What exactly is a "frivolous post"?

[turbineseaplane]

I'm a little confused and hoping a moderator could clear this up for us all.

I've read the MR rules about frivolous posts:

Frivolous posts.

Posts that contain no relevant or constructive commentary.

This includes one- or two-word posts such as "cool", "LOL", "I agree", "+1", "this", "me too", "no way", other equivalent comments of any length, posts consisting only of smilies or overused memes, posts about being the first post in a thread, posts about your lack of interest in the thread (ignore the thread instead), and posts with irrelevant images or videos, especially those without text.

If your post will add nothing to a discussion, don't post it.


I'd reported a post that said:


"Great news"


That was it.
That was the extent of the post.

One of the examples above in the Frivolous post rules is: "I agree"
How is "I agree" any different than "Great News"?

I was told "The moderator team reviewed the post and concluded that no moderation action was warranted."

I've personally been moderated several times over the years for exactly that type of "no substance" reply to a thread.

Guilty as charged in those situations.

What am I missing here?

(also, I waive my right to any privacy on this specific moderation topic if that is somehow useful in addressing the situation)

 

[Sital]

I agree.

*ducks and leaves*

 

[Populus]

Yep…

 

[Heinzja]

I don’t know.....



.....Would be an example of this question, because who on earth is interested if I would know, when everybody (with knowledge) is requested to answer on a subject...

 

[M4th]

The rule (scroll down) in question:

Being relevant or constructive to a thread seems to be what's most important to any given post, not so much the actual word count of any length?

A mod disagreed with your reporting, that's their call.

(FWIW, I've possibly made posts that could be seen as frivolous but it certainly wasn't my intent to do so. If I'm reported and warned then, again, that's their call and totally on me to "get with the program".)

 

[turbineseaplane]

A mod disagreed with your reporting, that's their call.

Obviously, yes.

That's why I made this thread (hoping for a little more clarity).

Posting simply "Great news" seems awfully frivolous to me.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The rule (scroll down) in question:

You realize I posted that exact text of the rule in my OP, correct?

Frivolous posts.

Posts that contain no relevant or constructive commentary.

This includes one- or two-word posts such as "cool", "LOL", "I agree", "+1", "this", "me too", "no way", other equivalent comments of any length, posts consisting only of smilies or overused memes, posts about being the first post in a thread, posts about your lack of interest in the thread (ignore the thread instead), and posts with irrelevant images or videos, especially those without text.

If your post will add nothing to a discussion, don't post it.

 

[nnoble]

I'm a little confused and hoping a moderator could clear this up for us all.

I've read the MR rules about frivolous posts:

Frivolous posts.

Posts that contain no relevant or constructive commentary.

This includes one- or two-word posts such as "cool", "LOL", "I agree", "+1", "this", "me too", "no way", other equivalent comments of any length, posts consisting only of smilies or overused memes, posts about being the first post in a thread, posts about your lack of interest in the thread (ignore the thread instead), and posts with irrelevant images or videos, especially those without text.

If your post will add nothing to a discussion, don't post it.


I'd reported a post that said:


"Great news"


That was it.
That was the extent of the post.

One of the examples above in the Frivolous post rules is: "I agree"
How is "I agree" any different than "Great News"?

I was told "The moderator team reviewed the post and concluded that no moderation action was warranted."

I've personally been moderated several times over the years for exactly that type of "no substance" reply to a thread.

Guilty as charged in those situations.

What am I missing here?

(also, I waive my right to any privacy on this specific moderation topic if that is somehow useful in addressing the situation)

The moderator team have to make a choice just as the Valkyrie choice as to who gets to enter Valhalla. In the same vain Macrumors do not choose arbitrarily; instead, like the Valkyrie, they are guided by the threads of destiny that align with the cosmic order. The framework of fate is woven by the goddesses of destiny. Likewise the MR Team are a powerful force.

Edit: On the other hand, it could just be heads or tails.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The framework of fate is woven by the goddesses of destiny. Likewise the MR Team are a powerful force.

On the other hand, it could just be heads or tails.

Certainly how it can feel
Perfectly articulated 👏 😂

 

[M4th]

Posting simply "Great news" seems awfully frivolous to me.

Maybe future reporting of simple word count posts will return better results (like the ones in this thread, unless they're either relevant or constructive)? And while this info might apply, tbh I don't expect a mod to have to explain every little decision s/he makes on such a busy forum. It is what it is.

Best of luck.

Thanks @nnoble for the relevant/constructive (the cosmic mods will decide) Nordic myth analogy

 

[turbineseaplane]

tbh I don't expect a mod to have to explain every little decision s/he makes on such a busy forum. It is what it is.

I agree with you

This one just felt at odds with my own moderation experience of the exact rule in question, thus why I made this thread.

I think it's important to have moderation rules followed pretty closely as we are referred to them as guides when our own posts are subjected to them.

It's somewhat odd and/or interesting to me that 5 days later, no Moderator has simply said "we reserve the right to interpret the rules as we see fit" (or something similar).

Perhaps a two word post isn't seen as frivolous if it has messaging that is "positive towards Apple"?

(that's kinda how this feels if I'm being honest)

🤷‍♂️

 

[Ruggy]

Why did you report someone for saying 'Great news'?
Why did it bother you so much you had to report it?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Why did you report someone for saying 'Great news'?

If the post said "This sucks" would you be asking this?

What if it said "Who cares" or "Go Apple!" or "Yay Tim" or "I love it" or "I hate it"?

Either a post is short, frivolous and adding very little ... or it's not.

Why did it bother you so much you had to report it?

I've personally been moderated, with this specific rule cited, more than once.

 

[maflynn]

If the post said "This sucks" would you be asking this?

What if it said "Who cares" or "Go Apple!" or "Yay Tim" or "I love it" or "I hate it"?

My opinion is when I see "great news" I see a member providing an opinion on the topic, the same could be said with many of the other examples in the quote above. Great news is a lot different then seeing a LOL, +1 "this" Those examples are not extending any dialog, nor providing any real discussion on the topic.

One of the exceptions to the frivolous post rule, is when answering a question. Its perfectly fine to say yes, or no when someone poses a question to you, even though its a single word post. Great news is in a similar vein imo

 

[S.B.G]

I'll say when I was doing the job I would remove posts as frivolous that were like what @maflynn wrote. Usually only due to a user report. Not all reports for frivolous posts were moderated though, such as the examples @turbineseaplane gave - but sometimes they would be removed.

But for sure it's a total judgment call by each moderator. What one person (mod or user) deems frivolous, the next person (mod or user) may not. The hard part of being a mod is trying to find the right balance of keeping a thread tidy and flowing and not being heavy-handed on removing posts that may or may not add value.

A lot of times the mod is in a damn'd if you do, and a damn'd if you don't situation. If the mod chooses to remove the post, then the user gets upset for getting a reminder and losing their post. But if the mod leaves the post, then a few other users, some who may have reported the post, are upset that the mod didn't do anything.

So what's the right answer and how to be consistent? I don't think that's totally possible because there will always be differing opinions. The mod can only do their best and sometimes they get it right, sometimes they get it wrong. Sometimes they're right and wrong at the same time! It just depends on who you ask.

 

[G5isAlive]

How is "I agree" any different than "Great News"?

I suppose that depends on the news? That's not being cheeky, but perhaps some news is more welcome than others and as such deserves support.

Perhaps a two word post isn't seen as frivolous if it has messaging that is "positive towards Apple"?

(that's kinda how this feels if I'm being honest)

Are positive comments bad? It's an Apple site. You are bound to find a few people here that like their products and express it. Nothing is too small for an opinion on this site.

I have been frustrated myself once or twice about the interpretation of the rules, this rule in particular... it is frustrating to see some posts seem to get away with it, others not, but at the end of the day I think the Moderators are also thinking 'do no harm', so if a post is not fragrantly in violation, sometimes its okay to let it go.

"Great News" seems to be registering an opinion as valid (depending on the news) as someone voicing an opinion on a color for example.

But yep, sometimes you just have to shrug it off.