To the moderators

Here's a suggestion.

I'm a member of a couple other online forums and on them, posts are reflected immediately. The way this message board is set up, each post must be reviewed before being posted. And I'm sure there is a reason for that. But that means three to four days before any replies can be seen in response to the original post which is quite cumbersome.

To register on this message board, a person must agree to abide by your rules, which should limit problem posts in the first place. The other forums also have a feature that allows a member to immediately report a post as violating those rules. This brings a post to the moderators attention at any time. Finally, the moderators can and due suspend or ban accounts as appropriate due to violations of those rules.

Finally, if one requirement for joining this message board were to require a Couples membership number for 'repeaters' or a resort confirmation number for first-timers like myself, I think that would eliminate 99% of problem posts.

I hope you consider this suggestion and apologize if it has already been addressed.

Casey

Moderator - please delete Casey's account.

I'M JUST KIDDING!!!
:) :) :)

I concur!

I'm also a member of many other forums and this is by far the wackiest. It takes so long for anything to move because of the mods. All other message boards have mods but they don't take 2 days to proof things prior to posting. Instead, they remove posts that are in violation.

If I was new to the boards I'd be really confused as to why everything takes so long.....especially in this day in age where you can get information so quickly.

Laura

They could also only "review" posts by new members until they have reached a certain number of cleared posts. Once you've proven yourself you could just post right away.

Cause you're right, waiting a few days for a mod to clear your post is annoying to say the least.

I've been on this board for quite some time, and this subject has come up any number of times.
To the best of my knowledge, there are still only two prime moderators for this board. But more than that, they have a multitude of other duties and responsibilities that requires much of their time. Quick answer. Obtain more mods. I doubt that will happen any time soon. This is all speculation on my part.

Over the years, there have been heated debates over quite a few different subjects and or opinions. We all would like to think of ourselves as grown ups playing nicely with the other grown ups. But sometimes a post could be offensive, even if the poster had no idea it would be seen that way. So, because this is a Couples run message board, special considerations are taken to ensure that we are allowed to speak our piece, but to make sure we do it in an way that maintains a fair amount of respect. A word that typifies the foundation of the Jamaican people. Respect.
So while we are all eager to read and be read here on the MB, this board is not like some of the others out there. Its pace is slow. Just like the country of Jamaica. Slow but soon com mon.

Some people have stopped posting here because it takes so long to be seen and responded to. Everything is not with everybody. Personally, I have enough of the rest of my life to think about, so if they don't refresh the board for three day, it's just not going to ruin my day. It really shouldn't ruin anyone else s either.

Just something to think about.

Richie

You guys been to Jamaica yet? Nothing happens in a hurry. Soon come, it be irie.:)

I think the more time you spend in Jamaica, the more you'll understand that things come in their own time. :-) I think the majority of us are used to the day-or-two delay and so far, nothing of consequence has been lost by it.

I have been really enjoying this message board. It has given me lots of information and helped me plan for my upcoming honeymoon at CTI. But I agree, it seems to take forever to update. I checked the board over the weekend, no updates. Then last night, a whole bunch of messages from the past 3 days popped up. Frustrating! I am excited to hear what people say in their responses! I like the advice given! I like the camaraderie I am already feeling for other Couples guests!

Thanks Bert :p

Seems from other posters, this system has been going on for awhile now and doubt it will change. I, too, get frustrated when it takes days to update the posts. I can understand maybe doing it just once a day (in the late evening so fresh posts are up in the AM). This past weekend the last update was Friday morning but no new updates until later on Monday. To me, that's just too long (about 3-4 days). I posted something that was a little urgent. Never got a response and saw that it never posted for some reason anyways. Thankfully, I figured a way around the issue. So now I'm not apt to ask any questions on here that need a quicker answer. I just google instead.

I also belong to a few other BBs/MBs. And they don't have this delay either. They moderate the site and take down anything inappropriate, etc. Maybe Couples doesn't have the staff man-power to do this regularly?

Again, I use this mostly for general stuff that isn't of an "urgent" nature as I just don't see it changing.

I've been on the Couples board for a few years and by now I'm kind of used to waiting for the updates/posts. BUT with that said, it would be great if your posts and replies post to the thread immediately. There are several drawbacks to the current system. If you hit post and then think about adding something else or if you hit post on accident, you have to wait because you don't want to post twice and you don't see what you've already done. Sometimes you're not sure if your post went through. In many cases, you can reply to a thread but it takes so long for it to show up, that thread is hard to find among the 100 new posts that show up.

This has been discussed here in the past, but I think Couples is pretty firm in not changing the format as they are trying to preserve the integrity of the site, i.e. no competitive resorts posts, no spamming, no disrespectful posts, etc.

Perhaps some of the more active members can volunteer to be moderators and assist in viewing posts.
It is extremely annoying having to wait for posts to be "approved". I have been a member of many only forums for dozens of years and I have never seen any run this way. It's 2013 guys, you have no idea how much better this forum would be (and how much more others would participate) if you ran it like a regular forum.

Good points everyone and thanks for posting.

I'd be curious if the mods could estimate how many replies or threads they don't allow - i.e. are they reviewing everything (as a collateral duty as someone suggested) and then only editing 2-3 a week. If so, their time might be better used, espcially if there was a feature for other users to report a post. That way the mods could focus on the problems without pouring over all the posts. Another of my forums gets VERY "high spirited" and even disrespectful at times, but the mods are tipped off and the user is suspended or permanently blocked.

In any case, this forum is great and I won't be surprised if may opinion changes after my first jamaican vacation!

Crabracer- I've read that you too are a long time visiter to Couples resorts. Well then just out of curousity do you remember Roslyn and the origination of this board?
This thread got me reminiscing---Barbjer

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Crabracer

I've been on this board for quite some time, and this subject has come up any number of times.
To the best of my knowledge, there are still only two prime moderators for this board. But more than that, they have a multitude of other duties and responsibilities that requires much of their time. Quick answer. Obtain more mods. I doubt that will happen any time soon. This is all speculation on my part.

Over the years, there have been heated debates over quite a few different subjects and or opinions. We all would like to think of ourselves as grown ups playing nicely with the other grown ups. But sometimes a post could be offensive, even if the poster had no idea it would be seen that way. So, because this is a Couples run message board, special considerations are taken to ensure that we are allowed to speak our piece, but to make sure we do it in an way that maintains a fair amount of respect. A word that typifies the foundation of the Jamaican people. Respect.
So while we are all eager to read and be read here on the MB, this board is not like some of the others out there. Its pace is slow. Just like the country of Jamaica. Slow but soon com mon.

Some people have stopped posting here because it takes so long to be seen and responded to. Everything is not with everybody. Personally, I have enough of the rest of my life to think about, so if they don't refresh the board for three day, it's just not going to ruin my day. It really shouldn't ruin anyone else s either.

Just something to think about.

Richie

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I agree with the OP.

I am sure this has been discussed before, but it really makes it hard to get a discussion or topic going, and when the replies finally get posted, there are multiple replies saying the exact same thing because no one knows who has posted what.

Again, I am sure everything that I am saying has been said numerous times before, so, yeah, you get it.

This is a Couples-run board that is a marketing tool for the Couples brand. Even if there were the option for immediate posting and "objectionable" posts to be subsequently deleted by the mod, I doubt that this would be appropriate for effectively marketing the Couples brand.

If you're looking for pretty much instant gratification, check out Tripadvisor's Negril and Ochi forums. There are several posters on those forums who are also posters here, and if you post a question, I'll bet you'll get the instant replies you're looking for.

Hope this helps -

Have to agree. I often don't reply to questions on this board b/c, when I see more than a few hrs have passed since the original post, I suspect others have already answered the question many times over. If I could see those responses, I might find I had something to add or would know that the issue had already been adequately addressed.

I moderate another forum and, yes, if you aren't on top of every post there's the possibility for spam and obnoxious posters. One has to weigh that with the annoyance of not being able to see immediate replies. There are possible spam measures that can be implemented, such as not permitting links in posts, etc.

This board is great but can be annoying due to multi-day delays. It might be worthwhile to try easing up a bit and see what happens. If spam and inappropriate emails abound, you can always go back.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. Like it or not - as a result of our competitors jealousy and attempts to sabotage this forum - the board will continue to need moderation.

I will make a more diligent attempt to moderate the board on a daily basis. As it stands - except for some weekends, like SuperBowl where I'd like to party too - I will commit to updating the board at least twice a day.