offensive posts

[paulz]

Dear Ab Ed what about an offensive posts button - like the one on friends reunited. That way they can be pinged off quickly, and you don't have to search them out? what do the rest of us think?

[Quizmonster]

Certainly, Paul, there are people around the site who are deliberately offensive, but I think providing a "universal delete facility" would be an extremely dangerous step to take. Suppose I decided I didn't like you very much, I could ensure that nothing you ever had to say was seen by anybody once I'd seen it!

I agree these people are detestable, but my own response to them is to just pass on by, giving them no breath of reaction. If everyone did the same, they'd scuttle away into their lairs. No reaction = no fun for them.

If the offensive posts are in the form of replies rather than questions, of course, that might be a different matter. Then - just as the questioner can star good responses - he/she might have the right to delete crude ones. However, I'm not totally convinced that even this facility would be a good thing.

[paulz]

QM, it wasn't so much an instant delete button, more an quick alert to the the powers that be/moderators of the site, to save [a] sending a separate e-mail to Ab Ed and [b] his/her time locating the item/question/answer. If we could knock out Questions we didn't like the site would probably collapse, sft would blat anything Marmite/English related, goodness knows what Spellmaster would get up to! Mind you think of the fun we could have with Sunday Times quiz question 4, animals beginning with N, tyre pressures etc ! Happy Sunday!

[apricot]

I agree with paulz. A button to press which indicate an answer offensive to the reader may lead to a quicker response from AB Ed. After all he/she is very busy. Hands up anyone who thought AB Ed was a woman.

[Cetti]

I know what you mean Paul, and this facility is in place on all the BBC Message Boards. You are not able to delete it yourself but in pressing the 'button' instantly alert the Mod to the offending post. There have been many answers on this board that have sickened me - given me the creeps, have been downright offensive or just plain stupid - but unless your very good idea is workable (for a later date perhaps?) all we can do is just try and pretend they don't exist - and avoid them.

[paulz]

Cetti & all - I accept the point that by ignoring them totally they're more likely to get bored; also, hopefully go and irritate someone else. The only thing is the site is available to all - children included, I wouldn't want my daughter to have read a certain individual's recent posts. She's doesn't have unsupervised access - probably like most sensible parents we keep an eye on where she's surfing, it was more a way of speeding up the "editing" between noticing something offensive & getting something done. I'm no prude but the last batch were beyond even my broad mind. I'm sure there are plenty of other sites for sick postings, if that's how some people want to get their kicks. Thanks all, perhaps an improvement will follow when Adverts - NEW! is changed and a quiz section appears [ps sorry Ed, only joking]

[woofgang]

yes, but how about a button to ping of infantigo posts????? I agree a "point this one out to the ed" button might be a good idea, although again, open to abuse

[AB Editor]

All ABers

All your points, recommendations, frustrations and general feedback have not gone unnoticed (i.e. removal of the "new" tag from the Advert section, having a Quiz section etc.).

We are currently looking at the AnswerBank site with the view of implementing changes and generally enhancing your AnswerBank experience. We hope to commence this process very soon. This will be an ongoing process and your (further) patience would be appreciated during this period.

We would like you, the AnswerBank users, to be involved with some of the changes. We will, in the near future, post a facility on the AnswerBank site for you to provide feedback and voice your recommendations. Obviously we will not be able to implement all recommendations but all reasonable requests will be considered by our development team.

We hope that together we can improve and enhance the AnswerBank experience.

Thank you - AB Editor