A moderator quickly closed my topic I put much effort to write while a regular user(?) changed the title and the meaning of three(!) of my topics

[Open]

Changed the meaning of my title, closed my topic almost immediately I took much effort into writing. I though we could have a good discussion about price points, and photography on Linux-based smartphones. How about just leaving my thread as it is and perhaps moving it to the Round Table category?

I'm too cheap for Librem 5 at $750

I know LineageOS on an Android phone certainly isn’t as free as a Librem 5 or even a PinePhone and postmarketOS is quite beta on Android phones. It may work better on a PinePhone but you can run quite a few operating systems on a PinePhone, if that’s your thing. My thing is photography. To some extent. The Librem 5 costs $750 and the PinePhone costs $150. The average of those two prices is $450, still a little more I want to spend on a phone. Closer to my price range at $350 you can get the Goo…

I categorically refuse this short statement in this form you put into my mouth, I feel offended by it. I can get behind my original, full title but it connotes a different meaning of course.

Again, changed the meaning of my topic’s title:

What brand fanless PC to run free OS?

First of all I understand you at Purism try to push things forward by the Tesla business model. Meaning you start with the top of the line products then (potentially? if ever) you eventually move down the value chain over time. Like Tesla started with the exclusive Roadster, then the premium Model S, the the midrange Model 3, then moving to the even more affordable Model Y. You start with premium, high specced Linux laptops but I guess the majority of Linux users don’t really need that much omp…

I’m more specific about what form factor of fanless PCs I’m looking for and my price range.

Yet again changed the meaning of my topic’s title:

Monitor design

I hope you care about design. Let’s start with hardware design.

It’s worth talking about design as a concept alone. Your monitors are just an example.

So basically you neutered my threads. Guys, second guessing me and putting words in my mouth doesn’t work for me, I’m sorry. Trust me, I know very well what I want to discus in a topic I start. How shall we resolve this?

Bonus question: why there is a lock sign next to the round table category? It seems new threads can be opened there. I don’t get it.

[taylor-williamc]

I cannot say why the titles were changed.

In the case of the thread about phones, it could be because you posted it in the “Librem 5” category, but you really were just asking about competitor’s phones, since you said upfront you were not going to buy a Librem 5.

In your monitor thread, it is absolutely unclear what you are hoping to discuss in that thread. There is no context, there are no suggestions, no starting points. You may have an idea of what you want to discuss, but no one else knows.

Your other thread about fanless PCs also has a very meandering, incoherent flow, that leaves lots of half-finished statements and does not provide a clear picture of what you are actually looking for.

[Open]

@taylor-williamc

you said upfront you were not going to buy a Librem 5.

Important clarification: at this point in time and at this price. Of course I registered to this forum because on some level I’m sympathetic to Purism’s mission. I’m just waiting for the right time and price point, regarding to the phone. But I suggested the topic could be moved to the Round Table section if this kind of broader discussion belongs there.

@taylor-williamc

In your monitor thread

I intended to call it the design thread, to be precise. I had a very specific thought process going into it back in January deliberately staring it with a one sentence question in a conversational style then I log off the forum for most of the year to live the pandemic-life. I’m sorry, I’m bad at committing to my online conversations. Maybe we should just scrap that whole topic and when I get back to my thought process again I can start it again from scratch? I’m sorry for the confusion.

@taylor-williamc

Your other thread about fanless PCs

Because the original title was much more descriptive than simply fanless PCs. Sorry my native language isn’t English but still it seems other folks got more out of what I wanted to convey there.

[kieran]

@Open

Changed the meaning of my title

Yes, fair cop, I shortened your title - because frankly as this very topic illustrates, such long titles are unwieldy, they don’t format very well, …

The title does not have to contain the entirety of your point. The title should summarize your post in half a dozen words. It really shouldn’t be that hard.

I think it is unhelpful to the community that in a topic complaining about shortening of titles you should choose to use such a long title.

It is possible that the forum software (Discourse) will let you lengthen your title again but, again, that would be unhelpful to the community.

Nevertheless it is valid “site feedback” to complain about shortening of titles. I will leave Purism to respond to the general issue.

@Open

why there is a lock sign next to the round table category?

That choice is nothing to do with me - but the Round Table category is not openly visible to the web. It is only visible to people who have created an account on this forum and logged in. That’s what the lock indicates.

I believe the idea is that it can encompass more frank, more controversial, … discussion but of course in reality since anyone can create an account, the discussion is still really visible to anyone in the world.

It is possible that the content in the Round Table category wouldn’t get indexed by web crawlers (search engines).

[Gavaudan]

You are developing (or perhaps I’m jist now noticing) a bad habit of altering threads and/or their location with no explanation to the OP. Additionally, I find it troubling when threads get locked without explanation. There should be more to this forum’s moderation than what appears to be whimsy.

And yes, I’m sure you have entirely justifiable reasons for moves and changes. But (as is illustrated here) the OPs don’t always see it, nor are given the opportunity to correct and learn from it, nor really know why their (or, if more appropriate, “their”) thread was changed or moved or locked (I acknowledge that you don’t do the locking).

[epinez]

You tend to create tons of topics where there is no clear intention, or there are multiple different points merged into one topic which don’t seem to have something in common. Your titles are unreadable. Just try to image how totally unusable this forum were if more people start posting like you. Just try to organize yourself before posting, please.

[Sagi]

Oh wow! This seems like a desperate attempt of censorship here. Sorry that you are being targeted @Open

[Jt0]

I think it’s good forum etiquette to post a note explaining moderation actions. Changing titles and moving categories should be kept to a minimum.

That said, I do think at least two of the threads were in need of moderation. I thought it was strange to see a thread from January pop up on the forum feed with no substantial update, and the “Let’s discuss photography software, Android ROMS, and phones that aren’t the Librem 5” thread in the Librem 5 category was off-topic.

There might be a place in Round Table for such a thread, but that would be up to @joao.azevedo at this point.

[epinez]

Are you serios? What does this have to do with censorship? It’s just about the organisation, not about his “ideas” and thoughts.

Edit: Why not just naming this topic “Forum moderation criticism”? I could change that title but I will keep my hands off that.

[2disbetter]

The post which was closed talking about how you are too cheap to get a Librem 5, I think was titled wrong to begin with. The crux of your argument is that cheaper solutions are there, but you fail to notice that none offer exactly what the Librem 5 offers.

To me your entire attitude could be summed up into the phrase, you’re a believer, so long as you don’t have to prove it.

Don’t get me wrong! There is nothing WRONG with not being able to afford a L5. However, someone who believes in what Purism is doing, or what the phone represents is usually more than capable of saving up and getting one.

I say this as someone who DOESN’T agree with one of Purism’s main tenants: That software has to be FOSS, or that closed source is bad. I vehemently disagree with that zealot like mindset. However, the privacy, hardware repair-ability, and planned obsolescence factors of Purism make them a company I want and need to support.

Outside of that, find a 13" laptop that can support up to 64gb of RAM. I couldn’t find any.

I also support Purism, because the more success they have, the more they will pressure companies like Microsoft and Google, to mend or abolish their privacy invading ways.

As for thread renaming… I mean come on. Look at this thread. That is basically 3 separate threads put together with sentences instead of titles.

[kieran]

@Sagi

a desperate attempt of censorship

Noone is being censored by shortening of titles. Whatever content is in the title could be and should be in the body of the post. It presumably could still be edited in to the body of the post by the person who created the post.

No forum user is being targeted. Badly titled posts are being targeted.

But look if Purism jumps in and says “leave 191 character post titles alone”, that is exactly what I will do. And if they think the opposite, see next:

[kieran]

Is there a way to limit max and min no of characters allowed for "Topic"...

[Gavaudan]

Do I? Could you find an example, please?

[epinez]

Not you, the OP. I didn’t answer your post specifically but the topic in general. Sorry for the misunderstanding!

[Caliga]

I’d suggest “renaming and closing of (my) topics” as succinct, half-dozen words, non-blaming, non-annoying title for this thread

[joao.azevedo]

@Open you could have given me 24h to reply to your private message before making this post.

And you could have kept my name out of the title and put it in the text of the post itself.

As for the reasons for closing the post. Besides the very large title, while we do have tolerance for several things in the forum, we have no obligation to provide a platform to search and debate other products to purchase.

[tracy]

@What brand fanless PC to run free OS? PureOS

First of all I understand you at Purism try to push things forward by the Tesla business model.

I thought the Tesla business model was to not pay their bills on time and to push it out as far as possible?

[privacy238437]

I don’t really blame them. You made a post talking about how their product is “overpriced” compared to the competition, without asking for any input.

You basically said “your phone is too expensive so I’m not buying it”, without offering a chance for anyone to explain why the phone is more expensive, and justify it. This thread is perfectly fine for that reason, it is a discussion about why the phone is more expensive, not a multi-paragraph dissertation explaining why the phone is overpriced and you aren’t buying it, with no room for response without starting an argument.

You can’t reasonably expect a company to host a page that negatively talks about their product. Before someone cries “free speech”, you need to read up on what free speech actually is. It is the protection for a person or company to speak out against the government, not the right for you to put whatever you want in someone else’s database, as many people think it is for some reason…

Purism has the right to decide that they don’t want to pay the fraction of a cent that it costs for them to store your forum post, and delete it. If you don’t like that, make your own Purism hate website that you own, host, and pay for. That could be considered your right (based on where you live), and there is nothing stopping you (once again, based on where you live) except ~$15 for a domain and cheap server, although it would be mean and they seem to be nice people. My point is that there are other ways to voice your concern if you feel that Purism is censoring you.

Back on-subject, this may come as a shock to you, but privacy and freedom are not cheap. That $350 Google Pixel is designed to track you, with the only escape being a third-party, unofficial software patch (which could loose support at any time should some developers get bored or find something more interesting to work on). Would you rather support that future, or one where the company making the phone supports freedom by default, with official software that is supported by the phone maker in addition to the community? That is up to each of us to decide.

[MikeS]

I would like to see the price point of the Librem 5 come down a bit, maybe into the $500 price point, and some of the features I need to be developed (sandboxed Android apps). My computing needs are minimal, and I have transitioned to primarily cloud computing using a higher-end Chromebook. With that idea in mind, I think both the monitor/docking station solution and perhaps a computeless laptop solution where there would be a nice clean way to “dock” your Librem 5 without it being laid on a table. I can foresee a time where I come home and attach my Librem 5 to the back of my “laptop” and away I go. Or, if more screen real estate is needed dock with a desktop setup. The laptop solution is higher on the list for me than the desktop (easier) to produce. Both solutions need to be neat and clean as you would expect from a premium solution.

[kieran]

Welcome, @MikeS, to the Purism community.

However you are replying in the wrong topic. I suggest you repost as an addition to
https://forums.puri.sm/t/l5-price-too-high/10765