Thread deletion notifications

What I had in mind was just an automatic notice that would go out saying "The following thread was deleted" and the name of the thread. Just so we know what to avoid in the future, more or less. Thanks for your response. Namaste-Anora

Well if that is the case it would still create questions as to why the post was deleted. Members would still wonder why their post was deleted accordingly. What I have in mind is rather a little effort as to why the topic was deleted which I think is important for the member to know why his/her post was deleted.

Thanks, I'm glad I wasn't too far out of the ballpark on this one. I'm not a pc person but I would think there could be an easy program or something they could set up that would do it automatically yeah? Thanks for the response. Anora

MyLot do, indeed, delete individual responses if it's appropriate and the rest of the discussion merits it. I have seen that happen many times. On occasion, however, I had drawn their attention to a particular thread (response and associated comments) that I actually felt was making a useful point and they deleted the whole discussion. On that occasion I did point out that it was just that particular thread to which I wanted to draw their attention and they replied that they had felt that the whole discussion was tending to lead in the wrong direction (I believe that it had to do with payment or some such subject which we are encouraged not to discuss). While I felt sorry for those who had already posted useful thoughts and information, I realised that different people have different views and that, after all, MyLot has the final say on what should go and what should stay. MyLot is a great place to be and they do value and respect their users, though not so much, as the users themselves do, as friends and individuals but as a community as a whole without which, of course, they would be nothing. That I find perfectly understandable and, if something may sometimes seem harsh or unreasonable to me, I only have to remind myself that my indignation or hurt is really only a very small thing in the context of the community.

I wanted to save this for your response as you have shared a great deal of insight into the topic. I'm wondering why if the original poster was not to blame, if the person who violated TOS could not just be removed but not the discussion at hand? Perhaps because indeed this is too large and would require too much manpower, but from where I am sitting some dicisions on here seem very arbitrary and very dual in nature. Though, that said, I'm fairly happy with Mylot's handling of situations, I just am suggesting for a tad more. I think it would truly help educate all involved and help those of us who spend a great deal of time on posts/threads to know what to watch out for. I know we're all intelligent individuals but we're not soothesayers (ok, maybe some are but I'm not lol), and do not always know which thread is going to be deleted. Thanks for your time spent on this discussion. It's much appreciated. Anora

That is a very good point you make, TOL. Although MyLot's system is slightly different from many forums, some discussion deletions might involve several tens of users. I don't think, however, that it would be incumbent on MyLot to advise anyone except the person committing the infraction. Judging by the automated systems which are already in place (advising one of responses to one's discussions and of comments on a thread), I don't see that there would be very much, if any, extra work involved in advising when (and why) a discussion or response was deleted. The decision to delete a discussion/response is always a human one and I would hope, at least, that some record is already kept of those decisions. The addition of a notification routine to the deletion process would be quite straightforward and would not require extra manpower or a great deal of expense. MyLot's Terms also state (as do many others) that they are not obliged to advise anyone of the reasons for any action taken but, at the same time, that would not prevent them from doing so at their discretion. I am sure that it is not something that has not been considered at some time, however. It is probably easier to maintain a policy of 'no explanation', though, in order to minimise disputes.

I'm sure an auto response system is quite viable, actually, automatically advising everyone in a thread of its deletion. I wouldn't doubt that this is already (or could easily be) built into some forum software. I have no experience with any site that has used such a tool, though. The only time I've seen delete explanations has been with delete letters (emails) sent only to the person who posted in violation. The kicker to that, too, is that many such letters go unread. A lot of people register in forums with either bogus email addresses or, in these more current days of the email verification process, they register with an email address that they never use or check. So, after taking the time (or implementing the tools) to provide an explanation, it goes unheeded and no progress has been made. It's actually quite frustrating from an administrative perspective. Just using my own experience as my guide, auto notification to all users in a deleted thread could potentially open a huge can of worms. Depending on the community, and the knowledge and familiarity of its members, there can be a surprisingly large number who will not understand that they, personally, were not responsible for the guideline violation. Some believe that every notification or piece of correspondence is destined for their eyes only. I can see that it could cause as much, if not more, of an uproar about the reason for deletes. I also wouldn't be surprised if that would actually increase the number of questions or contacts with administrators. I don't think delete explanations are a bad idea. I think it's good to do member education wherever it's feasible. I just think there are considerations on both sides of the table, really. I can tell you, quite frankly, that it's very frustrating to try to provide a level of service that includes correspondence with members, only to have them decide that the guidelines are wrong, unfair, or simply don't apply to them. Sometimes, the more you discuss and highlight the delete process, the more it encourages people to post in retaliation to try to "beat the system" or get around filters or moderators. Thanks for discussing this subject with me :) I very much enjoy and appreciate conversations that impact on what I do for a living :)

Would it be possible to have an automatic response set up? For example, in one forum I belong to I can set up when and which forums within the forum I get mail about so that anytime anything is done with them I am notified. Could that be done with a community this large? Namaste-Anora

hi my friend sanuanu, i totally agree with you. these notifications will help inform us and we will not be left hanging as to what happened.

I agree with you both. It's not that I want to argue, I respect that they were deleted. I just want to be better informed so I know what to avoid in the future. Namaste-Anora

Oh, I agree. I don't think the majority of users go around seeking out things to break TOS. I know I was accused on a thread recently of breaking TOS, yet obviously had not as the thread still exists. I think that education is always the best place to start in all areas of life, and this is one of them. Namaste-Anora

Brenda- I can relate. I put a great deal of thought into what I write. Even if I write a packed sentence there is much there. I would like to know what TOS guidelines were violated so that I know which types of threads to avoid, because quite frankly I'm not a medium and cannot tell which threads may or may not be violations. Some threads I may think of as benign may very well be seen as a violation, or as someone else mentioned be violated by a responder that then sacks the rest. Namaste-Anora

It's really ashame too because I'm sure there are many Mylotters who put a great deal of work into their posts. Thank you for your response. Anora

Yes, that's always been the dilemma people have. The frustration of not only having your posts deleted but not to know the reason why....it seems a futile act to delete and not give an explanation so the error isn't repeated.

I think for me, and others, it is about being educated as to what the problem was so we don't have to guess. I mean, I know that most of us try to do a very good job about not breaking TOS, but we can't know all the intricate details. Something we might feel doesn't break TOS, just might and vice versa. If anything, this was an interesting discussion. Namaste-Anora

Well said Laydee. I would love to add in a lengthy response but I can't even add to what you said because you truly have stated exactly the point I was trying to get at. Namaste-Anora

P1- Well, I shall continue to dream then lol. Seriously though, if can be easily rectified and I think is needed for education if anything. If anything, it works for those of us who take our posts seriously, do our best to avoid TOS violations, and be polite. Though, as with anything this can be abused. Of course, duality on here is a topic for another time. Thanks for the response. Anora

Exactly. If we don't know what we did we can't avoid it. Namaste-Anora

I really do hope that Administration will give this idea a look and perhaps find a way to have an IT person come up with an computer algorithm that will be able to work on this particular system. Namaste-Anora

Nikky- Thanks for the response. I agree, just something that tells us which thread was deleted would be very helpful, and it would be helpful so that others do not make the same mistakes. It would help a great deal in educating users. Anora