I'm getting ready to pull the plug on this site. It used to be good. Apple's popularity seems to have brought in an influx of uninformed haters. It's become so tedious.
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Macrumors has become a cesspool of haters
- Thread starter philosopherdog
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Sadly, I agree. I am effectively done here myself, though I do check in from time to time. I have let myself get wrapped around the axle too many times dealing with trolls and malicious misinformation.
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Yeah, I really would like to see a forum specifically for people who complain about Apple, I could add it to my ignored forums list and never have to listen to the pouting again.
It's the "hit and run" comments that are the worst. The one-line zingers that have nothing to do with the thread topic without any substantiation.
Agreed. I have been reporting a lot of those and the mods have been removing many of them.
Many seem to be from newer members just here to make troll posts.
A lot of the negativity is built up frustration with an Apple whose identity is being lost and it reflects on its products.
As a long time Apple fan, I've grown increasingly more critical of Apple in recent years for obvious reasons, I see family friends start making comments that are critical of Apple, something that I would never hear before.
I suspect the same is happening at Macrumors, and a good amount of that negativity is justified. There is no way to spin Apple's neglect of the mac line for example, and that's practically unprecedented.
As a long time Apple fan, I've grown increasingly more critical of Apple in recent years for obvious reasons, I see family friends start making comments that are critical of Apple, something that I would never hear before.
I suspect the same is happening at Macrumors, and a good amount of that negativity is justified. There is no way to spin Apple's neglect of the mac line for example, and that's practically unprecedented.
There's a difficult balancing act where we permit members to express their opinions, for and against Apple, and its products. There does seem to be a higher occurrence of frustration, which is exhibiting itself in the various forums of MacRumors.
That's not really feasible, some people come here to look for help for a defective product and while they may be lashing out at Apple in frustration they're posting here for advice to resolve the problem. If they're relegated to what would be an ignored forum, they'd not come here for advise.
This is the best way to deal with them.Agreed. I have been reporting a lot of those and the mods have been removing many of them.
Many seem to be from newer members just here to make troll posts.
Trolls hate it when their posts are ignored as they only come to stir up trouble and it's difficult for them to start an argument if no one takes a bite at their bait.
Simple, Apple needs another visionary like Steve.
Tim is a great manager. I haven't seen signs of great vision though.
This touchbar thing instantly struck me as a gimmick.
The Air Pods are an evolution of the in-ear headphone but wireless buds were already on the market.
Tim is a great manager. I haven't seen signs of great vision though.
This touchbar thing instantly struck me as a gimmick.
The Air Pods are an evolution of the in-ear headphone but wireless buds were already on the market.
There is a distinct difference between someone ranting while looking for help, and someone ranting out of hatred. The former will calm a bit after some time, whereas the latter will reject everything, and it's the latter that should be moved to a "complaints" forum where he/she can be ignored. It seemed to work rather well on another website where I served as moderator. I'm not making any accusations, but, with the way things are sometimes run here, it makes it look as if the staff enjoys drama.
Not sure which forums you've been to, but here "drama" seems mild compared to other places. I love this place and I certainly hope it continues to be open and not policed.
That would serve as a redeeming quality, thank you, but not as an excuse to maintain the status quo.
I'll definitely agree with you.
I love Classical music — Opera especially — but the amount of hatred, vitriol and name calling you find on some of those forums are astonishing.
Yes, I'm looking at you Opera-L… when they get into witch hunting / bear baiting mode it is stomach turning.
I think when people are talking about the front page topics, the conversion is indeed a cesspool, but I agree with you that MacRumors isn't defined by the highly volatile front page topics. I've found a lot of valuable information and have had productive conversations in many of the less visible threads over the years and I don't think things have gone downhill there. Perhaps that's only because the moderating staff is doing a great job and if that's the case, my hat's off to the mods.
As for the front page topics, the bile isn't anything new. I've been online since 1986 and the most visible channels have always been an express lane to stupidity because even if they're not populated with outright trolls, they're the most attractive places for those amongst us who are the most extreme and biased in their opinions. The front page threads are an attractive stage for people who want attention and once one person starts throwing bombs, it becomes harder and harder to hear the people who are trying to maintain an adult conversation. It doesn't take long before the moderate voices are overrun by some of the very people who might actually agree with them in a less charged environment.
Polarization isn't just for politics.
I think this is one instance that would benefit from a certain degree of talent when it comes to choosing an article heading. I realize that a heading should be chosen to engage readers but, at the same time, the heading should be worded in a way that avoids attracting the "Oh, it is on!" Crowd. This is sometimes easier said than done, but it should always be a forethought.
When your site is ad-supported, drama brings the clicks.
If anyone knows of a pay-for equivalent, without the ads, the tracking, and the link-jacking, do let me know.
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True, but I don't find MacRumors particularly encouraging of the drama. They don't need to stoke the flames for the crazies to all show up and it won't matter how vanilla they write the headlines if the headlines are on the front page. It doesn't matter what the topic is to the cesspool dwellers. They'll hijack any thread with only slightly relevant tangents that allow them to digress into rants about Tim Cook and how everything used to be awesome 1000% of the time and now it sucks 1000% of the time.
Perhaps all of us more "adult" users need to reinforce good behavior. Using that thumbs up/like button to upvote all the constructive comments might be a start. Ignoring the idiots and voicing support for people who are engaging in give and take discussions would be helpful too. Don't feed the trolls I guess.
The "like" button can be a double-edged sword, it can serve as encouragement to continue posting whether the content be valuable or not.
I wonder if it would be advantageous to treat the "like" button as a privilege that is earned only after a certain number of posts. For example, posts from a new user aren't afforded a like button until the user has 50 posts. This would avoid a situation in which a new user complains about things, sees 10 likes on the post and takes that as an indication that others are rallying to his/her cause - which could encourage further posts. I realize this won't solve the problem, but it can serve to "rob someone of ammo".
Update: Social media has conditioned some people to believe that external validation, such as a "like" button, is an important part of life.
I wonder if it would be advantageous to treat the "like" button as a privilege that is earned only after a certain number of posts. For example, posts from a new user aren't afforded a like button until the user has 50 posts. This would avoid a situation in which a new user complains about things, sees 10 likes on the post and takes that as an indication that others are rallying to his/her cause - which could encourage further posts. I realize this won't solve the problem, but it can serve to "rob someone of ammo".
Update: Social media has conditioned some people to believe that external validation, such as a "like" button, is an important part of life.
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What a brilliant idea!
That would be very helpful especially for inaccurate/incorrect posts. There have been several times where I see posts that completely disregard truth or even indication of actually reading the topic article and it just accumulates likes. Though other members may correct him/her, the 'likers' of course don't get the notification that they supported a stupid cause and may continue to complain. It's basically like spreading ignorance.
Normally I don't care about likes but it kinda ticks me off in general to see Trolling posts in the front page articles' "Top Rated Comments." I think it invites more uninformed haters.
To some extent I agree, but truth be told there were haters for the last few years I've been here.
But you know what I really find intolerable? The politics forum. I think it always was fairly edgy and hate-filled, but I think since the elections it has been nothing but calling each other names and resorting to conspiracies or prejudice. It went from horrible to hellish.
I also suggest a dislike button. It becomes very hard to judge whether a comment is good because the majority agrees or because only the minority can express themselves.
But you know what I really find intolerable? The politics forum. I think it always was fairly edgy and hate-filled, but I think since the elections it has been nothing but calling each other names and resorting to conspiracies or prejudice. It went from horrible to hellish.
I also suggest a dislike button. It becomes very hard to judge whether a comment is good because the majority agrees or because only the minority can express themselves.
You're totally right about this and on second thought, encouraging people to like reasonable posts won't have a chance against the likes that extreme comments will attract. It'd be a losing battle.
I second this. If we believe that most of the trusted users on MacRumors are responsible and level headed, then perhaps granting us downvoting powers to bury rancid comments will improve the complexion of the MacRumors community.