RefundCents Chat Insight

There has been some discussion on Off Topic about the possibility of adding another Chat board that is instantaneous and not moderated until after the posts appear. Here are my thoughts on that. First, all suggestions are always appreciated and taken seriously. Many changes have been made over the years because of reader input. The idea of a board where posts appear in real time has been something that I have struggled with. Every discussion format on the internet has its strengths and weaknesses, including Chat. The format on Chat is unique. I paid to have it designed the way it is. Personally, I just don't like the way most boards are set up. They are hard to read, they are cluttered with a bunch of dumb comments, you have to click, click, click to read, the topics are so segregated that you have to read lots of different threads to find out what's going on. Chat puts it all in one place and it flows. Chat isn't perfect. The main flaw is that there is a lag before posts appear. That is frustrating. I (or one helper) read all the posts before they appear. Most are okayed and make it to the board fairly quickly. A few are edited, and a few don't appear at all. Just about everyone who posts on Off Topic has had a post edited or not appear at some point. I know that makes people mad, but the moderator has to take a broader view and preserve the board so people will continue to visit and read. On Off Topic, the most common edit happens when the discussion gets too heated and the comments become mean spirited. On Chat, the most common edit happens when posts contain affiliate links for other sites. Mostly this is done innocently. People don't realize that when they copy a link from a different board, it contains code that gives a commission to the other site. Every site on the internet is very protective about their affiliate links, because that is what pays the bills. Even though the payment is only pennies, it adds up. So affiliate codes are either edited or changed to codes for RefundCents before they appear. There is an illusion that everything is free on the Internet, but the reality is that a website has hosting bills that can be extreme. That is why you see advertising on just about every site. Which brings up the point that this is a paid site. It's about $1 a month. That $1 helps to pay the hosting costs. But the main reason for charging a dollar is to build a site that is more controlled, meaning that real people sign up with real names. The only way to get real information about a person is to ask them to pay a token fee. That attracts people who are serious about the topic and are committed to being a part of the board. People are not fly-by-night visitors. We create a family here. On Chat, people must post with their real names. I don't know of any other board like that. To me, it lends credibility and a better comfort level. (On Off Topic people have the option of posting anonymously, which some like and some don't, but it will
stay that way because people post sensitive personal information.)  I realize I am swimming against the bigger Internet tide with the way things are set up. Most boards have the advantage of seeing the post immediately. It's a trade off that I've accepted but am trying to think of a better way. One idea is to have people earn a status that allows their posts to appear without moderation, because they have a history of staying in the guidelines. That is bumping around in my head as I work out the details. I am open to suggestions that will preserve the best parts of the board as it exists now, but will speed things up. I don't think there will ever be a board on here that is a free-for-all, without checks in place. That doesn't fit with the goal of Refund Cents. But I do want to improve on perfection :), so I will always be open to changes.