Phew. Can we please get rid of that forced moderation for new members' posts?

[Harry Kuhman]

I moderated this site heavily in the days before new members posts were moderated before being approved. This change has been a huge help, not just for the moderators but for all users. I used to see all kinds of problem, including imbedded porn images and links to malware and other infections. The problems were so bad that I had software on my personal systems that would check the board for new posts every few minutes and alert me so that I could get this type of material removed quickly.

If new members are frustrated that they can't post and immediately get an answer to their question, just ask yourself if the problem that you are posting about is something that hasn't been asked and answered over and over again. Perhaps doing a simpler search for an answer or reading a FAQ would get you your answer quicker, and you might learn other useful things about Knoppix at the same time. I never thought about it before, but maybe the moderation delay for new members is also helping limit the number of posts of the type that say "I'm not going to put the effort into reading the instructions, just tell how to ...".

I would suggest that anyone not happy about the new member moderation delay get over it. You shouldn't expect a quick concise response in less time than it would take to read the instructions, and it may be good that the first posts are slowed by moderation. But the moderation is pretty fast on this site (I've been finding fewer and fewer posts to moderate myself as the other moderators get to most before I ever catch them, none again today) and there is very little legitimacy in complaints about it. And the alternative would be so much junk posted that the person that just might help you is discouraged from wading through it all to find your request.

Understand too that the people most likely to help you with any legitimate problem are not slowed down at all by this feature. The moderators are the active members that solve many (if not most) problems. And they can see your post immediately, even if the general public can't. And the moderation features forces it to their attention and forces it to be read, so it will not be ignored even if it has a title that a moderator would overlook because it looks like other posts he has seen, imparts no real information, or is simply about a subject that the moderator isn't interested in. The moderation delay may get you your answer faster and from someone less likely to give bad information.

As to links, I would like to see them disallowed completely. There is too much potential for abuse, including completely changing the target of the link after moderation. Whenever I see a link, even if it looks legitimate, it is a red flag to me to pay extra attention to the post, and track down just who this new member is, what other sites he posts on, check for spam history on his IP address as well as his email address, and so on. Complaining about not being able to post links makes the flag even redder.