Why do discussions, responses and comments sometimes get deleted?

@myLot (127)
Kansas City, Missouri
December 18, 2006 3:06pm CST
We have received many messages from myLot members asking us what is and what is not allowed on myLot. While we cannot address every issue, below is a list of the most common violations that cause posts to be deleted. This list is not all inclusive, but is a tool to help keep your posts from being removed by our moderators or even worse, having your account cancelled and forfeiting your earnings. Please click here, www.mylot.com/o/topguidelines.aspx, to review the myLot guidelines which give even more guidance on what to do and what not to do. 1. Do not start discussions promoting your own referral links. If answering a question where a link is appropriate, referral URLs are acceptable. It is not acceptable to add a link with a referral to the end of any post. 2. Do not use all capital letters or excessive punctuation. 3. Do not start discussions promoting a milestone, such as birthdays, anniversaries, reaching a certain myLot rating, etc. This is best celebrated via private messaging with your myLot friends. 4. Do not post copyrighted photos and material as your own. Using a link to this type of material is the proper way to reference it. This includes items such as non-original song lyrics, poems, news stories, and photos. Encyclopedia, dictionary and Wikipedia material is also not acceptable. Use a link. 5. Copying posts from other users is a strict violation of the myLot community guidelines. Anyone who participates in this activity will have their account cancelled without warning and will forfeit all accumulated earnings. 6. Photos inserted into a discussion or interest must relate to the discussion or interest. Photos not related to the discussion will be deleted and repeated offenses will result in the cancellation of your account. 7. Poll, survey and yes or no type discussions are not allowed. 8. Users are welcome from around the world, but all discussions should be written in English. As you can imagine, our moderators are very busy addressing the above issues. Please help them to moderate the site by using the report abuse button located on each post. When reporting abuse please be as detailed as possible as to why the post is abusive. Also, questions or issues specific to myLot (e.g. your rating, earnings or other problems with the site) should be sent to username myLot via the myLot private messaging system. While you’re welcome to start discussions about your myLot experience to hear feedback from other myLot members, sending a message to username myLot is the fastest way for us to hear your concern. All messages to myLot are read and considered, even if you do not get a response. Click here, www.mylot.com/nr/newmessage.aspx, to send a message now. We hope this helps. Thanks again for helping us maintain the quality of the myLot experience!
51 people like this
219 responses
@imadriscoll (2228)
• United States
18 Dec 06
I didn't know that you couldn't use definitions from a dictionary if you gave the dictionary credit. Interesting, not sure what the motivation behind that rule is? I know that you can't address all issues, but what do you suggest a person do if they feel like someone is harassing them? For instance, there is one individual who places posts on my discussions that have nothing to do with my discussion except to insult me.
7 people like this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
19 Dec 06
When someone does this to my discussions, I make a comment to that effect, report them to myLot and also give them a negative. Leave no stone unturned. LOL I believe we have no option but to report them to myLot because if they are spamming you then they are also spamming others.
7 people like this
@rawpoet (2045)
• United States
19 Dec 06
I sure hope you've reported the person insulting you. If you haven't gotten a response back from myLot, I'd give him a minus every time he does it. I haven't had this happen to me yet, but I've seen it happen to others, and I reported it by using the exclamation point by the person's name. If it were me, it'd be really hard to bite my tongue. Good luck!
• India
3 Jan 07
IT must provide the best service bu just adding the dictonary containing the respective fields.The method makes the site more easy to implement .But do it after studying the site throughly, take your own time.It is like slow and study wins the race
2 people like this
• United States
18 Dec 06
This is very responsible of you all. Thanks for letting us here at mylot know this!
6 people like this
@swarn47 (1706)
• India
19 Dec 06
I admire most of the changes in the guidelines. I would like to add my following opinion to the new development in the guidelines. I feel that copying and pasting from other websites like wikipedia, britannica and other websites should not be included in the donts. You see myLot is paying to its users. I feel that wikepedia search engine should be added at myLot through which they can generate revenue for the organisation also and thus increasing the earning of mylot. Presently myLot does not offer any web search engine. Presently they are offering only search box which is meant for searching the myLot website only. Other search engine of answers.com can also be offered. Let it be decided by the myLot which search engine they should offer. Another point of copying and pasting from other website is this. Many users are not adept at using the search feature of Internet and there are many participants on myLot who are adept in using search engines. I will say they are expert in searching. Such participants should not be left devoid of using their Internet Search ability. Simply giving a link may not look good to the asker. When we give some partial answer and then submit the link, that proves the authenticity and genuineness of the information also. If the asker wants to know more he has the choice to visit that link. What I feel is, that the answers should be limited to certain number of characters, say an answer should not be allowed to be of more than 2000, 3000 or 4000 characters; whatever the answer length is decided by the mylot. It will limit the usage of space on the website also and I feel It will be better than totally discarding the use of copying and pasing from other websites. The most important thing is the revenue which can be generated for myLot by allowing the copying and pasting from other websites. This can be easily done if they offer some search engine at myLot. All other donts are ok and admirable. Copying and pasting of other participants is not good at all. Use of copyrighted images is also not good. The discussions which fetch yer or no answer or one line answer are also not good. Overall the new measures taken by myLot are praiseworthy. Salutes to myLot.
@forfein (2507)
19 Dec 06
What an EXCELLENT response!! My sentiments entireley, especially about the wikipedia thing!!! Sometimes it will be befefitial to quote wikipedia so that the person who is asking the question knows where it is from Apart from that, I have no problems with this latest Alert from the www.mylot.com Admin team. Fine job!
@LovingIt (5396)
• United States
20 Dec 06
I agree with you vacant. The guidelines are correct as they are.
2 people like this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
19 Dec 06
Thank you myLot for clarifying these points and let's hope that those who repeatedly infringe the rules will read this and desist. It will save everyone a lot of trouble in that members will no longer respond to a discussion that might be deleted and we will not have to keep on reporting these people. Yes, the offenders are in the minority thankfully, but they are also a nuisance. Thanks for reminding us older members as well as putting it in writing for the newbies what can and cannot be done. :)
@kylesmiles (1910)
• United States
18 Dec 06
Thank you mylot for posting this for all new members and as a reminder for us current members! I admit, I have broke some of your rules! So thank you for the reminder and I will be sure to watching my "typing" next time. :) Thank you for having this site on here and being watchful of your members. :)
5 people like this
• India
19 Dec 06
me tooo
2 people like this
• India
25 Dec 06
i agreed with you
1 person likes this
• Hong Kong
31 Dec 06
i think that is correct
1 person likes this
@kakuemmom (859)
• Canada
18 Dec 06
Ok it is all becoming clearer but i still have one ? My daughter wrote a letter to express her feelings right now it is an amazing letter that says exactly what i wanted to say, so i saved it to my computer and then i open a new disscussion and talked about what she was saying then i tried to post the letter but i could not when i went to preview response all that showed was what i had typed. Now she is not a mylot user and i just wanted to post so all could see why was this post not accepted and is there another way i could post this without having to type it all out its fairly long. Plz does anyone have the answer to this thanks in advance.
5 people like this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
19 Dec 06
If what is typed is from your own computer, and does not infringe copywrite, then I believe you can cut and paste this letter. It is only where people cut and paste other people's work, whether that is something on the internet in general or from another response/discussion. At least that is my understanding of the situation, but perhaps send a PM to myLot to confirm this. :)
5 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
19 Dec 06
I forgot to say that copying and pasting your daughter's letter (provided you had her permission to do so) would be quite OK. What is referred to above is material copied from another published source, which is subject to copyright, and doing so without the author's permission.
3 people like this
• United States
19 Dec 06
I've had many discussions where people will copy the answer of someone else who's already responded to the question. They're trying to find an easy way to make money and hoping that I won't read all the answers or that I won't report them. I think that if you have your daughter's permission to share her letter then this is not infrining on MyLot's guidelines.
@mfrancq (1806)
• United States
19 Dec 06
oops...I've used definitions before, sorry mylot, sorry members. I guess I missed that part in the guidelines. Also, I'm confused with number one. I usually like to recommend someone to a link if it is regarded to their discussion. So, if I just post the link to it..that isn't okay? I'm confused and don't want to do anything to get in trouble, please let me know. Thanks.
5 people like this
25 Dec 06
It's too many rules and regulations to read, well sometimes we just missed it and therefore do it unintentionally. eager beaver -- wanna help others.
@mfrancq (1806)
• United States
19 Dec 06
Okay, that makes sense..thanks a lot for explaining it better for me, appreciate it!
4 people like this
@hdyggs (685)
• United States
19 Dec 06
Well sorry for all the large type print, I do not try to do it all the time some times, it's to show my yelling voice. But i'll will watch it sorry again.
2 people like this
@srhelmer (7029)
• Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
19 Dec 06
If you look at the guidelines, they are basically common sense. I wonder why people can't understand them.
3 people like this
@ilse72 (1450)
• United States
19 Dec 06
I can't speak for others but I am very frustrated. I have broken no rules but have had 15 answers removed because others did...for example, someone later came through and posted the same answer about 100 times! When that happens, instead of removing only the offenders postings, they remove the question and all answers. I am SO careful to not break rules or to answer questions where rules are broken only to lose out when someone comes to the question later and sabotages it. I have never received a notice that I broke any rules but still my answers (and the askers question) were deleted. Surely there is a way to remove only the offending posts?
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
19 Dec 06
There certainly is a way, because I have seen it done on one of my discussions - a response that I reported was removed and the discussion remained. It is annoying when a discussion which one responds to in all innocence is removed, perhaps because it was a blatant copy of a previous discussion. I don't know what happens to discussions that were created by a user who is subsequently banned/deleted, though. Are all their discussions also removed?
1 person likes this
@asadahsan (723)
• Pakistan
19 Dec 06
well i think this is a good disscision wjhich will help ful for everyone and a warning for spammers and cheaters and i think this is good that moderators are caughting spma and deleting and it is good ....
@rracers89 (3246)
• United States
19 Dec 06
Thank Yuo mylot for clarifing alot of questions that us members had. keep up the great work.
@rawpoet (2045)
• United States
19 Dec 06
Thanks for the update, myLot.
4 people like this
• United States
19 Dec 06
thnx for letting us know. I think I have been guilty of some of that. What do you meen by the copywrited photos... Does that meen that we cannot use the mcdonalds arch when talking about them, since its just there symbol and not a picture we took? or how does it work?
4 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
19 Dec 06
A copyrighted photo means, for example, any photo or graphic which you did not take or make yourself. Most graphics and photos anywhere on the web fall into this category. Just because it is easy to copy a graphic or photo shown on a web page does not mean that you have the right to copy it and use it in MyLot.
3 people like this
• United States
19 Dec 06
than im sure many of use have done that on here, and I know I am guilty of it. But atleast now I know not to do it anymore.
3 people like this
• India
24 Dec 06
Even iam new to Mylot ive been given a chnace to correct my self in the start rather than feeling guilty later thaks mylot.
2 people like this
• Canada
19 Dec 06
According to my experience in posting other message boards, your messages get deleted when found going against the posting rules and regulations of the particular message board. Same me true with this board.
@R3fl3XioN (3187)
• France
19 Dec 06
This is very nice ! Congratulations ! I'm French but i speak english ! Thanks for accepting everyone from every country ! MyLot is really the best website !
2 people like this
19 Dec 06
Thanks for that clarification. It is good to see this detailed update so that we all know what we can post without getting deleted for breaking the rules. Good to see from this that there are some quality discussions now available on this Site and not just a load of nonsense. Thanks mylot for all the improvements you are doing and have done to the Site. All your work is much appreciated.
2 people like this
@missyd79 (3438)
• United States
19 Dec 06
Okay I have one question. I know that i am guilty of putting some riddles on mylot that i did not provide the link to where i got them (because honestly i do not remember where I got them) but i am also getting accused of posted some one else's discussion but it was a riddle like i mentioned before, so obviously it was not that i copied her post intentionally it was an accident am I going to get booted from mylot because of that? (i have learned my lesson now and will not be posting anymore discussions because of it.)
2 people like this
@rooski33 (58)
• United States
19 Dec 06
Thanx for letting me know...I didn't know you couldn't start a survey or poll discussion! Sorry...I wasn't tryin' to break the rules or anything. Do I need to remove these discussions? If I do...how do you delete them? Thanx again!
2 people like this
@greengal (4286)
• United States
19 Dec 06
Thank you so much for this list. This will greatly help in spotting abusers and reporting them.
• United States
19 Dec 06
Why do people ask that stuff, when they know there's a place to look it up? It's like asking your math teacher how to spell a big word, and having a dictionary in your backpack.
2 people like this