Deleted thread

[AaronM]

You, Kalianna, and I were the only participants in the thread. Both you and Kalianna said you were OK with a thread being deleted by the OP. So that's what I did to prove a point. Now you're whining about it. I think I've made my point.

We all get your point TK. 

In fact, I think we have heard all of Grampa Tom's stories at this point.

[TomK]

I'm not super-familiar with this forum software but usually the admin (Rob) can control whether or not a thread originator can close or delete a thread in the settings section of the admin panel.

I'm not a fan of letting a poster delete a thread because it also deletes (censors) all the posts within it they didn't create. It basically gives administrator power to the users.

Allowing a thread originator to close a thread is more standard on these types of forums.  If other users disagree with the action they are free to start their own threads and reference back to comments they made in the other... because they weren't deleted (censored).

That's one of the problems with the current setup. Not only does deleting your initial post delete everyone else's posts, but they also delete the content from your posting history. The link is still there but you can't see what you wrote other than a small snippet of it. It seems to me that some people here approve of unapproved censorship and not from the owner of the forum, which is fine because it's their forum, but from any random person who doesn't like an opinion.

[Wao nahele wahine]

Which leads to the following question:

Is Rob okay with the occasional thread being deleted by an OP?

TomK, you appear to be hung up on the theory that the only reason an OP would delete a thread is because others don't agree with the OP's opinion.

[TomK]

It's an example of why someone would want to delete all the responses to their post by deleting the thread. Would you care to provide another reasonable example?

[kalianna]

One example: I may post something that was time sensitive. Did anybody see that meteor? Was that an earthquake? No need to keep those threads more than a day. Another example. I start a thread looking for a skilled person to do a job and the responses are all about how I could do it myself.

Who cares if our posts are deleted when someone deletes a thread? Or who checks a posterʻs browsing history? Itʻs local social media, not a journalistic archive. Itʻs what you do when youʻre between tasks and have a few minutes. Have fun with it. It shouldnʻt be stressful. You can always take screenshots of posts you really want to keep.

[TomK]

If someone posted a response to your meteor question and spent time responding and perhaps doing a bit of research and adding to it, saying this is what you saw and what it means, do you still feel justified deleting their post? Sounds very selfish to me and quite un-American. What if you ask for a skilled person and you get responses that contain opinions on who is best and who to contact and take their time to do so, do you again have a justifiable rationale for deleting their posts? How do you justify deleting other people's posts that others might find helpful or want to post their opinion?

As for taking screenshots, do you do that every time you post? You and wahine should have done so because you are both relying on memory whereas I did save the entire thread in that instance, for this very reason. Practice what you preach. However, I don't think it's reasonable to expect everyone to take a screenshot of their posts and replies every time they post.

[Wao nahele wahine]

You already got several examples from Kalianna. Bottom line? You were upset that it was 'elepaio who deleted a thread about sunsets. You stated how people had now wasted their time responding, and that the OP who deletes a thread should apologize to everyone who commented on that thread.

You are creating a problem where there wasn't one. Did that deleted thread have any pertinent vital information? Nope.
Has their been a deluge of deleted threads since folks were informed that they could delete their threads? Nope.

Maybe it's a thread about a missing dog that has been found, or a briefly opened business now closed, or a duplicate of another recent thread (such as when there's an earthquake and multiple initial posts appear.)

[AaronM]

Will somebody please think of the children?

[terracore]

Will somebody please think of the children?

According to my wife, my sense of humor and emotional state stopped developing in the 8th grade.  So I qualify.

[TomK]

wahine - I really don't care where you think my motivation comes from. I would be annoyed if any member here deleted someone else's post unless it was Rob, who owns the forum and he can do what he wants. And even then, if it's not justified, I'd question it. Note that I mentioned no names in my original thread, I argued that I thought it was wrong that anyone could delete a thread and posts from others and asked for opinions.

The examples you mention still doesn't convince me it's right that a regular PW member should have the ability to delete a post by another member. Kalianna's solution to that is to have everyone who doesn't want that to happen to copy or take a screenshot of their own posts.  Quite frankly, that is unreasonable and adds a burden to anyone here who wants to post in a thread with an expectation their post will remain in PW unless they delete it themself - unless, of course, they say it's alright if their post is deleted by someone else, to which both you and kalianna are agreeable. However, it seems not everyone else is.