Retro Reads discussion

As most of you know, this is the most bug ridden site on the planet!

But I thought I had better post about this one, because I can just see this leading to people feeling hurt.

Some members of other Goodreads groups find when they post a new thread that the thread just disappears! When it first happened to me I thought I had just forgotten to hit post.

So far I have only heard of this happening to Group Moderators (but it happened to me in a group where I'm not a moderator!)

So I just want to assure everyone that we would never delete your posts without telling you. The only exception is spammers - & this group has been very lucky - we have had had very little problem with spam!

Carol
Thanks for the info and the reassurances.
Sadly, it does not surprise me to hear that it happens.
'Buggy' seems such an inadequate term to use in describing this site's problems. If the bugs ever quit holding hands the site would collapse!

Barb in Maryland wrote: "Carol
Thanks for the info and the reassurances.
Sadly, it does not surprise me to hear that it happens.
'Buggy' seems such an inadequate term to use in describing this site's problems. If the bugs..."

Hahahaha!

I've been told that this site is built with relatively old technology & the new graduates they have now are trained in new technology.

This problem with disappearing posts could be them trying to fix something & breaking something else.

this is the most bug ridden site on the planet!

For years now, I have been wishing for a better place to have these groups and conversations but on the other hand, it's free so maybe I should just be grateful for that?

thank you for letting use know, Carol. I'm pretty pleased I remembered to click on "discussions" so I found this thread!

Thanks, Carol, I’ve not been on the site a lot recently, just posting reading progress, but good to know.

lol, Barb!

I agree, Jackie, I’m grateful it’s free - but it is a shame “free” on the interwebs generally means buggy…

Say can someone explain this thing that happens to me every so often? Because each time this happens I think that Goodreads is mad at me. That they think I wrote "too many reviews in a day" or something like that. Because I don't understand it.

So I read a book. And then finish it. I go write the review and try to include lots of good details (like why I liked a book or why I hated it) but then when I hit post I get this weird message that says "You hit the end of the trail". So I hit the back button and try again and I get a similar message.

But if I copy my whole review, then go back to the main page, then go back to the book, then back to the review, paste the review into the box and hit post, it will post.

But I didn't change anything.

So why does Goodreads get mad about the review?? Is it the number of reviews? Because some days I might write like 2 reviews in a day, especially if I am reading kid's books.

copy/paste from Google AI:


Goodreads doesn't have a specific 2-review-per-day limit, but
it does have daily limits to prevent spam and abuse, such as review-bombing. These limits are set in place to stop users from posting a large number of reviews or adding many books to shelves in a short period, which can skew ratings or be used for malicious purposes.

Deterring spam: The limits are a preventative measure against spam and other forms of abuse, as a high volume of reviews from a single user can be a sign of automated or malicious activity.

Preventing review-bombing: These limits are part of Goodreads's effort to combat review-bombing, which is when a book receives a large number of negative reviews in an attempt to damage its rating, often by fake accounts.

Changing limits: The exact daily limits are not publicly disclosed by Goodreads and may change over time to adapt to new threats.

User experience: Some users report being temporarily blocked after adding a large number of books or reviews, even if they are not spammers. The best practice is to add a few a day to avoid hitting the limit and to wait 24 hours if a temporary block occurs.

I am not review bombing but actually reading the books. Especially if I am trapped inside due to weather or something.

Adding to what CindySR has said -

At one stage there was a lot of spamming and scamming going on on GR. They put heavy restrictions in place,. easing them as time went by. However what I have found since then is if I am in a post for "too long" - maybe thinking about what to write; changing my mind and scrubbing out that, putting something else in; posting several reviews at a time, when I have finished writing and go to "post" it will give me some seemingly irrelevant message, or a pile of tech text and will not post.
Sometimes I have lost everything I have written and have to begin over again, or sometimes I've been able to go "back", copy what I have written, close the comment and copy into a new comment.

There are two ways I have overcome this.
1. Typing my review in a word doc, making any alterations etc. etc. there then when it is how I want it copy/paste into the appropriate GR comment box.

2. Type my comment directly into the comment box, and then copy it, refresh the page I'm in by clicking the "Reload this page" button at the top left of the page, then pasting into the appropriate comment box.

No. 2 option is what I have just followed to post this comment - just in case GR thought I'd been a little long and having me start again!! :)

I noticed that the weird message I sometimes get says something about a "bad link" whatever that is. But when it does it I have to copy the whole review and then go back to the Home page, click on my Goodreads challenge, click on the book in question, then click on Write Review and then copy / paste. And then it will post the review without any problems.

But yes, when I get back to the review most of what I have written is missing. Only the first paragraph might be there.

I think you are right that the page is stalling out from time passing..I often try to take notes on paper what I am going to write in the review - key points or character names. That helps a lot. And then it seems I get the problem a lot less.

But there are sometimes books where I am confused what to actually say in the review and then I do my "thinking" on the review page while I am typing (with my one finger - 🤣 - yes I type with one finger on my phone) and I think that is probably when it gives the crazy message.

And typing with a finger takes time too.. I am not a fast type. Plus I often have the dumb zombie fingers too! 😡😭 Dumb keyboard doesn't know you are touching it at times and then acts up.. or even worse the finger hits that round dot way at the bottom and then the entire PAGE closes!! 😮 The horror!