As @SandboxGeneral mentions, you have this completely wrong. In the time I have been a moderator I have never once been told to do anything or not do anything because it would impact page views or revenue. Not one time.
I wonder how many Apple users are trolling in Android Central.
I see nothing wrong at all with that thread. The person just switched from Android to an iPhone and is posting about differences he noticed and is asking for feedback. What is the issue here?
I'm honestly not seeing a problem there. If you can articulate what the problem is, I'd be glad to hear it.
I can't help you if you don't see the obvious, the latent trolling ("Siri just sucks"; "iMessage considered the Holy Grail of messaging platforms but I can't stand it"; "ICloud photo search function sucks compared to Google photos"; "Overall I guess I'm just an Android person. Specifically Samsung" etc.).
Yes, I do because of the context provided by their other posts like this one.
So while that can be interpreted as having something nefarious behind it, it can just as easily be interpreted as not having something conspiratorial to it. Seems like in a scenario like that interpretations are then mostly based on the biases (conscious or otherwise) that someone would have reading something into things, one way or another.
I think others can see the alternative too, but it being a mere possibility doesn't give it enough weight until there's something actually truly pointing that way or at least enough of a variety of things that loosely point that way but as a collection tip the scale just enough overall.
Unfortunately, I have to disagree referring to posts #103, #105 and #107.
Reading in some biases into it, it can be taken that way. Doing it without a bias it doesn't seem like there's enough there on its own to really add up to that, given that without much else it can be taken at just face value without coming off unbelievable or conspiratorial.
I guess it is "conspiratorial" that the one-day member's user name is galaxycat, who uses a Galaxy S9+, admits to be an "Android person, specifically Samsung" and starts a thread where under pretext of seeking "helpful hints" states that "Siri just sucks"; "iMessage considered the Holy Grail of messaging platforms but I can't stand it"; "ICloud photo search function sucks compared to Google photos"?
Can certainly be taken as circumstantially suspicious, but that's likely not quite enough to make an actual call one way or another in terms of taking some sort of an action. Especially given that it can certainly be taken essentially at face value too without coming off as being something unbelievable or even improbable.
We are not talking about taking action. As a first step it would suffice to acknowledge an obvious phenomenon as per the title of the thread.
It shows that it can certainly be that, but it doesn't prove that it is, and that's kind of the main point. It might very well be an example of it, or might very well not be. And we are ultimately taking about action being taken when we are discussing it all in the context of moderation.
That is relative.
And that is basically what underscores it, the whole part that it can be seen differently and thus it being something that isn't just simplistic and straightforward (even though it could be if conclusions are jumped to, do example) when it comes to moderation.
The existance of this thread "Trolling by non-Apple users" and many others prove that trolling is significantly present in MR.
It's definitely present here and pretty much everywhere online basically. At the same time, it certainly doesn't mean that any post that can simply be seen as such as one possibility is actually it though just on the virtue of that one possible interpretation.
Interpretations differ.
I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt as much as possible, but if the site admins don't direct you to interpret the rules on trolling in the manner you do, then what you're saying is that the way you moderate the forums is up to you.
It's either that or it's just intentional - I sometimes think they try to be intentionally obtuse to the point you get frustrated and call them idiots and then they have reason to ban you.
But the same thing applies there as well--a particular interpretation as to why the thread doesn't have any posts, which is certainly a possibility, yet definitely isn't the only or even necessarily the most likely interpretation of it all.
