MyBB deleted all my Disqus comments

[Foxhound5366]

Honestly guys, everybody complaining on here who is paying money to RPM for their access to this forum, please raise your hands.

What, nobody? How surprising.

As I'm sure you all already know (although many appear to be trying to pretend they don't), there is such a thing as the commercial reality of running a business like this. Part of this is generating clicks through provocative headlines, because more website visitors = more attractive to external advertisers (i.e. good for the forum).

By that very same token, people slagging off the journalist, story or advertisers in the comments is bad for the forum, because advertisers generally don't want to expose their brand to that sort of thing and will go elsewhere very happily.

RPM and the MyBB team are stuck in the middle: giving all of you this big playground where you are empowered to communicate, while at the same time trying to judiciously apply the brakes on what you say before it hurts the forum.

TLDR version: it's like the real world. Do what is good for the tribe. Harm the tribe and get voted off the island.

PS: I for one enjoyed that Makro story and can't figure what you guys are on about. Just because some of you have admitted you arrived on the story craving something negative (and that impression was never given in the headline - you just hoped to find it), you're horribly disappointed and raving about how it must be advertorial (because anything that makes Makro look good must be advertising - good service doesn't actually really exist in South Africa, does it)? Think for a second guys: good news does still exist, and I for one found that story interesting because I've seen the Makro containers around but never seen a story describing their use.

 

[MickeyD]

To be honest that Makro article should have been marked as a partner article since it was... Surely being banned for pointing out the truth isn't fair and this days it's a dare do that and see situation.

Who was banned?

 

[Hamster]

Honestly guys, everybody complaining on here who is paying money to RPM for their access to this forum, please raise your hands.

What, nobody? How surprising.

MyBroadband would be nothing without the people accessing this forum. Who do you think gets their click rate and page views up high enough so that they can charge people to advertise on this forum/site?

 

[biometrics]

Honestly guys, everybody complaining on here who is paying money to RPM for their access to this forum, please raise your hands.

What, nobody? How surprising.

As I'm sure you all already know (although many appear to be trying to pretend they don't), there is such a thing as the commercial reality of running a business like this. Part of this is generating clicks through provocative headlines, because more website visitors = more attractive to external advertisers (i.e. good for the forum).

By that very same token, people slagging off the journalist, story or advertisers in the comments is bad for the forum, because advertisers generally don't want to expose their brand to that sort of thing and will go elsewhere very happily.

RPM and the MyBB team are stuck in the middle: giving all of you this big playground where you are empowered to communicate, while at the same time trying to judiciously apply the brakes on what you say before it hurts the forum.

TLDR version: it's like the real world. Do what is good for the tribe. Harm the tribe and get voted off the island.

PS: I for one enjoyed that Makro story and can't figure what you guys are on about. Just because some of you have admitted you arrived on the story craving something negative (and that impression was never given in the headline - you just hoped to find it), you're horribly disappointed and raving about how it must be advertorial (because anything that makes Makro look good must be advertising - good service doesn't actually really exist in South Africa, does it)? Think for a second guys: good news does still exist, and I for one found that story interesting because I've seen the Makro containers around but never seen a story describing their use.

tl;dr version?

 

[Foxhound5366]

MyBroadband would be nothing without the people accessing this forum. Who do you think gets their click rate and page views up high enough so that they can charge people to advertise on this forum/site?

Oh I don't know about that Hamster. If you hadn't noticed, the MyBB team is putting in a lot more effort into their news section AND they've launched a magazine. They're branching out into where the real money is, and I won't be surprised if in the near future the news business overtakes the forum (especially from an advertising profitability and clicks perspective). Should that happen, RPM would have even less incentive to keep the forums up and running: the troublesome posters on here are more trouble than their entitled selves are worth.

I'm also not at all convinced that the forums generate quite as much activity as you seem to think they do. There is a relatively large number of forum members, but a *much* smaller number of active ones, and most of the posting activity is in really random threads. I was just thinking to myself today that there's been a really slim crop of articles worth commenting on: just witness people *still* chewing over that silly BMW thread because there's nothing better around. Don't you see this?

 

[Foxhound5366]

tl;dr version?

rofl, it's right in there.

 

[Rocket-Boy]

Mybb changed quite a while ago, its why I seldom bother coming here anymore.
It used to be about broadband and the challenges around it, but it then started generating a lot of traffic and turned into a business.
Once it was a full on business it started gearing towards profit and so everything will gravitate towards that.
Google etc have some rules and guidelines around monetization and there are paying advertisers who want to be painted in a good light regardless of how useless they may be(Im looking at you openweb)

Anyway, its not the place it used to be, its a business now and no matter how much you will be reassured that its still about the community it simply is not.

 

[Johnatan56]

rofl, it's right in there.

Your tl;dr is not the same as what you wrote. I call read-bait.

 

[skye.za]

Honestly guys, everybody complaining on here who is paying money to RPM for their access to this forum, please raise your hands.

What, nobody? How surprising.

This is where I see things differently.

How did I discover this website?

I searched on google for "tyres south africa" and somebody in a thread mentioned errolstyres.

Search for local info on google will likely return many mybroadband results. This site was built on community and contributions from forum members.

Don't underestimate the value forum members bring to mybb and the added traffic that is generated.

 

[Foxhound5366]

Your tl;dr is not the same as what you wrote. I call read-bait.

Yes it is, I just condensed the argument into teensy-weensy baby words.

 

[MickeyD]

Search for local info on google will likely return many mybroadband results. This site was built on community and contributions from forum members.

Don't underestimate the value forum members bring to mybb and the added traffic that is generated.

True.

 

[Johnatan56]

Yes it is, I just condensed the argument into teensy-weensy baby words.

You missed the part where catering too much for the advertisers would start kicking off the forum, which generates views for the adds.
It's a circle, though you could probably replace the advertises with a donor/patreon option.

 

[Foxhound5366]

Don't underestimate the value forum members bring to mybb and the added traffic that is generated.

I don't think anybody's doing that, least of all RPM. However, tell me with your hand on your heart what ratio of positive content is on here these days vs negative moaning, sniping and trolling? MyBB clearly has to do something about it (especially with the commercial imperatives that I outlined) and I salute them for that. Insulting them for selling out (like some people do) is to not recognise that there are bills to be paid for this forum and the team that MyBB employs, and that yes, just maybe there *is* a nicer way to say most of the same things without completely surrendering your own freedom of speech (or having it censored).

 

[Foxhound5366]

You missed the part where catering too much for the advertisers would start kicking off the forum, which generates views for the adds.
It's a circle, though you could probably replace the advertises with a donor/patreon option.

I haven't missed it, but I've already stated up above that I don't think the forums contribute nearly as much to the future viability of MyBB (as it expands into its new business models) as some people here seem to think. MyBB banners are all good and well, but selling those banners must be pretty difficult when so many members proudly use ad-blockers (just witness the silly forum competitions where MyBB has to incentivise people to click on the banners and visit the advertisers' sites). This isn't a foundation for a solid business model, nor is all the negative politics everyday from entitled forum members worth the trouble (would you want to deal with it personally every day?). Look at which way the wind is blowing and ask yourself if the underlying reasons are really that surprising or negative (I for one welcome a swift deletion of trolling and cries of 'clickbait' as if that is being fresh and brave).

 

[biometrics]

rofl, it's right in there.

Quote it here.

 

[Thor]

Honestly guys, everybody complaining on here who is paying money to RPM for their access to this forum, please raise your hands.

What, nobody? How surprising.

As I'm sure you all already know (although many appear to be trying to pretend they don't), there is such a thing as the commercial reality of running a business like this. Part of this is generating clicks through provocative headlines, because more website visitors = more attractive to external advertisers (i.e. good for the forum).

By that very same token, people slagging off the journalist, story or advertisers in the comments is bad for the forum, because advertisers generally don't want to expose their brand to that sort of thing and will go elsewhere very happily.

RPM and the MyBB team are stuck in the middle: giving all of you this big playground where you are empowered to communicate, while at the same time trying to judiciously apply the brakes on what you say before it hurts the forum.

TLDR version: it's like the real world. Do what is good for the tribe. Harm the tribe and get voted off the island.

PS: I for one enjoyed that Makro story and can't figure what you guys are on about. Just because some of you have admitted you arrived on the story craving something negative (and that impression was never given in the headline - you just hoped to find it), you're horribly disappointed and raving about how it must be advertorial (because anything that makes Makro look good must be advertising - good service doesn't actually really exist in South Africa, does it)? Think for a second guys: good news does still exist, and I for one found that story interesting because I've seen the Makro containers around but never seen a story describing their use.

That all I agree with 100% heck I even had ad block disabled on mybb. But do not post in one thread you are not for clickbait and then use clickbait and disguised partner content.

Out of principle I do not like that.

 

[MagicDude4Eva]

I think if MyBB continues to divorce themselves from the very community which built the business and often provided staffers with inside scoop of exclusive stories, it will be only a matter of time until the business collapses.

The news are often rehashed from other sources, partner content is made out to be newsworthy and advertorial content is masked as news.

Most traffic originates from the forum which has become heavily controlled and critical debate is disliked and infractions are handed out to censor unfavorable feedback.

Deleting comments or threads and then labeling these as trolling is an easy way to avoid constructive debate.

 

[Foxhound5366]

That all I agree with 100% heck I even had ad block disabled on mybb. But do not post in one thread you are not for clickbait and then use clickbait and disguised partner content.

Out of principle I do not like that.

Thor, provocative headlines are a painful part of MyBB's transitioning away from a reliance on forum activity, towards building a wider audience for its news material (which is powered by social sharing and reactions to stories). It's also a learning curve for the MyBB team, but to be fair just judging from where some people throw 'clickbait' around (like on the Makro article) I think the accusers just need to grow up and not click if it riles them so much.

What I've found is that a lot of people here get upset when MyBB posts anything that they personally disagree with, as if it's a personal insult. DSTV is the devil, so what is this positive story about DSTV???? Sanral is the devil, so how dare they post this story quoting somebody from Sanral? A story about what happened at Makro that didn't end negatively? Oooooh, how frustrating and upsetting! Complete sell-outs!

 

[Johnatan56]

I haven't missed it, but I've already stated up above that I don't think the forums contribute nearly as much to the future viability of MyBB (as it expands into its new business models) as some people here seem to think. MyBB banners are all good and well, but selling those banners must be pretty difficult when so many members proudly use ad-blockers (just witness the silly forum competitions where MyBB has to incentivise people to click on the banners and visit the advertisers' sites). This isn't a foundation for a solid business model, nor is all the negative politics everyday from entitled forum members worth the trouble (would you want to deal with it personally every day?). Look at which way the wind is blowing and ask yourself if the underlying reasons are really that surprising or negative (I for one welcome a swift deletion of trolling and cries of 'clickbait' as if that is being fresh and brave).

Really? If MyBB only/largely posted original content, maybe.

You do have an auto-correct built-in, you may use it. The incentivizing forumites to use it is a good idea as they'll consciously click the add.

The way the wind is blowing is a dumb argument, I'd call that a red herring.

If MyBB was having issues selling banner adds, I'd be amazed. Take into account how many non-tech savvy people visit MyBB for help, they probably do not have ad-blocker. And again, the content which makes people enter the site is on the forum, you cannot sell adds without the forum.
If money became really tight, as I said, they could ask for donations and I am sure many users would opt for a "premium" account that displayed no adds. Companies like Afrihost would probably also sponsor the forum if asked as they provide a lot of support in the feedback thread and have a lot of customers using it. The main asset MyBB has is its users.

Thor, provocative headlines are a painful part of MyBB's transitioning away from a reliance on forum activity, towards building a wider audience for its news material (which is powered by social sharing and reactions to stories). It's also a learning curve for the MyBB team, but to be fair just judging from where some people throw 'clickbait' around (like on the Makro article) I think the accusers just need to grow up and not click if it riles them so much.

What I've found is that a lot of people here get upset when MyBB posts anything that they personally disagree with, as if it's a personal insult. DSTV is the devil, so what is this positive story about DSTV???? Sanral is the devil, so how dare they post this story quoting somebody from Sanral? A story about what happened at Makro that didn't end negatively? Oooooh, how frustrating and upsetting! Complete sell-outs!

You're generalizing there. The problem comes in when there are a dozen Dstv articles in short order and they all put ton of positive spin on it. Sanral stories that they post forumites are usually not insulting MyBB, they are insulting Sanral. The Makro story had a headline that basically said I had a mysterious thing happen to me, come click, rather than just saying I used the Makro service and it was great. It also just ended abruptly (my opinion).

 

[skye.za]

I don't think anybody's doing that, least of all RPM. However, tell me with your hand on your heart what ratio of positive content is on here these days vs negative moaning, sniping and trolling? MyBB clearly has to do something about it (especially with the commercial imperatives that I outlined) and I salute them for that. Insulting them for selling out (like some people do) is to not recognise that there are bills to be paid for this forum and the team that MyBB employs, and that yes, just maybe there *is* a nicer way to say most of the same things without completely surrendering your own freedom of speech (or having it censored).

You are moving the goal posts by saying people should be "nicer".

It doesn't change the core issue that people are expressing. The clickbait articles are getting out of hand, there are too many adverts masquerading as articles and they are trying to censor any form of criticism(by banishing it to that clickbait thread).

Edit : Oh and dont get me started on the errors in articles. Forum members actually end up pointing out errors and the article is eventually updated.