Deleted threads?

Clueless · 11-19-2007, 01:06 PM

When threads are deleted, why do they just disappear with no explanation?

WashDad · 11-19-2007, 02:05 PM

Don't worry, this one will disappear soon!

jasmom · 11-19-2007, 02:08 PM

Alien abductions?

Clueless · 11-19-2007, 02:18 PM

HAHAHA. Too funny, you two!

astrophysicsmom · 11-19-2007, 02:19 PM

Maybe there's just a CC black hole that they go to...

andreaaaaaa · 11-19-2007, 02:37 PM

i have wondered this too.

coronax2 · 11-19-2007, 02:47 PM

I'm curious about this as well. It's so strange to refresh my page and find a thread I've been following has been deleted. Now you see it; now you don't.

I've seen some very controversial ones pulled, so it's easy to understand why they might have been deleted, but for others, the reasons seem quite murky.

tokenadult · 11-19-2007, 03:19 PM

Moderator actions related to threads are related to the Terms of Service, which are good to review from time to time.

Roger_Dooley · 11-19-2007, 11:21 PM

Usually, if an otherwise good thread heads south with fighting, etc., our mods try to clean up the problematic posts and leave the rest intact. Sometimes, though, time demands that a seriously polluted thread just go away.

jazzymom · 11-20-2007, 12:21 PM

I want to comment on this because it has annoyed me several times. I can't always stay on and partake in discussion over several hours, so I leave and come back, ready to join some discussion, only to find the thread "disappeared" with no comment. If some posters turn a discussion topic into a spit fest, I don't see why they can't be thrown off the thread and allow the discussion to continue until it dies its own natural death from disinterest by other posters. This is particularly true of threads that start out about topics that are not obviously hot buttons topics (h.s. yearbooks for example) and devolve into an argument between a few posters.

To come on and kill the thread because of some posters disagreements or nastiness when the topic might still have interest for others is heavy handed and dictatorial and dismissive of the forum participants. It treats the others on the forum as if they were inconsequential beings or invisible --- like when a parent comes into the room and clicks the TV off and says, "not for your eyes" to a bunch of children. What's worse is when someone like myself who wasn't on the thread the whole time doesn't know about a personal fight that erupted and spends (wastes) a lot of time looking for the thread before realizing what must have happened. Really annoying.

Oh, and it's wrong for moderators under different names to participate in discussions and engage in arguments and debate with posters without disclosing who they are and that they are moderators. It's like entrapment by the police. If you're going to have volunteers serving as moderators, they should at least steer clear of topic threads on which they know they will not be able to maintain their neutrality, something that's key to being a moderator. JMHO.

Roger_Dooley · 11-20-2007, 01:57 PM

Our mods don't moderate threads in which they participate except for spam removal and the like. If there's a concern about a heated argument or something of that nature, another mod will clean it up.

We do normally try to clean up threads rather than removing them. Sometimes, the nature of a topic is such that it seems unlikely to end up in a productive and courteous discussion; in those cases, it may be removed.

Roger_Dooley · 11-21-2007, 04:46 PM

Please note that all questions about moderation are to be handled by PM or email - I let this thread stand as it provided a place to explain our policies and practices.

We need to give our volunteer mods credit for their work in keeping the forums friendly and free of promotional posts.