I'm a longtime member and I can't remember the forums feeling so draconian until recently. It seems like something has changed. Even though I've never posted false or misleading information myself, it wouldn't bother me if someone did--I think that's the whole thing about rumors--everyone wants to know the truth but most rumors are misinformation. If this site didn't use information that could have come from a false or misleading source, there wouldn't be much to say at all.
And as far as the volume of posts about MBPs being updated, doesn't that only help MR? More page views=more money, right? So why then are the forums shut down from time to time for rest periods? I feel like people are afraid to post in that forum and are worried about staying on topic even though the topic to begin with is entirely vague. For my own part, I feel like since almost every page has no information of value (I am not belittling people writing for the sake of writing--just saying it hasn't furthered anyone's knowledge, yet I understand its purpose), I have felt like interjecting some humor from time to time. I thought I had a pretty witty and topical joke about Eric Massa as it related to another poster's comments about bum rushing Steve Jobs. I thought it was funny at least, and it was in a sea of thousands of other posts which weren't like people working toward finding the cure for cancer. It was in a sea of thousands of posts about when an unannounced computer might come out. I don't think I was stopping some process. And it's the inability to slightly deviate from a topic that I think inhibits an ability to have a sense of community. In day to day conversations, you don't start with one topic and mandate it stay on that topic for eons. Again I'm not encouraging deviation more than one or two levels away from topic as threads are different than real life, but a joke here or there won't hurt anything.
Anyhow, as you probably guessed, someone unceremoniously deleted my joke. But I don't really care about that. I was more concerned with the tone of the forums. It does seem a bit odd to not mind that people have posted thousands of what are fruitless comments (which again, does not bother me), but then insist that the fruitless topics stay on topic so strictly and to occasionally close the forums in some sort of punitive way, without explaining what the problem was. Or deleting jokes because someone might become distracted from the thousands of repetitive posts? I cannot recall the forums ever functioning that way before.
I was concerned about writing this because I do not want to be banned. But I feel I shouldn't have to worry about being banned for politely expressing my opinion about a medium I've been using for a number of years. I haven't even been at all an active poster in the MBP waiting threads. I was just noticing a negative vibe when I checked in on them that felt like it was emanating from a new slant on enforcing forum rules. I do enjoy the Macrumors forums, and I hope that this can be received in the spirit of being sent by a consumer with constructive criticism. And I hope that my trepidation in having sent it can itself be a telling message regarding the new tone I have noticed.
And as far as the volume of posts about MBPs being updated, doesn't that only help MR? More page views=more money, right? So why then are the forums shut down from time to time for rest periods? I feel like people are afraid to post in that forum and are worried about staying on topic even though the topic to begin with is entirely vague. For my own part, I feel like since almost every page has no information of value (I am not belittling people writing for the sake of writing--just saying it hasn't furthered anyone's knowledge, yet I understand its purpose), I have felt like interjecting some humor from time to time. I thought I had a pretty witty and topical joke about Eric Massa as it related to another poster's comments about bum rushing Steve Jobs. I thought it was funny at least, and it was in a sea of thousands of other posts which weren't like people working toward finding the cure for cancer. It was in a sea of thousands of posts about when an unannounced computer might come out. I don't think I was stopping some process. And it's the inability to slightly deviate from a topic that I think inhibits an ability to have a sense of community. In day to day conversations, you don't start with one topic and mandate it stay on that topic for eons. Again I'm not encouraging deviation more than one or two levels away from topic as threads are different than real life, but a joke here or there won't hurt anything.
Anyhow, as you probably guessed, someone unceremoniously deleted my joke. But I don't really care about that. I was more concerned with the tone of the forums. It does seem a bit odd to not mind that people have posted thousands of what are fruitless comments (which again, does not bother me), but then insist that the fruitless topics stay on topic so strictly and to occasionally close the forums in some sort of punitive way, without explaining what the problem was. Or deleting jokes because someone might become distracted from the thousands of repetitive posts? I cannot recall the forums ever functioning that way before.
I was concerned about writing this because I do not want to be banned. But I feel I shouldn't have to worry about being banned for politely expressing my opinion about a medium I've been using for a number of years. I haven't even been at all an active poster in the MBP waiting threads. I was just noticing a negative vibe when I checked in on them that felt like it was emanating from a new slant on enforcing forum rules. I do enjoy the Macrumors forums, and I hope that this can be received in the spirit of being sent by a consumer with constructive criticism. And I hope that my trepidation in having sent it can itself be a telling message regarding the new tone I have noticed.
