I understand if something is obscene this forum may not be the place for posting. But it seems ridiculous to collapse the posts that people disagree with.
If users of this forum have views that are different than the majority of the people and they are expressed in a way that make other users uncomfortable I see that their posts are regularly collapsed.
I have seen a shaky explanation as to why this is so when another user asked about it. Supposedly if enough users give a post a low rating it is collapsed. Do ratings also restore posts that have been collapsed? If not, why?
I say supposedly because when I look at the post from yesterday about the new police space I see inconsistencies with the previous explanation given about collapsing posts.
Let me illustrate. As I write this, the comment section of yesterday’s post looks like this:
A post with 8 VOTES/2.5 STARS is collapsed.
(this post disagrees with the idea of a “cop shop”)
A post with 9 VOTES/2 STARS is NOT collapsed.
(this post agrees with the idea of a “cop shop”)
A post with 6 VOTES/3 STARS is collapsed.
(this post is a second post from the person that disagrees)
A post with 6 VOTES/2 STARS is NOT collapsed
(this post simply disagrees with the collapsed posting)
A post with 6 VOTES/2 STARS is NOT collapsed
(this post agrees with the idea of a “cop shop”)
If the goal of this forum is to create dialog and awareness by sharing ideas and events the process this forum uses to censor certain postings certainly does little for that goal. If the goal is to create a selective space that does not tolerate difference in opinion the process works very well.
If people are discouraged from expressing their truths on this forum it would be respectful to say that up front instead of simply censoring posts that some may not like.
Thanks for your comments. The heated discussions we’ve had over the last several says have revealed a bug in the system. Comments that are initially given low ratings are hidden, but then they aren’t restored when further votes are added to the mix. We’re tracking that down and will try to get a fix out in the next few days. And we’ll continue to watch and see if the algorithms need further adjustment to ensure things are working fairly.
I appreciate that. I don’t mean to sound sour but it’s not the heated discussions revealing a bug. I am revealing the bug: this forum’s brand of censorship is not a good look. I am glad you support the change.
Quick question since you seem to be a moderator of sorts on this forum: Is the rating system something that needs to be here? Do you want to be a community/forum that rates your neighbors’ thoughts and expression with stars? What are the reasons for even having this feature or keeping the feature enabled (if it is not something that can be removed)? I don’t see many other neighborhood forums or community forums using this type of rating system.
I’m a nongeek, and I have no idea what you’re discussing. Yes, I see the stars and the word Votes, and I’ve always wondered what they mean. Is there something on the site that explains it? How does one vote, and what does the vote mean – that you agree with the posting, or that you disagree but appreciate the sincerity/clarity/humor or whatever of the posting? It seems to me that any reasonably civil entry should be left visible for a reasonable amount of time (2-3 days?) because not everyone has time to access the web every day.