.

willmtaylor · Nov 28, 2016

willmtaylor said:
I've been flagging several threads recently in the iPhone forums to include the carrier prefix. However, mods are declining to add it saying "No moderation was deemed necessary."

I'd happily stop flagging these threads and apparently wasting Mods' time if someone could explain to criteria for determining the necessity of this prefix.

Thanks.

OllyW said:
Use of the prefix is not compulsory but I think they do come in useful. I always add them to threads I see reported but it seems not all the moderators are doing the same.

I'll alert the rest of the team and ask them to respond.

SandboxGeneral said:
I updated those threads for you.

Please feel free to continue to send in reports. That's how we are able to keep the forum running well.

I've run into this issue several time again, as of late. I'll flag a thread for a carrier prefix, but am told no moderation is necessary. Should the following threads have the carrier prefix? Why or why not?

Thanks,
Will

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/t-mobile-iphone-7-promotion.2017927/
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-than-cricket-anyone-else-using-them.1961749/
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ile-after-verizon-enterprise-upgrade.2017689/

maflynn · Nov 28, 2016

willmtaylor said:
I'll flag a thread for a carrier prefix, but am told no moderation is necessary. Should the following threads have the carrier prefix? Why or why not?

Because prefixes are an optional setting, if the moderation staff has to change every thread to include a prefix, that effectively makes it a required field, which its not.

The administrators certainly can make it required, but at the moment the thread starter has the freedom not to set it, and I don't think there's a reason to override that freedom.

willmtaylor · Nov 28, 2016

maflynn said:
Because prefixes are an optional setting, if the moderation staff has to change every thread to include a prefix, that effectively makes it a required field, which its not.

The administrators certainly can make it required, but at the moment the thread starter has the freedom not to set it, and I don't think there's a reason to override that freedom.

Ok, I understand. Thanks for the insights. I'll stop flagging them then.

All the best.

Macrumors Petition to Change iPhone Sub forums

Petition to change iPhone Sub forums

Yes to the addition of the new sub forums

No to adding the new sub forums

Yes to remove the "iPhone Launch Meetups" sub forum

No to remove the "iPhone Launch Meetups" sub forum

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502a

Contributor

macrumors 604

macrumors 604

macrumors 604

macrumors 68040

Attachments

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 601

macrumors 6502a

macrumors G4

macrumors 6502a

Moderator emeritus

macrumors 601

Attachments

Moderator emeritus

macrumors G4

Moderator

Moderator emeritus

macrumors G4

Moderator emeritus

macrumors G4

macrumors Haswell

macrumors G4

Our Staff