PRSI Forum discussion

[The-Real-Deal82]

One suggestion I would make for the mods would be to inform members who have various warnings within a 6 month period, that they are one or two away from a suspension. I suppose unless a member keeps a personal tally on how many times they’ve been warned, they are not always going to realise. It could be a quick tally at the end of warning message.

Are ‘reminders’ about the forum rules a warning or are they just a friendly reminder?

I think warning members they are close to being suspended or banned from PRSI would help everybody. It would make them think before spamming the threads with provocative drivel which in turn makes threads nicer to read and doesn’t add work for the mods.

 

[MacNut]

One suggestion I would make for the mods would be to inform members who have various warnings within a 6 month period, that they are one or two away from a suspension. I suppose unless a member keeps a personal tally on how many times they’ve been warned, they are not always going to realise. It could be a quick tally at the end of warning message.

Are ‘reminders’ about the forum rules a warning or are they just a friendly reminder?

I think warning members they are close to being suspended or banned from PRSI would help everybody. It would make them think before spamming the threads with provocative drivel which in turn makes threads nicer to read and doesn’t add work for the mods.

The forum software should be able to post a tally. The warning rules need work too. Minor infractions should not count.

 

[Weaselboy]

Are ‘reminders’ about the forum rules a warning or are they just a friendly reminder?

It is just a reminder about the rules. But that said, if you violate the same rule again, you are much more likely to be suspended than if you had never received the reminder.

Minor infractions should not count.

If you mean the PRSI three strikes policy, minor infractions don't count toward that. Only rules mentioned in the Rules for Appropriate Debate count toward three strikes.

https://macrumors.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201327723-MacRumors-Rules-for-Appropriate-Debate

 

[BigMcGuire]

I guess I have never had a PRSI warning then! That said, I'm not the guns blazing type either (which means my posts aren't 1/10th as interesting to read as most). I think the mods have done a good job communicating with users here on mod decisions - something most other forums would never do.

As much as it pains me to see certain posters banned I realize it happens to both sides (though in my opinion, one side is a minority here on Macrumors PRSI). After review and my test, I believe I take the Mods side on this one. PRSI is not a place I want to be. It is probably a necessary evil (generates some significant $) but at a cost (Mod time). All the mod decisions that I've seen - seem to be justified. Generous warnings were given.

I have no desire to spend my time trying to change people's minds or creating a lot of unnecessary work for the mods here by participating in PRSI. This is an Apple forum after all. Much happier talking about my hobbies of Apple products, batteries, and Star Trek!

Have a good week all. Thanks for the ability to participate in this.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It is just a reminder about the rules. But that said, if you violate the same rule again, you are much more likely to be suspended than if you had never received the reminder.

I think the terminology needs to be changed in that case because if a reminder counts towards a suspension as you explain here, it is in fact an official warning.

I could see how being suspended after receiving what looks like a rule reminder could come as a shock. A member is more likely to read a warning flagged in their inbox as it feels more serious whereas a message labelled ‘reminder’ may get deleted or not read. Just a suggestion as it’s clear a few here have never read the rules.

 

[RichardMZhlubb]

Several have stated time and time again, that the mod staff etc. have openly allowed racist posts to be made, along with other posts that seek to incite rules violations of like or worse manner.

****

Has it not occurred to any of those complaining and making such charges, that you are essentially calling the staff racists and so filled with personal and political bias, that it is impossible to have meaningful and productive discourse in the alleged forum.

Not sure if you were referring to my comments in this thread, but, to be clear, I never intended to suggest that the moderation staff is racist. But, by their own admission, they do not actively monitor what gets posted in PRSI. My concern is that, if a poster posts a dozen interrelated racist comments, it may not be possible to find and report all of them and to ensure that they are deleted. And, as I noted, I think it better to call out a racist post than to just have it deleted it and pretend it never happened. Those comments are not intended to cast any aspersions on anyone on the moderation staff.

 

[OllyW]

I think the terminology needs to be changed in that case because if a reminder counts towards a suspension as you explain here, it is in fact an official warning.

I could see how being suspended after receiving what looks like a rule reminder could come as a shock. A member is more likely to read a warning flagged in their inbox as it feels more serious whereas a message labelled ‘reminder’ may get deleted or not read. Just a suggestion as it’s clear a few here have never read the rules.

It's clearly stated in the reminder message that you can get suspended if you repeat the violation. Here's the message sent for a reminder for insults.

This is a reminder from the MacRumors moderator team to avoid posting personal insults, as defined in the "Instantly Bannable Offenses" section of the Forum Rules. Your post may have been removed for this reason. Repeated violation of this rule can lead to loss of forum privileges, and we'd rather avoid that.

The rule applies to forum posts, user profile comments, private conversations (which we see if they are reported to us), and messages sent with the Contact Form.

For further information and instructions, see the Reminders section of the Moderation FAQ. Do not reply to (or report) a moderation message like this one. If you have questions, comments, or complaints about moderation, use the Contact Form.

Your cooperation is appreciated.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It's clearly stated in the reminder message that you can get suspended if you repeat the violation. Here's the message sent for a reminder for insults.

My point was about the terminology of a message entitled ‘reminder’. I think it should be a little more direct to the point. I’ve had reminders in the past and to be honest I haven’t always opened them and just marked them ‘as read’. I won’t do that in future though now it’s clear they are actual warnings rather than a friendly reminder.

 

[TheAppleFairy]

It's clearly stated in the reminder message that you can get suspended if you repeat the violation. Here's the message sent for a reminder for insults.

"privacy already waived this weekend"

Here are my 3 violations. The only one that states that I will be blocked from PRSI is the 3rd one (after it was too late). over my years here I have seen many members get time-outs.

There were no reminders stating rules changes until recently.

 

[I7guy]

Not sure if you were referring to my comments in this thread, but, to be clear, I never intended to suggest that the moderation staff is racist. But, by their own admission, they do not actively monitor what gets posted in PRSI. My concern is that, if a poster posts a dozen interrelated racist comments, it may not be possible to find and report all of them and to ensure that they are deleted. And, as I noted, I think it better to call out a racist post than to just have it deleted it and pretend it never happened. Those comments are not intended to cast any aspersions on anyone on the moderation staff.

That right there is the problem. Playing by your own rules.

Calling out a post, could result in a forum violation unless the wording constitutes a constructive discussion. It is possible to respond in a constructive manner.

 

[Krayzkat]

Maybe just remove the New Posts button if using it means we won’t see any new rules or rule changes.

It’s ridiculous to blame people for not knowing about any new rules just because they navigate a website one of the ways it was designed to be navigated.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Maybe just remove the New Posts button if using it means we won’t see any new rules or rule changes.

It’s ridiculous to blame people for not knowing about any new rules just because they navigate a website one of the ways it was designed to be navigated.

On the other hand I think it’s ridiculous that people want to be spoon fed rules reminders on top of the reminders, warnings, and suspensions that already serve such a purpose. Maybe if one gets one of these notifications they should take it upon themselves to re-familiarize themselves with all the posted rules.

Have we lost our capability for self reflection? Maybe some of us need to develop such a process to start with.

 

[Weaselboy]

Maybe just remove the New Posts button if using it means we won’t see any new rules or rule changes.

If one used the New Posts button, that new three strike policy thread would have shown up as a new post/thread.

 

[TheAppleFairy]

If one used the New Posts button, that new three strike policy thread would have shown up as a new post/thread.

Only the day it was posted. The thread isn’t open to replies.

And any comment to any thread after that would have pushed that thread down.

 

[Weaselboy]

Only the day it was posted. The thread isn’t open to replies.

And any comment to any thread after that would have pushed that thread down.

I understand if there were a lot of forum posts and you had not visited the site for a while, it could be way down the list, but it would be in the list nonetheless.

 

[TheAppleFairy]

I understand if there were a lot of forum posts and you had not visited the site for a while, it could be way down the list, but it would be in the list nonetheless.

New post link has 10 pages of post, with the oldest post going all the way back to yesterday. Any thread older than 1 day will not show up.

 

[Weaselboy]

New post link has 10 pages of post, with the oldest post going all the way back to yesterday. Any thread older than 1 day will not show up.

Ahh... okay, now I see what you mean.

 

[RichardMZhlubb]

That right there is the problem. Playing by your own rules.

Calling out a post, could result in a forum violation unless the wording constitutes a constructive discussion. It is possible to respond in a constructive manner.

I've said repeatedly in here that I recognize that pointing out a racist post is a violation of the current rules, and have argued for a change to that rule. When someone argues, for example, that immigration is eroding white culture, I don't believe that it is possible to "respond in a constructive manner" without noting the post's inherent racism. To do otherwise is to implicitly acknowledge the false paradigm that it is a debatable question on which reasonable people may differ.

 

[I7guy]

I've said repeatedly in here that I recognize that pointing out a racist post is a violation of the current rules, and have argued for a change to that rule. When someone argues, for example, that immigration is eroding white culture, I don't believe that it is possible to "respond in a constructive manner" without noting the post's inherent racism. To do otherwise is to implicitly acknowledge the false paradigm that it is a debatable question on which reasonable people may differ.

As an example, one possible way to answer such a generally worded post is to say “please provide specifics as to why you feel that way”, and take it from there. Make the poster prove/discuss such a generalized statement. If you feel the poster is trolling, then report the post.

 

[bunnspecial]

If you got rid of PRSI then this site would be nothing but topics about ‘should I get the new iPhone’ or ‘I think there is a scratch the size of a grain of sand on my new iPhone’.

Believe it or not, outside the(what I consider to be) cesspools of iDevice fora, there are some really solid tech fora here.

Within an hour or two of WWDC every year, we have some incredibly smart folks who get to work on "hacking" OS X onto unsupported hardware. Mojave looked to be difficult, but they are making some amazing strides.

There are also tech forums with great support on things like upgrades and continued tech support that honestly can't be found anywhere else. The guys in the Mac Pro forum can advise you on building a Mac Pro tower to suit your every need, and we now have guys in the PPC forum who are doing BGA work to upgrade processors that are soldered in place and previously considered to not be upgradeable.

There are other niche forums with really solid content and good, fresh discussions going on.

 

[niploteksi]

It’s ridiculous to blame people for not knowing about any new rules just because they navigate a website one of the ways it was designed to be navigated.

I agree that it is every user's responsibility to keep up with any rules. However, sometimes it's not so clear cut what constitutes rules violations. For instance: I posted a "flag man-kini" in response to a "flag bikini". Frivolous? Possibly... Major rules violations? Possibly...

I do think that when something like posting a picture is considered a major rules violation it should say so more clearly in the message.

I've since pressed the report button on various posts and the moderation seems somewhat arbitrary. Not taking into consideration what is considered a major rules violation and what just get passed by.

 

[Krayzkat]

On the other hand I think it’s ridiculous that people want to be spoon fed rules reminders on top of the reminders, warnings, and suspensions that already serve such a purpose. Maybe if one gets one of these notifications they should take it upon themselves to re-familiarize themselves with all the posted rules.

Have we lost our capability for self reflection? Maybe some of us need to develop such a process to start with.

I don’t understand your confusion about this matter!

Like has been mentioned, New Posts section can show literally hundreds of threads if a person hadn’t been on the forums for a few days, and because any ‘new rules’ threads cannot be replied to, they get buried by all these other threads.

People shouldn’t have to get suspended or warnings by mods to learn about any new rules, they should just be made aware of them by a means that preempts any breaking of them.

 

[mobilehaathi]

I don’t understand your confusion about this matter!

Ditto.

Like has been mentioned, New Posts section can show literally hundreds of threads if a person hadn’t been on the forums for a few days, and because any ‘new rules’ threads cannot be replied to, they get buried by all these other threads.

People shouldn’t have to get suspended or warnings by mods to learn about any new rules, they should just be made aware of them by a means that preempts any breaking of them.

There are no new rules just new procedures. Either way it is incumbent upon the user to know the rules. It’s not insane to expect people to see the new sticky at the top of a forum they regularly participate in. Arguments that they “didn’t see it” are unconvincing, largely because claiming ignorance has never been a strong defense.

 

[Krayzkat]

Ditto.


There are no new rules just new procedures. Either way it is incumbent upon the user to know the rules. It’s not insane to expect people to see the new sticky at the top of a forum they regularly participate in. Arguments that they “didn’t see it” are unconvincing, largely because claiming ignorance has never been a strong defense.

You are obviously just trolling me now :/

Edit: I say this because although it’s been mentioned countless times, you won’t accept that (some people/a lot of people/who knows how many?) people use the ‘New Posts’ button to view the forum as a whole, and do not go into any specific “forums they regularly participate in” to view threads.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Believe it or not, outside the(what I consider to be) cesspools of iDevice fora, there are some really solid tech fora here.

Within an hour or two of WWDC every year, we have some incredibly smart folks who get to work on "hacking" OS X onto unsupported hardware. Mojave looked to be difficult, but they are making some amazing strides.

There are also tech forums with great support on things like upgrades and continued tech support that honestly can't be found anywhere else. The guys in the Mac Pro forum can advise you on building a Mac Pro tower to suit your every need, and we now have guys in the PPC forum who are doing BGA work to upgrade processors that are soldered in place and previously considered to not be upgradeable.

There are other niche forums with really solid content and good, fresh discussions going on.

Yeah I’m sure my comment was a bit harsh as I don’t get too involved in the techy parts of this site. I’m not a Mac user and I’d imagine the discussion on the more in depth support side of the forums is informative and helpful. I had a bad experience about 2 years ago when I downloaded a version of iOS and my iPhone went super laggy. I asked if anybody had a similar experience and users who I had never encountered before called me a troll and a liar and I was challenged to prove it. I rarely ask for advice here and I saw a side to the fanboyism iPhone users all too often get accused of.

My post was a bit of a dig at the iPhone section in the days after release. So many pointless inane threads asking the same question over and over again. I have to admit I check PRSI more often than any other section and if it was closed or I was banned from it, I’d probably remove my account as it provides more entertainment than any other section on here for me personally.