Censor on this Forum?

[NOLA]

It really shouldn't be the moderators' concern to ensure each thread strictly remains on topic. The threat of being forced to remain on topic or risk having a thread deleted would thwart the sort of serendipitous information that good discussions often produce. Additionally, asking forum members to remember and be responsible for reproducing a deleted thread's content is unnecessarily placing an undue burden on the members while potentially robbing future members of valuable information should that content never be accurately reproduced.

You and the other moderators on this forum have done a terrific job overall, but this is a decision I vehemently oppose. Locking a thread (i.e., preventing the possibility of additional posts to be added) that has irreparably strayed off topic is acceptable in some cases, but actually removing content without warning while placing the burden of reproduction of the deleted thread's content on the members is setting a dangerous precedent that most members here, and possibly the administrator, did not agree to when making the decision to implement moderators. If I correctly recall, the primary purpose of implementing moderators was to prevent the influx of spam that had begun to occur, and to handle the occasional member whose sole intent is to disrupt productive discussion - neither of which was the case in this instance. If the original poster of the thread in question desired having his posts deleted then let it be so, but moderators should not delete all contributions to a thread without warning at the sole request of one member who happens to believe the information in that thread is unfavorable to him.

Also, Zvez mentioned a "thread boneyard". Is this a section of the forum which regular members have access to, or is this an area which only privileged members may access? How would the average member go about accessing or reviewing contributions they made to a thread that has been banished to a thread boneyard?

Not just oppose it but "vehemently oppose""¦whew"¦Well ...., since its not just opposition, its vehement opposition"¦

Dictionary sex.

NOLA

 

[Trauma]

Good riddance to the other thread - it had little if any valuable information. His issue never got solved, and most of what was on it has been repeated again and again on the new thread. If OPs don't like the rules here, stop using it. Or threaten to leave, then come back as several have done. This was ONE thread guys out of 10's of thousands.

 

[Duck41]

Good riddance to the other thread - it had little if any valuable information. His issue never got solved, and most of what was on it has been repeated again and again on the new thread. If OPs don't like the rules here, stop using it. Or threaten to leave, then come back as several have done. This was ONE thread guys out of 10's of thousands.

My contention with the decision is not so much ingrained in losing this particular thread as it is with the faulty principle behind what essentially equates to granting a moderator-level privilege to any original poster of any thread. It seems illogical to select and establish moderators only to have those moderators forced to succumb to the whims of any OP.

That being said, I'm not going to push the issue any further, but I hope my perspective is at least considered upon the next request to have an entire thread removed. Let's just hope none of the forum's primary contributors ever decide to erase all traces of any thread they've ever created.

 

[double0]

That's it! I want all of my threads deleted pronto!!
Then again, I can't say I've contributed much useful information to begin with. Censorship FTL!

 

[Phl]

this is the same stuff that happen in Ducati superbike forum the moderator start acting like god closing thread and kicking member out just because they dint agree with their opinion. now look how is ducati superbike forum is (DEAD)

Can you read?


Won't happen here. If you want your post removed we do it, if you post a content from someone who wants it removed due to privacy concerns we do it. Otherwise, why do you think all your posts are still up ?


We have many requests for
Removing
Posts or threads which we don't follow, because they don't match the 2 above
Mentioned.

Period.

 

[NorthBankGooner]

First & foremost I think the moderators have done an excellent job on here especially with the spam.
However I asked this question on the other thread & it was not answered [might have been missed].
If Rich from Austin Racing came back & asked for his threads to be removed would this be done by the moderators? I ask just because I know that those threads although very heated saved many members [ myself included] their hard earned cash on what turned out to be a piece of crap!

 

[Xbox]

First & foremost I think the moderators have done an excellent job on here especially with the spam.
However I asked this question on the other thread & it was not answered [might have been missed].
If Rich from Austin Racing came back & asked for his threads to be removed would this be done by the moderators? I ask just because I know that those threads although very heated saved many members [ myself included] their hard earned cash on what turned out to be a piece of crap!

Interesting question, which as such would fall into the realms of a collaborative decision.

Short answer (which is IMO) would be same treatment, with useful information being retained in a new thread.

We wouldn't want to be seen as censoring now, would we

 

[Sinjin]

Interesting question, which as such would fall into the realms of a collaborative decision.

Short answer (which is IMO) would be same treatment, with useful information being retained in a new thread.

We wouldn't want to be seen as censoring now, would we

Clearly the two should not be treated the same.

In one case, there is still the potential for litigation; in the other it is just bad publicity. If the latter suddenly led to a deceptive practices lawsuit, then I think it would necessitate careful consideration by the forum moderators.

 

[zvez]

the major reason for removing the thread was the potential for litigation involved, ie he'd "lawyered up", this is the same way similar legal issues are handled on ducati.ms and other forums as well.

I don't think as a rule we intend to delete threads strictly because the original poster didn't like the content, it's the litigation issue more than anything.

Moderating is not an easy role, but we do have fabulous pay and benefits, sometimes you have to shoot from the hip and sometimes (almost all the time) a percentage of people will be happy or mad with the choices made. At the end of the day, forums are not democracies, all of us including mods are here as guests, duc is the admin and owner and has final say in everything (so if he has issue with anything done, he can certainly reverse it).

First & foremost I think the moderators have done an excellent job on here especially with the spam.
However I asked this question on the other thread & it was not answered [might have been missed].
If Rich from Austin Racing came back & asked for his threads to be removed would this be done by the moderators? I ask just because I know that those threads although very heated saved many members [ myself included] their hard earned cash on what turned out to be a piece of crap!

 

[Xbox]

Moderating is not an easy role, but we do have fabulous pay and benefits, sometimes you have to shoot from the hip and sometimes (almost all the time) a percentage of people will be happy or mad with the choices made.

Free SL swung it for me Chris... just saying

 

[Duck41]

Clearly the two should not be treated the same.

In one case, there is still the potential for litigation; in the other it is just bad publicity. If the latter suddenly led to a deceptive practices lawsuit, then I think it would necessitate careful consideration by the forum moderators.

If I'm not mistaken, potential litigation was mentioned in at least one of the AR threads regarding topics that are discussed among most, if not all, AR threads. The possibility of litigation being a requirement for thread removal is an extremely small obstacle for someone to overcome. This essentially translates to being required to mention the possibility of bringing suit against the forum administrator, another member, or even a non-member regarding content spanning any thread a poster initiated and wishes to have removed. Basing grounds of thread removal on existence of litigious content could also open the door for lawsuits to potentially be brought against the forum administrator and/or moderators should information that was not removed in a timely manner attempt to be linked to any losses or damages incurred by a plaintiff. If, however, the forum policy was simply that each poster is responsible and accountable for any information willingly divulged, then the forum would clearly not bear any apparent responsibility or liability.

Also, I'm seeing conflicting responses from moderators regarding how these matters will be handled henceforth, with some moderators claiming that all threads will be deleted if the OP so desires, some moderators claiming deletion will occur only if the possibility of litigation is mentioned, and some moderators claiming cases will be assessed and decided upon collectively. At least one moderator has been reported as being opposed to removing entire threads, which is the correct approach, in my opinion, as I see no reason for the forum to willingly take on this obligation/liability while simultaneously granting any OP the ability to dictate what a moderator must do. What is the reason for this deviation in responses? Was a policy in place prior to this issue arising, or are these rules being contrived on the fly?

 

[SOULRIDER]

If I'm not mistaken, potential litigation was mentioned in at least one of the AR threads regarding topics that are discussed among most, if not all, AR threads. The possibility of litigation being a requirement for thread removal is an extremely small obstacle for someone to overcome. This essentially translates to being required to mention the possibility of bringing suit against the forum administrator, another member, or even a non-member regarding content spanning any thread a poster initiated and wishes to have removed. Basing grounds of thread removal on existence of litigious content could also open the door for lawsuits to potentially be brought against the forum administrator and/or moderators should information that was not removed in a timely manner attempt to be linked to any losses or damages incurred by a plaintiff. If, however, the forum policy was simply that each poster is responsible and accountable for any information willingly divulged, then the forum would clearly not bear any apparent responsibility or liability.

Also, I'm seeing conflicting responses from moderators regarding how these matters will be handled henceforth, with some moderators claiming that all threads will be deleted if the OP so desires, some moderators claiming deletion will occur only if the possibility of litigation is mentioned, and some moderators claiming cases will be assessed and decided upon collectively. At least one moderator has been reported as being opposed to removing entire threads, which is the correct approach, in my opinion, as I see no reason for the forum to willingly take on this obligation/liability while simultaneously granting any OP the ability to dictate what a moderator must do. What is the reason for this deviation in responses? Was a policy in place prior to this issue arising, or are these rules being contrived on the fly?

Let it go.

The moderators here have done an excellent job. They obviously don't get paid, and no there isn't a policy and procedure manual you can download to pdf.

Art requested the thread to be removed, and it was done. Honestly every board I've been a mod on we have done the same thing. Next time take screenshots if your worried about something being removed.

I think your a valuable asset to the board, but I also think it this case after the moderators have repeatedly explained themselves you're being disrespectful. Just my two cents.

 

[Stw]

Let it go.

The moderators here have done an excellent job. They obviously don't get paid, and no there isn't a policy and procedure manual you can download to pdf.

Art requested the thread to be removed, and it was done. Honestly every board I've been a mod on we have done the same thing. Next time take screenshots if your worried about something being removed.

I think your a valuable asset to the board, but I also think it this case after the moderators have repeatedly explained themselves you're being disrespectful. Just my two cents.

Thank you... I agree...the decision has been explained.... no we don't have a handbook... We do things as we feel best suits the overall welfare of the forum...there will be times when decisions are made that might not sit well with everyone... But please be assured that Moderators do not sit here saying "oh what power shall I use next"...We are just here to smooth the flow of info ideas or what have you.... to keep the forum somewhat organised and help when things do not work.....

I truly hope that you guys understand this and appreciate that one thread in maybe 5000 might end up in this way...... Enjoy thsi place ..Please,,it has awesome members ..an incredible data base of information and ..at the end of the day its just a motorcycle forum... Nothing earth shattering or even that important really.... Lets read ride and enjoy....

 

[NOLA]

If I'm not mistaken, potential litigation was mentioned in at least one of the AR threads regarding topics that are discussed among most, if not all, AR threads. The possibility of litigation being a require blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah while simultaneously granting any OP the ability to dictate what a moderator must do. What is the reason for this deviation in responses? Was a policy in place prior to this issue arising, or are these rules being contrived on the fly?

Maybe I am missing something Dick41"¦You are free to leave anytime you want. Free to not post again. Free to open up your own board"¦.etc.

Dictionary sex.

NOLA

 

[Duck41]

Let it go.

The moderators here have done an excellent job. They obviously don't get paid, and no there isn't a policy and procedure manual you can download to pdf.

Art requested the thread to be removed, and it was done. Honestly every board I've been a mod on we have done the same thing. Next time take screenshots if your worried about something being removed.

I think your a valuable asset to the board, but I also think it this case after the moderators have repeatedly explained themselves you're being disrespectful. Just my two cents.

Soulrider,

I appreciate your civil response. Just to clarify, it is not my intention to be disrespectful to anyone here. We're all here for the same reason, so I make these comments with the best interest of the community in mind; and to repeat an earlier expressed sentiment: I, too, feel the moderators have overall done a very good job.

Having said that, I have already let go of pursuing having the original thread restored and am no longer asking for an explanation as to why it was removed. The intention of my last post was primarily to bring light to the fact that there has been no uniform response thus far regarding how thread removals will be handled in the future. Considering there are at least several different interpretations among the current moderators, it may be worthwhile to establish a simple, uniform policy that can be universally applied and easily communicated. Content removal was the primary concern amongst most members here when moderators were first established, so I think this a fairly reasonable request. If need-be, I will self-preserve any content I believe is useful, but I would naturally prefer to not have to do that.

Like you, I have also served as a moderator on several forums but, from my experience, only in very extreme cases were entire threads removed. Most situations I dealt with warranted deleting select posts and/or locking threads, which retained public access but prevented further contributions from being made. I understand this generally entails requesting volunteer moderators to do more work, but I feel this strategy serves as a good compromise between data preservation and forum governance. I have also seen cases where, despite my objections, years' worth of valuable information have been disposed of for petty reasons, which I'm certain is in large part responsible for my enthusiasm on the matter in this case. This forum holds a wealth of valuable information; I just do not want to see that content compromised.

 

[Stw]

Thread locked...