Post your experience of being moderated here

[johnwhitestar]

I'm an active member of Slimcoin community and am working hard to support people that are asking for help on Slimcoin's topic here.

Recently there was a member that's asked for a help and after some post, both mine and of other members, we've been apparently able to find a solution.

So I've just posted "Great!" and have been moderated (my post that was here was deleted by I don't know whom).

However I've got a kind automated message from the moderator that "Posts are most frequently deleted because they are off-topic, though they can also be deleted for other reasons. In the future, please avoid posting things that need to be deleted."

I don't know whether from the point of view of the moderator it's wrong expressing joy that something positive has happened after me having participated and tried to solve the issue. Or if I was supposed to write an article about what I was feeling in that situation instead of just saying "Great!". Or maybe I'm just not allowed to express joy here?

Thus I just don't know how I can avoid posting things that need to be deleted.

Since I also don't know who has moderated me and am not able to ask him about and since it's not the first time I'm being moderated for the reasons I don't know, I think it could be a good thing for me and other people using this forum to have a place where to express their questions about the reasons why they've been moderated in order for them hopefully to get some replay and to understand better the forum rules.

[Poker Player]

Well, that's the way things work here. That post wouldn't have been deleted in other forums, but usually too short posts that don't add anything meaningful are at risk of being reported and deleted.

In my case, I had some posts deleted after someone considered one of my posts low value and went through my post history on a reporting spree.

It has not happened again, I guess it is clear that I am a decent poster. Although I suppose I might get some post deleted in the future but I know 99%+ of my posts won't.

[johnwhitestar]

Well, that's the way things work here. That post wouldn't have been deleted in other forums, but usually too short posts that don't add anything meaningful are at risk of being reported and deleted.

In my case, I had some posts deleted after someone considered one of my posts low value and went through my post history on a reporting spree.

It has not happened again, I guess it is clear that I am a decent poster. Although I suppose I might get some post deleted in the future, as most people in the forum have.

I'm not sure the moderators have to interfere with the communication because of the length of the post, especially if they don't bother themselves to read all the rest of the conversation to see it was not just a casual comment.

I've personally got many of my posts moderated so far. Specifically I was doing a quality research creating a dedicated topic here and thus I was answering to the question of people in a very serious manner, dedicating hours and hours of work of research posting replies that later on were moderated for the reasons I don't know, which has made me stop working on the topic here and the forum has lost a lot of quality content.

However I'm not complaining, I'm just trying to create a tool for those like me that would like to know why they've been moderated.

[acroman08]

-snip

there is a rule regarding a one-word post but I think if it is in context it's fine to post a one-word post. I am not sure but there is a chance that your post "Great" might have been deleted or automatically reported by one of the bots being used by moderators to fight spam here in the forum. if you want to restore the post that was deleted you can ask them to restore it.

[Pmalek]

Someone probably reported it being a low-value post that doesn't add anything new to the discussion. You helped the member, the issue was resolved, and someone thought that your post "Great" wasn't needed anymore. The mod who saw the report agreed, and deleted the post.

If you had extended that post by adding a bit more than just great, it probably wouldn't have been deleted. I don't think there is a single member on this forum who hasn't had a few posts deleted every now and then. Heck, even theymos got one post deleted from before he became the admin of Bitcointalk. Don't take it personally, and next time just, just expend your post a bit so it doesn't get reported as being unnecessary. 

[johnwhitestar]

Someone probably reported it being a low-value post that doesn't add anything new to the discussion. You helped the member, the issue was resolved, and someone thought that your post "Great" wasn't needed anymore. The mod who saw the report agreed, and deleted the post.

If you had extended that post by adding a bit more than just great, it probably wouldn't have been deleted. I don't think there is a single member on this forum who hasn't had a few posts deleted every now and then. Heck, even theymos got one post deleted from before he became the admin of Bitcointalk. Don't take it personally, and next time just, just expend your post a bit so it doesn't get reported as being unnecessary.  

Thank you for you feedback.

I'm not taking it personally, this thread is not just for me, but also for other people that would like to understand better why they've been moderated.

And also for the moderators and the forum administration to have a feedback on how people feel when something they are working on is just being deleted.

I personally tend to avoid posting anything on this forum as much as I can since I feel I've been moderated many times for no reason or because of some personal interest.

[AB de Royse777]

Excuse me if I missed it on the above conversation. There is already a rule about how one word response will be treated.

1. No zero or low value, pointless or uninteresting posts or threads. [1][e]

1. Such posts as "SELL SELL SELL", "I agree", "+1", "Support", "Watching", "Interesting", "LOL", "SCAM", "LEGIT", "FAKE", other one word posts, posts consisting mostly of swearing, quote pyramids, useless introduction threads, threads about a topic already recently discussed in several other threads.

So clearly the moderators were following the first rule :-D

[johnwhitestar]

Excuse me if I missed it on the above conversation. There is already a rule about how one word response will be treated.

1. No zero or low value, pointless or uninteresting posts or threads. [1][e]

1. Such posts as "SELL SELL SELL", "I agree", "+1", "Support", "Watching", "Interesting", "LOL", "SCAM", "LEGIT", "FAKE", other one word posts, posts consisting mostly of swearing, quote pyramids, useless introduction threads, threads about a topic already recently discussed in several other threads.

So clearly the moderators were following the first rule :-D

That's a good thing, at least everybody is being treated equally here, although there are lot of "+1", "Interesting", LOL", "reserved" and so on around the forum and also despite what can appear to the moderator that clearly doesn't know anything about the topic he has moderated I'm not a casual person in that thread, so my comment was not casual as well: I worked for two weeks (since April 29th) on the issue so to express my satisfaction with some result we've got I don't have to be forced to write a poetry.

What I'm trying to say the rule hasn't be applied blindly. The rules are done for people not against the people. Should I post my BTC address to get a faucet the moderator would delete it as well?

[tranthidung]

That's a good thing, at least everybody is being treated equally here

Reminders

• There are different moderators on the forum and they have different vision to handle reports
• Such posts need to be reported by the community, then moderator(s) will be allocated and handle it.
• If none of member in the community report such post, moderator(s) probably will let them untouched. They are not able to check the wholde forum and find such posts.

What I'm trying to say the rule hasn't be applied blindly.

See this rule as well. In addition, such posts can be considered as bumps that are allowed once per 24 hours.

23. When deciding if a user has broken the rules, the staff have the right to follow their interpretation of the rules.[e]

13. Bumps, "updates" are limited to once per 24 hours per thread. Bumping multiple threads at the same time is allowed if it's not annoying. [2][e]

You can consider it as too strict but it is not a big matter, so please go onwards.

[johnwhitestar]

13. Bumps, "updates" are limited to once per 24 hours per thread. Bumping multiple threads at the same time is allowed if it's not annoying. [2][e]

My opinion is still that the rules hasn't be applied blindly. If this forum is for people the rules possibly has to be changed in order people to be comfortable not the other way around.

The rule you mentioned explains better than anything else what I mean.

"Bumping" concept mentioned in the rule in context of the altcoin announcement doesn't make sense any more (if I'm still informed well), since you have to "bump" those kind of announcements explicitly.

The rule is clearly obsolete for the mentioned case, it's up to the moderator to use his good sense when he moderates.

And the community has to have a tool to understand whether the moderator is doing well his work or not. Because the moderators are here for the community and the community is not here for moderators.

This thread is an attempt to provide such a tool.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

You definitely won't get away with posting something like "Great!".  On most other forums that would be fine, and it seems to have been fine in the early days of bitcointalk, but I think forum standards changed once most people started getting paid to post here.  Since some campaigns don't have character minimums, if mods didn't delete such short posts as the one you mentioned, everyone in a sig campaign that didn't count characters would be posting "Nice!" or "+1" a hundred times per day.  And just think about how much more unreadable this forum would become if that were to happen.

So I'm pretty sure that's the rationale behind why one-liners and posts that are insignificant get deleted--and it's in the rules, too.  Just make thoughtful posts (like the post you made here, OP) and you shouldn't have anything to worry about.  If you want to "like" a post, give it a merit if you have any.

[johnwhitestar]

You definitely won't get away with posting something like "Great!".  On most other forums that would be fine, and it seems to have been fine in the early days of bitcointalk, but I think forum standards changed once most people started getting paid to post here.  Since some campaigns don't have character minimums, if mods didn't delete such short posts as the one you mentioned, everyone in a sig campaign that didn't count characters would be posting "Nice!" or "+1" a hundred times per day.  And just think about how much more unreadable this forum would become if that were to happen.

So I'm pretty sure that's the rationale behind why one-liners and posts that are insignificant get deleted--and it's in the rules, too.  

Unfortunately this forum's rules are more and more set up in the way that it's impossible to communicate for the normal human beings. Thus fighting with the bots and people that are here for other reasons the moderators are pushing away people like me that has something to say.

I've understood why my post was deleted (although I don't agree it made sense and was necessary in that context), but I don't know how is it possible that it was reported, since I consider to be doing a good job for my coins community.

And if it wasn't reported should I consider the moderator has targeted me specifically? (Since I constantly have my posts deleted).

I also still think the moderators has to be moderate in their moderating. If there is someone constantly publishing one words posts in many different topics it's different from someone who has just posted it once in an appropriate moment of discussion in which he was truly involved.

Just make thoughtful posts (like the post you made here, OP) and you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

This is also not quite true, since I've posted here very thoughtful posts with many words and was moderated because the moderators were moderating not on the base of the rules but on the base of their personal interests. Specifically they didn't want me to publish facts about some crypto I was finding on this same forum. So yes I have something to be worried about and I'm specifically scared to comunicate here, because I never know what will be moderated here and why.

If you want to "like" a post, give it a merit if you have any.

Great advice. Would you give me a merit if I say a question is solved?

[Welsh]

You can quite clearly post well written responses, so there isn't really an issue there. Just know that, if you do post replies which aren't significant, or add anything to the original discussion then it is likely to be deleted. No matter who you are, I've had posts deleted in the past, and I'm pretty sure many other staff have. I highly doubt that its a targeted action.

Unfortunately this forum's rules are more and more set up in the way that it's impossible to communicate for the normal human beings. Thus fighting with the bots and people that are here for other reasons the moderators are pushing away people like me that has something to say.

Yeah, most forums aren't really catering to the general chit chat, that you would have in general life, which I believe is a good thing. Most users here come to discuss, without much small talk. I'm not a big fan of small talk in general life, let alone on a forum.

You might have something to say, but that reply of "Great" isn't saying anything really. Alternatively, if someone has helped you, or you've helped them, and you either want to say thank you, or whatever then a personal message is the better option.

And if it wasn't reported should I consider the moderator has targeted me specifically? (Since I constantly have my posts deleted).

This isn't specifically targeting you, and I'd like for you to just imagine if we were to allow this sort of responses in the future. The whole forum, and threads would be littered with "Thank you", "Cool", and other low quality replies, which would ultimately lead to the thread becoming harder to read. Since, everyone would be having personal conversations, rather than contributing to the overall discussion.

Also, regarding it potentially not being reported. Usually, I tend to go through some of the sections I moderate, and delete replies which haven't been reported, but I believe to be breaking the guidelines. That's just something I do, and I'm sure other moderators here do it too. Same as if we just happen upon your response, like any other user instead of reporting it, we would just remove it if we believe it infringes the guidelines.

So, posts can be deleted whether or not they've actually been reported, but this doesn't mean we are targeting you. Just for the record, I don't believe I was the one that took action on this post.

I also still think the moderators has to be moderate in their moderating. If there is someone constantly publishing one words posts in many different topics it's different from someone who has just posted it once in an appropriate moment of discussion in which he was truly involved.

I would somewhat agree, although the difference is that these posts are still deleted or moved, but the users which are constantly breaking the same rule are more likely to receive harsher punishments. We don't just ignore your one off rule break, because that would be unfair on others. Instead, we just what we believe is the appropriate action.

Plus, I use the rule break lightly since a lot of users simply just don't realize their reply was off topic, or they placed their thread in the wrong section. Honestly, that isn't much of a big deal, that's why there are moderators here that can handle this sort of stuff to keep the forum organized, and somewhat readable.

[suchmoon]

I've had worse. One user asked a yes/no question. I answered "no". My post was deleted. I cried for a couple of days but I got over it. I think. Still getting misty-eyed when I think about it. It took me a 2, maybe even 3 seconds to craft that totally-on-topic and very useful response. The forum is now so much worse without that valuable contribution.

[johnwhitestar]

I think that if there is rule that one word can't be posted the thing can be automated, there is no need to have moderators for that.

If there are moderators to look into it they should act as human beings, not as robots blindly applying the rules.

"Great!" - can be just "the general chit chat" for someone who is "not a big fan of small talk", but when he is on the Communities service his personal preferences shouldn't matter that much.

The Goethe's tragedy Faust (in case someone knows what's I'm speaking about) finishes with just one word "Saved!" and that word make the tragedy a great masterpiece without which it wouldn't probably be that.

The Bitcoin code finishes also with just on word, but without that word it wouldn't be usable either.

It was days we were trying to find a solution of an issue and I specifically asked the person we were trying to help whether he has solved. Once he's answered in a relatively positive way I answered him "Great!" because it was a logical conclusion of the discussion we were doing, for me it's just normal to be polite with people, of course I could've dropped the discussion without answering anything, but I feel I'd be rude in that context if I wouldn't answer anything to that person. It's like if someone asks me "How are you?" and I keep silent because the rule imposes me to not use just one word "Fine".

I think if the rule is equal for all just make in the way I can't post one word, if the moderator is there to contribute as a human being he has to understand the context before automatically applying the rule. If not he is just another bot here.

I've had worse. One user asked a yes/no question. I answered "no". My post was deleted. I cried for a couple of days but I got over it. I think. Still getting misty-eyed when I think about it. It took me a 2, maybe even 3 seconds to craft that totally-on-topic and very useful response. The forum is now so much worse without that valuable contribution.

 
I'm being constantly moderated here though, not because of short replies or rude posts or anything specific, just for no reason. At least it's how I feel it.

[Halab]

I'm being constantly moderated here though, not because of short replies or rude posts or anything specific, just for no reason. At least it's how I feel it.

What is your definition of "constantly moderated" ?

I looked at the modlog, and you only appear once. But the modlog only keeps info for a few weeks/months.

BPIP shows only 3 deleted posts.

I had time to waste and went to check your posts scrapped by LoyceV: https://loyce.club/archive/members/6/63838.html. I checked the last 100 posts (from November 2020 to today) and saw that 3 posts were deleted. They are numbers 231, 233 and 290.

But you are an old member from 2012, maybe you are talking about old deleted posts ? But since scrappers have been around (~2018-2019?), you can't really say that you are "constantly moderated". No ? 

[UserU]

I think that if there is rule that one word can't be posted the thing can be automated, there is no need to have moderators for that.

If there are moderators to look into it they should act as human beings, not as robots blindly applying the rules.

"Great!" - can be just "the general chit chat" for someone who is "not a big fan of small talk", but when he is on the Communities service his personal preferences shouldn't matter that much.

The Goethe's tragedy Faust (in case someone knows what's I'm speaking about) finishes with just one word "Saved!" and that word make the tragedy a great masterpiece without which it wouldn't probably be that.

The Bitcoin code finishes also with just on word, but without that word it wouldn't be usable either.

It was days we were trying to find a solution of an issue and I specifically asked the person we were trying to help whether he has solved. Once he's answered in a relatively positive way I answered him "Great!" because it was a logical conclusion of the discussion we were doing, for me it's just normal to be polite with people, of course I could've dropped the discussion without answering anything, but I feel I'd be rude in that context if I wouldn't answer anything to that person. It's like if someone asks me "How are you?" and I keep silent because the rule imposes me to not use just one word "Fine".

I think if the rule is equal for all just make in the way I can't post one word, if the moderator is there to contribute as a human being he has to understand the context before automatically applying the rule. If not he is just another bot here.

I'm being constantly moderated here though, not because of short replies or rude posts or anything specific, just for no reason. At least it's how I feel it.

Imagine your months-old post still getting deleted from time to time. It really leaves me feeling down

And there was a time I got banned without realizing what I did wrong (reason was generic) only to find out weeks later that it was a thread I posted that was "flagged" for reflink spamming.

[suchmoon]

I think if the rule is equal for all just make in the way I can't post one word, if the moderator is there to contribute as a human being he has to understand the context before automatically applying the rule. If not he is just another bot here.

The problem is not the number of words, it's about what it brings to the forum. And regardless of how you personally feel about it, the answer in most cases is that short replies like "thanks", "great", "good project sir" just bump the thread for hundreds of users, add it to watchlists, etc, and don't really carry any useful content. There are different environments for chatting, like Discord or Telegram, where garbage just scrolls off the screen and no one ever reads it again. This forum is not like that, or at least we're trying to make it not like that, despite the best efforts of millennials to twitterize it.

[johnwhitestar]

.... short replies like "thanks", "great", "good project sir" just bump the thread for hundreds of users, add it to watchlists, etc, and don't really carry any useful content.

I've already replied to this above, you are teaching me on how to bring useful content to the forum, right?

[Welsh]

"Great!" - can be just "the general chit chat" for someone who is "not a big fan of small talk", but when he is on the Communities service his personal preferences shouldn't matter that much.

Well, I might not be a big fan of small talk, or like the idea of general chit chat, but I wouldn't be enforcing the rules based on my personal opinion on it. It would be removed for being low quality or if it was concerning posts about general chit chat it would likely be removed for being off topic.
 

for me it's just normal to be polite with people, of course I could've dropped the discussion without answering anything, but I feel I'd be rude in that context if I wouldn't answer anything to that person. It's like if someone asks me "How are you?" and I keep silent because the rule imposes me to not use just one word "Fine".

I agree that being polite is a good quality. Although, these sort of things can be done in personal messages if you really want to let them know you've seen the message or whatever. By bumping a thread as suggested above, it bumps the thread for many others who happen to be in that section. Not only that, sometimes users like to read the entire thread, which if these sort of posts were allowed they would quickly congest threads.

So, my advice would be to send a personal message if you want to say something like "Great, let me know if you need any more help" or something along those lines.

because it has become almost impossible to login using TOR (which of course is another matter).

This page might help you: https://bitcointalk.org/captcha_code.php

It allows you to bypass the captcha, and is quite handy when running into captcha issues when using Tor or any IP that has issues with the captcha service.