This post looks for some general understanding of the thumbs down feature. The little bit that I know about it is that some forum members are provided with the ability to evaluate any post with a thumbs down. If enough members do so, the post's font size dwindles and the post eventually disappears.

I've noticed recently that posts have been "disappeared" and for the life of me I can't understand why. I'm including the links to jog the memories of those who voted down the posts. The 1st post is still visible; the other 2 posts are gone.

The first post was a shopper who was venting about writing reports [www.mysteryshopforum.com].

The next post asked if Company X was shopped (nothing more; nothing less. It was a simple "yes" or "no" question). [www.mysteryshopforum.com]

The third poster asked another poster what it was about MSC X that she liked (no client was mentioned in the thread) [www.mysteryshopforum.com]

All 3 posts are what this forum is about, correct? So, where's the rub?

Can someone explain how the process works? Do x number of members have to vote a post down? Do they need to provide a reason why they voted it down? Can the reason be personal, or must a valid reason be provided? Can the moderators override the members? Does the process need to remain opaque?

In honesty, sitting on this side of the screen, it just seems like censorship.

I can't give you a straightforward answer because I know mostly what the forum owner has shared about the thumbs down, which is not who has thumbs, how many there are and how many dissenters it takes for a post to disappear. I find that I don't object to the thumbs down because I most frequently see it being applied to posts that are or likely to become argumentative, often in a very churlish way.

As for the specific instances you mention, I have no answers for you, in part because I don't know who or what actually was removed. I can tell you that there is one member whose sole 'contribution' seems to be asking if particular clients are shopped in hopes some enthusiastic new member will PM him the information, which is, of course an ICA violation. That member's requests are very likely to fade out fast, so I have to assume that the thumbers have figured out his game. A Moderator would be hard pressed to show that the actual post was a violation of forum guidelines, though some Moderators have posted an explanation of why such a post was removed.

As for the post that still remains, I don't understand either why it is fading. What I do find inexcusable is the negativity of many posts in that thread directed at the OP. That I do find churlish. I'm not a big believer in 'if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all', but I truly despise 'unnecessary roughness'.

Or you know, when people welcome someone back after a 5 month hiatus and those posts get thumbed down until they're gone.

Seeing those welcoming posts get almost instantly thumbed was the breaking point for me! I was celebrating that a newbie question that might have been ignored or caused some posters to "diss" the OP, was provided with a very thoughtful and judgement free response that actually took note of, and very well explained, some of the key the differences between self-employment and employment in a way that the OP immdeiately acknowledged was very helpful to him. I wish that I had had the insight to understand why the OP was concerned and to provide such a useful and positive answer.