Proposal: Rename the "Press" board to "Spammer of the Month" board

[o_e_l_e_o]

CoinIdol News, JessicaVL, CryptoBry, acquafredda, Vladdirescu87, the list is endless. Somehow, CoinIdol News still isn't banned yet.

The Spammer of the Month this month goes to waybesuricata. Of the most recently created 37 threads on the front page of Press, he has created 26 of them, generating a grand total of only 26 replies between them all. Almost all of his links come from Coin Telegraph, so I can only assume he is being paid by them.

Given that we have been complaining about the state of the Press board for literally years, and there have never been any moves whatsoever to even attempt to fix it, then why don't we just formalize what it has turned in to and change the name. Then at least it will stop new people venturing in to it thinking that is actually a place for discussion.

[Little Mouse]

I didn’t check that board for a long time. If I'm correct, it was almost a year ago when I last checked and the board haven’t changed at all. It's still the same I have seen back then, in fact, it got worst than previous.
I think theymos should introduce some restrictions on this board. The better I can propose is to- having a requirement of X received merit to be eligible to post in the board.

[LoyceV]

The Spammer of the Month this month goes to waybesuricata.

He's currently down to only 24 out of 37 topics on the first page. Would it be an option to remove signatures on that board?

The Press board description is this:

Code:

Notable press hits.

The problem is: none of those topics are worth reading! It's now just a few people copying "news" from a few sites. Mod jgarzik made only a few posts in the past years, and hasn't been online for more than a year.
I think this board (like Bitcoin discussion) could benefit from scricter moderation. Since o_e_l_e_o brought it up: can he get a delete button for the Press board?

I didn’t check that board for a long time.

That's the problem, it should be an interesting board to stay up to date in recent developments, but it's not.

[BitcoinGirl.Club]

There are some users even legendary accounts from 2011 do the same. The usual practice they do is they will post one or two line of the article and then drop the link.

The brand new users or lower rank users will do this obviously but I would like to see a list of Higher rank users who are doing this from years. You can include me too. In return you will get a F off 😂

[suchmoon]

Come on folks. Give the mods a break. They're too busy banning users at scammer's behest so surely they don't have time for Press board plus they certainly most definitely can't keep track how many times the same user is reported.

The entire forum should be renamed to scamandspamtalk to taper the expectations a little bit. It hasn't been about Bitcoin for a while, has it.

Or maybe a hard fork can fix it. Bitcointalk SV. Yeah, that's the ticket.

[o_e_l_e_o]

The better I can propose is to- having a requirement of X received merit to be eligible to post in the board.

We already have a board like this. I can't see theymos expanding those restrictions to other boards. Too much like newbie jail.

Would it be an option to remove signatures on that board?

Don't need a signature when you can just spam links to your employer's "news" site in the body of your post.

I think this board (like Bitcoin discussion) could benefit from scricter moderation. Since o_e_l_e_o brought it up: can he get a delete button for the Press board?

We've been asking for this for years. Since we apparently are neither going to moderate it nor lock/trash it altogether, we should at least rename it to more accurately reflect what it actually is. I can't remember the last time I saw a thread in there which would qualify as a "notable press hit".

[RickDeckard]

-snip-

Code:

Notable press hits.

The problem is: none of those topics are worth reading! It's now just a few people copying "news" from a few sites. Mod jgarzik made only a few posts in the past years, and hasn't been online for more than a year.
-snip-

I think this is part of the problem - Even though the jgarzik stated[1] that all articles should try their best to follow the definition of Notability[2] this basically boils down to whoever is reading the news and how it interprets it. This "subject to my own opinion" argument coupled with the absence of moderation leads the sub to its current state I guess. I also think that we get to see similar news being spread in other sections of the forum, where they generate a somewhat good level of discussion, and it seems that whenever they fall in this sub users basically ignore it (most of them) - This probably already means that we've lost faith in this particular sub of the forum.

I totally understand the original purpose of it - after all in 2012 and before users would had to try really hard to find news regarding BTC - but nowadays considering the hype around it we just blink and we have dozens of websites telling us the same thing but in a different set of words. Should we perhaps limit the amount of times users are able to post in that particular sub? Per month all users would have 5 links that they could post there and to prevent double-triple-quadruple accounts I would say that only ranks above or equal to Hero would be able to post there. I know this implies coding and that may be something that wouldn't be a top priority, but other than closing the sub I don't see any more "real" action that could be done - Other than adding more mods to it considering the influx of threads it has.
[1]https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=76487.0
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability

[Jawhead999]

Would it be an option to remove signatures on that board?

If signatures will be removed on press board, I'm pretty sure he will move to other board (Bitcoin Discussion) and continue spamming about news... so I have to disagree.

Just like this guy, it's posted on Bitcoin discussion and he doesn't add anything.

Apple CEO Tim Cook have invested on cryptocurrency. He has disclosed it in a recorded interview. He mentioned it as part of his diversified portfolio. His investment was from his personal point, and Apple doesn't have any plans of investing/accepting cryptocurrency. This is a big news, and were into discussion around the social media platforms. Majority of the huge company CEO's own crypto. This is a big thing and an indication of growth of cryptocurrency network.

Source : The Verge

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, recently indicated he has invested in cryptocurrency...with Cook announcing in the same interview...it's reasonable to own it as part of a diversified portfolio...However, despite his personal investment...Cook also made it clear Apple would not begin accepting cryptocurrencies as payments for the company's products anytime soon

I'd think mods should more strict against low value post rule, so those post will be deleted. Or the manager shouldn't count his post, but the manager itself isn't really trustworthy so it is what it is.

[o_e_l_e_o]

I think this is part of the problem - Even though the jgarzik stated[1] that all articles should try their best to follow the definition of Notability[2] this basically boils down to whoever is reading the news and how it interprets it. This "subject to my own opinion" argument coupled with the absence of moderation leads the sub to its current state I guess.

In previous threads regarding the Press board (and there have been several), it was generally widely agreed upon that any news from a site which is solely dedicated to crypto news - CoinIdol, CoinTelegraph, CoinDesk, etc. - did not constitute a notable press hit and should be removed. These sites are all click bait trash, and the quality of the articles from them is somewhere between very low and non-existent.

It was also widely agreed that any post consisting of just copy and pasting and slapping a link on the end should be deleted. If you can't be bothered to actually formulate your own opinion to stimulate discussion, then there is no need for your post. Anyone who wants to read such sites can just visit the site in question; they don't need you to copy and paste every article to the Press board.

These are two very basic rules which, if adhered to, would clean up >90% of the spam on that board.

[RickDeckard]

-snip-
These are two very basic rules which, if adhered to, would clean up >90% of the spam on that board.

I fully subscribe to your reply o_e_l_e_o since that was also an option that I ended up giving. We both agree then that what is lacking is moderation right? I'm not even talking about removing the current moderator, how about adding a new one? How does this process usually goes by here? If memory serves me right I believe that some time ago theymos was looking for a moderator for (Japanese??) local board? I assume this is something that "is asked to you and not so much as being voted on a particular list of individuals" ...

[dkbit98]

I don't even visit Press section anymore and I would be more than happy to see it closed and moved to archive.
Bitcoin Discussion section is now full of news, press and bunch on nonsense, and nobody posted anything in Important Announcements for years, so I don't get it why it still exist there.
I think we need a major cleanup in forum, but I guess that is not coming with new forum software  

Come on folks. Give the mods a break. They're too busy banning users at scammer's behest so surely they don't have time for Press board plus they certainly most definitely can't keep track how many times the same user is reported.

SCAM is not moderated in this forum, but moving of topics is and it is punished by death ban by hanging, even if that is not written anywhere in the law rules, but if you pissed off the judge mod than you need to suffer.
I know much worse cases of breaking forum rules and member didn't get banned.

[LoyceV]

Should we perhaps limit the amount of times users are able to post in that particular sub? Per month all users would have 5 links that they could post there and to prevent double-triple-quadruple accounts I would say that only ranks above or equal to Hero would be able to post there.

I don't expect this to happen (for reasons).

I'd think mods should more strict against low value post rule, so those post will be deleted.

Question @o_e_l_e_o: have you reported those topics? If so, do they get deleted? I don't expect Global Mods to check all boards by themselves if posts don't get reported.

[DaveF]

On the 1st 2 pages of Press I have 5 topics that I started.
2 only have 1 or 2 replies the other there all have more then 6 or 7 replies.
BUT I don't post just to post, I really thought that they ALL would have more discussion then they do.

Possibly changing the default sorting to more like the altcoin announcements? Where you need some form of bump power?
And if someone does see something that they think is worth discussion they can bump it or reply to it.

There was one topic that I figured would go on for pages that did not. I think that falls under what is important to ME may not be important to YOU.

But yes I do think the continual posting of these crap articles from the same source are worthless.

-Dave

[Lucius]

Question @o_e_l_e_o: have you reported those topics? If so, do they get deleted? I don't expect Global Mods to check all boards by themselves if posts don't get reported.

I’ve tried to do something about it, but the result of it all is mostly that the reports stays unhandled, which of course completely demotivates me or anyone else trying to clean that board.




This news is not only far from the notable press news category, but also has no direct connection to Bitcoin, and it is not clear to me why no one wants to moderate such things.

[LoyceV]

There was one topic that I figured would go on for pages that did not. I think that falls under what is important to ME may not be important to YOU.

If it's important, I don't check for it on the Press board.

[PrimeNumber7]

I think there are several issues with the press board.

1 - The board gets very little traffic. This results in threads about interesting articles getting few views (and replies). This is not something the mods can address, but I think the reason for this is most news about bitcoin is often discussed in other subs. For example 26 of the threads on the first page have less than 3 dozen views, and 20 of the first page threads have less than two dozen views.
2 - The press board appears to have been created in or around 2012. At that time, it would be unusual for any news outlet to write about bitcoin or crypto. Today there is a whole niche industry dedicated to writing about bitcoin, and there are articles about bitcoin in the MSM almost every day. CNBC for example displays the price of bitcoin prominently on it's rotating ticker tape. I think this might imply that the press board is outdated and should be closed
3 - As there are several companies dedicated to writing nearly exclusively about bitcoin (coindesk, cointelegraph, etc.), the press board gives these companies a way to effectively advertise and get additional backlinks for free.

IMO the best course of action would be to close the press board. If there is interesting news in the bitcoin world, there will likely be dozens of articles written about it. As such, if there is interesting news, a thread can be opened to discuss the news, press articles could potentially be cited, but there should not be a new thread for every article.

An alternative would be to limit the number of threads someone can open in a given timeframe. A thread can not count against the limit if it gets at least x number of replies from y different users. This could prevent someone from opening several uninteresting threads, but someone who creates many threads that get a lot of attention can create threads as long as they continue getting attention.

[o_e_l_e_o]

I'm not even talking about removing the current moderator, how about adding a new one?

I mean, there are a bunch of boards across the forums with inactive moderators who have not logged in for years. There is no doubt they should at least be removed, if not replaced.

I don't even visit Press section anymore

Which is more and more the case for senior users who actually contribute to discussions, leading to a downward spiral. The board needs complete overhaul or just trashed entirely.

Question @o_e_l_e_o: have you reported those topics?

Similar story to Lucius as above: I gave up on reporting on the Press board when all my reports started sitting unhandled and users like CoinIdol News can have upwards of 100 topics deleted and yet continue to spam.

BUT I don't post just to post, I really thought that they ALL would have more discussion then they do.

Even without long discussion, doesn't mean a thread should be trashed or is low value. The difference is that all your topics use a news story as a spark to start a discussion, and don't just copy and paste spam to reach a posting quota.

-snip-

Point 1 is largely because it is a spamfest and so most senior users avoid it, as I mentioned above. Fix the spam and turn it in to a place for real discussion, and its traffic will increase. Point 2 and 3 would be solved by actually enforcing the rule "notable press hits", and not "literally any old shit".

Maybe that's a better name for it, actually. The "Literally any old shit" board. Or maybe the "You can plagiarize here without punishment" board.

[PrimeNumber7]

-snip-

Point 1 is largely because it is a spamfest and so most senior users avoid it, as I mentioned above. Fix the spam and turn it in to a place for real discussion, and its traffic will increase. Point 2 and 3 would be solved by actually enforcing the rule "notable press hits", and not "literally any old shit".

Maybe that's a better name for it, actually. The "Literally any old shit" board. Or maybe the "You can plagiarize here without punishment" board.

Like I said, it used to be a big deal when any news article was written about bitcoin. That is no longer true. I want to talk about the news, not the news article.

[DooMAD]

I mean, there are a bunch of boards across the forums with inactive moderators who have not logged in for years. There is no doubt they should at least be removed, if not replaced.

I get the sense the positions are more ceremonial or honorary these days.  A 'preserved for posterity' kinda deal.  This place likes its history.

These are two very basic rules which, if adhered to, would clean up >90% of the spam on that board.

Yep.  I've been calling for this for a while now.

[NotATether]

The problem is: none of those topics are worth reading! It's now just a few people copying "news" from a few sites. Mod jgarzik made only a few posts in the past years, and hasn't been online for more than a year..

Having a "press" website myself, I could moderate the board (not for free though - don't have time for most nonprofit endeavors these days) since I can tell if a page (source) is up to journalistic standards or not.