- Oct 27, 2005
- 85,773
- 22,140
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to contribute to this discussion. I have read the thread carefully, taking on board the criticisms and detailed concerns raised by long-standing members.
Not everyone will agree with every point raised here. Some comments are fair, some need extra context, and some require us to check the data we hold before responding. There are several recurring themes that are clear enough to acknowledge now:
There are also areas where we need to look at the actual data before making claims publicly. That includes dispute outcomes, scam reports, repeat offenders, account abuse, moderation cases that have been raised, and the current status of Marketplace 2.
I do not want to give another vague reassurance where a more considered update is needed. Summarised findings will be shared in an article on our news and updates section in the next 30 days: https://www.blackhatworld.com/forums/blackhat-world-news-updates.311/.
The continued areas of focus which we will update on in the next 7 days:
We will share a follow-up update once we have the first set of data and internal findings. That update will cover what we have reviewed, what action is already being taken, and what will take longer to fix.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed. BHW has lasted because members care enough to speak up. Whilst I’m often given to being defensive about our community, I know I need to listen and check the facts and my understanding of them. We have an amazing team on the back end, and they are ready to act where action is needed. But we do take the point that, no matter how excited we are about what we’re doing, we need to communicate more clearly as we go.
Not everyone will agree with every point raised here. Some comments are fair, some need extra context, and some require us to check the data we hold before responding. There are several recurring themes that are clear enough to acknowledge now:
- Community quality including Low-value and automated content
- Scams and trust
- Visibility of experienced contributors
- Moderation clarity
- Membership value
- Communication specifically around major work such as Marketplace 2
There are also areas where we need to look at the actual data before making claims publicly. That includes dispute outcomes, scam reports, repeat offenders, account abuse, moderation cases that have been raised, and the current status of Marketplace 2.
I do not want to give another vague reassurance where a more considered update is needed. Summarised findings will be shared in an article on our news and updates section in the next 30 days: https://www.blackhatworld.com/forums/blackhat-world-news-updates.311/.
The continued areas of focus which we will update on in the next 7 days:
- Community quality, AI, bots and low-value content: We are digging into the data and reviewing what we have on obvious low-quality activity, including automated replies, repeated formulaic responses, account-farming patterns, low-value bumps, and sample-request spam. The aim is to reduce visible junk and improve the content posted, we run checks on content for AI https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/n...ai-detection-for-unwanted-ai-content.1801573/
- Scams, disputes and enforcement data: We are pulling recent internal numbers on disputes, scam-related bans, repeat offenders, and resolution times so that any subsequent follow-up is based on facts rather than assumptions. We continuously review this data internally, but acknowledge that we can communicate this better.
- Member feedback: We encourage all members to engage with our suggestions and feedback section. Clarity of message is important we outline here https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/forum-suggestions-feedback-rules-faq.1345520/ how best to provide this feedback. So we can understand what your concerns are, what frustrates you, and what would benefit the community the most. As mentioned in my previous post above, we want to hear from you. https://www.blackhatworld.com/forums/forum-suggestions-feedback.26/
- Moderation clarity: We continually review the concerns raised in the thread about the communication of moderation decisions and how those decisions are made. Although not every individual decision will be debated publicly, the principles should be clearer to all involved.
- Communication: We know that how we communicate about what we’re working on is important. We have a subforum dedicated to it: https://www.blackhatworld.com/forums/blackhat-world-news-updates.311/, but acknowledge it could always be better. As I mentioned in my last post, we are not about to make another vague “coming soon” statement about MP2 other items we’re working on. My next update on this will appear in 7 days and will explain where things stand, what the next real milestone is, and a timeline to launch based on where we currently are with the project.
We will share a follow-up update once we have the first set of data and internal findings. That update will cover what we have reviewed, what action is already being taken, and what will take longer to fix.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed. BHW has lasted because members care enough to speak up. Whilst I’m often given to being defensive about our community, I know I need to listen and check the facts and my understanding of them. We have an amazing team on the back end, and they are ready to act where action is needed. But we do take the point that, no matter how excited we are about what we’re doing, we need to communicate more clearly as we go.
