Would you support a 'probationary' period before new PS members can post?

[PreRaphaelite]

With the amount of spam and trolls, would extending a specific delay between registering for membership and posting be helpful? If so, what would be a good amount of time?

 

[OreoRosies86]

Sure. I lurked on PS forever before posting!

 

[lyra]

Lots of forums do 24 hours to keep out spammers.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Maybe a waiting period would encourage new members to read a few threads before posting?

 

[1ofakind]

I lurked on and off for about 8 years. But that is probably too long for most.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

I lurked on and off for about 8 years. But that is probably too long for most.

Haha! 8 years seems about how long today's troll threads have lasted so far!

 

[1ofakind]

Haha! 8 years seems about how long today's troll threads have lasted so far!

At least she isn't being vile and hateful like that other chick. But the other chick had nicer fake bling....it's so hard to decide between trolls.


ETA....and I might be guilty of feeding this one just now, lol.

 

[1ofakind]

Oh see I play a little and then Keto guy shows up. The Keto spammers are just no fun at all.

 

[Arcadian]

I lurked for A VERY LONG TIME before posting. Not as long as @1ofakind though (thats got to be some sort of record!)

 

[Demon]

I'm tempted to say 24-48 hours to try and eliminate spam, but then what about people that are trying to decide quickly on whether or not to buy a particular diamond?

I don't remember from when I joined, but is there an email verification that is required?

 

[lovedogs]

yes, 24 hours would be great.

 

[marymm]

Would you support a 'probationary' period before new PS members can post?

No, I would not.

 

[Mekp]

I think a 24-48 hour waiting period would be great.

I don't think she's a troll, I think she is very confused and perhaps quite ill.

 

[caf]

I don't think she's a troll, I think she is very confused and perhaps quite ill.

This^.

 

[Karl_K]

no no no no 10000000x no
That would be against what the board is about and would harm getting new members.

 

[Karl_K]

I know the social stuff has became a bigger part of PS but the purpose of PS is to help people.
If you needed/wanted help on a huge and emotional purchase how would you feel being told wait 24-48 hours to ask your question?
I would be angry and never come back.

 

[Musia]

I posted my first comment 2.5 weeks after the registration. I think some good and sweet person who is new to PS might be looking for an advise ASAP, so I oppose probationary period and voted "other".

 

[lyra]

Leave it as is on Rocky Talk then. Everywhere else can wait IMO. Also, I thought this was to discourage spammers like the keto thing, not against actual people. I know what some are insinuating.

 

[Tekate]

2 weeks.

ETA: I assumed this was just about Hangout Posts that are NOT about stones, or jewelry. I viewed posts here and learned for months before I had the verve to actually post, and months more after that to post in hangouts.

 

[nala]

Maybe for hangout? But certainly not for RT since many newbies come here and might be under a deadline. A wait period would be doing them and the vendors her on PS a great disservice. Tbh, I don’t find trolls very threatening and playing offense with them might come at the cost of losing potential valuable members.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

A day or two should be sufficient for hangout, specifically. A new poster can wait as their opinion likely won't change in that time But then again, I waited five years so...

 

[AprilBaby]

I see no reason to make anyone wait.

 

[MissGotRocks]

No, I don't think I do. Folks come here looking for advice - sometimes via picture. I think it sort of negates the educational aspect of PS. If they are trolling, wise PSers are able to call them out rather quickly to Admin.

 

[yssie]

Yes, I would. Most other forums I participate on do this - X amount of time before you can post, X number of posts before you can start your own thread, and all photos as low-res thumbnails unless you're logged in.


#1 - X amount of time before you can post:
I agree we'd want to keep RT, CS, Pearls, Antique & Vintage, MMD, and Testimonials free of any probation period. But for fora that are primarily non-technical - Hangout, SMTB, LIW & BWW, FHH, Healthy Lifestyle - I would fully support this. No need for X to be more than 24-48 hours.

#2 - X number of posts before you can start your own thread:
Again, we definitely want to keep RT, CS, Pearls, Antique & Vintage, MMD, and Testimonials free of any probation period. I honestly don't know what this adds over disallowing posts until a member has passed the 24-48 hour registration mark, so I'm voting "no" to this.

#3 - All photos as low-res thumbnails unless you're logged in:
YES. Gigantic, emphatic YES. And disallowing viewing for the first 24-48 hours for new registrants. This would prevent SO much theft of boutique vendors' custom works. It would prevent SO much eBay and Etsy theft of PSers' photos. Again, RT, CS, Pearls, Antique & Vintage, MMD, and Testimonials would be excluded.

For this - would it be possible to create a label, or setting, that thread-starters can add/toggle? There are certainly some threads in Pearls, for example, that I would be happy for the general public to have access to without registering with PS and logging in. But there are other threads that I would feel equally strongly about toggling this setting "on" for.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Some trolls are funny and harmless, some ill give them a smile and a pass

Its the ones advetising stuff with zero to do with jewlery that get up my nose

i lurked for months before finally posting on i think the show me your ring stack thread,

i guess 24 hours or a bit longer would be ok

Maybe if we had an introduce yourself and welcome thread that a new poster had to post on first
Ive seen that before and it works very well

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I can't seem to reply to @nala but you make a valid point
imangine if some bride to be got some shocking ring that cost way too much because her boyfriend couldn't wait or rather understand the implications of not waiting to take the very excellent advice i see here given out on an almost daily basis

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

No. I see the weird keto posts but they are obviously trolls and don't cause much grief imo!

I haven't seen any juicy trolls!

I think gem questions are time sensitive so newbies need to be able to post and ask their questions!

 

[Polabowla]

No I would find it off-putting tbh.
When I joined I had recently gotten my upgraded ring & have no one irl (except 1 friend) to share it with.

It's very painful to be in that situation, and sharing it here & getting such lovely feedback really helped me in many ways.

If I had to wait before posting, I probably wouldn't have tbh.

 

[Bron357]

No, not necessary.
The obvious spammers can be deleted quick smart by Admin as we report them. The poor lost souls who are misguided, maybe Admin can just close down the thread once it gets ridiculous.
Many New people who post have no idea and that’s why they Post. We should be kind and gentle. However there comes a time when it’s obvious that the thread is crazy / ridiculous / just weird and that’s when the thread should be closed or if offensive deleted.

 

[Ella]

Hi folks,

We do try to delete some threads, but just because someone is annoying people does not make them a troll and also does not break the rules.

We have many ways of catching spammers before they even post, but the smart ones get around it and they always will.

So that is why sometimes you all report “a troll” but we do not remove them or the thread. If they’re breaking rules, we will absolutely remove them in the thread. But if they’re just annoying I suggest everyone ignore them.