PrudentInvestor2 Message to MW

bbbear: FORMERLY PRUDENTINVESTOR2

To MarketWatch-Admin:

As you may know, I quit MW last Friday in disgust of the lack of oversight of moderators and thumbs-downers on this forum. I've watched this thread from the sidelines for the last day or so (thanks JDoe). The suggestion from you to start such a forum was about 2 weeks overdue. What has me opening a new temporary account is your revealing statements above.

I had my old account with MW for over 7 years. I never saw the kind of rampant suppression of messages I've seen in the last few weeks. The most disturbing part of it was the slanted nature of the censorship. People with certain ideological and political attitudes were being struck down left and right, while others were allowed to essentially SPAM the board at will (I have MANY examples and would love to elaborate later). Basically, if the user moderators disagreed with another's view, or held a vendetta against the user from earlier times, they were doing everything possible to get their posts removed and undermine their other legitimate posts.

Now, you say above many Admin-reviewed comments were taken "out-of-context". That is exactly the baiting process going on. The user moderators look for the slightest infraction on a targeted poster, and report it. Then that starts a spiral of outrage, which the user moderators use to their advantage and continue reporting more and more indignant responses. This only further validates your misled confidence in these moderators, as you take each "out-of-context". It is a superb baiting strategy, and you are falling for it hook-line-and-sinker.

Now, I have extensive evidence that the user moderators are not only following an agenda, but also roam "in packs". Many are friends with one another, and hold similar views. Some of their comments and bio's are just downright disturbing. You have essentially "outsourced" a very important responsibility of censorship of a commercial financial site to completely anonymous posters.

I have many practical suggestions to improve this situation. Very detailed suggestions. But I'm afraid this is going to fall on deaf or deluded ears or, more likely, empty budgets. It is quite clear to me that MW has failed its Admin obligations because it simply doesn't have the resources it once did. No?

Yet another issue, albeit less important, is the RAMPANT abuse of the thumbs-down feature. It is quite clear to me that someone is using a script and/or multiple accounts to spread waves of red across the forum. It is blatent, and the person likely responsible for it has not been held accountable. If you want evidence, please contact me.

I'm not hear to call out people right now. But I have many names. I'm here to get your attention (finally) and to make sure you are aware of the scope of the problem. I have little hope that things will change, at least to the extent they need to. Let me know if you need anything from me. In the meantime, I will seek commenting on other forums.

Respectfully,

PrudentInvestor2

P.S. Hi Everyone!