Reporting posts ***IMPORTANT***

[MadduckUK]

There are two pieces of cross-stitch I like,but I want to buy only one.Which is more beartiful?

Hand Knitted Eight horses run in the grasslands
Hand Knitted Cross-stitch a hundred flowers blossom

I couldn't insert the images,why?
I find those cross-stitch on earthybabbyfarts.com.How do you think it?

ooh cross stitches, second to only cheap mobiles in the desirability list

[Rob_B]

I do wonder why they bother on a site like this, surely they should have a black list ie sites that delete your spam instantly or are tough to crack (ie HEXUS) it would save us all time & effort

[MadduckUK]

i saw that 5cupa, proving everyone loves replying to spam threads

[g8ina]

apologies, I have been guilty of "reported" tagging, and will now cease....

[peterb]

Just makes us all mods then you won't even have to lift a finger.

Well, in a way you are! We rely on members to be self moderating and for members to dubious report posts to those who can deal with them.

Contrary to some opinions, we don't particularly like to intervene unless we have to. The rules are reasonably clearly defined, and the sort of standards in posting have been described in various posts, so if members follow those, there is no need for moderator intervention!

[Saracen]

.... whether that's down to good moderation, a pro-active user base (i.e. regular users reporting spam quickly) or cunning behind-the-scenes anti-spam I couldn't say.
....

I agree with Peter, it's all three. Sometimes we spot things and delete them before they get reported, sometimes the reports bring our attention to them, and Steve's pro-active work prevents a fair bit from ever getting as far as visible to the members (or us Mods, for that matter), though for obvious reasons, we don't talk about what is being done, and sadly, it's not 100% effective.

What makes moderation trickiest of all, though, is when people start discussing and, worse yet, quoting, spammers. We end up having to make decisions about whether to just delete the whole thread, including legit stuff from legit members, or to leave some of the spamming, or to have threads where part of them don't make sense, or to have to spend quite a lot of time editing out the bits that refer to the spamming, and then perhaps explaining to people that their posts got edited but not because they'd done anything wrong. My preference is always not to mess with editing posts if I can help it, but if it's a choice between editing or deleting ..... well, which causes less upset?

One thing I'd add to this issue. While having to clean up "reported" posts is an irritation, the reports themselves are useful, and the effort put in by many non-mod members is both helpful and much appreciated. Having you lot act as eyes and ears makes the job so much easier, and it helps build a community where we all contribute. (David Cameron would be so proud of us. )

[pauldarkside]

(David Cameron would be so proud of us. )

Take that back. Now!

PS, You're welcome to the reports. Quite enjoy poking that button.