Moderators stop merging threads on issues

[Hooyah]

Heres some feedback - can posts stop being merged. We get it. Topics are similar. However… the occurrence and volume of individual and real users reporting frustrations and problems can add value to the owners decision making in terms of tackling them.

My thread about the ads on the home screen and any other complaints should be kept separate and if they flood the feedback section… what possible sort of message could that be?

Anyone else equally annoyed to have spent time detailing an issue only to have it swept away meaninglessly within someone else’s (also usually valid!) point…

 

[MBAir2010]

Heres some feedback - can posts stop being merged. We get it. Topics are similar. However… the occurrence and volume of individual and real users reporting frustrations and problems can add value to the owners decision making in terms of tackling them.

My thread about the ads on the home screen and any other complaints should be kept separate and if they flood the feedback section… what possible sort of message could that be?

Anyone else equally annoyed to have spent time detailing an issue only to have it swept away meaninglessly within someone else’s (also usually valid!) point…

jeez, of all the things to complain about, im sure the mods have a reason as I like this
since we do have same theory different thread posts here as that get confusing.

Someone here wanted follow up on Sequoia upgrading advice message, which they thought was ignored,
then realized he was on the wrong anti-tahoe thread.

 

[maflynn]

My thread about the ads on the home screen and any other complaints should be kept separate and if they flood the feedback section… what possible sort of message could that be?

If your thread is on a topic that is a news story it will get locked, if its on a topic that pre-exists, then it will get merged. There's variations but basically having multiple threads on the same topic is confusing and leads to a lot of duplicate discussions.

Anyone else equally annoyed

No

meaninglessly within someone else’s (also usually valid!) point…

Another person's thread on the same topic is not meaningless - just because you're not the OP means the thread has no value. In fact merging multiple threads increases the value given that it helps those who are discussing it and increases the visibility and communication.

 

[Bichon]

When it comes to reducing redundant discussions and organizing the enormous collection of posts on the forum into a more useable and valuable resource for someone just searching for an answer to their question or looking to quickly get a comprehensive understanding of a topic, it's better when the mods merge threads. After all, the 20th discussion of a topic is rarely as useful as the first few. I'm an old-school forum user, and both favor that approach and appreciate the effort that the staff puts into making it happen.

But on the other hand, there are also people who just want to own their own thread, sometimes because they want the answer spoon-fed to them, but more frequently because they view MacRumors as a place to socialize with other Apple phone, computer, tablet and accessory enthusiasts, where bantering with others is almost as important as the topics being discussed.

I'd even go a step further and posit that the general trend of people eschewing old-school forums like this in favor of Facebook groups, Reddit, Discord, etc. is largely due to the engagement people feel when using them.

So, it's easy to make a case for either approach...