"Your comment is awaiting moderation"

[Adams Immersive]

I've been curious: does anyone know what triggers that "Your comment is awaiting moderation" message in article comments? Certain words? Random spot-checks? Obscure anti-spam algorithms that must remain secret for our own good? It's not the link on the poster's name... because I never use a link.

I've seen that sometimes on my posts, and then I check back in a bit and posts under me have been posted, while mine still awaits moderation.

Which is not a problem, I'm just curious. My posts do always appear eventually. (And they almost never mention shady .ru sites where you can have your man-portions augmented.)

[arn]

there are various things that might trigger it, including some words and having multiple links.

arn

[Adams Immersive]

Cool--I figured it's some automatic thing. Just wondering (I never post links). I can see how revealing details of how to avoid it would be a BAD idea :)

[dmbfan1192]

Sounds like like how terrorists are caught while doing a weapon deal on a cell phone. That's pretty sweet. I've always wondered what would happen if I started screaming out the names of various bombs over the phone. "Your call is awaiting moderation. Please hold." "Ahh crap we gotta run again!"

[Noah]

Here's what I posted about the Mass Effect article, and my comment now required moderation:

I saw this game demo'd at EA, and I wasn't impressed.

And the fact that the conversation choices don't do ANYTHING different in the beginning of the game is very weak. Why not just press random buttons. Not like it matters.

I won't be buying this game, sorry.

What "word combinations" caused it to go into the moderation queue?

[Adams Immersive]

I haven't seen anything suspicious in my own posts, either, but I don't think we can know the algorithm. If we knew, the spammers would too :)

One guess I had was having a word in all-caps. But I saw comments below mine, which were not awaiting moderation, that also had that.

(Maybe the word "buy" in your post? But in discussion of the App Store, I would think words like "buy," "store," "sale," "price," etc. would be commonplace and not filtered. I feel sure I've used them without triggering any moderation.)

[Adams Immersive]

I think I’ve reached the point where the majority of my comments are flagged for moderation :o

I don’t mind much—they get approved in the end—but I fear I’m making all kinds of work for moderators! And I can’t think of anything I’m habitually doing… my posts are fairly varied, and I never post links.

Oh, well… if there’s something I can change in my behavior to save moderators time, I’m happy to do it :)

[upsidedown]

Maybe it's your sig? The charchter in between "m" and "R" maybe?

[Adams Immersive]

Actually my forum posts work fine—it’s my article comments that tend to raise flags.

[Dylan1696]

Sounds like like how terrorists are caught while doing a weapon deal on a cell phone. That's pretty sweet. I've always wondered what would happen if I started screaming out the names of various bombs over the phone. "Your call is awaiting moderation. Please hold." "Ahh crap we gotta run again!"

This is very funny! That should be used in some stand up monologue!

[BrettArchibald]

Awww man, one of my comments I made first thing this morning is (still) "awaiting moderation". It contained a URL, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.
But now it would appear subsequent comments I make won't be allowed until that one is approved, as I just made a really basic comment and that one too is now "awaiting moderation".

The first comment was several hours ago, so it's not like I'm spam-commenting the articles. :(

[drelbs]

I think just about every review I've made that had a link in it got removed.

Sad, because they were all YouTube links of gameplay video (which are usually a big help)

I did write about the most bizarre review I could for iDrop Dead: Flower Edition (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/idrop-dead-flower-edition/id334565138?mt=8), and it got posted! (As did Sky06's classic A.S.S. review for Six Sides (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sixsides/id323503772?mt=8)... ;))

[Adams Immersive]

FWIW, I have in the past successfully posted new comments even while old comments await moderation. Maybe your new messages just triggered the filters on their own in some way. (Or maybe there are different levels of moderation. Maybe a URL triggers extra flags or something.)

They’re probably backlogged somewhat due to the holiday weekend, too.

[Adams Immersive]

FWIW, I’ll post a few article comments that got auto-flagged. Maybe people can help me figure out what I’m doing “wrong” :) I get many comments flagged, and I can’t seem to do anything to prevent it.

Some auto-flagged messages from me:

I agree—but maybe there are other steering options? A slider/joystick instead of two buttons would give analog control, and tilt would be a welcome option. (Horizontal tilt works great, I find—it’s only vertical tilt I sometimes object to in games.)

It looks like you’re playing the “standard” iPhone NOVA, with the 2x button in the corner. They didn’t let you play the iPad-specific one that was shown in the keynote?

Anyway, a question: when an iPhone game is “pixel-doubled” does that mean literally every 2D (interface/HUD) pixel becomes a sharp 2×2 square, or is softened? What about device fonts? Are they res-independent and stay smooth at 2x? (Games aren’t the best for testing that I suppose.)

And what about OpenGL stuff? When you “pixel-double” an OpenGL game does it get big 2×2 jaggies or does it scale nicely using every pixel?

(I know it wastes some around the edge. iPhone games double to 960×640, which is smaller than the full 1024×768, leaving room for the 2x button.)

I think it should be an option in Settings: “join mixed games”? Enable it by default, but for those who prefer to be segregated, there would be servers for them too.

But it may not be worth the effort: any PC/Mac game is the same way: someone has a 17” screen, slow GPU and 2-button mouse. Someone else in the match has a speed demon with high-def and a gaming mouse. So be it! Just as long as the advantage isn’t TOO extreme so that skill no longer even matters.

It browses faster and more easily than a netbook (try one or at least watch the videos—see how fast apps launch compared to a netbook). And it’s easier to use in general—it’s not a PC or Mac, it’s something new. Handwriting recognition is much slower than typing. And a cam would be awesome but hardly necessary in cheap device with no real competition.

Multitasking may or may not come with OS 4.0, but that’s software. We’ve seen 3.2. And Flash will never work right on any tablet, because Flash sites rely on mouseovers, not just clicks.

Microsoft’s innovation will matter if the Courier ever exists as a product (which it may not) is priced cheaply (which it may not be) and lives up to the standards of quality and ease-of-use in person as opposed to in concept demos. The iPad is real in 60 days, with a huge library of apps. Courier is still vaporware with no clear intention that it will ever ship.

I hate that badge too—it’s a fine logo but I don’t want to see it over and over on my home screens.

But I wouldn’t skip an update over it! (Nor do I blame the developers, if it turns out that badge actually draws OpenFeint fans in significant numbers to play the game. Maybe it does.)

I hate it… but it’s just an icon.

The controls don’t seem to be any different from how they’d be in 2D—and the look of a game matters to me: it’s one thing that draws me to this. Yet-another-2D-grid would turn me off. The reflections are a nice touch.

I think I’d prefer swipe controls, where I’d swipe the block instead of hitting buttons (I say that after being really impressed with the feel of Tetris’s swipe controls) but this looks fun regardless.

A great option—I’d just want to see competing controllers standardized in their signals (just like a USB joystick is) so that games can support them all as easily as supporting one.

But for now… there has to BE one :)

Looks like it would be very nice from a comfort perspective. The battery is welcome too, for power-sucking OpenGL games.

You’d never be able to hold it without accidentally triggering things, so that’s no ideal either—and the battery life would suffer from the reduction.

The border is necessary because, unlike the iPhone, you can’t get your whole hand around the back to grip it.

But as a new platform, with its own unique format, developers and users alike will have to learn all over again what works best in game design.

The Pinball/Wild West is awesome on my iMac! The graphics are full desktop quality, and pressing C to make the camera sit still makes it feel like a real pinball game.

Coupling it with Pinball Remote is more of a novelty, but when I turn my iMac to face the couch, it’s pretty cool! And response is instant for me, even though my WiFi frequencies seem to be crowded today (darned neighbors).

The only issue I had with The Pinball: using the plunger by keyboard (rather than by iPhone) is not immediately obvious. You have to press down-arrow and keep holding it (it’s slow). Now I know.

Agreed. To me (as one who used to hate TDs and refused to even try them) TD simple IS a form of RTS. An RTS with reduced learning curve (and often reduced play time). Within that, TDs can be widely varied and different—ranging from casual to amazingly deep. And fun!

The best pinball machine is the one you have with you :) This one fits in a pocket and lets you see almost the whole table.

I like the choice of retro vs. updated graphics. (The game is still retro either way, but I wanted the classic Amiga experience! Actually, pixel-doubling on the iPad would be no bad thing in that regard.)

The menu and options are puzzling to me. I tap around in the scoreboard and eventually I can manage to pause, quit, get to settings, etc., but I don’t know how I’m doing it. Double-taps? Invisible buttons

(I know the site’s PEOPLE don’t object—my comments always get approved in the end—but the automatic SYSTEM sees something “wrong” in a very high number of my article comments. And I almost never use links, words related to financial matters, or words related to private anatomy :) )

[MidianGTX]

Not really related but also not worth a new topic... I've had the same captcha word about 10 times in a row now. TA needs some new ones, it can't be too hard to get a bot posting comments with the current setup.

[Adams Immersive]

Not really related but also not worth a new topic... I've had the same captcha word about 10 times in a row now. TA needs some new ones, it can't be too hard to get a bot posting comments with the current setup.

Actually, I find the CAPTCHA system here is broken in Safari for “second chances.” If you get the word right the first time all is well, but if you don’t (or forget), then hit Back as instructed, it no longer works. You have to force reload (hold shift). It’s like the word being displayed and the word the server expects have gotten out of sync. (Maybe the CAPTCHA error-message page could be enhanced to revisit the original page with a forced reload? And a warning that you MUST copy your text for re-pasting. “Back” actually doesn’t lose my text, but a force reload will.)

I haven’t noticed repeat words too much yet, though—nor much of a spam problem (a few here and there).

[HelperMonkey]

I don't suppose any moderators will read this, but I'm a bit confused about this issue in relation to some of my posts. Just two posts, actually. The first was a comment about the game "Trundle," under the article on that subject. That comment has been "awaiting moderation" for six days. Seems more to be awaiting a coat of dust. I don't even care about the comment or the subject anymore, but that's sort of the point. I posted another comment under the "'Ancient Frog' on the iPad" article which has been awaiting moderation for more than a day. Judging by history, I just wonder if it will be waiting for most of a week, if not forever. My comments aren't important, I just feel I'm being excluded from any participation in the conversation. As I said before, I no longer care about my comments or their subjects, but that's kind of the point. My comments lose any pertinence or relevence to the conversation, and thus any interest to me or others, if they are withheld from the conversation until the conversation is dead.
Anyway, this isn't really a big deal (despite all this yapping). I'm just wondering what I might be doing wrong, or otherwise why these delays are happening.
So.. If any mods read this, thanks for reading this.

[Adams Immersive]

I feel the same way—I lose enthusiasm for participating in a discussion if I know there’s a high chance my comment will be flagged and then posted after the conversation is long over. I too have comments that are approaching a week old, and it seems that the frequency of it happening is on the rise too (maybe just bad luck). And sometimes I’m asking a question—but there won’t be an answer if everyone has moved on.

This long delay isn’t the norm, though. I think the moderators must be backlogged right now: normally comments get approved within a day. (Although that’s still long enough for a conversation to be basically over.)

The root problem, I’m sure, is the automated system being overzealous. It’s even possible that the human operators don’t KNOW what sets it off!

I certainly can’t tell. I posted some of my flagged comments above (http://forums.toucharcade.com/showpost.php?p=801871&postcount=15), and I’m stumped.

I’ve had some theories, but they’ve all been disproven. The following are NOT the cause (because I’ve gotten away with all of them at times):

* Mentioning pricing or money or “free.” But lots of people do that.

* Curly quotes and long dashes (non-ASCII) which Snow Leopard does automatically

* Links (I bet the wrong kind of link, or too many, could be a problem though; Anyway, I rarely post links)

* Words or acronyms in all-caps

None of those seem to be the issue. Maybe the world “game” itself is a no-no? :o

I wish I could find out, even privately, so that I could contribute without making work for moderators.

[don_k]

The website is broken and needs to be updated, simple as that.

[Adams Immersive]

They seem to be catching up on the backlog now.

[snow_mani]

I was curious about why a comment I tried to post was needing to "await moderation". Especially as it was a positive comment, informative and didn't contain curse words or URL links.

After reading through this thread I think I know why. I used a forward slash several times to seperate words. Adams Immersive also used this character in the examples he posted earlier in this thread. / / / / /

This character, /, is used to describe a file or server path. Especially in URL paths. This is probably why article comments using it are automatically flagged as awaiting moderation.

[Adams Immersive]

I was curious about why a comment I tried to post was needing to "await moderation". Especially as it was a positive comment, informative and didn't contain curse words or URL links.

After reading through this thread I think I know why. I used a forward slash several times to seperate words. Adams Immersive also used this character in the examples he posted earlier in this thread. / / / / /

This character, /, is used to describe a file or server path. Especially in URL paths. This is probably why article comments using it are automatically flagged as awaiting moderation.

Good theory. All but one of the examples above has a slash. Easy to test, too!

[therhino]

I'm in the same boat I didn't realize they had to aaproce reviews, I spent two hours on this one and it's been in moderation since this afternoon. Will they tell me if it's rejected? There is nothing in it that should get it rejected, but I would like to know either way.

[Adams Immersive]

I’ll go out on a limb and make an educated guess... your post is not rejected :) The automated system may choke on lots of things, but when the humans check, they always let my posts through in my experience. (Although I’m sure if I were posting a phishing scam it would be another matter!)

[therhino]

I’ll go out on a limb and make an educated guess... your post is not rejected :) The automated system may choke on lots of things, but when the humans check, they always let my posts through in my experience. (Although I’m sure if I were posting a phishing scam it would be another matter!)

Ok thanks it's a very long review, but nothing in it violates any rules so I think I'm good to go.

[Adams Immersive]

I was curious about why a comment I tried to post was needing to "await moderation". Especially as it was a positive comment, informative and didn't contain curse words or URL links.

After reading through this thread I think I know why. I used a forward slash several times to seperate words. Adams Immersive also used this character in the examples he posted earlier in this thread. / / / / /

This character, /, is used to describe a file or server path. Especially in URL paths. This is probably why article comments using it are automatically flagged as awaiting moderation.

I tried posting with a / and it worked fine, and I’ve had a few posts with no / that awaited moderation. Great theory, but I guess that’s not the pattern.

[Mondae]

This is very funny! That should be used in some stand up monologue!

Dibs!! it's mine dont use it or I will hunt you down and steal your best joke as collaterial.:cool:

[TheProxy]

I've had a review in moderation for two days now. Is this normal?

[Adams Immersive]

Not normal, but not unheard of. I’ve had that happen.

[squarezero]

It's my second comment is just as many days that has gone into "Awaiting moderation" limbo. Frankly, I'm sick of it -- I try to put some thought into my comments, and it's very frustrating when they just linger unpublished. I guess I'll just stop commenting on individual articles and stick to the forums.

EDIT: Well, the one on Deliverace actually went through...