Are these forums moderated or not?
Actually, I know they're moderated, so I guess my real question is what are the moderation rules?
I ask because sometimes I can reply to a post with no problem and my reply is published immediately, but other times I get a "your post will be published pending approval" type message after I hit the save button.
I was thinking it's thread specific, but that doesn't seem to be the case, maybe it's a word count limit? Whatever it is, it's sort of annoying, but if I knew the rules, at least I could work within them.
Thanks.
A couple days ago, I was unable to post--Every submission said, "awaiting moderation". The next day I came back, logged out and logged back in, and it worked. I don't know whether it was the day or logging out that fixed. The posts that said they were awaiting moderation have not appeared, as far as I can tell.
Hi,
It looks like you can post ok now? I have approved some of your held posts.
Hi,
It looks like you can post ok now? I have approved some of your held posts.
I don't see them posted, and honestly, I don't even want them posted at this point, more than 72 hours later, the thread has moved on.
What I would like to know is the answer to my question: are these forums moderated, and what are the rules? Why were my posts flagged? It seems arbitrary, but if there's something I'm missing, I'd like to know what it is to avoid this in the future.
Another moderation test. Trying a different browser.
Okay, I just tried to make another post in the General Discussion forums buy cutting and pasting in a post I wrote offline.
I cut and pasted in one paragraph at a time and saved the post along the way, only to have it disappear into "your post is awaiting moderation land" after adding a paragraph which contained a link to another thread on the forums. I assume that's what flipped the moderation switch.
At least I assume that's what happened. I assume because I have no other option. Because apparently not only are these forums moderated, but they're also unmonitored. Which is an awesome combination.
Thanks, Robot.
Sometimes posts are held if they are deemed "suspect" by the filter. Things like having lots of links is often the cause.
Also sometimes when you copy and paste text into the box you will also inadvertently copy in extra formatting which can upset the filter. One way to avoid this is to paste your text into notepad first, then copy the text from notepad and paste it in here. This will ensure no extra formatting is coming across.
Post filters are never ideal, but if they were turned off the forums would be inundated with spam :(
Steve,
I have removed your posts, please dont test the filter by linking to those kinds of websites. I get your point though, it has been received. The filter isnt perfect but its the best we have to work with at the moment.
I actually didn't create the link to warezsite.ru, the forum generated the link on its own when it saw a URL in my text. It was an unintentional (and in retrospect, pretty awesome) test of the filter.
You see my point, though… the fact that the filter triggers for a link to another page on the forums but not to legitimately shady websites is a little silly and pretty ineffective.
I'd appreciate it if someone approved my post currently in moderation limbo in the General Forums.
Thanks.
This is definitely something I'm aware of. We're exploring some options here that will hopefully make forum life a little better for everyone, but it'll be a while before we can do much to change the current situation. Sorry about the painfulness of posting. I hope you guys can be patient with us while we try to make it better.
This is definitely something I'm aware of. We're exploring some options here that will hopefully make forum life a little better for everyone, but it'll be a while before we can do much to change the current situation. Sorry about the painfulness of posting. I hope you guys can be patient with us while we try to make it better.
Thanks for the insight.
Until the situation improves though, it would be nice if you guys were a bit quicker about clearing out the moderation queue. (My post from yesterday afternoon is still in limbo, for example.)
Meanwhile I'll be sure not to put links in my posts.
Unless they're to anything in the .ru TLD, of course…
I seem not to be able to post to General Discussion anymore. This will tell me if I can post here.