So why can't an author delete his/her own post?

[loui]

Hi There, I am curious as to why an author can't delete his/her own post. Seems like if a newbie writes a post and then thinks it might be in the wrong section then he should be able to remove it and post it in the proper area?? Maybe the author just wants his/her info removed and would not want to have to go through a tribunal process to have it removed - seeing as how they authored the port in the first place.

 

Maybe if Shan were able to remove some of his posts then he wouldn't have been assaulted the way he has been.

 

Just curious.

 

Regards,

 

Louis

[reinhard]

Shan's history on this board is one of endless patience from mods side. He was in no way "assaulted", nor is he the innocent collector he is pretending to be. As it seems, he never learned a thing (on purpose?). All he ever cares is: owning and/or making a little profit. Whining endlessly, when being confronted with answers, he doesn't like and spreading his (or other people's) stuff all over the place, he never got the point of this board. You better check his board-history.

 

I appreciate very much the principle of being held responsible for your own posts. It hopefully prevents at least some people from just sneaking around, finding new customers, spreading their "goodies" and changing their board-history as they please.

 

A newbie posting in the wrong section is no problem, of course, and (s)he will not be "drawn to a tribunal", you should know that by now, but Shan's no newbie. He's familiar with the rules, but doesn't care. Guess why?

 

reinhard

[SwordGuyJoe]

Wow - Tough room. Not to de-rail the conversation back to the question, but why can't we delete our posts? I as a fledgling, have posted some dumb posts that I would have liked to delete. I find I do a good enough job proving I am a knucklehead by asking the things I mean to ask. Not a big deal one way or the other. Hopefully in the short time that I have been on the board, I have proven that I can learn, but sometimes it would be nice to delete your posts.

[loui]

Well said Joe, I am curious to see what the moderators say.

 

Regards,

 

Louis

[Guido]

Although users can't delete an entire post, they can delete the text / content by using the editing function. "Empty" posts are then deleted by the mods if neccessary.

 

Tribunal? Assault? Yeah, right, not to mentioned that the dictatorship of this forum's host probably also caused some grown-in toe nails among its righteous readers ...

[Ted Tenold]

Heck, why not just throw all accountability out the window and start allowing the complete use of handles and no real names? I'll take SuperstarMusashiSensei. Anonymity is great when you want freedom from the shackles of posterity and consequences. Or why not allow cuss words and porn links too?

 

Whether it's one post or a forum full of them, it all boils down to credibility and integrity.

 

I agree that what is posted on a forum is much like speaking in public; don't say what you don't want commited to posterity. Like Guido said, a user can edit their posts but deleting them altogether isn't necessary.

 

There's two sides to every case and the facts aren't always apparent to those not directly involved. Words like "tribunal" and "assaulted" are pretty strong in the face of the understanding and patience the mods have demonstrated with many folks in the past, not just Shan.

 

This forum, like every other, is voluntary, not mandatory. But make no mistake, while it's not a dictatorship, it's also no democracy. We'd rather leave people to their own words, and then let them stand by them. If anyone finds participation uncomfortable here, or the mods too Draconian, they are welcome to exercise their index finger and browse some other place.

[Brian]

Thank you to Guido and Ted for summarizing things so well.

 

Firstly, members do not have the permission to delete their own posts, and never will. I am a member of 9 other serious forums, and not one of them grants this permission either. In fact, 90% of serious forums do not allow this.

When you make a post, it is out there. Replies are made to that post, and if you cannot stick by what you said, then you don't belong on a serious forum. The main reason for not allowing this is that who needs a forum filled with answers where the questions have been deleted?

Every time someone throws their toys out of the cot, they would leave in a huff, and out of spite...go back and deleted all their posts leaving answers to questions that don't exist. That does not make for a good archive of info.

The other trick is to go back and edit your post and delete everything leaving it blank.

Please note...ppl found doing that without a very good reason will be deleted, banned, and I will block the ip so that they cannot even view the forum. I take that very seriously. There is nothing worse than serching for info to find posts that contain all the answers, but the question is now missing and nothing is relevant anymore.

There is a lot of info in those posts that should remain for future collectors and newcommers. Once you post it, it is public info, and I cannot think of a valid reason why you would delete it unless sulking for some reason.

If you do have a valid reason, you all do know that you can merely pm a mod and they will either delete it or move it to the correct section for you. That has never been an issue.

"Newbie" questions are never embarrassing, and I cannot find an example where a novice was mocked for a simple question. In fact the opposite is true, and people are constantly reminded that there are no silly questions.

Shan was not "assaulted" any more than myself or the mods on a weekly basis by people who do not know all the facts or background to a situation.

 

Brian

[b.hennick]

Thank you to Brian, Guido and Ted. Moderators here do a wonderful job. It is usually thankless. Some of our serious contributors spend time and effort with the aim of furthering people's knowledge. Some listen others don't. I believe that our moderators have been showing great patience with some people.

I exercise my write to not read posts of some. If you do not like the rules here then take your posts elsewhere. This is a game with "no tkae backs". If you play here follow the rules. They seem simple to me.

[SwordGuyJoe]

The rules are very simple and I understand and heed them - or do my best to. All of you folks are right that if a person takes the time and diligence to craft a well written post, there is no need to delete anything. In my post I am strictly talking about the functionality of the website, not challenging the convention of accountability and treating the importance of grammatical vigor of electronic forms of communication with less than that of written or spoken word. I also know first hand that the moderators of this board to a phenomenal job and that is not in question by me.

 

I am strictly saying and my post should be read as, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could delete something we wrote in error so someone else doesn't have to?", without negative connotations regarding the mods, how much I like this board, or individual contributors - as there are none. I thoroughly enjoy this board, appreciate the help I am given, and more over just reading the posts of the more learned contributors as they have something I want - knowledge.

 

Thankfully and peacefully yours - Joe :D

[Brian]

Thank you Barry for that post. Every time I read one of your posts or pm's, it reminds me of what I am still doing here. I am sure the JSSUS has exactly this kind of issue/politics occasionally so I am sure you guys know it well.

Joe, no worries. I have already chased after members while they were going through all their posts and deleting them, and only a quick ban stopped good info from disappearing.

Don't forget, everyone has the option of editing their own posts to correct something, add pics, or add info. I think that editing function works for a few days after the post is made. If you make a mistake or pics don't upload, much easier to edit the post, than make a new one explaining the issue.

And as stated before, if you feel a post should be deleted, then pm a mod and state your case. I believe you have had first hand benefit of this in the past Louis?

 

Brian

[loui]

Well said Joe, people often explain my questions better than I do, there was nothing sinister or covert intended by the deletion of ones own thread - it was more of a housekeeping issue for me, but I can see what Brian means about retaining information. The whole standing behind ones post and all that is self evident for me.

 

I know the Mods do a heck of a job and I don't envy them for having to constantly sift through posts all day long, thanks for your tireless efforts. A note about the Shan post, you all are right, I don't know the history behind it or the politics behind the scenes and quite frankly they don't interest me, I just happened along that final post and it seemed a little "abrupt" if you will. I generally just look for interesting threads as I don't have much time the the day for checking boards. So from now on I'll stay out of the politics and mind my own, but I will say that there is an ignore function on here I think - maybe people should use that more often.

 

And the whole thing about the porn was a little over the top:)

 

And yes Brian I have asked for a thread to be deleted and thank you very much for that.

 

Regards,

 

Louis

[Ted Tenold]

And the whole thing about the porn was a little over the top:)

 

Agreed. Just an extreme example of moderation that doesn't care (or even exist) and anonymous degenerate Trolls can post whatever they want without threat of repurcussion. Youtube comments come to mind.....

[Hermes]

How about a 10 minute delete feature?

[Brian]

Not a feature built into PhpBB.

I find the ability to edit your own post for a limited time after posting is sufficient.

 

Brian

[Stephen]

famous last words dont drink and post hic