Posts by Igor

Good to know - thanks for the feedback!

Original Post by akelim:

I can't see the graph.  I'm using Internet Explorer, not sure which version of Windows.  And I've tried closing the browser and re-opening, without it switching back to the old version.  Also tried logging out and back in; no luck there, either.  No graph for me.

Interesting. We do know that sometimes it may take a few seconds for the graph to load the very first time (it then gets cached and works much faster more then on). Maybe try one more time and give it perhaps up to a minute? It really should never take so long, but I just want to make sure we've tried everything.

We have had a Facebook fan page for a while (which we just recently revamped and started using daily), but the Facebook Connect functionality is a new tool that allows you to interact with Facebook from within Calorie Count.

Original Post by dnrothx:

Original Post by Igor:

1. There appears to be this notion that if we receive enough complaints about someone, we will close their account, justified or not. That's not true. Many PG-related complaints were justified, and we've had to delete PG's posts on numerous occasions.

Like KG, I still find those sentences disturbing from the PM, however, regarding the number of complaints that PG's posts generated being stated as a reason behind the warning to close her account.  It's not an automatic closure, but it appears the warning is caused by a quantity of complaints.

I've had a couple of posts deleted myself for reasons I still find ridiculous.  The moderation of this site still remains horrifically inconsistent (I had a post where I poked fun at Australia for its origins as a penal colony deleted, whereas when I objected to a post that called all Mormons bigots, that offensive, prejudicial post remained on the forums).

Although the closing of the account may not be automatic, the fact that any complainer receives a disproportionate amount of weight in the mods' and admins' eyes on CC is disturbing, if only for the fact that it appears any group of users could target any one of us in such a manner (i.e. get together and complain, thus generating the warning due to the quantity -- KG has made this argument, and, given the PM, it holds weight).

In the past when I've brought this up, someone inevitably directs me to the "suggestion box," which I've found to be nothing more than a black hole.  As the manager from Dilbert says: "I value your opinion."

In any manner, I hardly ever agreed with PG and did find her trying, but I'm not going to leave this board over this; it's just yet another unfortunate incident that I've found to be poorly handled by the powers-that-be.

Our mods do their best to be consistent, but you have to understand that it's a large team and there's obviously going to be some variance (just look at the iPhone App Store approval process, for example). We totally accept the possibility that some of our calls may not always be the best, and in that case you are always welcome to email Sheila, our customer service representative. Sheila and I work together, and she gives me summaries of all of the feedback that we get.

I also wanted to mention that I am absolutely positive that we have an outstanding mod team, and they are a big part of how we manage to run this site for free. Based on my conversations with my peers in the industry, the amount of diligence that we do is above the industry standard, and that is also reflected in the overall positive and supportive tone in our forums. You may disagree with some of our mods' individual calls, but I would encourage you to consider how many times a day they also save you from spammers, trolls, hackers and God knows who else we are dealing with on a daily basis.

I would also like to thank everyone who sent us very encouraging and positive PMs in the last 24 hours, and I made sure to share them with the rest of our mod team.

Hi everyone, just wanted to address two myths that have been repeated over and over:

1. There appears to be this notion that if we receive enough complaints about someone, we will close their account, justified or not. That's not true. Many PG-related complaints were justified, and we've had to delete PG's posts on numerous occasions.

2. The other notion is that it was our idea that we close her account tonight at midnight. That is completely taken out of the context (sadly, by her, and she should know better since I talked to her directly). I gave her just a warning, and she reacted defensively and said "...forget it. delete my account."

3. Finally, if you're looking for PG's history of offensive posts and language, you can't do that by simply going through the forums - because those posts have been deleted. It's unfair to look at what's still there and think that this is all that prompted the warning.

Just to be clear - I don't want her to leave. I have read hundreds of her posts over the years, and have been reluctant to step in in many of the previous incidents because I valued her presence on the forums. When she told me to close her account earlier today, I was ready to do it. Now I am starting to wonder if she really meant it. Like I said before, if she wants me to close it, I'll do it, and if she wants to stay, we'll be all glad to see her again. It's up to her (and always has been).

Original Post by anewdawn:

Igor...when I did this link up and then clicked on my journal entry from Facebook, I could then open up all the other entries...will everyone on Facebook be able to do the same?  If so...how do you DELINK??!! 

Your private journal posts will stay private and noone will be able to see them (unless you hand-select people from your friends list and give them special permissions).

Those journal posts that you choose to make public will be accessible by Calorie Count users (which has always been the case) and your Facebook friends (the latter is only the case if all of these conditions apply: 1.) you opt-into Facebook Connect, then 2.) leave the checkbox checked to export to Facebook while publishing your post, and finally, 3.) check our preview of the exported item and confirm that you also want to post it on Facebook).

So, to answer your question, the privacy of your posts is not compromised. However, unlinking your accounts is also very easy and can be done on your Account Settings page (My Account/Account Settings).

We are still actively looking for members for this media opportunity, so get in touch with us if you'd like to be featured in First For Women!

Just also wanted to add that we need to respond by end of day today or latest by noon tomorrow. Thanks!

Hey everyone - thanks for all your comments, they are going to be tremendously helpful going forward. Some of the things you mentioned are easy to improve and we should have them up very soon. Some other ones might take us a few weeks, but I do want to reassure you that as long as we know what the issues, we can fix them.

To that end, I started a group dedicated to the switch and improvement suggestions. I would like to invite you all to join it and contribute to the list of changes that you would like to see. Thanks!

Original Post by alevin:

on that note, a scan view for all groups would be at least as useful as a scan view for only my groups.  It is very easy to scan past topics that are not relevant.

on the forum, I've learned a lot from topics where I mostly lurk. in groups, there may be areas where I'd want to read to learn as well, and then perhaps join.

Agreed :)

Original Post by jane41:

In the last couple of days when I click various things - like journals or forums or people.. i get to the groups section some how instead of where I clicked. It happens once, then I click the right button again but get sent where I wanted to go originally.. just thought you should know if this error

Sorry for that! We are looking at it and hope to fix it soon!

Original Post by auriam:

Original Post by carrie317:

Original Post by clairelaine:

Sorry, but I want information that's been checked by professionals for accuracy.

Funny, but I find that most of the time when something I want to log is already in the database, I have to manually enter it anyways because the nutritional info is almost never correct when checked against the label. Just sayin.

Edit: I didn't realize that this thread has basically been dead for almost a month. Sorry!

It's been dead but people keep bringing it up; I think it's still a great idea; otherwise, most new foods (like for example, salad spritzers, which just came out a couple of years ago but still aren't in the system) aren't going to be included in the database and those that are there already may never be corrected to match the manufacturer's new labels.

I am going to chime in to explain why we don't rely on user-generated content for nutritional information. Basically, the issue does not only lie in accuracy, but also in duplicate entries, naming, tracking, etc. We have 2 consultants who basically spend their entire day talking to different restaurants and adding new or modifying existing information. This clearly limits the growth rates of our database, but we were not under the impression that the size is our biggest challenge in this regard. I would say it is much rather the ability to find what's already in there, and also the ability to update information as manufacturers overhaul their products. I am a little sceptical that this can be controlled as effectively in a Wiki-type layout as it can with our current approach.

Obviously, if I could choose, I would prefer to have both - the latest products on the market AND the piece of mind that it's verified information. But if I had to choose, I would take the latter. As much as the food industry continues to reinvent itself every year, the more that things change, the more our diets are still all the same. I still eat the same things I enjoyed a year or two ago, and I am sure the same is true for the majority of our users.

Once again, our system is not perfect, but Calorie Count is committed to accuracy more than some of our other competitors, and that's a part of our brand. Which other site gives you a nutritionist for free? (See Ask Mary if you are not familiar with that service)

And finally, I can assure you that we do want our database to grow and be as complete as possible - so if you'd like to make a request for a new food to be added, you can do this here.

I don't get to spend much time on the forums and will let you guys continue to communicate with our moderators. Thanks for bringing this up and for caring!

Original Post by nenewa:

I just used it and it didn't work for me. I typed in food beef soft taco and I got a text back that said 0 cals. What's up with that?

Sorry for that. It wasn't necessarily a problem with the texts, but much more that we retrieved an item from our database that did not have any data in it - see for yourself here. No idea how this ended up there, but I already arranged for this to be researched and fixed. Please let me know if you spot any more items like this one (which would surprise me, tbh - but you never know..)

For now, we have only signed deals with US carriers and for service within US. If we can justify it, we will expand our agreements and Canada would be the next choice.