Forum Moderators: open
The forum script is weak compared to VB and others so I hope I can find some reason to stick around here since I have seen some posts that are informative but otherwise I'm not all that impressed.
Sorry to be critical and likely this post will also be removed by a mod. If not, hopefully I've missed some of the great reasons to hang out here!
My posts have been edited up to two years ago but now I have a better idea of what to say and where I can say it.
y posts have been edited up to two years ago
At least when I'm perceived to have broken TOS myself, I get a nice sticky explaining my posts have gone.
Still, as I've said before, I think these boards are excellent for the strict, high standards they keep and the consistant, even handed treatment us guests get.
That's why you go to several places for a well rounded online experience. No place has it all. I get frustrated and/or edited when specific companies or situations can't be discussed here but that's the way it is. I've seen moderators post something that a non-moderator wouldn't be allowed to do but that is the authority to do so. I've had posts deleted and then almost the exact same thing posted by a moderator. It sometimes makes you more reluctant to post if you don't want to waste time for nothing. You just learn how it goes and you go elsewhere for deep specifics and deal with a lot of junk along with it.
This is the number one place to go and research something.
Ive received loads of FREE help from people on here and try to return teh favour when ever possible
Things here are often a bit different from other places, but I think/hope that most that hang out here feel that is in fact a positive thing.
> had my first post removed by a mod
So don't spam or needlessly url drop. I am sure it was a case of the latter, than the former cause. It gets alot of people at the start. It is tough for newbies to grasp that a url drop can almost always be promotional.
> and have been asked to pay a subscription fee like 15 times already.
Non-Members or non-logged in members are asked to log in after their 10th click within 10 minutes (approx times). You have never been required to subscribe. This system stops the bots from your notoriously abusive cable ISP.
>The forum script is weak compared to VB
Other software is designed to be sold - not used. It is why there is a graveyard of dead and abandoned forums on the web running a variety of commercial forum software.
This software is designed strictly for members to be used. Speed, utility, visibility, and ease-of-first-time-use are paramount. Bells and whistles sell forums to webmasters who like to tinker, but do little else to specifically build a community.
> I can't stop your script from spamming me every time I log on to WebmasterWorld?
You are asked to login. The only place on the site, we make a plea for support is on the login page. That is the logical place to put it where it gets the most visibility.
> You're right, the moderation here is very strict.
Interesting though, that as the number of posts has gone up, the number of required mod actions is way down. It is dropping like 20% per year for the last 5 years running.
> moderation tends to be consistent
Best mod crew on the net.
> And you can actually read this site on a mobile device.
And a better mobile skin is in the works. I find it hard to read on iPhone and Windows mobile.
> If you can't mention or link to "brand names" then how can you provide useful input?
Be an educator first. Teach folks how to do what they ask and not just point them to a black box solution. Explain how the CSS works and not just how to go to options and press button "x" in Example CSS Software V3.1 to generate the code. We want to help people do math themselves and not just how to run a calculator.
> I can see I'm not trying hard enough then.
Yes, we tend to give a wide interpretation of the TOS to long time helpful senior members.
The only place on the site, we make a plea for support is on the login page
emphasis mine
<relies on Host's magnanimity>
Lately, I've noticed a huge influx of new users (particularly in the PHP forum) and I see many of the same behaviors I was modded for when I first joined. If the mods weren't so quick to action and consistent, I could see the culture shift radically during these growth spurts.
As for not allowing URL drops, it really does force everyone to talk through the matter, which often reveals truths otherwise hard to come by.
it really does force everyone to talk through the matter, which often reveals truths otherwise hard to come by.
In any event, I feel the pain. I've got a forum that targets hardcore salespeople and I've got a similiar rule. Except I use URL drops as carrots. I don't allow self promotion until after you're established.
You want a link drop? I want some quality posts over a period of time. Some of my best posters started out as drive by URL drops. They get a PM from me, they reform, and by the time they're able to link drop, they're getting business from other members of my site - because they've established themselves as regulars and experts.
Even then it's still tough to moderate and I have to make choices. Someone drops the minimum required posts, then the very next one is a mile high promotional ad - delete it? what if that same ad is then commented on positively by long time members of the forum? I know darn well that the poster just put in his time on the forum to post their ad and I'll never see them again - so I'd like to delete. But other members of the site like the post, so it stays.
danged if you do, danged if you don't!
And TBH I agree that having to define your issue is far more robust and forces proper thought, as compared to dropping a URL and saying "look at this".
I'm less keen on the search term ban in the Google section, as that really limits discussion on artifacts of the SERPs themselves, but I can see why its done.
What I did do is instead of banning these people right away, I give them a chat about how contributing to the forum and making themselves an expert is a far better way of getting traffic and business from the site than a straight URL drop.
please remember wheel is posting about his own forum, not WebmasterWorld. Out here seniors -nor moderators- get to URL drop.
It's a strange culture born out of necessity, and yet it works, and is in many ways superior to the alternative.
The one thing that will take longer than any other to understand is how a lack of specifics can force a more educational environment. They say you don't truly understand something until you can teach it (any hey, there's no rule against URLs in sticky mail).
The forum script is weak compared to VB and others so I hope I can find some reason to stick around here since I have seen some posts that are informative but otherwise I'm not all that impressed.If you are a web geek and ever find problems with any of the search engines and/or top 1000 websites, make sure you check webmasterworld, cause this topic would have already been remarked here. :-)
This is the only forum in the world where my posts being edited or deleted deepened my affection for the place.
I couldn't agree more! I remember my first edit well - I don't know if the stats go that far back but I'm pretty sure I've only been edited two or three times. That first time, though ... I still feel the sting. :)
