Why does it take so long for threads and posts to show up?

[Woodrow]

I can understand the frustrations some of you have over wondering why your posts are not seen immediatly.

Here are some reasons:

All threads and posts need to be approved by a moderator.


that sounds simple enough, but think of this:

Sometimes we might not be on line.

Some of the threads have links to other sites, those have to be checked out and verified for legitimacy before we will approve or disapprove the post.

Speaking for myself, sometimes there are posts that I personaly question the appropriatness of them. However, they are not blatantly offensive so I do hesitate and am very cautious about approving or deleting them, until I have explored all implications. (I'm slow, that can take time.) I believe I am not the only mod who thinks like that.

Some days there is an over abundance of threads.

With that said have patience when you post. We will get to each one as time permits. Expect a normal wait of 2 to 4 hours. If your post does not show up and you do not get a notice it has been deleted, it is most likely one that there is a problem in verifying the legitimacy of. At this moment there are several posts awaiting approval. Many of those have a lot of links on them, which are taking time to check out.

[Ebtisweetsam]

Brother all my posts got deleted even my poll- why is that? I had to re-register.

[Grace Seeker]

Originally Posted by Ebtisweetsam

Brother all my posts got deleted even my poll- why is that? I had to re-register.

Twice this summer the whole system crashed. The administrators had to go to a back-up file that was before the crash. If you just happened to have registered in that time between when the back up was made and when the crash occurred, then you got lost in the time warp. And it was not just your posts, but everyone's, even actions the mods had taken. Most often technology is a blessing, but it too has its price and crashes of the system is one of them.

[kh@led]

I understand he good intention behind this action. However, personally I'm not sure how practical this is. Some of my points are below -


1. Many times people ask questions that are extremely simple and nonoffensive in which case waiting for approval seems very fraustrating and meaningless.

2. Many times there are questions of which people want to know the answer urgently. In such cases, delaying the post may be too late and may not serve its acual purpose.

3. IN GENERAL, the majority of threads are harmless which are posted by members of the forum who have been here for a long time with good reputations and sometimes occationally some threads may be inappropriate or offensive. What I'm trying to say is, in any islamic discussion board, generally there are far more positive threads than offensive or inappropriate ones. Therefore, in my opinion, its far easier and less time consuming to delete offensive/inappropriate threads than screening ALL the threads before approving.

4. If you are too worried about external links within the posts, then perhaps you can write a script (I guess its possible!) which will check whether the new thread contains any external links or not. If it has then it can wait for approval otherwise it can be posted immediately.

These are just my thoughts on this matter.

Jazakallah Khair.

[Woodrow]

Originally Posted by kh@led

I understand he good intention behind this action. However, personally I'm not sure how practical this is. Some of my points are below -Jazakallah Khair.

1. Many times people ask questions that are extremely simple and nonoffensive in which case waiting for approval seems very fraustrating and meaningless.

The fact that the thread has not been approved is an indication that there is no moderator for this section online at that time. We can not take the responsibility for possible erroneous information. Remember, the majority of our members are not scholars nor claim to be. Most of the very simple questions are more suitable for the open forums rather than for this section, which is trying to keep only valid information available for new Muslims.

2. Many times there are questions of which people want to know the answer urgently. In such cases, delaying the post may be too late and may not serve its acual purpose.

See Rule 12 of the FAQs:

12.This is not a Fiqh discussion board. Prolonged threads arguing over Fatwas and the details of Islamic law will be closed. Avoid asking questions that require a Scholar or Shaykh, as there is no one on the board qualified to answer your questions. Please use other knowledgeable means such as a scholar, Imam or knowledgeable person in your area or provide sources.

3. IN GENERAL, the majority of threads are harmless which are posted by members of the forum who have been here for a long time with good reputations and sometimes occationally some threads may be inappropriate or offensive. What I'm trying to say is, in any islamic discussion board, generally there are far more positive threads than offensive or inappropriate ones. Therefore, in my opinion, its far easier and less time consuming to delete offensive/inappropriate threads than screening ALL the threads before approving.

the reason you see mostly positive threads is because the mods delete the offensive ones quite fast. i know most members never see it but we do go through periods when we get bombarded by some very anti-Islamic people. Yesterday was a prime example and it happened during a short perid when no mods were on line.

4. If you are too worried about external links within the posts, then perhaps you can write a script (I guess its possible!) which will check whether the new thread contains any external links or not. If it has then it can wait for approval otherwise it can be posted immediately.

I don't know about the rest of the mods or of the admins, but I personally do not have the skills to do that.

[kh@led]

Jazakallah Khair bro Woodrow for your kind explanation. Although I don't agree with some of your points, I am not going to push or argue about it

I guess all I can say is that in this case, perhaps having more mods (specially who spend more time on this forum) can help in solving this waiting game

[aqsakhan]

Assalam-o-alaikum w r w b
jazakallah khair brother woodrow for explaining peacefully
Assalam-o-alaikum w r w b

[Christian Girl]

ok so you appove all threads