Swingers Forum - Member Regulated Forums

One of the new features that is coming with the site redesign is Member Regulation of Forums. How it works is every post has a 'thumbs up' and a 'thumbs down' icon next to it. Members can read the post and decide if it is relevant to the posting or if it doesn't follow the guidelines/rules for posting. You can then cast your vote by clicking the corresponding 'thumbs' icon. Once the ratio of bad votes to good votes exceeds a certain amount, that post will automatically be deleted. If the original post that started it all receives a certain amount of bad vs good, the entire post will get locked down and no more new posts will be accepted.

This type of self regulation will help keep the forums civil as the majority will decide what is best. The question is, at what levels should we decide is the majority? What formula do you think we should use in calculating when to remove a post? As always, your opinion is welcome as it will help us decide how to incorporate such a new feature into the new design.

Thanks,

Rob

Sounds like it will be easy to manipulate the voting by using ones friends. It will become nothing more then a popularity contest. Also going to cause drama by voting thumbs down versus those that vote thumbs up. Many of the topics on this or any other forum are left open where subtopics may arise. On another site we are on there was one just posted about what is the correct age to start having sex. That can lead to the legal definition, or the maturity level, and then who decides when the time is right. I guess I am trying to say a lot of these forums can be like a pyramid.

What it boils down to is showing each other respect. If you don`t like a topic then don`t read it. Don`t like someones response, let them know in a more respectful manner. For those not able to comply, maybe we need to have a "whiners hall of shame" on the site.

As much as I appreciate your comments, this is a feature that is going to happen. It has been a proven tool in some of the most popular forum based sites that do not have moderators. As easy as it may sound that it can be abused, when you have thousands of people on a site like this moderating the forums together, the chance of one huge group taking on a single person because of reasons other than those that are listed in the posting policies is quite slim. Self-regulation is there to remove the trash postings that do not belong, it's not a popularity contest feature, so nobody is going to get hurt feelings if their post is deleted by the majority because they were being an ass or posting off topic. It doesn't record your votes or keep track of them so nobody is going to know your post was voted off. It's going to happen whether we do it manually or it gets done automatically.

So back to the question, what do you think the best ratio and minimum number of votes for a system like this should be to work correctly?

While there are thousands on the site, only a very small percentage are active in the forums. That would make it easier to manipulate but if it is going to happen no matter what, then so be it.

You had mentioned about a percentage, and then a certain number of thumbs down before getting the post deleted. I am thinking a certain number might be better only for one reason. Just say someone reads this response to your topic and says ok, nothing wrong with it. Will they be forced to vote either thumbs up or down? If they are not forced to vote, then I think only the ones who are unhappy about a post will vote thumbs down, killing the effectiveness of the percentage method.

Makes me think the number method might be the way to go and am sure you can change it later if needed. Going only be memory, seems like the posts we would think are trash would also get about five negative responses from other members besides ours. Does anyone think my number of "5 thumbs down" is a good starting point to have your post removed from a thread?

Hope this helps and is more on topic.

Nice observation about the percentage. There are a lot of people who read the forums but do not participate but that doesn't mean they would click a thumbs up. So a percentage based on that would not work like you said. So maybe instead of thumbs up and down, have a 'Flag this post' button and when there's somewhere between 50 to 100 flags, it gets removed?

Thanks. It wouldn't be what it is if we didn't have our members input.

Now, I was doing some research and I found out how the thumbs up/down system works. Basically, when a certain ratio of thumbs down to up has occurred, that particular post isn't deleted, it gets minimized from the initial view instead. Members then have the choice to maximize and view it and they can continue to vote so that if the ratio comes back down, it is viewable again. If it ends up reaching a certain amount of bad votes (a high amount), it is finally deleted.

Hope that makes sense.

So if you see your post get minimalized it should be taken as a sort of warning before it is gone for good. Sounds like a very good compromise to me.

I wouldn't say that I'm new to the site. But, i haven't really fully indulged myself into it yet. I haven't become that comfortable to even post in the forums. I feel that this rating system would be a good application to have. As i do kind of stop reading into them when they seem to be getting off topic and drawn out. I think this would very much so help regulate that and bring back forums to what they are truly intended for.

As far as a percentage or a set number i feel that both need apply. First a set number of replies to that post, lets just say conservatively 100 people vote (positive or negative) for that post or reply. Then after that number is met the percentage kicks in. If it is below standards it is either hidden or dropped completely, and if not it remains visible. That way if a time frame is placed and let's say 3 days go by and only 5 votes were cast but they were all negative i don't feel that's a good standard to remove that post just yet.

Just and idea, i hope that helps.

Yeah, we weren't going to show the actual counts or percentages for each post. It will all be done behind the scenes. That's how we can partly eliminate the popularity factor.

Well one thing I haven't seen mentioned is who will be able to vote on the subject.
Will it be just anyone who comes in to look, or will it be the people who actually posted and participated in the post?
That is a debate that can go either way.

On a side note I'd like to suggest that, while in it's beta version, the "flagged" posts be sent to the admin. of review. That way the baseline for what is good or bad can be set.

I can see the need for something like this. Vulgarity, profanity, and personal attacks have no business on a post, or the site in general. But just because someones opinion differs from the majority doesn't make it a bad post. This is where I'm afraid the abuse might factor in. If the majority of people just don't like what someone says, no matter if it's within the guidelines or not, the post will get deleted or reduced, and the thread will loose it's objectivity.
Just because you don't agree with someone, doesn't make them wrong.

I think what I'm trying to say here is that I see the need for a system like this to be overseen by someone. If not, just every now and then to make sure it is working correctly, and as planed.
There is allot of good that can come out of a system like this. But any system, without regulation, can become corrupt.