Restrict front page forum posts to users above a certain status

[kevcube]

There have been a number of suspicious posts that make it to the front page (news site, not forum) carousel of forum posts.

I think mods should just disallow posts from certain accounts to end up there. Not sure if it should be restricted by account age or post count or something else.

But these posts are frequently rage bait and the even more enraging part is how many people fall for them.

 

[maflynn]

Not sure if it should be restricted by account age or post count or something else.

So you're stating that either young people or new members are causing all sorts of strife? Where do we draw the line? Would you be upset if they locked down the news forums to 300 posts (as you have 250) ? What about the member who's been here 10 years but rarely posts but wants to provide his opinion? Posting limits imo, goes against the grain of a discussion forum. Age restrictions will only cause people not reaching that age, to simply choose a different year when registering, i.e., they're ineffectual

On certain topics the editors will choose to prohibit posting, due to the potential inflammatory nature of that story.

I recommend that if you do see posts that are purposely inflammatory, trollish, or otherwise against the policies and procedures of MacRumors please report the post

 

[kevcube]

So you're stating that either young people or new members are causing all sorts of strife? Where do we draw the line? Would you be upset if they locked down the news forums to 300 posts (as you have 250) ? What about the member who's been here 10 years but rarely posts but wants to provide his opinion? Posting limits imo, goes against the grain of a discussion forum. Age restrictions will only cause people not reaching that age, to simply choose a different year when registering, i.e., they're ineffectual

On certain topics the editors will choose to prohibit posting, due to the potential inflammatory nature of that story.

I recommend that if you do see posts that are purposely inflammatory, trollish, or otherwise against the policies and procedures of MacRumors please report the post

I’m not asking to restrict people’s abilities to post. I’m asking to reduce the promotion to the news site’s frontpage carousel for brand new accounts. I feel like you misunderstood that.

Also I don’t care if you lock every forum action to users with 300+ posts, talking on a website isn’t a big part of my life.

 

[kevcube]

So you're stating that either young people or new members are causing all sorts of strife? Where do we draw the line? Would you be upset if they locked down the news forums to 300 posts (as you have 250) ? What about the member who's been here 10 years but rarely posts but wants to provide his opinion? Posting limits imo, goes against the grain of a discussion forum. Age restrictions will only cause people not reaching that age, to simply choose a different year when registering, i.e., they're ineffectual

On certain topics the editors will choose to prohibit posting, due to the potential inflammatory nature of that story.

I recommend that if you do see posts that are purposely inflammatory, trollish, or otherwise against the policies and procedures of MacRumors please report the post

Also … no I don’t care about a person’s age. I’m talking about account age. I.e. accounts that are one day old and make one post which is starting a thread. I’ve seen three examples in the past week that have ended up on the frontpage carousel and have been rage bait. One about a super slow m2 MacBook Air asking if he should return it, one about an iPhone 13 Pro with misaligned camera bump, and the third about should I return my iPhone that I scratched (that one is probably not bait)

I’m not asking you to limit free speech, just asking to limit the promotion of topics started by brand new members. Limit their reach and ability to troll.

 

[annk]

Also … no I don’t care about a person’s age. I’m talking about account age. I.e. accounts that are one day old and make one post which is starting a thread. I’ve seen three examples in the past week that have ended up on the frontpage carousel and have been rage bait. One about a super slow m2 MacBook Air asking if he should return it, one about an iPhone 13 Pro with misaligned camera bump, and the third about should I return my iPhone that I scratched (that one is probably not bait)

I’m not asking you to limit free speech, just asking to limit the promotion of topics started by brand new members. Limit their reach and ability to troll.

When you write "front page carousel" do you mean the list of new posts?

I'm not sure what you mean by "the promotion of topics" - do you mean the types of topics new users can post about? Or that new users shouldn't be able to start threads?

Many users come to MR specifically because they have a problem they need help with, so limiting the type of topic they can post about would defeat the purpose of the forums. In addition, it would practically impossible to implement fairly.

Free speech has to do with the government's ability to interfere with the rights of citizens to express themselves. It doesn't apply here, on a private forum, where users agree to certain rules as part of the registration process. If you see posts by new accounts you think are suspicious, just hit the report button. We're happy to take a look.

 

[Boyd01]

If I understood correctly, the OP is not asking for anyone to have their ability to post restricted. I think they just want to filter the posts in the "ribbon" on the front page, such that posts from new users are not displayed there. But I could be wrong...

 

[annk]

If I understood correctly, the OP is not asking for anyone to have their ability to post restricted. I think they just want to filter the posts in the "ribbon" on the front page, such that posts from new users are not displayed there. But I could be wrong...

Ah, that makes sense.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

The OP is saying that this real estate...

... is too valuable for posts that are nothing but trolling. OP suggested there were a couple of ways to restrict the posts that go there, whether it is from a user's account age, not chronological age or number of posts or some other criteria.

I thought what they were saying was fairly obvious, but it seemed to confuse a few people. Perhaps just due to different people using different words ("carousel" vs "ribbon," for example) for the same thing.

For what it's worth, I agree with OP. I have seen several threads in that space recently that were apparently intentional garbage, started by a brand new account, that generated more comments from readers that the thread should be closed than actual replies to the post. In some cases, the mods did close the discussion, but only after it was left up for days.

It gets to the question of what kind of a site MR wants to be.

 

[jav6454]

That banner does add some issues. I have seen rants go on and on based on it.

 

[JayAgostino]

That banner does add some issues. I have seen rants go on and on based on it.

I agree! It makes the front page feel like a tabloid…

 

[kevcube]

If I understood correctly, the OP is not asking for anyone to have their ability to post restricted. I think they just want to filter the posts in the "ribbon" on the front page, such that posts from new users are not displayed there. But I could be wrong...

Precisely this.

 

[JM]

I like the carousel… it’s shows what are hot and trending forum discussions.

That it is a catch all for humor and serious things, is a great window into the forums and allows for the exploration of topics that would otherwise be missed.

 

[NoBoMac]

If you go to the very bottom of the Front Page, there is a link, "Featured On/Off". If you click on that, the trending threads section will not be displayed.

 

[kevcube]

If you go to the very bottom of the Front Page, there is a link, "Featured On/Off". If you click on that, the trending threads section will not be displayed.

Woo thanks will do