Call For Feedback: Delete Spam Button + New CPAPtalkers

[ColinP]

could it be set up to where it takes say 3 people to use the button and then it goes away??

Now that's a creative thought which needs more attention. Leave the system as it is, but only remove the spam when three different users have each reported it. You could still abuse it if you registered more than one name (for instance Mrs Tatis etc), but then you can abuse just about any system. It's a good compromise.

[kteague]

At issue: If I remember correctly from maybe a year ago the problem was not necessarily with a newbie, but was a full fledged flame war where someone got mad and deleted another persons post in the heat of the arguement.

On another note, back to Babs. I did not know your delete spam priviledges were removed because of me. That was not my intent - it was self preservation. When I hit the delete spam button on your post, it was with the full expectation it would cost me my own use of the priviledge - but it didn't. I was mortified that something I thought was private had become public, but the fact remains that I misused the delete spam button. Johnny, if this is why Babs lost her button, PLEASE give it back. She didn't do anything wrong - it was a misunderstanding as I had not explicitly said the matter was private. In retrospect, in my panic I overreacted. Some years have passed and recently I've actually considered putting the humiliating video of me "sleepdancing" on YouTube. (But not yet Babs!)

Whew, I can give a sign of relief. My "outting" will surely disqualify me from any consideration as a monitor after those at the top of the list decline.

Johnny, if the incidence of abuse is negligible relative to the volume of posts, do whatever makes it easy on yourself. I'd rather see the programming invested is stopping the spams that were minimal for a long time but have swelled again. And if my button disappears, no hard feelings.

[gulfpearl]

I have deleted many spam posts due to the fact I am usually scanning the message board when it is night time in the U.S. , which is my daytime. At times there has been so many it took along while to delete them all. I think we are all adults & spam priviledges should only be taken away from those who abuse them.

[rested gal]

could it be set up to where it takes say 3 people to use the button and then it goes away??

Now that's a creative thought which needs more attention. Leave the system as it is, but only remove the spam when three different users have each reported it. You could still abuse it if you registered more than one name (for instance Mrs Tatis etc), but then you can abuse just about any system. It's a good compromise.

A creative thought, indeed. A problem I see, though, is how long a piece of spam could remain on the board until a third person had finally reported it, too.

The spammers are upping the ante recently. There have been several explicit porn pictures that appeared in spammer's messages in the past couple of weeks. Not just the usual spam links, which are annoying enough. I've deleted two spam posts that had actual pictures in the message. Pure hardcore porn. Wouldn't be good for genuine new visitors to this forum to run across those if there was any delay in having those kinds of posts disappear, simply for the time that might go by before a second and third person reported it.

[ozij]

I have deleted many spam posts due to the fact I am usually scanning the message board when it is night time in the U.S. , which is my daytime. At times there has been so many it took along while to delete them all. .....
<snip>

Same here... the night watchpeople don't even work in pairs, let alone threes...
the delay, as has been said, is not good.

O.

[Julie]

Hi, what bothers me about another poster being able to delete someone's post (good or bad) is that it reminds me of the French revolution, when anyone could print someone's name on a card, send it to the authorities, and that person could eventually end up with no head for having being reported to be a traitor to the cause, with no judge, jury or trial. Definitely makes me nervous, especially as I also deleted someone's post a while back by accident and only consider myself lucky that I realized it immediately and was able to reach the other poster, who replaced the deleted note. There should be a reporting feature, but I don't like the DIY nature of things as they are now.

[eutychus]

I haven't read through all the suggestions, so maybe it's already been said, but here's my thoughts...

1. Have the 'forum etiquette' (i.e., rules) posted somewhere that's clearly visible; require new sign-ups to state they've read them (not that they actually will, but then they're accountable).
2. Lose the spam button. From what I've read, it seems to be used more often in error rather than for actually controlling spam (I don't know this for sure, just a hunch).
3. Enlist the help of more moderators - people who frequent these forums often and can handle any obvious spammers, as well as enforce any other etiquette policies that aren't being followed.

my .02, pre-tax

[Bonnie]

SleepGuy, I think you mistook his join date for the posting date or you have a sense of humor I'm not familiar with?

[boston]

could it be set up to where it takes say 3 people to use the button and then it goes away??

Now that's a creative thought which needs more attention. Leave the system as it is, but only remove the spam when three different users have each reported it. You could still abuse it if you registered more than one name (for instance Mrs Tatis etc), but then you can abuse just about any system. It's a good compromise.

A creative thought, indeed. A problem I see, though, is how long a piece of spam could remain on the board until a third person had finally reported it, too.

The spammers are upping the ante recently. There have been several explicit porn pictures that appeared in spammer's messages in the past couple of weeks. Not just the usual spam links, which are annoying enough. I've deleted two spam posts that had actual pictures in the message. Pure hardcore porn. Wouldn't be good for genuine new visitors to this forum to run across those if there was any delay in having those kinds of posts disappear, simply for the time that might go by before a second and third person reported it.

but if we simply report it, and it doesnt disappear, it could take time for a mod or johnnys team to review and delete it also.
there will be times no mod is available for some time, and i think ultimately the solution needs to involve johnny and his team as little as possible, they already provide the board, they dont need to read everything here in order to babysit, im sure they have better things to do.
whereas theres almost always a few members around,even in the middle of the night, if after a few of them report it, it could be noted as spam and be removed.
that would reduce 1 person deleting something offensive to them. however a person could register several times and delete it still. but whatever system is selected, there will probably be some abuse in some form by the trolls.

[nobody]

LOL! That's a bit drastic a comparison don't you think? It's not like anyone is going to die if their post gets deleted on a CPAP forum!

Hi, what bothers me about another poster being able to delete someone's post (good or bad) is that it reminds me of the French revolution, when anyone could print someone's name on a card, send it to the authorities, and that person could eventually end up with no head for having being reported to be a traitor to the cause, with no judge, jury or trial. Definitely makes me nervous, especially as I also deleted someone's post a while back by accident and only consider myself lucky that I realized it immediately and was able to reach the other poster, who replaced the deleted note. There should be a reporting feature, but I don't like the DIY nature of things as they are now.

[jnk]

. . . that the delete spam button not to given to new member until they've been registered for a month. . . .

Good idea, but I would make it more like "until they've been registered for two years." That is easier than divvying up moderatorships, but accomplishes much the same thing.

Sorry if that thought is outside the box. I'm not sure I'd know a box if I accidentally tripped over one.

[WearyOne]

Okay, I'm sleepy this morning so this may be way too complicated, but...

I think we need the spam button. Before, I didn't really care, but I didn't realize before reading this thread apparently how much legitimate spam there is here, or that some of it is even porn, as RG mentioned. (I've deleted some spam myself, but not much.)

If it's felt that more than one person should agree that something is spam, is this possible or even practical? Again, don't kill me if you think it's stupid. When someone reports spam, have the post go into a separate "folder" that only registered members can access. Members can go to the "spam folder" and check out the posts. If you agree it's spam, you can "report it" as spam again. When it's "reported" three times, it's gone. Now, you could have it gone for good at this point, or gone like it is now, where Johnny looks it over and makes the final say.

Folks who aren't registered and just looking around won't see them. New folks (or even oldies) that are registered wouldn't be subject to stuff that was possibly objectionable (like the porn RG mentioned), unless they actively chose to go into that "folder." Posts that were deleted as spam in error (or on purpose) that aren't really spam would get those those second and third looks by someone else. Maybe put a time limit on it. If it's not flagged as spam by that second and third person within a certain timeframe, it automatically moves back to the regular forum.

I'm not computer programmer or web person, so I have no idea if this type of thing is possible, or if it is, it might be too much work to do it. I don't even know if it makes any sense, or if it's too much to go through for the situation. Just throwing it out there.

Pam

[Songbird]

Well (as usual), I can see merit to every single suggestion. I'm realizing there's MUCH more spam in our forum than I've ever realized, and that can only mean this: The ability for members to immediately delete spam is a definite need, and it's only due to the diligence of many members that the "report spam" button works so well. Thank you, all.

The existence of flame wars isn't a good reason for getting rid of the "report spam" button. Rather, I think that: (1) we as a community need to work together on eliminating the (thankfully) infrequent flame wars; and (2) each of us needs to act like a grownup and not use the "report spam" button as an "I object to what this person said" button.

Of course it's tempting to remove all deletion abilities from everyone or all but a few, but I see a number of problems with that: (1) It's asking a few who already have more than enough on their plates to do more; that's not very fair, and it's not very realistic. (2) We would see a LOT more spam. (3) We would be deprived of the opportunity to learn how to play together better (or for those who never get involved in personality clashes, disagreements, etc., the opportunity to see a good fight occasionally ).

My totally uninformed guess about losing one's "report spam" privileges is that they can be reinstated for what the legal types would call "good cause" or for a reasonable amount of "good behavior" time. None of my business Babs, -SWS and any others in a similar boat, but.... have you ever written to Johnny, explained the situation and requested reinstatement? I realize I may really be putting my foot in it here and apologize if that's what I've done, but everything I've seen during my time here tells me that Johnny is an incredibly fair person. Could it simply be a case of "you have not because you ask not"?

At any rate, the point here is spam. I think your idea is the best one, Johnny, but I'd change it just a bit: (1) no guest or unregistered person may have the "report spam" button; (2) a registered member will be given the "report spam" button only after he's/she's been a member for six months. That would still leave a LOT of experienced people free to wipe out the evil spam posts, any reasonable noob won't mind the restriction, and any unreasonable one probably needs it.

Once again, Johnny, thank you so much for involving us in your decisionmaking process. You are a man of rare generosity.

Marsha

[eutychus]

At any rate, the point here is spam. I think your idea is the best one, Johnny, but I'd change it just a bit: (1) no guest or unregistered person may have the "report spam" button; (2) a registered member will be given the "report spam" button only after he's/she's been a member for six months. That would still leave a LOT of experienced people free to wipe out the evil spam posts, any reasonable noob won't mind the restriction, and any unreasonable one probably needs it.

Six months seems too long. I'm still within the six-month period. I don't post often, but I've posted enough that y'all ought to have me figured out by now - I'm pretty harmless. Although, when my treatment really starts to kick in, I might get a little more obnoxious. I'm just too dang tired to spam right now.

[dieselgal]

I like the ability to delete spam and would hate to lose that option but I can also see that it would be wise to have that as an option you earn by either time with the board or posting.
I have been here for 3 years now and the only thing I have ever spam deleted was truly BOT SPAM!