mods deleting posts for no reason?

[Queso]

Perhaps not everyone thinks so lowly of other people's posts?

When a post on MR gets nominated for a literary award you have a point. Until then, this site is nothing more than a place for us to put down all those thoughts that the people in our real lives don't want to hear. It's virtual graffiti with tech support thrown in, nothing more.

 

[Blue Velvet]

Perhaps not everyone thinks so lowly of other people's posts?

It eludes me how one can both simultaineously suck the tit of Apple while kissing the ass of MR.

Keep in mind, it is the numerous posts of the "lowly" users that make MR what it is, not the mods. Additionally, the mods chose to do what they do - no one forced them into that position.

Don't be a mod if such a small task is too much to ask, simple as that.

C'mon down from that high horse and stop being so precious... you obviously have no idea how much work that would entail for the small handful of mods that are here at any given time. I have no idea where you get this ridiculous and completely unjustified sense of entitlement from.

 

[dejo]

I'm part of several forums, most which are larger and more successful than MR.

Josh, care to give some specific examples? And how would you define "more successful"?

 

[Applespider]

Let's not turn this into a bashing session.

The mods do a pretty good job of keeping this place friendly and readable.

If there's a serious problem with a member's posts, they will PM that member to discuss his/her behaviour.

For more one-off deletions for being wildly OT, merging posts or tidying up, they don't. And to be honest, I doubt many people even notice unless they're in the habit of going back to check all of their posts. By that stage, the decision has been made and the post has gone - PM'ing to tell someone just leads to arguing semantics since there's no appeal process. And if it was a key point that you feel must be raised, you can always repost with a revised style.

 

[Josh]

Josh, care to give some specific examples? And how would you define "more successful"?

Sitepoint is a perfect example.

Successfull meaning that there are more members, the site itself is larger and contains more information regarding its topic, and the level of professionalism and lack of elitism is greater.

I'm sure you could factor in financial success as well.

This isn't a "this site vs that site" thread.

The point is that no one forced any mod to be a mod. If the mods can't take the time to inform a member of which "rule" they broke, then they shouldn't be mods.

I have been an administrator of my own forums and am currently a mod on another, and in both places there have always been rules for the mods on how to handle situations. Politely informing members when their post/thread was altered and why, was one of them.

 

[Skeeball236]

...I think a reason should be given.

great link btw, some interesting discussions over there....fell free to send more links my way.

 

[bousozoku]

Perhaps not everyone thinks so lowly of other people's posts?

It eludes me how one can both simultaineously suck the tit of Apple while kissing the ass of MR.

Keep in mind, it is the numerous posts of the "lowly" users that make MR what it is, not the mods. Additionally, the mods chose to do what they do - no one forced them into that position.

Don't be a mod if such a small task is too much to ask, simple as that.

The posts are almost always reported by other users. Things are not just randomly deleted. Many times, a person who is offensive is warned by PM. Often, if the person is a repeat offender, they're banned also.

There are other Mac forums out there and they're all loosely moderated and look like hell. For the volume that MacRumors' moderators face, everything is done quite well.

I once took a programming class where the instructor wanted us to document every line of code with an explanation. It served no purpose and got in the way of the necessary explanation and taught the students a valuable lesson on what to do wrong that might follow them the rest of their careers.

It's better to fight the correct battle than to fight every battle.

 

[michaelrjohnson]

...I think a reason should be given.

I've had very few posts deleted over the years, and those that have, I'm pretty sure I know why... but I'd have to agree, I'd like a PM with a reason. Even if it's just one off a multiple choice list, so they dont' have to draft a PM from scratch... Either way, I agree.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Why do these threads always resurface every once in a while.....

If you had a post deleted, ask about it. We clean things as required and we still miss a ton - its not a big deal, its not a conspiracy and its not something you really need to worry about - we're just doing our job.

There is no way we'd spend time PMing individuals about a post being deleted and you'd be surprised how many members have PMs turned off.

There's nothing to see here, move along...

D