Why do some forum posts automatically get minimized?
Hey, I have a bit of a question. I've noticed that sometimes certain forum posts automatically get minimized. I wonder why this happens because I find that this is a bit annoying if it happens in the middle of a conversation. Also, is this meant to happen this way or is it a bug? Any idea, anybody?
I just re-read this and thought the post may have been unclear, so just to clarify, this is what I'm talking about:
And this sometimes happens automatically without me clicking somewhere to hide/minimise the post. And I am sure I don't accidentally click somewhere to minimize it or something.
@exuberantBlackberry9105
Hey! I think it is a bug because I have noticed it too!
I am going to tag in some people who might have answers or know people who might. @Tommy @Heather225
@HopieRemi
@exuberantBlackberry9105
Not to worry, it isn't a glitch! There's an algorithm that decides whether to expand or collapse forum replies, but you can simply hit the arrow and manually expand them.
The algorithm is part of a new initiative aimed at highlighting the most helpful and supportive posts in our community. It considers factors such as engagement, content quality, and relevance. The goal is to ensure that valuable and supportive content gets the visibility it deserves.
@CheeryMango Yeah, hiding the negative in a mental health community will help tons, I'm sure.
To clarify what I mean: auto-collapsing people's posts does not contribute to them feeling heard or seen.
@CheeryMango
But the algorithm has collapsed some of my messages offering support :O Maybe it could be introduced to have the collapsing disabled in settings? :)
@CheeryMango Thank you for clarifying this. I think it is a nice idea.
@CheeryMango
Many thanks for your response!
*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️
@CheeryMango @Heather225 @Jon7Cups
Thanks for explaining what's happening.
Yesterday, I noticed one of my own posts that I spent a lot of effort working on and wording carefully was minimized shortly after I posted it.
https://www.7cups.com/forum/autism/General_2554/Aspergers_333972/
I assumed that someone had read it, found it harmful or offensive, and flagged/reported it, which led to it being minimized. It's not a perfect post, but I felt a bit confused and hurt at the time because I didn't understand what I did wrong.
I put a lot of effort into trying to be accurate while balancing multiple perspectives on a pretty contentious topic. I shrugged it off in the end and told myself, "if my post gets deleted, at least I'll hopefully get an explanation of what I did wrong so I can do a better job of avoiding it in the future".
Today though, I saw a really beautiful post by @DreamsofAuratus that got hidden, and that was when I thought "okay, I didn't do anything wrong then--there must be some kind of site-wide bug, because unlike my post this one is perfect and I can't imagine anybody flagging it".
https://www.7cups.com/forum/personalitydisorders/General_2436/IthinkIshouldgettestedforbpd_335388/
***
I feel that the algorithmic minimizing is catching too many false positives and that the site would be improved by removing it.
I can understand how it would help fill in gaps in human moderation (i.e. catch egregious posts immediately rather than having something really toxic/hurtful sitting out in the open for days before someone spots it and flags it and a human forum moderator gets around to reviewing it).
But it seems like currently the algorithm is using some kind of sentiment analysis that's catching high-quality posts in the cross-fire. Empathetic responses will sometimes mirror negative feelings expressed by the original poster, and that's something that is helpful and should be encouraged.
It's not a big problem, but I personally had a negative experience with the algorithm that I found confusing/distressing, and it looks like I'm not the only person to have had this experience.
Maybe an alternative could be to use the algorithm to set some kind of behind-the-scenes flag/report for posts that need a human review by the forum moderation team?
@HopieRemi I too have been thinking this might be a bug, though I'm not totally sure. Thank you so much, Remi, for tagging the people who can hopefully give us some answers. 💙
@exuberantBlackberry9105 Tagging @Cheery Mango Can you look into this. Please read the above post, for more information. Could you please try your best to help this member out. Thanks.
@calmMango9611 Thank you for tagging someone who could have answers. I think the tag was meant to be for @CherryMango though?
@exuberantBlackberry9105
The tag is @CheeryMango :D Team work, dream work!
@HopieRemi Yes it does.
@exuberantBlackberry9105 Yes.
Tagging @jon@7 cups
I think you mean @Jon7cups ?
@HopieRemi
Thanks!
I think I have found another potential reason for the collapsing. It hides anything that is critical in any way, so it improves how cups is seen by search machines. SEO, lol.
The fact that they are not replying to us here in the thread despite all the tags seems to say 'we do not care about our community's concerns, outward appearances are what counts'.
I meant 'not replying to the concerns' - of course they did 'reply' telling us how great the new thing is, ignoring all the evidence for the opposite and the affected persons' concerns about it.
Everytime I see another collapsed message on the forums from some desparate and 'negative' person, I feel sorry for them, because it makes it less likely those posts will get a response, and it makes those persons more likely to just swallow their bad feelings, and be fake happy. Or engage in harmful behaviours towards themselves.
Cups is becoming a gaslighting machine through this (saying 'your bad experiences/feelings don't exist for us'). Are they still thinking they're doing 'good'?
