Banned from TA for sunwing comment – Cuba – Debbie's Carribean Reviews Forums

madrugada54 2016-04-15 10:54:58 UTC #41

Four strikes and it’s gone BUT can those 4 clicks be from the same person or does it have to be 4 different people? The swiftness of removals over in the Hawaii forums makes me think one or two DEs with axes to grind get the job done immediately.

The clicks need to be from 4 different people. Technically, I’ve learned that someone could have different ISP addresses, so while it might be possible for one person to act as four, it isn’t likely. (That’s a scheme only drg & Santiago would dream up!)
Most DEs on TA are incredibly helpful and generous in providing information to many people. I don’t think they carry any more weight than any other member in getting a post deleted.

eeeefarm 2016-04-15 11:03:44 UTC #42

The clicks need to be from 4 different people. Technically, I’ve learned that someone could have different ISP addresses, so while it might be possible for one person to act as four, it isn’t likely. (That’s a scheme only drg & Santiago would dream up!)
Most DEs on TA are incredibly helpful and generous in providing information to many people. I don’t think they carry any more weight than any other member in getting a post deleted.

Yes, it is relatively easy to change your IP by using a proxy server, although this may be detected. Really good ways to disguise an IP are out there, e.g. TOR, so someone could presumably have several identities on the forum, or for that matter use the low tech method of friends who cooperate to get rid of posts they don’t like. In either case I think it is ridiculous for "the community" to have that kind of power on a forum. Flagging a post as inappropriate is one thing, but the ability to remove it should be restricted to (hopefully) unbiased moderators.

drg1 2016-04-15 12:13:55 UTC #43

The clicks need to be from 4 different people. Technically, I’ve learned that someone could have different ISP addresses, so while it might be possible for one person to act as four, it isn’t likely. (That’s a scheme only drg & Santiago would dream up!)

Mads, I resemble that remark!

beardo 2016-04-18 03:02:54 UTC #44

I always thought that the biggest crime on TA was questioning the moderators.

I also wondered if they were trying to give a taste of the real Cuba – arbitrary decisions by authorities who won’t explain their actions.

bellagio1 2016-04-18 20:13:26 UTC #45

I have often thought that some of the ‘removed by Trip Advisor community’ posts have actually been removed by the Moderators and they just insert the ‘Community’ template. It’s just my theory, nothing else.

KaiserOntario 2016-09-12 03:08:55 UTC #46

Totally agree with you! And that’s all I am going to say..Yikes…

Travelb4idieguy 2016-09-21 06:11:21 UTC #47

I know several poignant reasons why I was banned. TA Jane was not impressed with some of my technical tricks after being banned permanently. I was Satan to the church ladies. Others justifiably hated me for various reasons. I still use new email addresses, proxy servers, special browsers and a few other tricks when I get really bored. It’s not a very fun forum anymore and I have lost intrest in playing in the new American sandbox. I just yell at the TV when I get drunk now. You just never know when the phoenix might rise from its own ashes again.

comoman 2016-09-21 08:30:18 UTC #48

Ya K , it’s like a Bible Study Class over there .
All the goody goodies have fallen in line with Church Ladies joining in there Choir Practise .

Johnny C

griz 2016-09-21 13:06:25 UTC #49

I’ve been on a self-imposed break from TA for well over a month now for the same reasons as many others. Thankfully most of my favorite people are here on Debbies!

borracho_en_la_playa

tbj 2016-09-21 22:18:16 UTC #50

It needs to be more than just 4 clicks, that I can assure you.

drgdrg 2016-09-22 16:52:07 UTC #51

I agree, TA is very boring now.

griz 2016-09-22 18:33:14 UTC #52

I’ll defend TA as still being a source of good information but it’s not much fun. I know that one can get the same information and much more right here, it just doesn’t have the exposure, yet. In order to keep good contributors around it does need to be a two-way street and this is what TA has failed to recognize, or maybe they have. Some have stuck around and accepted it for what it is but many others have decided not to participate any longer. It’s their site and their decision. For now they are the big fish in the travel forum pond but as the internet has proven time and time again the inability to adapt and give people what they want can be fatal. Credibility is another thing that is extremely important and here I’m referring to TA reviews which are beginning to show cracks. Time will tell I suppose.

beansntoast 2016-09-24 13:33:33 UTC #53

"I’ll defend TA as still being a source of good information but it’s not much fun."

I can’t agree griz. Too often, new travellers to Cuba have read an opinion on TA and then later repeat it as gospel fact to all others. Soon the myth is engrained and behavior, in country, is changed for many unknowing tourists.Example: My pet peeve is Varadero taxi fares. Someone is overcharged for a ride from hotel to X and later report this on TA as the regular fare. Many believe and don’t ever question the fact that they are paying more for a trip downtown than I do to go to Havana. Any attempt to point out they are getting ripped on TA gets shut down or the conversation shifts to how much to tip after getting overcharged.

I’m still learning but glad I found Cuba before I found Cuba TA.

griz 2016-09-24 14:18:04 UTC #54

That’s a fair point. I think that good information is provided and often repeated but as a regular reader I know which members are reliable and which aren’t. This isn’t the case with newcomers and the good information may be getting drowned out by the bad. And so after some thought and trying to see things through the eyes of someone new to TA I think you may be right.

borracho_en_la_playa

cubajack 2016-09-24 15:38:36 UTC #55

beansntoast:

Too often, new travellers to Cuba have read an opinion on TA and then later repeat it as gospel fact to all others. Soon the myth is engrained and behavior, in country, is changed for many unknowing tourists.

Unfortunately, that can be true of any discussion board. On one that is active like TA, with lots of inexperienced members, the danger is probably greater than one with fewer members, especially if they are more experienced travellers. The real challenge for some can be, as Griz points out, knowing who gives reliable information, and who doesn’t.Also, it is usually not a good idea to only rely on one source of information, whether it is a travel tip, a news item, or a technical/scientific dissertation.

I quite like the sentiment expressed in Bobmichaels’ signature line on the Lonely Planet forum:

Independently verify anything important that a stranger tells you on the internet, even this advice.

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