Comment Approval-Pros vs Cons?

General discussion about the two books by Michel Desmarquet. Please ONLY post questions that do not fit in any of the available specialized forums.

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avelino
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Comment Approval-Pros vs Cons?

Post: # 12801Post avelino »

"Why does my post need to be approved?The board administrator may have decided that posts in the forum you are posting to require review before submission. It is also possible that the administrator has placed you in a group of users whose posts require review before submission. Please contact the board administrator for further details."

the explanation in the FAQ didn't supply me with enough information so i thought id start a topic...

I assume all new members have to have their comments approved before they are posted. Is there an amount of posts that must be reached when a member's post no long needs approval? If so, is the number of users that need comment approval small or large? I understand that I am not a very active member but I wonder if this policy hurts or helps the amount of activity on this forum. Not knowing when or how long approval will be has definately discouraged me from posting more often, even when posts seem to be posted within a day or two. Im not trying to imply that this forum is missing out on anything I could post but I think progress is impeded when members(new or not) are discouraged in anyway to post. Imagine if the 1st Amendment stated you have freedom of speech BUT whatever you say must first be approved before it is heard... I believe this policy dictates the speed of conversation on the forum and thus dictates the rate of any kind of evolution that might take place here. Im sure there are some positives that come with having comment approval but do they outweigh the negatives? In a world of text messaging, facebook, twitter, and instant updates I think speed of communication can be a make or break characteristic for many.

After all there is the power of comment or member removal right? I dont mean any disrespect to those who run this site, I am grateful that there is such a forum and only wish it to be successful.
Zio
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Re: Comment Approval-Pros vs Cons?

Post: # 12802Post Zio »

I think everyone is affected by this.
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Robanan
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Re: Comment Approval-Pros vs Cons?

Post: # 13007Post Robanan »

To tell the truth I also am finding post approval to be counterproductive at the moment. But this might be better understood from a moderator perspective, since it could be very encumbering to have to read pages of texts before discerning which posts are acceptable according to forum rules and which are not. This forum is very heavy with information that is growing in all the kinds of branches of knowledge, and to put it simple it's not only moderators who are having trouble keeping up with everything, I as a very active user too have had a lot of trouble trying to keep up with all the topics also.

You can imagine it as a scale, on one side you have users and on the other you have moderators, the more users act irresponsibly and carelessly the more careful and time consuming the work of moderators become. So sharing the burden is a good approach to balance the scale, considering we are all to enjoy our lives as well as posting and discussing things online. Specially knowledge rich information like those that are posted on this forum. For faster responses and more immediate reply to your inquiries you can also join the thiaoouba groups on fb.

In a world of text messaging, facebook, twitter, and instant updates I think to allow some contemplation before posting that involves all sides is a good approach toward evolving into a culture of "think and search before posting" by taking mutual understanding of the Intellectual limits of everyone involved into consideration. In the light of that we as members can make very satisfying contributions to the development of the ongoing studies that have been developing here for so long.
The essence of Consciousness, is the ability to Create, Process, Transmit and Receive Information Autonomously.
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ptex
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Re: Comment Approval-Pros vs Cons?

Post: # 13012Post ptex »

Sorry for not having answered this before, it's mentioned in other parts of the forum so here it goes.
The need for moderation comes from 4 main factors:
1) Spammers
2) Flame wars
3) Out of context replies that degrade the forum's experience
4) Low level of participation

For this the forum admins and mods have unanimously agreed that this measure should be implemented. It's been a few years since this policy came into effect and so far so good we didn't have any more visible 1) - 3) but we registered many attempts over this time so we found that this policy extremely effective in handling these problems and personally I don't feel even slightly inclined to coming back as it was before.

Nevertheless I understand there may be a need to change things. I will bring this issue to discussion with forum admins/mods so that a decision can be made asap regarding this subject. Please stay tuned :)
The best portion of a good man's life is his little nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love.
~William Wordsworth
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Rezo
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Re: Comment Approval-Pros vs Cons?

Post: # 13013Post Rezo »

the 4 forum dangers :P

we are working on it guys and gals
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Matt
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Re: Comment Approval-Pros vs Cons?

Post: # 13071Post Matt »

Usually forums have a threshold (say, 3 posts) before they are given privileges to start topics and also post replies without approval.

I find the system frustrating as a long-time member, honestly, and it has actually demotivated me from participating in discussion on here since the policy has gone into effect :/
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ptex
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Re: Comment Approval-Pros vs Cons?

Post: # 13073Post ptex »

Sorry about that Matt. You are right, we should have taken care of this some time ago since we already received enough feedback on this feature.
I will see into how we can consistently implement this in the forum, asap. Thanks for the heads up!!
The best portion of a good man's life is his little nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love.
~William Wordsworth
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