Frustration

[Bunkerbarge]

Hopefully someone will read this and contact me. This morning I wrote a post but, being a new member it has to go through a moderator. This post has not been put on line and is now irrelevent as the conversation on the thread I was trying to participate in has now moved on.

When I come to ask a moderator whether my reply will be posted I now discover that I am unable to send PMs as well. So not only do I not know whether my reply will or will not be accepted but I also have no means of communicating with a moderator. I am sure there will be many good reasons for such proceduresput forward however, being a member of many forums and moderating on a number of them in the past, I have never encountered such unfriendly processes and I find this way of treating newcomers very demeaning and completely unecessary.

[richard]

Actually a lot of forums have similar limitations.

The problem is spam. There's a lot that goes on in the background to keep spam off the forums - the vast bulk of it normal users don't see.

5 posts before the moderator queue limits come off. PMs are the same otherwise a spammer would sign up and spam everyone with PMs before we find them, ban, and delete them. Experience has shown 5 is the right number - 10 would be much more frustrating. 1 is far from being enough.

We have multiple moderators so that new users shouldn't have to wait too long. For many years it was just me - hard luck if I'm asleep or travelling!
Just be patient - we have jobs and lives away from the forums, and this is a free service.

btw you can still communicate with users and moderators using email.

[D2100]

Also with a former moderator's hat on (not here), I think I agree with Richard on this. Appreciate it might seem a monumental hassle at the moment, but it's for good reason and in all honesty, 5 posts isn't a lot to work through to get past it.

[markindurham]

Well said, Richard. Too many forums and indeed FB Groups are spoiled by spammers - it's a fact of modern life, I'm afraid. All we can do is try and minimise it.

Mark
(Moderator and admin on several forums/chatrooms/FB Groups)

[burnie]

I am a moderator on a gardening forum run by a national magazine group, the life of a mod can be a trying one at times, patience is all I can recommend.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

5 posts isn't a lot then you can post and PM to your heart's content. We Mods don't spend all day on here, sometimes Life gets in the way!!

[StevieG]

Richard et al, you must be doing a good job.
As far as I've noticed, spam getting through is a very infrequent occurrence.