Why does Apple censor this forum?

VeryUnhappyMacUser wrote:

I posted a message critiquing Apple's OS and software updating methods, detailing many critical unsolved problems that cause anguish for uncountable numbers of people round the world. My message was full of technical observations, analysis and detailed suggestions.

In response I received a message from Apple:

"We removed your post Why is Apple such a disaster when it comes to OS and software updates?

because it contained rants or complaints that weren’t constructive. We understand wanting to share experiences, but these forums are meant for technical questions that can be answered by the community."

However this is inaccurate. My message was packed with suggestions (ie: constructive) and full of technical points and questions. It is not up to the community to fix these problems. Apple has to.

Can someone in the community suggest a better place than this to conduct my effort? Is there an email within Apple that I can direct my observations to? Does anyone in the community know?

I invite Apple to go through my message and identify what they believe to be the problems with it. And then I can repost it.

This is a technical post relating to the utility of this forum, containing questions about what is the right forum to raise these issues, if this forum is not the right place. Does anyone in the community know?

Why does Apple not permit public discussion of problems in their OS and software update methods? Their decisions affect millions of lives and deeply impact our productivity.

Unhappy Mac User

Because its their forum and they set the rules. This is not a public place. Its a private technical forum run by Apple, and they determine what can and cannot be posted, and you must adhere to those rules.

https://discussions.apple.com/terms

Rants are not a technical question, and as such do not fall within the purpose set for these forums. This is not a correct avenue for feedback.

If you wish to submit feedback to Apple you can use the feedback link instead. https://www.apple.com/feedback/

You clearly did not read the Terms of Use here before you agreed to them. This is a user-to-user technical support site that is operated by Apple. Except for some staff members helping with posts that aren't responded to within 12 - 24 hours that usually give knowledgeable articles, there is no Apple participation here, so your long post with suggestions (I suppose) on how to test software, etc. instead is a post about Apple corporate policies which cannot be done here.

If you have a question regarding getting help from another person with updating your device that is permissible, posting about your knowledge of such techniques and your thoughts on how Apple should do it instead is not and serves no purpose here rather than acting as clutter. You can write it on a piece of cardboard and take it out to your front yard and you will have about an equal chance of Apple executives seeing it as posting here.

You can go here to send your thoughts to Apple: https://www.apple.com/feedback (you won't get a response).

Or write them a snail mail letter to their corporate address. If you want true input and discussion of the issue you need to apply for a position with Apple.

A quick search, and I found this solution: Trackpad and Mojave (no scroll) - Apple Community

Maybe it will work for you.

Asking for help with a specific issue such as the trackpad not working is fine. Sticking to the facts, and not going out on a tangent to complain about what apple does or does not do.

Going into the weeds about why Apple will not acknowledge it or do anything about it, serves no one, and makes your post violate the terms of service of these forums.

If us users providing solutions is not good enough, then you can contact Apple directly via their Support page and have them help you directly. This is a user to user forum. Apple does not provide help directly here and will not acknowledge any issues here either.

If you think this is something they need to address, then submit feedback to them directly at: https://www.apple.com/feedback/macos.html

Apple has addressed many issues when they've received enough feedback through there.

I did not state anything falsely to you.

The deletion of posts here is entirely arbitrary because it is Apple's site, and it isn't censorship, governments censor.

You need to click on the Contact Support link at the top right of this page in order to directly deal with Apple tech support about your trackpad issue assuming you have exhausted all the usual methods to try to recover.

Neither Phil nor I work for Apple and operate this forum. Again, read the Terms of Use or reread my post. There are other forums, including the rumor sites, reddit, etc. where you can carry on your broad discussion regarding updates and Apple policy. But it serves no purpose here.

Assuming that 10.14.6 did in fact cause the problem (what software do you have that requires a minor bug fix release to work?) you do realize that unlike iOS software upgrades you can in fact roll your installation back to macOS 10.14.5? Also a trackpad failure is often related to PRAM or NVRAM problems and resetting those may solve the problem.

VeryUnhappyMacUser wrote:

• Thanks Phil,

• you confirm my suspicion that this forum is censored by Apple arbitrarily

I confirmed no such thing. This is not a public forum. It is a private forum that has rules one has to follow. you are free to post your views, in any technical or non technical forum not owned and operated by Apple, and Apple has no way nor right to remove it from there. Posting here, means you need to adhere to Apple's rules, and Apple can rightfully delete your posts if they do not meet the criteria set forth by them. It is not arbitrary, when its explained and spelled out what the posts can contain.

So I invite you to confirm that indeed your forum is not a venue for discussing the single most vexing issue that Mac users have, ...

It is not "my forum". I am not an Apple employee. I have no relation to this forum beyond volunteering my time here to help other users.

As stated you are free to return to macOS 10.14.5 if that version worked for you.

124 people out of the millions of users that run and update macOS versions daily simply is not a significant enough sample to conclusively assume its a generic issue with the update that Apple can fix, let alone reproduce to understand what is causing it.

It could conceivably be a coincidence. The trackpad issue could have manifested itself eventually even if you had not updated.

There is no widely publicized issue with trackpads and macOS 10.15.4.

VeryUnhappyMacUser wrote:

no Apple employee will venture onto this forum to properly and technically address the widely reported problem of trackpad freezing in MacOS Mojave,

Even if there were such a widespread issue (and I have no evidence of that), no, no Apple employees would post here addressing the issue.

Ever heard of paragraphs? It makes it much easier to read when you use them for their purpose of separating unconnected thoughts.

Everyone has, up to this point, been as polite as possible explaining how these forums work. You, in return, have continued with your valueless screeds.

No one has said you aren't having a problem. What you have failed to do, repeatedly, is try anything we fellow users have offered to possibly fix the problem. I suggested in one of your other topics to try the very simple step of creating a new user account to see if the problems go away. You never gave any indication of having tried this two minute test.

Now is also the time to get off your very high horse. No, there is no censorship here. NONE. This is Apple's domain. They pay for the servers and electricity the forums run on. They pay their employees to maintain the servers and moderate these forums. Every single bit of this is provided by a privately held company on their dime. As such, they can do whatever they darn well please with the forums and its rules. If you don't like it, then tough tiddlywinks. Go start your own forum at your expense and then you'll get what you want.

Even the most high level users here have had posts removed and edited by the hosts, including myself. Did I complain? No. Why? Because this is Apple's playground. If you don't follow the rules, then they have every right to kick you out in the same manner you have every right to kick unruly guests out of your home. Your house, your rules. It's the same here. Apple's house, Apple's rules.

If you actually want help, then act like it and describe what's wrong and (gasp!) actually try some of the suggestions you're given. Everyone is here to help other users. We don't get a cent for doing this on our own time. No one has any interest in trying to help a user whose only desire is to complain.

Problems with hardware and software are what these forums are all about. Post as a separate discussion on each problem. Skip any editorializing.

R