Moderation and anonymous members/posters have killed dpreview

That's a great idea! Really. I'd add just one thing: append a special character like % plus a number to the account name, and increment the number every time a different member permabans them.

Instant reputation indicator!

I never placed anyone on "Ignore" I found that very small minded. And the way to get around someone that placed me on Ignore, Leonard for example, was to post to someone that replied to his post, so then he saw mine. So funny, as he would feel compelled to reply to me through the 3rd party. Perfect solution for dealing with Leonard and his approved targets.

And I feel the same way about the "complain" button. It would have to be extremely bad, like when RazorsharpWO, in a previous incarnation, pointed out he'd like to bash my head into concrete. I had a direct line to Thierry (almost) so just sent him a PM. RSWO was still an exceptional photographer, so since I didn't "Ignore" poor photographers, of which there were many, I sure wasn't going to "Ignore" him

If you did not use it, does not mean nobody did. If I found somebody's posts mostly nonsensical, insulating or just of no interest to me, I just do not want to waste my time reading them or even have them show up on my screen. YMMV. BTW to call small minded somebody who does what you do not isn't a good manner. Also do you think everybody knows who Thierry is?

If all the 'complain' button does is raise a flag no one else can see to get a mod's attention to a post, it's ineffective for bullying and used carelessly makes a mod more likely to ignore (not 'ignore') future complaints from that poster. A mod might not read every post in every thread in their forum.

What you have is a report button and moderators only look at posts that have a whole bunch of reports.

Why do you keep promoting that site here? Stop with the spam please.

I’m finding the perception of some to be interesting. The only spots on DPRevived that I could even categorize is approaching heated would be right here in the few threads about moderation. I would say that is to be expected because DPReview stifled comment and opinion on how to best moderate a forum by deleting posts and banning users who even gave a hint at questioning those mods with a Napoleon complex. Finally, everyone is able to offer their own input.

For the rest of the forum here, I have seen good interaction and if anything, people grateful for having this site develop and be open to new ideas. DPRevived has obviously, at least so far, become the destination of choice…and I don’t believe it for a minute that it is because, as some on DPReview suggest…that it is because all the troublemakers came here.

I am well aware that people used it, and I called them small minded for doing so. My opinion. I sincerely doubt that your time is so valuable that you couldn't simply stroll pass anything that was a hinderance to you. My opinion is 1. If your time is so valuable, you wouldn't have been on DPReview in the first place. and 2. Everyone, no matter how diametrically opposed they may be from you, there's likely a valuable piece of information somewhere in their posts.

I know who Thierry is.

That is exactly what I am talking about. Calling people names. Disrespect people by saying that if they are on DP Review, their time is not valuable. And I am not against opinion diametrically opposed from mine. I've never said that. You are just twisting my words. I am done with this discussion.

Stany, there are good reasons a person chooses to be anonymous on a public forum. One is that anonymity gives a person more control over the amount of personal interaction they have with other members. Another, is that a person may feel less exposed to harassment by remaining anonymous. Anonymity can allow a person having a prominent public profile to be active without drawing attention based solely on that profile. A person may choose to be anonymous because they're seeking a fresh start.

There are any number of legitimate reasons a member may choose to remain anonymous. As long as they don't engage in harassing behavior themselves, what's the harm?

Agree! Would not like to do that.

I was an active member of dpreview for 19 years and enjoyed the discussions, even though many members disagreed with each other. On rare occasions brought bad behaviour to the attention of the moderators. This was dealt with appropriately and swiftly. I never had the above-reported impressions of the moderators -- until after the announcement of the closure of the site, since when it has been apparent that even mildly critical postings, although politely expressed, are vigorously pursued and annihilated. I myself did not understand this attitude, but it caused me to stop using the site immediately it became clear to me.

David

You are mistaken. Moderators, and only the moderators, are the ones who ruined DPReview.

Odd. I keep thinking that lack of profitability and overheads killed dpreview. I am amazed to learn that the execs that made decisions on what to cut to trim down Amazon cared so much about moderation that they killed the site.

From what I have seen, dpreview had by far the most daily traffic of any photography related website

FWIW I have actually seen a forum get killed by its moderation. Reef Central. The SPS forum alone used to get three to four pages of new threads/posts daily. RC is still around but that forum now has a grand total of 7 new posts in 2023. Everyone went to a competitor that started when RC was at its zenith.

Here is the traffic analysis for the last month:
www.similarweb.com/website/dpreview.com/#overview

7.7 million visits in March ... with everyone knowing the site is shutting down. Kenrockwell.com is the next closest with 1.1 million.

Interestingly, fredmiranda.com has grown from 781.7k visits in January to 936.5K visits in March, probably in part due to the announcement that dpreview was shutting down. In that same period, DPReview has seen a drop of 700K visits per month, almost as much as the monthly visits to fredmiranda.com.

No, moderation did not kill DPReview.

Not looking forward to Bard and ChatGPT having an argument over equivalence. Paid membership may end up being a small price to pay in the end.

In the meantime, while a Permaban button on every post may be too much, it wouldn't be entirely crazy to let OPs moderate their own threads. After all, I can delete answers to my own Facebook posts, why not here?

Regardless of who makes the moderation (OP or moderator), it would be good if the moderation was transparent with the reason given being one of a predefined list of reasons aligned with terms of service (e.g. "Message(s) deleted due to spam" shown where the post(s) used to be).

Self moderation is the perfect tool for cover ups as well.

Well, thank you for providing my daily dose of BS. Talk about ridiculous generalizations, this one definitely takes the cake. For better or worse, some form of moderation is all but a requirement, unless you enjoy forums that are "the wild wild West." There are good and bad mods, but painting all with the same color brush is WAY off base IMHO.

True

Very funny.

I had been on dpreview for about 18 years and never even took notice of a moderator until a few yrs ago . The forum I was a member of was extremely slow . Messages were few and far between. I had posted that the forum was slow and needed some activity. The mod told me I couldn't say things about the forum like that.
It was against DPR rules . I argued saying he was hypersensitive . He banned me for a week over this. He has since disappeared from DPR entirely . And now I read that a poster is suggesting I should have to pay a fee to get reinstated over a bogus charge buy some oddball mod? I don't think so. Who is vetting these people? My beef with moderators is their over sensitivity. Not long ago I had a post deleted because I used the word cockroaches-not aimed at any person where someone would be offended. The mod is a very nice and usually even guy. but cmon. this isn't sesame street. I wouldn't leave DPR over any of this stuff but for the past few years on DPR I felt like I was walking on eggshells with this problem

I never had any issues with moderation in DPreview ( over some 9 years ) but maybe I was just a good boy and kept my head down.

The sentiment about anonymous posting on these forums and social media is one I agree with - it is anathema to me and why I use socials and even these single theme forums as little as possible.

But most people try and conceal their identity not for malicious reasons but to try and protect themselves.

As has been said - it it virtually impossible to police so-called verified accounts. Anyone with half a wit can construct a fake identity - easily.

Generally, I feel that it is the quality of self regulation and vigilence that can keep a forum such as this community one clean though trolls are enevitable. likewise, amateur attempts to conceal identity will not be effective against scammers. I did close and reopen an account every few years on DPreview and use aliased identities but this was only as a comfort blanket and not really afford any protection: I just read that Affinity DB has just been hacked along with so many others over the years - it is fairly common of course. I closed my Linkedin account when they were hacked - in fact, the only people I linked to there were people I saw or spoke to regularly so what was the point ?

The only groups that I use that do manage verified identities successfully are very small ones e.g. owners group for a small auto/RV brand but there again, we mostly all know each other as people not ghosts in the ether.

Richard

The only issues I had with moderation on DPR was with Thierry, and now I think I know why.