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olePigeon · Mar 6, 2007, 01:31 PM

OK, this really pisses me off about Apple. In their Discussion area of the Apple Support, every now and then someone posts about their lower RAM slot dying, but their SN is just out of range from the extended support.

Any time one of those threads pops up, it gets deleted about 20 minutes later.

When you call Apple support they claim they haven't heard of any problems outside the listed serial number range, then continue to delete the support threads about the lower RAM slot.

I'm tempted to keep posting threads every time they delete them, with a link to a possible Class Action Lawsuit website that has the problem listed. Also with Apple's snail-mail address so people can mail them. This is just wrong.

Dakar² · Mar 6, 2007, 01:37 PM

There's always evil present, no matter what the corporation.

Goldfinger · Mar 6, 2007, 01:38 PM

Yup, a lot of threads tend to magically disappear in the Apple Support forums.

olePigeon · Mar 6, 2007, 01:42 PM

There's a new one just posted. I wonder how long it'll last

Edit: IT'S ALREADY GONE!! Wow, that was like 15 seconds. Literally.

Apple - Support - Discussions - Slot Problem ...

I can still link to it directly through my profile.

::maroma:: · Mar 6, 2007, 01:42 PM

Its happened since day one. Right or wrong, its their forums, they can delete what they want.

mac128k-1984 · Mar 6, 2007, 01:43 PM

Not that I condone it, but it is their forum so they have the right to remove them.

They do seem to pretty anal about what is being posted. I saw an aperture thread that asked how it compares to Lightroom, that went missing the next day - I assume it was deleted.

olePigeon · Mar 6, 2007, 01:48 PM

It's not that I have a problem with them deleting posts, it's that they lie about it when you talk to a support rep.

Jawbone54 · Mar 6, 2007, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

It's not that I have a problem with them deleting posts, it's that they lie about it when you talk to a support rep.

Sounds nasty to me. I don't like it. Acting like it's not happening isn't going to stop the complaints. I guess they just don't want bad press?

::maroma:: · Mar 6, 2007, 03:03 PM

There could be a number of legitimate reasons for deleting support posts. I'm not saying I agree with what they're doing, but the possibility of a good reason still exists. But even if they had a good reason, having a moderator post inside that thread explaining why they are being deleted or locked would work much better than just deleting them and pissing people off.

Of course, its also equally possible that they are suppressing complaints to make themselves look better.

Jawbone54 · Mar 6, 2007, 03:05 PM

The second one.

mac128k-1984 · Mar 6, 2007, 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by ::maroma::

Of course, its also equally possible that they are suppressing complaints to make themselves look better.

I think they have something in their terms of use regarding that. As for the customer reps denying it, I have to believe they have no clue. Apple is so large that one department has no idea what the other is doing. Its not like the admins/mods keep the customer reps up to speed on their actions. Heck most of the time tech support is only reading a script and don't have a clue anyways.

As I said before I'm not condoning the act or making excuses. Its wrong and in the long run it only hurts themselves.

hayesk · Mar 6, 2007, 08:32 PM

Apple is doing the right thing. Those are support forums, not complaint forums. How does 10 threads about a dying RAM slot help anyone? The support forums are there are for questions and answers.

I hate trying to search a forum for an answer to a problem, only to find a dozen threads all asking the same question, but nobody actually answering the question. It's too bad they don't have a complaint forum, although really, hosting a complaint forum is not really good for business.

mac128k-1984 · Mar 6, 2007, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by hayesk

Apple is doing the right thing. Those are support forums, not complaint forums. How does 10 threads about a dying RAM slot help anyone? The support forums are there are for questions and answers.

And if I post a problem aobut the ram slot and find its deleted how is that helping me. Its not like I can search for it since apple has been deleting the threads. You're right, it is a support forum but when apple removes the threads about a problem then its counter productive.

I'm aware (or at least assuming) that a number of the threads were rants but still when people post valid questions and they get deleted, its not right.

alligator · Mar 7, 2007, 07:36 AM

I mentioned a lawsuit once when Apple wouldn't fix a bug where my G5 wouldn't sleep. That immediately killed the long thread. My guess. you can't mention lawsuits, even to convince Apple to take action or to point out a problem. Eventually they fixed my problem, but it took 3 months.

Big Mac · Mar 7, 2007, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by hayesk

Apple is doing the right thing. Those are support forums, not complaint forums. How does 10 threads about a dying RAM slot help anyone? The support forums are there are for questions and answers.

I hate trying to search a forum for an answer to a problem, only to find a dozen threads all asking the same question, but nobody actually answering the question. It's too bad they don't have a complaint forum, although really, hosting a complaint forum is not really good for business.

If that's the case, they should consolidate the threads into one. There's no excuse for deleting the posts outright, and the only perception it sends is that Apple wants to cover up a manufacturing defect.

Is this the 15" PowerBook RAM slot issue or something else?

zro · Mar 7, 2007, 08:47 AM

Who's the oppressive, media controlling, big brother figure from "1984" now, huh?

Doofy · Mar 7, 2007, 09:29 AM

On what machine is this?

analogika · Mar 7, 2007, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

There's a new one just posted. I wonder how long it'll last

Edit: IT'S ALREADY GONE!! Wow, that was like 15 seconds. Literally.

Apple - Support - Discussions - Slot Problem ...

I can still link to it directly through my profile.

I'm still seeing it in the forum: http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1037

"Disappearing Memory, RAM" and "Slot Problem" are both there.

olePigeon · 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

Is this the 15" PowerBook RAM slot issue or something else?

Yes. But it's 15" PowerBooks who's SNs are out of range than what's been supported by the extended warranty.

It's quite obvious the manufacturing problem applies to earlier and later models. The problem is to get Apple to extend the SN range for the support. They've acknowledged the problem, provided a fix, but only for some of the computers.

So meanwhile people like my brother who's extended AppleCare warranty is up has a laptop that's dying because of a manufacturing problem, not because of anything he's done.

It's too bad there isn't a California Lemon Law that applies to computers.

olePigeon · Mar 7, 2007, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by analogika

I'm still seeing it in the forum: Apple - Support - Discussions - Using your PowerBook G4 15-inch Aluminum

"Disappearing Memory, RAM" and "Slot Problem" are both there.

Whoa. I guess they put them back up?

Big Mac · Mar 7, 2007, 11:00 AM

I wonder if even Safeware would cover such a problem, since it sounds like a manufacturing defect.

analogika · Mar 7, 2007, 11:10 AM

Incidentally, from what I hear, the slot problem isn't "fixed" simply by not using the lower slot. It is, rather, merely the most obvious symptom of a failure that most likely affects a number of components.

I would certainly not trust a machine that has the slot failure but continues to work with just one stick.

My 1.5 GHz refurb Powerbook had this failure, and was not in the S/N range. Luckily, I had AppleCare.

analogika · Mar 7, 2007, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Whoa. I guess they put them back up?

Perhaps critical threads aren't outright deleted, merely hidden and flagged for supervisor review?

hayesk · Mar 7, 2007, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by mac128k-1984

And if I post a problem aobut the ram slot and find its deleted how is that helping me. Its not like I can search for it since apple has been deleting the threads. You're right, it is a support forum but when apple removes the threads about a problem then its counter productive.

Based on your first post these weren't actual support questions. It looks more like people are complaining that something broke outside of the warranty period. The support forum is for help information from Apple and other users. Posting about a serial number and warranty support is a policy question, not a support one. That's best left to call Apple Service and ask them.

But, I'll bet if someone posted information about ressurecting the dying RAM slot, it would not be deleted.

I'm aware (or at least assuming) that a number of the threads were rants but still when people post valid questions and they get deleted, its not right.

When the question is already asked, or the answer is already known, there's no reason to ask it again. In fact, I just checked - there are a number of threads on RAM slots there that haven't been deleted. These are all of a technical nature, not about a warrany policy.