Private Messaging

Toast · 2006-11-19 03:06:23

I was just wondering why this forum doesn't have pms. It's quite common on other forums i've been to.

Patrick · 2006-11-19 03:21:05

It does. You have to be a "Real Member" to use it.

Toast · 2006-11-19 04:05:29

oooh how many posts do i need again?

mathsyperson · 2006-11-19 05:29:31

You don't get to be a real member by having a certain amount of posts. The PM system is still in the 'experimental' stage at the moment, so people who are real members are like that because MathsIsFun made them like that.

There is a worry that if everyone had the ability to PM, then some unsavoury characters would use it maliciously.

That's quite a good point though. Flamers either get bored and go away after all their posts keep getting deleted, or they persist and get banned. Either way, their post count doesn't go very high.
So perhaps giving PM'ing abilities to everyone with over, say, 50 posts would filter out anyone who would use it with bad intentions.

Thoughts?

Devantè · 2006-11-19 19:01:21

It depends, really. People aren't always who they say they are, and giving a member this 'promotion' without first having knowing them for a good period of time wouldn't be wise. I'm unsure as to whether having a certain postcount should give people this ability.

Patrick · 2006-11-19 22:02:19

Then again, you could just pretend to be another person, wouldn't take much effort.

Devantè · 2006-11-19 22:15:16

It all depends how far people are willing to go.

Maybe a 'report' button for PMs? Then I guess we could allow it for everyone.

Toast · 2006-11-20 00:25:16

But then moderators would have a heap of work on their hands, considering people could just join up for the sake of pming for no apparent reason.

Devantè · 2006-11-20 00:41:10

I think we should just try it for a week or so, and then remove it for all except the Real Members.

mathsyperson · 2006-11-20 01:11:40

Toast wrote:

But then moderators would have a heap of work on their hands, considering people could just join up for the sake of pming for no apparent reason.

Hence the needing to put a post count requirement on. Alternatively, we could make it so that you get PMing abilities a week after you sign up. Either of those would filter out the majority of people who would abuse the system, and the rest could just get reported and banned.

While it would add to the work of the moderators a little bit, I don't think it would make a huge difference, and besides, we've got plenty of moderators here to split the workload.

Devantè · 2006-11-20 01:32:23

I'd raise that from a week to at least 1-2 months, just to make it safe.

Patrick · 2006-11-20 06:14:26

I think 1-2 months is way too much. I still think that people who really wants to abuse the system, who ever they are, are willing to pretend to be someone they're not, or wait 2 months.

Devantè · 2006-11-20 06:40:58

Well, if this is the case, I'm afraid we may have to abandon the system.

mathsyperson · 2006-11-20 07:52:02

But that's the whole point! There are no people who *really* want to abuse the system.

Practically every spammer we've had has just spammed because they were bored and wanted something to do. They weren't being malicious to us in particular, they were just surfing around randomly and happened to find us. But the point is, they were casual attacks. If a small counter-measure was put in place, the PMs would be safe from such attacks. I don't think we've had any spammers that would be prepared to wait a week as part of a premeditated attack.

WiZaRd · 2006-11-20 23:09:06

250 posts i think

Devantè · 2006-11-20 23:11:54

No, 250 posts is what makes you a Power Member. There is no postcount target to be a Real Member. Real Members are picked and chosen by MathsIsFun, to, in a way, test the system.

rida · 2006-11-21 05:33:26

I think maybe after the morderators have got to know the person and think good of them,:) they can have the ability to PM.

Devantè · 2006-11-21 05:34:29

Reminds me of a kingdom-type RPG. When you decide the fate of others, etc.

mathsyperson · 2006-11-21 06:56:10

rida wrote:

I think maybe after the morderators have got to know the person and think good of them,:) they can have the ability to PM.

That would be a lot of work for the moderators, and it would frustrate any members who we happen to miss. I think a reverse of that system would be better, that is, members automatically get PMing ability after the amount of time/posts that we set, and then moderators can take that ability away if they don't use it properly.

Ricky · 2006-11-21 09:44:02

How about having users request PMs?

Devantè · 2006-11-21 20:00:18

Hmm...we could start giving out PMs (probably using Ricky's idea) if people request it. Not everyone has to know about it.

mathsyperson · 2006-11-21 22:57:09

What? If PMs are secret, then how will people know that they're there and so be able to request them? That just shuts everyone out.

Devantè · 2006-11-21 22:59:26

No, I mean...ah, forget it.

But I like Ricky's idea.

MathsIsFun · 2006-11-24 09:34:17

User Requests sounds good ... we could have a system like "If you have been here a while you can request to be a Real Member. If you get agreement by other long-term members then you can be upgraded"

So, Toast, Wizard, Rida?

rida · 2006-11-24 23:19:15

requesting is a very good idea but there is one problem what if loads of people start requesting just for the sake of spamming

Math Is Fun Forum

#1 2006-11-19 03:06:23

Private Messaging

#2 2006-11-19 03:21:05

Re: Private Messaging

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Re: Private Messaging

#4 2006-11-19 05:29:31

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