MyBroadband to change its article comments section

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I'm one of the older members here on MyBB. I'm here for the news, the, classifieds, the deals, the forum, and the conferences. I'm part of the community with its good and bad.

Over the past weekend I welcomed the new vetting of comments in the news section. I thought it was a great idea, especially since some of the comments added absolutely no value to the community, but rather created a culture of political division and continuous insults.

What is worrisome for me however, is the process of vetting these comments.
A few days ago I saw a comment that read
"Yes, the voting majority are morons"
This is the exact thing we need vetting for
I immediately asked how a comment like this was allowed to pass through the vetting process. My question was deleted (or not approved).
I rephrased and wrote "you can't call people morons" and again my comment was not approved.

I'm not sure who else spoke up but the original comment was deleted.
I think if the vetting process is to work then there can't be favouritism.
This feels more like censorship than vetting. It feels like MyBB wants to influence the readers by selecting comments which favour the narritive. This can't be the case if a news site is to be neutral and report solely on facts.

I expect fairness and transparency, otherwise this is just modern day censorship
 

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Unreal said:
I'm one of the older members here on MyBB. I'm here for the news, the, classifieds, the deals, the forum, and the conferences. I'm part of the community with its good and bad.

Over the past weekend I welcomed the new vetting of comments in the news section. I thought it was a great idea, especially since some of the comments added absolutely no value to the community, but rather created a culture of political division and continuous insults.

What is worrisome for me however, is the process of vetting these comments.
A few days ago I saw a comment that read
"Yes, the voting majority are morons"
This is the exact thing we need vetting for
I immediately asked how a comment like this was allowed to pass through the vetting process. My question was deleted (or not approved).
I rephrased and wrote "you can't call people morons" and again my comment was not approved.

I'm not sure who else spoke up but the original comment was deleted.
I think if the vetting process is to work then there can't be favouritism.
This feels more like censorship than vetting. It feels like MyBB wants to influence the readers by selecting comments which favour the narritive. This can't be the case if a news site is to be neutral and report solely on facts.

I expect fairness and transparency, otherwise this is just modern day censorship
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If that is the case - then myBB will lose credibility with the people in the know. Those who are not fooled by posts allowed to be posted . Sadly they will still have the majority. They will lose support from the IT and Tech communities. It is a very dangerous game if you are going to remove reasonable responses and leave the favourable ones only. Ignoring negative posts never did anyone any good - everyone will hear the negativity elsewhere then. And there will be no forum to counter them or clarify misinformation.
 
I gave it a try, but more than zero of my disqus comments are being moderated - quietly disappearing. I guess they are not sufficiently moderate. I don't care for this. I'm not leaving immediately, but I'm leaving. If everything I say has to be filtered by that fat guy who hates my guts (or at least my comments) then I'm not going to bother. Nothing in moderation.
I see it's been nine years. That's something of a record. Oh well.
 
cfilorux said:
I gave it a try, but more than zero of my disqus comments are being moderated - quietly disappearing. I guess they are not sufficiently moderate. I don't care for this. I'm not leaving immediately, but I'm leaving. If everything I say has to be filtered by that fat guy who hates my guts (or at least my comments) then I'm not going to bother. Nothing in moderation.
I see it's been nine years. That's something of a record. Oh well.
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This is an old game though. Site owners and stakeholders love assuming the role of MINITRUE, it gets them gratification. Google returns countless sites and blogs exposing this censorship.

I am just not interested any more. The site for me is all about Off Topic and the fun to be had there, hanging out with like minded people. Most of them seem to be ex-Prophecy/NAG/PCFormat folks which explains it all really
 
I don't think you people know how Disqus works.

1. When you reply it can take a couple of minutes to hours before approved. I assume they have someone monitoring comments, but when not at the desk an auto mode will let it through after a while. BE PATIENT!!!
The way I understand it the more you comment and build some trust, I believe it will go faster.

2. If you see a comment you think is an attack or inappropriate and should not have been let through, DON'T reply to it. There is an option to FLAG it. No method is perfect so sometimes I would guess something falls through the cracks.
1548959172494.png


3. Your Disqus profile has two sections for comments:

This one called Notifications:
1548959269236.png

When you select it it will only show already approved notifications. Don't worry, your comments did not disappear (Mybroadband can't completely hide your comments in your profile !), it will be under this section:

Go select your profile picture, all your comments will show up:
1548959400555.png


Here it will show as "removed" "pending" or whatever, cant remember exact wording. You will see every single comment you made, even the ones that was deleted.


4. So don't wet your panties yet, be patient. If under profile > comments it shows your comment as deleted or removed, then go and fetch your cremora or whatever you eat to relax and make a noise!!!
1548959917149.png
 
What is the benefit of using disqus for the user? Or are the benefits all for the forum owner? I tried it once and found the whole idea irritating.
 
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RedViking said:
I don't think you people know how Disqus works.

1. When you reply it can take a couple of minutes to hours before approved. I assume they have someone monitoring comments, but when not at the desk an auto mode will let it through after a while. BE PATIENT!!!
The way I understand it the more you comment and build some trust, I believe it will go faster.
Click to expand...
It's not how Disqus works but rather how the site owner decides to do it.
 
Swa said:
Don't think there's an auto mode.
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I have just noted some of my comments get approved in 5 minutes, and some 2 hours. But all of them eventuality get approved. But comments don't just disappear . It is better to check in your Discuss comments under Profile > Comments for the status on your comment than relying on the embedded comments on the site. If after a day your comment is still not approved, i would then start asking questions.
 
In the last 11 days, 11 out of 39 comments removed. Topics that should not be treated in a negative light are:
  • The ANC
  • Huawei
  • The Post Office
  • Please Call Me
  • Big Money
  • Censorship
  • Property
Unicorns and rainbows are probably okay, but don't tread on the sacred cows
 
RedViking said:
I have just noted some of my comments get approved in 5 minutes, and some 2 hours. But all of them eventuality get approved. But comments don't just disappear . It is better to check in your Discuss comments under Profile > Comments for the status on your comment than relying on the embedded comments on the site. If after a day your comment is still not approved, i would then start asking questions.
Click to expand...
And others have had a different experience so I don't think there is any standard.
 
RedViking said:
She definitely is. Did you stay at her 'AirBnB'?
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Yes. She has three establishments, although she was in the process of selling the one we stayed in. Her husband is also a great guy, very kind
 
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To prove my point in this thread about censorship of the new MyBB comments section i, based on factual sensationalism in their article on fines to be paid by SABC, Primedia and Ster-Kinekor, this post was never approved. At the time, I did not know a new comment approval system was implemented.

InternetLuddite said:
View attachment 612308

And wow ... now before my post is published ... it needs to be approved. Wonder why ???
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I think I will stick to the forum and read the Verge/Ars. Most of the time MyBB seems to just rejig those articles in any case. I will miss the local content that is normally relevant to us.
 
Some really poorly written articles, reason why i rarely comment, are we going to see better journalism with these new rules?
 
InternetLuddite said:
To prove my point in this thread about censorship of the new MyBB comments section i, based on factual sensationalism in their article on fines to be paid by SABC, Primedia and Ster-Kinekor, this post was never approved. At the time, I did not know a new comment approval system was implemented.



I think I will stick to the forum and read the Verge/Ars. Most of the time MyBB seems to just rejig those articles in any case. I will miss the local content that is normally relevant to us.
Click to expand...
I closed my Disqus account - and whereas MyBB was my homepage I rarely bother to read any "articles" nowadays. The quality of "journalism" doesn't justify spending time on the site.
 
InternetLuddite said:
To prove my point in this thread about censorship of the new MyBB comments section i, based on factual sensationalism in their article on fines to be paid by SABC, Primedia and Ster-Kinekor, this post was never approved. At the time, I did not know a new comment approval system was implemented.



I think I will stick to the forum and read the Verge/Ars. Most of the time MyBB seems to just rejig those articles in any case. I will miss the local content that is normally relevant to us.
Click to expand...
There's always www.techcentral.co.za and www.htxt.co.za
 
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