Newbie restrictions (Please discuss forum policy here.)

[dank]

What the hell?  Now I can't complete this transaction because I can't private message.  How am I supposed to get 50 posts in this forum?  I have an ad to post and am indeed not a troll.  It's hard to contribute to the Bitcoin economy if I can't post in the Market section.

[1714192782]

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[optionstalker]

Perhaps the best way to deal with this situation is to grandfather in all existing users by whitelisting everyone, and then only applying the newbie rule to new accounts.

AYE!

[Capitan]

I'm glad the policy was put in place. I encouraged this in the meta section and unbeknownst to me the policy would affect me! I can't post outside the newbie section since I too have less than 50 posts. I think the ones I have been making have been positive contribution to the community for the most part. I'm willing to follow the rule if it means getting rid of the annoying influx of chicken littles screaming "the sky is falling".

[bitcoinewbie]

Limiting expression is not our style.  This was put in place due to an influx of trolls and scammers as a direct result of the media attention and the army of co-ops who think that the rest of us don't know that they work for Chuch Schumter.  All of these accounts have less than 50 posts, and we know that to can be messed with.  This is only a temporary measure.  Please stay tuned.

Thank you for this post. I hope you are able to devise a system that allows for a constructive discourse between veterans and the 99.99999% of other people in the planet, as opposed to the limited incestuous discourse which is unfortunately now deemed necessary.

What is wrong with a +/- system that allows the experienced users vote crappy posts out of existence as opposed to leaving an entire forum up to the mood of the mod that happens to be on duty?

[TylerJordan]

Frankly, I think this sucks ass. I've been on this forum for quite a while but only occasionally post, so now I'm being put in the kiddie pen.  I'm sorry moderators that you're having problems with spammers, but maybe there's another way?  I run the digital coin forum http://digitalcoin.earthsociety.org - also an SMF forum and I've put in a script to halt forum spammer-bots that's fairly effective, albeit, my forum has very little traffic and perhaps spam-bots put more effort into popular forums - I don't know.

Still this is rather like banning the freedom of speech because of terrorists - the terrorists win.

[pancakes]

Frankly, I think this sucks ass. I've been on this forum for quite a while but only occasionally post, so now I'm being put in the kiddie pen.  I'm sorry moderators that you're having problems with spammers, but maybe there's another way?  I run the digital coin forum http://digitalcoin.earthsociety.org - also an SMF forum and I've put in a script to halt forum spammer-bots that's fairly effective, albeit, my forum has very little traffic and perhaps spam-bots put more effort into popular forums - I don't know.

Still this is rather like banning the freedom of speech because of terrorists - the terrorists win.

Bear in mind that this is a temporary measure put in place to halt the spam happening right now. It will be fine tuned over the next few days.

[MoonShadow]

What is wrong with a +/- system that allows the experienced users vote crappy posts out of existence as opposed to leaving an entire forum up to the mood of the mod that happens to be on duty?

We tried that one back a few weeks ago.  Users abuse the rating system to punish those whom they disagree with, rather than just those whose posts are offtopic or offensive.  Trying to keep a liberal forum works well when the vast majority of the users are libertarians or similar, as libs don't desire to overtalk our detractors, which is just about everyone.  We're kinda used to that.  But the signal to noise ration on this forum has dropped to unacceptable levels.

[bitcoinewbie]

Also, trolls can just spam to 50 posts.

Exactly. That is why what is and isn't shown should be left up to individual posts and the community which reads them. I think a +/- where only posters with a high peer rating can vote may work. The banning of users could even be done on a peer basis. Central censorship is terrifying.

[mellowhead]

Can I be whitelisted please? I've started threads that aren't "END OF THE WORLD" AND "SELL SELL SELL!!!".

http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=11246.0;topicseen

Thanks in advance if I pass the test.

[MrAnderson]

I'd like to have any restrictions lifted!

I believe I've proven myself already (not being a troll that is). Maybe asking a lot of questions is my crime but for now the reach of Bitcoin hasn't quite hit Australia.

[SpaceLord]

I AM NOT A NUMBER! I AM A FREE MAN!

 

[BiggieJohn]

I'd like to see how many trolls are mining at 1.7Ghash/sec

[Soak]

It's hard for make transactions with this restrictions.

[BurtW]

Just a post to increase my number and find out what it is - what a waste.

[Crystal Excursion]

Yes something had to be done, Though my posts may have an element of whimsy, I actually do trade Quartz Crystals for BTC. I have only 19 posts or so, and the restriction will prevent me from negotiating via PM, I support bitcoin and what it represents, If you are able to grant me a little slack it' would be appreciated, but a few more posts in Newbies is not much to ask.

Please Whitelist me, I have a Trade in shipment to a Moderator, I will have to make several more posts by monday when they are scheduled to receive it, and still being under restriction will hinder our communication in that regard.

Thank You Moderators...

[imperi]

Maybe you guys should have been more engaged in the community. 

[fcmatt]

hm. well i just lost 10-15 minutes of my life trying to figure out why i could not respond to a linux mining thread.
my first thought was since the price was dropping so much this was the forum's way to control what people were
saying. As in newer users were more likely to talk smack for the next few days and by doing this you avoid it.

[mellowhead]

I was trying to post in newbie forum but I got some "300 second" message. What was that all about? That totally blows.

[Synaptic]

It's interesting that they instituted this rule... especially when my well reasoned and lengthy posts directly preceded the most massive crash in bitcoin, ever.

It's interesting because any forum mod worth his goddamn salt can moderate a few ruffians here or there. However, when someone such as myself, with well written, lengthy, logical posts challenges the status quo (and by my estimations, successful in talking some sense into at least a few people), THEN they institute a ban...

It's interesting, because this was an obvious decision made out of fear, and derision - not necessity.

Edit by Maged:
The requirement is no longer 50 posts:

Thanks to some code provided by Disposition, there is now a mix of post count and "time online" requirements. You must have spent 8 hours online and posted 5 posts. This should be easier to do.

[konakevin]

Well, I might as well jump into the kiddie pool to begin working my way up to 50.