Moderation issues on the PDF. Foodie talk.

I don't want people thinking I only ever comment on moderation when I'm hanging out on the PDF.

Jeffrey Long said:It’s always the same three or four guys. They treat visiting some obscure spot on the outskirts of town like it's their life's mission, only to turn around and trash the photos, the high-end restaurant prices, the decor, or the beer selection—all without ever actually stepping foot inside. It doesn't matter if they're talking about pizzas, burgers, local diners, wines, or anything else; they always have the last word, acting condescending and mocking everyone else on the forum.

Either the moderation team finally starts doing their job promptly—meaning they actually penalize violations instead of just deleting reported posts—by handing out warnings, issuing bans, or even going for the permanent ban, or they should just step aside and hand the reins to someone who will actually follow the forum rules. Because honestly, it's ridiculous that using one specific smiley face can get flagged, while people being downright toxic toward others gets a free pass.🙄

By the way, I've never been to O'Hare, and I probably won't be anytime soon, but it never occurs to me to talk trash about them until I've actually tasted their pizza. I notice certain crazy patterns in how owners behave, sure, but until I try the food, I don't feel I have any right to complain.☕

If we feel a post needs to be sanctioned, we’re going to do it. That means either a warning or a straight-up ban.

Nathan Turner3 said:If we feel a post needs to be sanctioned, we’re going to do it. That means either a warning or a straight-up ban.

There's no reason to act offended. 😬
You know exactly who we're talking about and how everything always circles back to the price of pizza near O'Hare, KitchenAid, mozzarella, burgers, fast food, or those overpriced restaurants with tiny portions. You guys allow this behavior, which is why it keeps happening. Am I really expected to report every single post that derails a productive conversation? Until people feel a little sting now and then, things aren't going to change. 🍿

Nathan Turner3 said:If we feel a post needs to be sanctioned, we’re going to do it. That means either a warning or a straight-up ban.

That is a total lie.

For YEARS now, this same little clique of users has been allowed to poison every single thread in the exact same way—posting the literal same stuff week after week, just killing the vibe and ruining any conversation where they don't like what someone paid for their meal, groceries, drinks, or whatever else. They don't actually care about talking food... they just care, exclusively, about how much money other people spent on their dinner.

At first, I just laughed it off.
Then I started reporting them using the little triangle icon.
Then I was straight-up messaging the moderators, practically begging and pleading for them to actually do something.

Eventually, I just stopped posting in that subforum altogether, because honestly, what's the point of saying anything when you know the same five idiots are just gonna try to make a fool out of you because you ate a pizza/taco/burger/orange chicken/steak/foie gras somewhere and paid more than they think you should have... It's exhausting. So, here's my farewell post, prompted by that exact kind of behavior from the same group of people over and over: And that was over a year ago.

Looking at what Jeffrey Long is saying, it’s clear that absolutely nothing has changed in a year. You're still letting that same group ruin the fun of posting in that subforum for everyone else. And you aren't deleting. And you aren't issuing warnings. Because if you had been deleting or warning people all this time, those culprits would have been permanently banned ages ago—since they do it literally every single day—and actual decent people who value good food more than a couple of $1.75 dollars could actually have a normal conversation.

Jeffrey Long said:There's no reason to act offended. 😬
You know exactly who we're talking about and how everything always circles back to the price of pizza near O'Hare, KitchenAid, mozzarella, burgers, fast food, or those overpriced restaurants with tiny portions. You guys allow this behavior, which is why it keeps happening. Am I really expected to report every single post that derails a productive conversation? Until people feel a little sting now and then, things aren't going to change. 🍿

I know exactly who you mean, no doubt. When we feel posts are crossing the line into trolling, we hand out bans. Sure, it’s tough to draw that line sometimes, and maybe because of the general vibe of the PDF, we let a little more slide than we should, but we try our best to keep things at a reasonable level of criticism before it turns into pure trolling.

Jose Miller3 said:That is a total lie.

For YEARS now, this same little clique of users has been allowed to poison every single thread in the exact same way—posting the literal same stuff week after week, just killing the vibe and ruining any conversation where they don't like what someone paid for their meal, groceries, drinks, or whatever else. They don't actually care about talking food... they just care, exclusively, about how much money other people spent on their dinner.

At first, I just laughed it off.
Then I started reporting them using the little triangle icon.
Then I was straight-up messaging the moderators, practically begging and pleading for them to actually do something.

Eventually, I just stopped posting in that subforum altogether, because honestly, what's the point of saying anything when you know the same five idiots are just gonna try to make a fool out of you because you ate a pizza/taco/burger/orange chicken/steak/foie gras somewhere and paid more than they think you should have... It's exhausting. So, here's my farewell post, prompted by that exact kind of behavior from the same group of people over and over: And that was over a year ago.

Looking at what Jeffrey Long is saying, it’s clear that absolutely nothing has changed in a year. You're still letting that same group ruin the fun of posting in that subforum for everyone else. And you aren't deleting. And you aren't issuing warnings. Because if you had been deleting or warning people all this time, those culprits would have been permanently banned ages ago—since they do it literally every single day—and actual decent people who value good food more than a couple of $1.75 dollars could actually have a normal conversation.

No, it isn't a lie. Posts get deleted and people get sanctioned when necessary.

Maybe that’s not enough for your taste, but hey, we don't all see eye to eye. We don't claim to be perfect, but we do our best so everyone on the PDF stays happy. As you know, that's an impossible mission sometimes, but we’re still taking in ideas and feedback to moderate better. You're more than welcome (like everyone else) to help us keep the thread in shape through reports or via PMOs.

By the way, I cleared out the posts about moderation from the main thread, since they didn't belong there.

I haven't put too much effort into this, but I spent some time skimming through a few "sensitive" topics over the last couple of days. If the search function actually worked properly, you could find just about anything here:

As you can tell, I'm certainly not the only one bothered by this. It’s pretty clear that this relaxed approach—where posts are just deleted and bans are rarely handed out—isn't doing much. Next time, we should probably go straight for the 100-point penalty. Maybe then people will think twice before dragging the same thread out for the nth time. 😬

Bogdan, it seems like the gastronomy PDF boils down to nothing more than pizza from KitchenAid, burgers from Mark, or olive oil from $10 and things like that. Meanwhile, in other PDFs, those same characters are bragging about drinking nothing but craft beer. You have to wonder if they're actually broke or if they're just trolling. 🙄

The authorities are doing their jobs.
It might not be happening quite as fast as we’d all like (myself included, along with everyone else on this forum), but just like in the real world, there’s an overwhelming amount of stuff going on and not nearly enough inspectors to keep up with it all.
Look, the penalty system isn't perfect; banning someone, or even just being selective about enforcement, isn't always the smartest move to make.
But if we can't resolve things through civilized means—maintaining that classic sense of American decorum we all value—then we’re eventually going to have to resort to those equally traditional, albeit much less popular, measures, including the ones mentioned above.

The thing is, once the criteria for soft-moderation go completely off the rails and head south toward total chaos, it's pretty much impossible to pull them back upstream...

I guess I'll step up as Number 1 🧐 Back in the day on WeddingBells, we had this issue with a group of hardcore matchmakers 😁 who tried to hijack every single thread to talk about basically the same stuff. Management finally shut them down by opening a specific thread called Unseen 😁 just for all their off-topic bickering. Nobody really knew who was buying the drinks or paying the tab there, but at least the main threads stayed clean, and those guys eventually learned they couldn't just say whatever they wanted. It was actually a pretty good lesson before getting hitched, honestly 😁

The Foodie forum is great because the mods are super chill, but I totally agree that some threads have become a total drag to read and they've lost their whole point. So, yeah—either get a bit tougher with the rules or just let people vent without jumping in with sanctions. A little change would definitely help the vibe

Maybe we could set up a little corner for the Unseen, or maybe just a spot for the half-baked ideas, if you're feeling generous, Your Majesty 🧐

velvetmoose9 said:The authorities are doing their jobs.
It might not be happening quite as fast as we’d all like (myself included, along with everyone else on this forum), but just like in the real world, there’s an overwhelming amount of stuff going on and not nearly enough inspectors to keep up with it all.
Look, the penalty system isn't perfect; banning someone, or even just being selective about enforcement, isn't always the smartest move to make.
But if we can't resolve things through civilized means—maintaining that classic sense of American decorum we all value—then we’re eventually going to have to resort to those equally traditional, albeit much less popular, measures, including the ones mentioned above.

The thing is, once the criteria for soft-moderation go completely off the rails and head south toward total chaos, it's pretty much impossible to pull them back upstream...

To start with, you could deal with the "burger-is-just-beef" crowd. They've completely trashed the hamburger thread again... ☕

Jeffrey Long said:To start with, you could deal with the "burger-is-just-beef" crowd. They've completely trashed the hamburger thread again... ☕

It’s pretty sweet of you to be out here scouting jobs for me.
Honestly, the Department of Labor would probably see some serious gains if they actually hired someone like you.
The whole US economy would basically take off, unemployment would vanish overnight, and we'd all finally figure out where we fit in.
Just give me the Number and let's get moving.

But honestly, it’s your specific choice of words that really stands out.
If we were being super strict about the usual forum insults, someone might actually interpret your rambling as a minor slight against the community.
If you're treating this like a casual chat room or something equally informal, there are definitely much better ways to communicate without making it weird.

velvetmoose9 said:It’s pretty sweet of you to be out here scouting jobs for me.
Honestly, the Department of Labor would probably see some serious gains if they actually hired someone like you.
The whole US economy would basically take off, unemployment would vanish overnight, and we'd all finally figure out where we fit in.
Just give me the Number and let's get moving.

But honestly, it’s your specific choice of words that really stands out.
If we were being super strict about the usual forum insults, someone might actually interpret your rambling as a minor slight against the community.
If you're treating this like a casual chat room or something equally informal, there are definitely much better ways to communicate without making it weird.

Go ahead and hit me with a partial ban from the Foodie section right now if you think I deserve it. The way you're handling this as a moderator is a perfect snapshot of what's wrong with this whole PDF. Why don't you try actually moderating instead of talking down to everyone? I'm certain I'm not the issue with this PDF. And using words like "screwed up" is even worse. 🙏 🤦

Jose Miller3 said:That is a total lie.

For YEARS now, this same little clique of users has been allowed to poison every single thread in the exact same way—posting the literal same stuff week after week, just killing the vibe and ruining any conversation where they don't like what someone paid for their meal, groceries, drinks, or whatever else. They don't actually care about talking food... they just care, exclusively, about how much money other people spent on their dinner.

At first, I just laughed it off.
Then I started reporting them using the little triangle icon.
Then I was straight-up messaging the moderators, practically begging and pleading for them to actually do something.

Eventually, I just stopped posting in that subforum altogether, because honestly, what's the point of saying anything when you know the same five idiots are just gonna try to make a fool out of you because you ate a pizza/taco/burger/orange chicken/steak/foie gras somewhere and paid more than they think you should have... It's exhausting. So, here's my farewell post, prompted by that exact kind of behavior from the same group of people over and over: And that was over a year ago.

Looking at what Jeffrey Long is saying, it’s clear that absolutely nothing has changed in a year. You're still letting that same group ruin the fun of posting in that subforum for everyone else. And you aren't deleting. And you aren't issuing warnings. Because if you had been deleting or warning people all this time, those culprits would have been permanently banned ages ago—since they do it literally every single day—and actual decent people who value good food more than a couple of $1.75 dollars could actually have a normal conversation.

I have to partially agree.

I am attaching a reported post where the user is once again insulting others and trolling regarding how heated things are getting.

Even though we have already explained exactly what is going on several times.

The post was reported, but it hasn't been flagged or deleted.

Not to mention the posts from Hardy Candy, who just waits in the wings for someone to write something negative so they can swoop in with half-baked comments like "AHAHAH HAHAH hahaha 🙏 🙏 🙏 "

Which interlocutor? She’s talking about herself, admitting she'd be a fool to pay for something she already knows is low quality or lacks taste, just to prove her point...

Michelle Evans said:Which interlocutor? She’s talking about herself, admitting she'd be a fool to pay for something she already knows is low quality or lacks taste, just to prove her point...

Alright, maybe I’m misreading this.

The part about trolling still stands. It’s clearly stated that she’s never actually been there, yet she continues to trash it and complain about how backward it is—even after it was explicitly mentioned several times that such behavior won't be tolerated.