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What else do they moderate? I've never seen much, but maybe they get to it before me?
 
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Au contraire - there should be actually more moderation. Similar or at least inspired by e.g. how Ask Different handles it - like moderators indicate that a newly created thread subject is already discussed or answered elswhere, people are reminded to add all required info to a question, et cetera.

The quality of what and how things are asked or presented, finding relevant information, the quality of any information, user experience in general, and much more will probably significantly improve here on MR.
 
Could we do an experiment where for a 2 week period only spam or illegal content would be removed, but otherwise allow free speech on the forums?
I would hope this is how the forums are already moderated.
 
Could we do an experiment where for a 2 week period only spam or illegal content would be removed, but otherwise allow free speech on the forums?
If you ever read the pablum spewing from the rabble of the great unwashed you would instantly know why this is a very bad idea. Internet forums without moderation invariably devolve into shouting contests governed by incivility and those people looking to incite and reasoned and thoughtful viewpoints are invariably drowned out in the furor.
 
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Could we do an experiment where for a 2 week period only spam or illegal content would be removed, but otherwise allow free speech on the forums?
I am curios - what’s your hypothesis? What observation or data is your hypothesis based on? How will it be tested with that particular "experiment"? What’s your "control"?
 
Speaking as someone who's been a paid moderator, volunteer moderator, and site administrator for message boards and user communities both far smaller than MacRumors, and a couple that dwarf MacRumors: If I had a dollar for every time someone made request to relax restrictions or moderation under the flag of "free speech" (particularly in the last couple years) I'd be a wealthy man.

I'm beyond the point of not having cynicism toward such requests. All the world is a big ball of agendas, just waiting to shouted, preferably louder than someone else's agendas.

Rules of engagement exist for a reason: From Robert's Rules of Order governing a board meeting, down to a volunteer moderator at a site like MacRumors toiling to keep a thread on track. Attempting to relax those rules is not in service of "free speech," it is in service of chaos, and no one is going to convince me otherwise.

(note: my opinions are my own and do not reflect policy for any community I have in the past or may currently serve as moderator for. I have no connection to MacRumors as anything other than an appreciative user.)
 
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Speaking as someone who's been a paid moderator, volunteer moderator, and site administrator for message boards and user communities both far smaller than MacRumors, and a couple that dwarf MacRumors: If I had a dollar for every time someone made request to relax restrictions or moderation under the flag of "free speech" (particularly in the last couple years) I'd be a wealthy man.

I'm beyond the point of not having cynicism toward such requests. All the world is a big ball of agendas, just waiting to shouted, preferably louder than someone else's agendas.

Rules of engagement exist for a reason: From Robert's Rules of Order governing a board meeting, down to a volunteer moderator at a site like MacRumors toiling to keep a thread on track. Attempting to relax those rules is not in service of "free speech," it is in service of chaos, and no one is going to convince me otherwise.

(note: my opinions are my own and do not reflect policy for any community I have in the past or may currently serve as moderator for. I have no connection to MacRumors as anything other than an appreciative user.)
As a volunteer moderator elsewhere (and unconnected in any way with computers), your points are good.

I'd like a pound for each time someone has posted with "I know it's against the rules, but ...".

But I'd still be poor if I got a million pounds for each person who has volunteered to moderate (as part of the team).

When we go easy on something, we get complaints that it shouldn't have been allowed.

When we are firm, we get complaints that it should have been allowed.

Some members are offended by "bad" language. Others don't care. Is it such a problem if the profane have to curb their mouths for a few minutes?

I'll not comment on the moderating decisions made on MR for one reason. (Though I do have opinions on them.) This forum, this thread, is the wrong place to have such a discussion.
 
As @Weaselboy pointed out, the only point of the rules and moderation on this site is to support civil discussion.
Rules and moderation have failed spectacularly at that too. An entire forum category had to be removed because the rules and moderation weren't working to support civil discussion.
 
I get "reminded" once in a while. No bans yet. 🤞

Mods, I am always well intentioned and sometimes I have just a bit too much fun, I promise.

Thanks for all your hard work. 🙏
 
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Rules and moderation have failed spectacularly at that too. An entire forum category had to be removed because the rules and moderation weren't working to support civil discussion.
Not really. That particular forum was removed because the posters who frequented it refused to abide by the rules and behave with civility. The other topic forums are not nearly as chaotic.
 
Not really. That particular forum was removed because the posters who frequented it refused to abide by the rules and behave with civility. The other topic forums are not nearly as chaotic.
What you've written isn't a counter argument.
 
Rules and moderation have failed spectacularly at that too. An entire forum category had to be removed because the rules and moderation weren't working to support civil discussion.
That's of course not the whole picture. There is only a certain amount rules and moderation can do when a percentage of the users who partipated in that section simply weren't able or willing to follow the rules. At the end of the day, decisions need to be made about how much time staff can spend on any one forum section.

Rules and moderation simply set the stage and try to keep it tidy enough that the actors can interact and others can follow along. Moderators would much rather sit in the audience and enjoy the discussion.
 
And it's appreciated. This is a forum run by others that you choose to join and participate in. There's plenty of places to get the "free speech" referred to.
Absolutely.

If someone is looking for a verbal "thunderdome" there are plenty of other places to go.

The MacRumors community has struck such a good balance in moderating, that it is also a vibrant community for non-Apple related stuff. I find it more fruitful to have Android discussions here than to go to Android-centric sites.
 
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