Case of the disappearing threads

It seems that certain mods here at ATS think it's ok to just close or even delete threads without stating any reason. If their reasons aren't obvious, this tends to piss some people off. It also reflects badly upon ATS, IMO. If stating the reason for closing a thread is not standard procedure, it sure as hell should be, especially in a forum of this nature. This is common courtesy for the members of any board, IMO. Am I totally off base here?

[Edited on 3-29-2004 by Satyr]

Originally posted by Satyr
It seems that certain mods here at ATS think it's ok to just close threads without stating any reason in the thread itself. If their reasons aren't obvious, this tends to piss some people off. It also reflects badly upon ATS, IMO. If stating the reason for closing a thread is not standard procedure, it sure as hell should be, especially in a forum of this nature. This is common courtesy for the members of any board, IMO. Am I totally off base here?

I completely agree.

Good! Please back me up here. My previous thread about this got deleted because it pissed someone off.

I sort of agree,

Common courtesy to inform of a thread being removed, yes, that is a great idea, and as a matter of fact, I have always been informed when a thread of mine has been removed.

I agree with you too, one of my threads was deleted WITHOUT an explanation, even though William replied and contributed to the topic, another Mod decided it was to vulgar for them and threw it out.

It took me 3 weeks to get ANY KIND of answer out of them as to why it was deleted.

Yeah, I've been notified personally when my threads are removed or deleted, most of the time, but what about those that aren't mine, that I've participated in? Or those that I've just been reading? Of course, you can't notify anyone in a deleted thread as to why it was deleted, but closed threads definitely should contain some public explanation, IMO.

I'm not trying to stir up # here, but I do think that this policy needs a bit of work.

[Edited on 3-29-2004 by Satyr]

I also agree. Sometimes you see pointless posts that stay, when yours definitely made more sense... in your eyes however....

But they're the boss... and i've learned to part with the posts that have died RIP

I can't really complain. I started a very openly racist thread that is huge and still hasn't been "moderated" on...oh well. Stuff happens, dood.

I owe Seekerof an apology. I assumed he closed the thread I was talking about, since he was the last to post in it. Now, it seems his last post has been deleted, so I'm not sure what the deal is there. But, he's right...I assumed it was he who closed it...possibly wrongly so. However, editing a closed thread is also a big "No No", IMO.

While this may be the proper place for this thread, no one really comes in here, so not many are going to see it. This is one of the reasons I wish you had redirect links when threads are moved. Right now, everyone who saw this earlier probably thinks you deleted it. They have no idea where it went, unless they posted in it and have it in their subscribed threads. I'm betting not many people even check or use their subscribed threads.

[Edited on 3-29-2004 by Satyr]

The forum staff do not need to provide a reason for deleating a thread. They deleat a thread for a reason so they would not want to talk publicly about that thread and why it was deleated. It would just create drama. The person who made the thread knows why it is deleated and that is most likely the only person who is going to know.

When threads get moved, or deleted, an automatic utu is generated naming the mod who did it, saying what happened to the thread and that they should contact the mod for further information.. This is sent to the person who originated the thread.

As a result the onus moves to the poster to talk to the mod about the decision. We don't have redirects any more as they used up valuable space.

If you can't find a post learn to use a number of tools available to you such as Search, Search for a members posts (such as your own), look in the Todays list, etc.

I think you are off base here, we have a good system that works well in a situation where 1330 posts were created in the last 24 hours alone.

Sometimes the pleasure of handholding new posters is not practical.

If you utued the mod involved in deleting your posts as the automatic utu generated asked, then you probably would have got a better response than just whining on here.

SATYR - hope you're sitting down...............I AM BEHIND YOU ON THAT 100%

It is nothing less than RUDE the way deleted posts are handled. A simple U2U with an explanation would be nice.

it would be a long process if U2Us had to be sent when sorting out threads etc. All i have to say is cross your fingers and hope ur thread isn't next

i can tell you that not always is someone notified if a thread is moved or deleted.......from personal experience

but im not going to rock the boat with that again

You got it infinite. Imagine the flood of utu that would be generated when a 3 page thread got moved, if everyone had to be notified who posted in it.

I live in the RECENT POSTS window and sometimes have to click back up to 150 posts to see the thread I have been writing in.

Complaints like above would be reasonable if we had a much smaller amount of posts made, but the shear volume generated on this board makes it impractable.

People who complain here are unaware of the close moderation of each other that happens in the background, and how frequently we consult with each other over decisions made.

If you still have no satisfaction with your issue then a complaint using the system provided DOES produce a result as we debate over them as well.

If you DIDN"T get a utu when your thread was moved then we would like to know about it, as there may be holes in the system.


[Edited on 29-3-2004 by Netchicken]

Originally posted by ilovepizza
The person who made the thread knows why it is deleated and that is most likely the only person who is going to know.

I strongly disagree ilp. Justification needs addressing. Errors never get corrected if not pointed out.
Btw, you spelled delete wrong.
It's D-E-L-E-T-E, not D-E-L-E-A-T. See how pointing out errors help.

Originally posted by Netchicken
You got it infinite. Imagine the flood of utu that would be generated when a 3 page thread got moved, if everyone had to be notified who posted in it.

i was right, i should become a mod now lol

I can see the point in not discussing a deleted thread, as this just opens the floor for arguments, and creates a new thread on that same topic, but closing threads still definitely deserves a closing comment as to why it was closed. I'm still scratching my head as to why some of them have been closed. Especially the "Case Closed: Saddam and Osama connection" thread. That one just ticks me off, because closing a thread with a title like that, for no apparent reason, is asking for trouble.

What's wrong with something like this?

"I'm closing this thread because....blah, blah, blah, etc."

I run my own forum, and have been a member of more forums than I can count, and that's just how that type of moderation is normally handled. At least people know why, then.

When a post is moved from one forum to another, only the post author is notified as was stated above. A redirect left in place really isnt a bad suggestion, as long as the content of the thread is not reproduced with each subsequent move. However, that is really beyond my scope, it is something the administration would have to look at.