How do I fight a report for spam?

[sunflore]

I got a warning issued for "spam" today for a post that was relevant to said topic, which to me makes absolutely no sense. Now, this really wouldn't bother me much if it didn't threaten my account being terminated and if there was a legitimate reason to mark it as spam.

The post was titled "Mornings and Breakfast" under general chat, I believe. The post had been up for a few days, and no one had responded. I commented "I like pancakes," hoping to get a conversation started about, you know, Mornings and Breakfast. BREAKFAST.
But nope, I got a warning for spam. Absolutely ridiculous.

Now I obviously must not understand how this forum works because I was not aware that "spam" was commenting about something relevant. In fact, spam is coined as meaning "irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent on the Internet to a large number of recipients." (Google definition) Last time I checked, pancakes is relevant to breakfast and morning.

Keep me under warning; I don't care. I've only been a user on this site for about a week. I do, however, believe that this argument is justified and I would prefer if you did revoke my warning and bring me back to the status of the average user.

Thank you.

 

[Teapot]

Hey. Firstly, thank you for asking about this warning in a relatively civil manner - it makes a nice change.

Firstly, there's an issue with your definition of spam: While it is true that off-topic messages are spam, that's not the part of the rule you ran afoul of - the rule about short posts is:

Overly Short or Pointless Posts
This is posting only "yes", "no", "I don't know", filling posts with nothing but smilies, or something similar. If you have something to say, please take the time to write a proper message. Similarly, if you say you like or don't like something, explain why!

For example, if we were posting in a thread about our favourite Pokémon, a bad way to reply would be like this:

my fav pokemon is bidoof

Instead, try posting something like this:

My favourite Pokémon is Bidoof! I like it because it evolves into one of the best HM slaves in the game and because it's a cute Pokémon! Plus, they say you can finish the entire game with a team of six Bidoof...

Similarly, if you want to express your liking for something but have nothing more constructive to say about it, click Like instead of replying.

Now, I understand that your post was at least about breakfast, as you quite rightly say, but it just wasn't really long enough. Next time, instead of simply saying that you like pancakes, explain why - go into a little more detail. As a general rule, if you're posting in the the discussion forums (the forums under the General Discussions and Pokémon Discussions headers) , you should be writing about a paragraph at minimum.

It may seem a little strict, but the idea is to foster a good quality of discussion on the forums, rather than devolving into a mess of nonsensical non-discussions. Now, obviously you posted with absolutely good intent, but if is fairly common to get a lot of visitors who will post three words without regard to the discussion at all - and that;s what the rule is there to stop. I apologise that you got caught by this rule despite having the right intention.

To address your request: I won't be revoking your warning - mostly because the warning was issued correctly, but also because it would make absolutely no difference to your standing as a member. A spam warning is one of the most minor warnings we can give, and more to the point it does not confer enough warning points to affect your account at all. I can't return your account's status to "that of a normal user" because it is already unaffected - there's nothing to undo.

You would have to receive several spam warnings within the space of a couple of weeks to even trigger the first, most minor restriction on your account - which is moderation, a sanction that only requires your posts to be approved by staff before they appear. Getting your account put into Read Only takes a lot worse, and a lot more frequently than the single warning you've got.

In the same vein, it's worth pointing out another thing our rules say: Warnings expire. Spam warnings stop counting against you only two weeks after they are issued, once again because the warning is intended to be a very minor one.

I hope the explanation helps, and please let me know if there's anything more I can do for you

 

[sunflore]

I hope the explanation helps, and please let me know if there's anything more I can do for you

Thank you, I understand.