Some of us remember the days when the forum pages would fill up overnight with page after page of spam posts, sometimes hundreds of words long, more appearing as others were deleted ... sometimes we needed to scroll down six or seven pages or even more in order to find a legitimate post .......... those memories can make one twitchy ...
There have also been times when unpleasant individuals have masqueraded under various identities and caused anxiety to vulnerable and even not so vulnerable folk ...
It is a shame if being alert to these problems leads to over-zealous use of the flagging system ... however it should be remembered that posts which are flagged only disappear from view until they are seen by the Moderators ... it is they who have the final say ... if they think a post has been wrongly flagged they can make it reappear.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I take post, be it from newbies or established members, on face value and respond accordingly. If I see something which is clearly spam I will report it. Seems the logical way to act to me.
I think we need to be a bit careful here. Mostly, I think the forum is very welcoming, but just occasionally people can be a little sharp with new posters, often believing they are spammers, when often they are not. It would imo be wrong to suggest this s an unwelcoming place, it is not.
On all sites you will have a few people who feel it is their right/duty to control it even when it is not their responsibility. On another site I use there are people who spend far more time and energy correcting people's spelling than actually providing useful information.
To me they are likely to be the type who used to create physical groups in their villages so they could be in charge. Shades of 'Ever Decreasing Circles' for those who remember it.
@KT53 I have never perceived members of this forum as being 'controlling' or dominating in any way. It's due to the effort and time they spend helping, supporting and encouraging everyone who posts on this forum which makes it by and large a very special forum. Sure, there'll be the odd one who is out to cause bother of one kind or another, but one gets that in any walk of life. They don't last long here because we value this place and care about it too much to let things slide into chaos or unkindness. If that appears to be OTT or 'domineering' then I would question as to the reason why.
I really think this subject is fast becoming a case of making a mountain out of a mole hill ( apologies to those who have a mole problem in their garden ). The more the subject is raised, the more off putting it is to both new and old posters alike. To be sure there have been ( and still are ) abusive/offensive posts on the Forum but they are few and far between IME and the Ignore facility is available to all. Some posters can be a bit abrupt when answering a query but that doesn't mean anything other than they may be short of time, are able to be more succinct than others but their input is just as valuable as others who may be a little more "wordy". I have responded to Spammers before now without realising and I'm pretty sure I am not alone in this. Yes, time wasting and other, more astute posters. have often put me right which I appreciate. I have also responded on many occasions over the years to first time posters but have never felt a particular need to preface my reply with "Welcome/lovely to see you/hope you post again" or similar sentiments. I don't consider that makes me either rude, unwelcoming or off putting. Yes of course there are people who can't/don't express themselves very well and tend to upset others and therefore then feel offended or "picked on". That's a different subject entirely and not one which a Gardening Forum can be expected to deal with. There are literally thousands of forums for people to choose from - let them make their own minds up as to whether they post on here or just use it as a source of information. It has worked quite well so far IME over the last 8/9 years. I think someone has already commented on how many new posters there have been over the last 12/18 months so something is obviously working
Chris p bacon…. I like your user name by the way….. what is navel gazing? New one on me (30 years out of the Uk tends to mean I miss new sayings lol…).
from my humble point of view I personally “lurk” a lot more than I post, and generally come too late to every party when discussing rude posts or spammers etc… but I was once a newbie here and got nothing but help and lovely welcomes from folks, so more of the same and everyone should be happy…
oh and Fire, perhaps I should not ask my question about chrysanthemums ( how to stop them growing like triffids) if they are not considered Real plants on here…. (I’m off to hide behind them now😎).
Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
Given we don't have moderators, I think it's useful to have space out to talk about how the forum is working and not taking everything for granted. It's not about navel gazing, it's about looking at the margins and seeing what's going on. The edges are as important as the centre.
It's good that the tech is working better so that there isn't pages and page of spam. There is no doubt a "whack-a-mole" attitude often to preempting spam. B3 raised it because it's an issue, she's not making it up. It doesn't have to be a mountain - it's just flagging up the question of gate keeping, which is valid. Lots of people seem to support the point on this thread.
It's good to see lots of new posters recently and in the Lurkers' Lounge. It can be an anxious business to take the plunge. Hosting well is important to the life of the forum.
Thinking about old discussions being resurrected, I wonder if sometimes new people find that easier or less scary than starting their own new one? It does tend to raise suspicions because it's such a common spammer tactic on here. Gently pointing out that it's OK (indeed, encouraged and welcomed) to start new discussions is good I think.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Posts
There have also been times when unpleasant individuals have masqueraded under various identities and caused anxiety to vulnerable and even not so vulnerable folk ...
It is a shame if being alert to these problems leads to over-zealous use of the flagging system ... however it should be remembered that posts which are flagged only disappear from view until they are seen by the Moderators ... it is they who have the final say ... if they think a post has been wrongly flagged they can make it reappear.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
The more the subject is raised, the more off putting it is to both new and old posters alike.
To be sure there have been ( and still are ) abusive/offensive posts on the Forum but they are few and far between IME and the Ignore facility is available to all. Some posters can be a bit abrupt when answering a query but that doesn't mean anything other than they may be short of time, are able to be more succinct than others but their input is just as valuable as others who may be a little more "wordy".
I have responded to Spammers before now without realising and I'm pretty sure I am not alone in this. Yes, time wasting and other, more astute posters. have often put me right which I appreciate. I have also responded on many occasions over the years to first time posters but have never felt a particular need to preface my reply with "Welcome/lovely to see you/hope you post again" or similar sentiments. I don't consider that makes me either rude, unwelcoming or off putting.
Yes of course there are people who can't/don't express themselves very well and tend to upset others and therefore then feel offended or "picked on". That's a different subject entirely and not one which a Gardening Forum can be expected to deal with.
There are literally thousands of forums for people to choose from - let them make their own minds up as to whether they post on here or just use it as a source of information. It has worked quite well so far IME over the last 8/9 years. I think someone has already commented on how many new posters there have been over the last 12/18 months so something is obviously working
from my humble point of view I personally “lurk” a lot more than I post, and generally come too late to every party when discussing rude posts or spammers etc… but I was once a newbie here and got nothing but help and lovely welcomes from folks, so more of the same and everyone should be happy…
oh and Fire, perhaps I should not ask my question about chrysanthemums ( how to stop them growing like triffids) if they are not considered Real plants on here…. (I’m off to hide behind them now😎).