Once Again...

I was under the impression The Moderators will pull anything that gets X number of "report this" clicks. Is it 3 reports or 5 reports or 28 reports? I do not know. But all it takes is 1-2 mamas who decide to get crabby about a post, report it and then PM a few of their like-minded Mamapedia friends to also report it.

I remember one post a while back from a mama saying she had multiple profiles so she could flower herself or submit multiple responses, or click "report this" multiple times. That is sorta sad.

Yet again...

*perpetual flowers IF you get a reasonable response*

And I agree, that IF it is because 'fellow' members are 'flagging' posts to get them pulled...PLEASE STOP!

Seems to me that we have the option of reading and ignoring a question/answer and moving on! What ONE person finds offensive...may be just the LAUGH (or info) that someone else needs....

I always thought the unofficial motto of 'online communities (AND unsolicited advice from MIL's...lol) was "Take what you need and leave the rest".

Anyway...Take Care
Michele/cat

I answered the last post of yours, so here goes again:

Mamapedia is a forum-moderated site. Meaning, that if at least 3 members flag a posting, it will be removed. There is no criteria or decision-making for the administrators to determine the credibility of the flagging. They simply respond to what the forum reports. I would not be surprised if it was automated.

At least three posters did not like your posts so much that they flagged them. Simple as that. (I did not flag any of them by the way) In a forum of many hundreds of thousands, it is not that unrealistic to expect. Plus with the FB link, all sorts of unexpected new members are on here.

So there is no "they" that are judging and removing the posts. It is some of "us" as part of the forum that is responsible for the deletions.

So when one gets frustrated that the posts are removed, the forum should be addressed, not the administrator. If you really want to get the site guidelines to change, address the administrators and find out how to contact them.

I can see the frustration in wanting a different system, and it can be done if you simply start your own site and forum with your own membership and guidelines criteria.

This particular site is free and corporatist, and so you get what you pay for when it comes to a moderator. I liked the site much better when it was mamasource, I used to be a site moderator. Back then they would ask long-term members to moderate on a volunteer basis.

So I hope that answers your questions, and good luck.

UPDATE:
And.....you know that nifty little "terms and conditions" box we all had to check an agreement to when we joined? Does anyone ever read them?:)
Included in the long list is:
"You acknowledge that the Company does not pre-screen any Materials posted by you or other users, but that Company and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse or remove any Materials. Without limitation, the Company and its designees shall have the right to remove any Materials that violate the Terms or is otherwise objectionable, as well as terminate your access to the Site. The Company may establish practices and limits concerning the use of the Site and Applications, including the maximum disk space that will be allotted to your use. You agree that the Company has no liability or responsibility for the storage or deletion of any Materials that you submit or post. The Company reserves the right to change these general practices and limits at any time in its sole discretion, with or without notice."

So there you have, the agreement that you agreed to. Honestly, I feel if it is that frustrating to anyone, they should get out more:)

Ughh, I was just thinking the same thing and about to post this ? myself. Just checked my flower box and received a flower for, who knows what response because it got pulled!! Sooo frustrating! It's happening way too much and I'm with you in finding another site.

Perhaps there is someone here on mamapedia who doesn't have anything better to do with her time and reports posts she feels isn't in her guidelines. This kind of thing only happened occasionally and it was usually when a reader didn't like a post or question and would complain.

I LOVE this site, and I have the utmost respect for the hard work of the people who run it, as I'm sure, do we all.

That said, I also agree wholeheartedly with Ephie (again).

Only 2 things on this site irk me, and the pulling of posts & responses is one of them. Some are no-brainers; teenagers trolling. But a seemingly large percentage are merely those that are unpopular with a handful of people, and MOST of those are thoughtful, intelligent, discourse and discussion. I believe there are several better ways than *poofing* flagged posts out of existence, but I would also be interested to hear, as Ephie has asked, her questions answered. I've had them often, myself. And the frustration that goes along with them.

I think we all should copy Ephie's question and save it in Word. Then if it gets deleted again copy and paste it. She has valid questions about how the message board works and and obviously others have the same questions.

touche' well written :)

.

Thanks for posting! I am constantly amazed at what is allowed to stay and what gets pulled. Yes, some need to be pulled and are obviously pranks or abusive or crazy, but they REALLY need to quit pulling answers just because the person who reported it didn't agree or didn't really want conflicting opinions with their own even after asking for people's opinions. They shouldn't automatically pull anything without reading it first and if it pertains to the subject, is non-threatening and was obviously reported because someone else simply disagreed, then they should leave it. I find it interesting that in ALL of my posts and answers (and I'm on here practically everyday -especially during the week when I am bored at work), the two that have been pulled were two I got more flowers for than anything else! One response they pulled last summer had received over 25 flowers! Obviously someone agreed! But because a few people get their feathers ruffled -they pull it. I have only "reported/flagged" maybe 3 posts on here that were obviously crazy or from trolls -and I mean so over the line it was fairly obvious. As dumbfounding and horrifying as I have found some answers, I've never reported a single one -even some that are truly incorrect and offer misleading information . I feel this is a public online forum, so you're going to get just about everything response-wise.

**I completely agree with Kelly -it's so frustrating to receive a flower and then the post has been pulled!

You said it how it needs to be said !
Go Ephie !!

congrats ephie on getting a response! but i will have to refrain from being too impressed until we hear that your email to support actually garnered response. the only thing i ever get is a canned generic reply...and i saw your post from last night got removed....

I must not be reading the deleted posts that often. What are they usually about?

This will get pulled! Not sure what is going on recently. I just received two flowers but when I clicked on them to see what for there was no post. I guess I said something right or wrong! Good luck. Maybe they will answer you personally. They did for one of my recent questions about where did a post go after I answered it. I was told because there was not a question posted. It was actually just a sweet e-mail someone received about parenthood and wanted to share it with moms.