Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors Censorship

Illusion986

Illusion986

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 12, 2009
354
3
I have notices MacRumors censorship has goten a firm grip. Comments keep disappearing from front page articles. Besides my own i have notices posts disappear quite quickly and at least the ones i noticed are not inappropriate, some are funny poking fun at the articles or people in them but not in inappropriate way, some are just pictures that fit in well with the article (also funny) etc.. Have we become so sensitive to what people say and hit that report button or its just mac rumors trying to play NSA?
 
Thankfully, I've only had one post deleted. It was due to posting a full article instead of just the first paragraph and linking to the rest. I broke the forum rules though so I understood.
 
MacRumors is probably the strictest forum I visit. Don't really agree with a lot of it, but for a good part of the time, there's some sort of rule backing it up. So there you go.
 
Illusion986 said:
I have notices MacRumors censorship has goten a firm grip. Comments keep disappearing from front page articles. Besides my own i have notices posts disappear quite quickly and at least the ones i noticed are not inappropriate, some are funny poking fun at the articles or people in them but not in inappropriate way, some are just pictures that fit in well with the article (also funny) etc.. Have we become so sensitive to what people say and hit that report button or its just mac rumors trying to play NSA?
Click to expand...

It is my observation that the judgement of the members and the judgement of the Moderation Team differ at times. While understandable, I believe that it is the intention of the Mods is to maintain as reasonable an atmosphere here as possible, based on the Rules.

As one who has been the recipient of Forum attention, I can say that it is my experience that the attention has always been reasonable, fair, and well in line with the Rules...and it has clearly been my ignorance, stupidity or misinterpretation that was at fault. No one is ever happy about being pulled up short, or having a post deleted...but my experience on this Forum has been made more pleasant and inviting by the knowledge that it is as closely Moderated as it is. I am happy to have close Moderation as a trade off against the horrid atmosphere I have seen on some other fora that I have visited.
 
Id like to see more moderation to be honest. A huge and ever growing ignore list does help a lot though!
 
Posts particularly those that are considered frivolous, such as image only, meme and off topic posts are removed from the news threads.

The moderation staff is not looking to squelch or inhibit dialog but the opposite. By removing the off topic chatter that can derail threads from their intended purpose we are attempting to keep the discussion moving forward.

Illusion986, if you want the specific reason why your post was removed, please use the contact us link and the admins will provide you with the explanation. Due to our privacy policy we do not publicly comment on moderation activities.
 
wordoflife said:
MacRumors is probably the strictest forum I visit. Don't really agree with a lot of it, but for a good part of the time, there's some sort of rule backing it up. So there you go.
Click to expand...
Actually I can think of a couple of other forums that are even stricter in their posting policy. But at least MacRumors and those others have actual written policies they use.
 
I'm going to be completely honest here, with what I'm thinking.

The thing I'm worried about is the moderators deleting posts not because they break forum rules, but because they may be negative towards Apple. I may have seen this before, but I'm not sure. And bear in mind, this could be completely untrue.

What I'm talking about, is for example, someone expressing opinion via thread or thread comment about their distaste for Apple. What I think has happened in the past is moderators deleting comments/threads because they are completely negative towards Apple in some way, by expressing hatred towards the company, it's fanbase or products, or even the site itself. Someone could say "I hate Apple and their products are not good" and it could be deleted.

I honestly believe posts like this are censored. Personally, I haven't posted something of the such and I don't believe I had a post deleted (except for one, but I had gotten into an ugly argument) but I feel like this has happened before.

Censorship, in the way I described above, is not okay. This site is not a dictator-run country and should not be run as such. It's okay for people to have opinions and we have the right to express it as long as it is not hate directed towards a person or a group of people.

As I said before, I could be completely wrong on this, but I feel as if this is plausible.
 
Last edited:
I actually feel like this is one of the more 'loose' forums around.

I've been to various sites that I've been banned from for extremely minor things. One that comes to mind right now actually is Photographyonthe.net. I was banned because their classifieds don't allow for 'bumping', so I instead closed my original sale ad, added another item (so the new ad had 2 items) and relisted it.

I was told I was spamming the marketplace. Granted that mod's always been one of the power hungry guys, it's still a pretty sad excuse to ban someone.
 
LOLZpersonok said:
I'm going to be completely honest here, with what I'm thinking.

The thing I'm worried about is the moderators deleting posts not because they break forum rules, but because they may be negative towards Apple. I may have seen this before, but I'm not sure. And bear in mind, this could be completely untrue.
Click to expand...

I assure you with all sincerity that we do not do that at all.
 
LOLZpersonok said:
I'm going to be completely honest here, with what I'm thinking.

The thing I'm worried about is the moderators deleting posts not because they break forum rules, but because they may be negative towards Apple.

[big snip]

As I said before, I could be completely wrong on this, but I feel as if this is plausible.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I don't think that this is the case. A lot of the removals you see are probably the epic "Apple vs Android" battle that has raged for epochs. Even though this is a mac forum, I've seen countless times people "hating" against apple. Heck, there are even a few threads on people and their Windows computers!! Apple does not run this forum, people can say what they want about it, same as windows, it's just guided more towards one userbase. But when people start posting like
"hey Apple SUKS they cantt make phonez for crap and u cant jailbrake them haha lulz you guys are STUPID mother**** idiotz for using APPLE phones. #androidFTW

Posted from my Samsung Galaxy via Tapatalk"

Then it becomes name calling, in violation of forum rules. Same when apple users say how people are so stupid for using Android phones.

_______________________________

And for anyone thinking that moderation on this forum is not a good idea, go visit the Wasteland and read some threads.
 
Posts are moderated according to the rules, never to the opinions expressed in the posts. It's perfectly fine to criticise Apple or any other company or its products here. All we ask it that member do it in a civil way, without attacking other members, that they don't post solely to rile up other members, and of course follow the rules in general.

There wouldn't be much discussion if we couldn't talk about the merits and shortcomings of the different products. :)
 
I can live with the current censorship. I wish there was some on one other Mac forum where I see threads like "Buy Quality Fake And Real Passports,ID cards,Drivers license etc " and they never get deleted.
 


In common with a number of the others who have posted on this thread, I have no quarrel with the Mods; in general, I think they are doing a very good job, in what are probably sometimes rather testing (and occasionally heated) circumstances, where the need to allow open discussion (with room for disagreement) is balanced with the necessity to actually ensure that such a conversation occurs in an atmosphere devoid of much of the rancour which can bedevil much online communication.

Moreover, any of the rare occasions when I have landed on the radar of the mods - and have had a post deleted, or amended - is usually due to an oversight on my part, or my quoting a post in a heated exchange which itself may have been subsequently deleted. In truth, I can find absolutely nothing to fault in any of it, and regret any role I may have played in serving to help inflate such rows.

Furthermore, on the rare occasions I have had occasion to contact any of the Mods about anything, responses have been courteous and timely.

No, any complaint or 'issue' to use modern parlance, which I might have on this forum, has more to do with the depressingly negative and sometimes vituperative tone taken by some posters who confuse reasoned debate with condescension and the right to freedom of speech with the right to say with they like in as insulting and offensive a manner possible.

Unfortunately, the cloaking afforded by anonymity, and distance (physical and psychological) allows some to think they have permission to be a lot more offensive online than they would ever dare to be in a real life face-to-face encounter.

Actually, I welcome the fact that a degree of sustained moderation takes place here, and manages to be both fair minded and even handed in the way it is carried out.
 
Illusion986 said:
...Have we become so sensitive to what people say and hit that report button or its just mac rumors trying to play NSA?
Click to expand...
Moderators remove junk. That's not new, and you should expect exactly that, if you visit a more or less open forum.

----------
wordoflife said:
MacRumors is probably the strictest forum I visit.
Click to expand...
*lol*

Really?

----------
Astroboy907 said:
Honestly...

...for anyone thinking that moderation on this forum is not a good idea, go visit the Wasteland and read some threads.
Click to expand...
Good idea! ;)
 
maflynn said:
Posts particularly those that are considered frivolous, such as image only, meme and off topic posts are removed from the news threads.

The moderation staff is not looking to squelch or inhibit dialog but the opposite. By removing the off topic chatter that can derail threads from their intended purpose we are attempting to keep the discussion moving forward.

Illusion986, if you want the specific reason why your post was removed, please use the contact us link and the admins will provide you with the explanation. Due to our privacy policy we do not publicly comment on moderation activities.
Click to expand...

If my post was removed as it didn't follow the rules that's ok it's your house not mine. I was just curious why so many are disappearing but your explanation makes sense. Also explains why people became more polite haha or it just seems so because foul mouthed ones get deleted quicker now.

----------

Thank you everyone for your responses and providing better understanding on what's going on.
 
I don't like it, I said something about how bad it was how colleges put all types of restrictions on their networks and I had my comment edited by a mod.

Wasn't happy with that.

I didn't even use any profanity
 
thehustleman said:
I don't like it, I said something about how bad it was how colleges put all types of restrictions on their networks and I had my comment edited by a mod.

Wasn't happy with that.

I didn't even use any profanity
Click to expand...

It's my understanding that a specific incidence of Moderation Team action is not discussed on the public forum and it is suggested that if you have a question about a specific situation that you send a Contact Us form.

If I understand correctly, the only way a specific instance will be discussed publicly is if you give the Moderation Team permission to discuss your entire Moderation history. I'm not sure about this, so if you have a problem with a specific situation, I suggest sending a Contact Us form discussing you question or objections.
 
LOLZpersonok said:
Hence why I said so. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't happen from time to time.
Click to expand...

Since there is no way to prove or disprove the statement above, and since it is so general to have, I believe, no support, I can only agree with both SandboxGeneral and annk that the Mods/Admins have no dog in that fight. If a post is written within the Rules I don't believe that the issue of Apple fandom comes into play at all.

Why should the Mods/Admins care whether you like Apple stuff or not...all they care about is the application of the Rules regarding the admissibility of the post. I really don't believe a post, written with the Rule guidelines, would be censored or deleted for no another reason than the content criticizes Apple. My support for my claim is the thousands of Apple critical posts that have appeared on this Forum.
 
thehustleman said:
I don't like it, I said something about how bad it was how colleges put all types of restrictions on their networks and I had my comment edited by a mod.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend using the contact us link for a detailed explanation. Due to our privacy guidelines discussing your specific moderation is not permitted in this thread but an admin will be happy to discuss your moderation and answer any questions you may have
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back