Probably I just read some thread which inspired me to post this question here.
Basically to prevent an ADMIN X DELETED MY THREAD thread with the accompanying whine behaviour from the user.
Isn't it a good thing to lock such a thread instead of deleting it?
To me that would seem a right thing to do, because it easily lays out the basic rules of what is accepted with posting and what's need. If the thread lock is provided with an admin message and the reason for the lock.
And the overall moderation of thread and topics on TDC would be a more transparent process.
So? Good idea? Or not? Got a better one? Or am I suggesting improvements which aren't necessarily needed?
We usually delete a thread if it contains objectionable content, or content that would otherwise be inappropriate to leave on the site. For example, we would definitely delete a thread full of pornography as opposed to locking it because otherwise it's easily visible to anyone that happens to come across it.
Incidentally, I'm not sure why we deleted that thread from back when everyone was inquiring as to who deleted Dogzer or monkeythreat('s computer) deleting his own thread because it had Rikus' confession in it. I noticed it was gone when Hagar said that no one had owned up to deleting Dogzer...
They could just start moaning about the admin that deletes/locks the thread though, like Dogzer already does. There's a very realistic chance that the same person's thread could be locked by the same admin on numerous occasions and this could be used as ammunition.
I'm not saying it's a bad idea (in fact, i think it should be more transparent) i'm just saying those that moan and whine will still moan and whine, except instead of it being about not knowing who did it, it'll be directly at someone.
You're probably right about whining and moaning, we could or should do something about that too.
But I think a public log for deletion or locking is a good idea, although when a thread is locked, the last post can have the reason in it. So when reading a locked thread I don't have to dig through the public deleted/locked thread log.
Whining is just a behaviour which can be modified with the right set of rules. So if we don't want that we should teach our users that in some kind of way.
Perhaps a whine&moan board can help this, so that users of locked and deleted threads can whine and moan there. Every normal decent TDC user can then just leave it the way as it is. Only admins need to check if the posts are decent and if not, well just delete or lock the thread. But some kind of special pattern might arise from this board and action.
I do think that a public log of deleted topics with reason is a good one, if the topic starter is going to be named, should the admin be named too? If so, he probably will be some kind of public target for some people on TDC. Isn't it an option to have a topic deleted by a group of admins? Say two-thirds of the admins should be in favour of deleting that topic? That way, the topic is deleted by a group of admins and not just one admin. So the names can be left out from the public log.
On another forum I frequent, the moderators usually don't delete threads except if the content is dangerous to guests and users (i.e. malicious links, porn, etc.) - what they do instead is move it to an Administrative Review forum that's invisible to the public. Something similar could be handy here in case we need to look back at previous conflicts and such.
I kinda like the idea of a group of admins voting to delete/lock a thread. At the very least, an admin who is about to lock something should mention it to the others in passing, along with explaining their reasons for it in the last post. As for thread deletion, it depends on the content and the reason for deletion - obviously we shouldn't wait for a consensus when deleting, say, a thread with malicious links, which is better off being removed as quickly as possible.
As for a general "banter" thread for members to let off steam, it's doable, but it would need to be supervised very carefully. Specific members should not be attacked in it, or else it will be too easy for conflicts to start. I think a better idea would be to just encourage people to calmly and rationally explain their opinions instead of resorting to shouting and spamming. Most of us are adults here, so it's entirely reasonable - and for those of us who aren't, then we just need to take age into account when approaching conflicts between younger members.
That's only my opinion, of course. I won't pretend to know the best way to go about this, because I don't for the most part, but I'm willing to give it a shot if you guys are.
Originally Posted by Strife On another forum I frequent, the moderators usually don't delete threads except if the content is dangerous to guests and users (i.e. malicious links, porn, etc.) - what they do instead is move it to an Administrative Review forum that's invisible to the public. Something similar could be handy here in case we need to look back at previous conflicts and such.
I kinda like the idea of a group of admins voting to delete/lock a thread. At the very least, an admin who is about to lock something should mention it to the others in passing, along with explaining their reasons for it in the last post. As for thread deletion, it depends on the content and the reason for deletion - obviously we shouldn't wait for a consensus when deleting, say, a thread with malicious links, which is better off being removed as quickly as possible.
As for a general "banter" thread for members to let off steam, it's doable, but it would need to be supervised very carefully. Specific members should not be attacked in it, or else it will be too easy for conflicts to start. I think a better idea would be to just encourage people to calmly and rationally explain their opinions instead of resorting to shouting and spamming. Most of us are adults here, so it's entirely reasonable - and for those of us who aren't, then we just need to take age into account when approaching conflicts between younger members.
That's only my opinion, of course. I won't pretend to know the best way to go about this, because I don't for the most part, but I'm willing to give it a shot if you guys are.
I agree with everything you have said dude .
Oh and apart from the more "eccentric members" on here, people would not moan and whinge if things was always good on here . If somethings a crock o' crud, expect moaning!
Well said Jenswa, I made rather a large fuss about TDC's non transparent nature when all the odd stuff was happening some time ago - kind of glad it's not just me wanting such an environment on here.
I said time and time again about a system like that in use on a lego site I visit. Any admin can block normal users viewing any content, but the content still exists for upto 90 days and is visible to admins. After this time if there is no come backs on the said deletion it gets trashed automatically. I think it's a great system and would solve all problems on here imo (with no extra workload on the admins!) - but I always got a feeling of negative vibes from the admins when mentioning such a thing back then - I gave up hope of things ever changing.
Originally Posted by ..::hagar::.. but I always got a feeling of negative vibes from the admins when mentioning such a thing back then - I gave up hope of things ever changing.
In my defense, I wouldn't have been one of those (if it seemed so, such was not the case) but there's really nothing us regular admins can do about it. It's very hard to contact Club. I don't know his email address (the only one I know doesn't actually work) and he rarely answers on MSN.
Nothing aimed at you Jon - I should have writ "but I always got a feeling of negative vibes from some of the admins" , sorry for cursing all the admins...
Anyway let's think of positive possible solutions, ideas and the alike
n/a
Peblo Custom ratings must be 50 characters or less
Registered 05/07/2002
Points 185
17th June, 2011 at 20:52:36 -
Good to see the community never changes.
"Isn't it always amazing how we characterize a person's intelligence by how closely their thinking matches ours?"
~Belgarath
Hihi, it sounds like a TDC trash collection is coming up
Idea's are good and at some point a decision must be made or not and new things come in play. Like either a set of rules to be followed and/or a new implementation must be made.
And yes I like transparency a lot and I do miss it on these boards, especially the deleted threads. But what annoys me even more is the whining&moaning that follows, which could just be a matter of click people's attitude? However I find that a little hard to believe.
So a public log could help, for instance I could tell the childish user that the admin has deleted that thread for the right reason and he or she should stop whining&moaning. But with the right kind of user and thus attitude the public log should probably not be needed on these boards.