My Discussion Disappeared ... I'll Post it Again!
@owlwings (43897)
Cambridge, England
October 23, 2016 5:15am CST
[Rant]
When you post a discussion - that is, when you click "Start Discussion", you should see it appear on screen. If it does, that means it is on the system. Surely, nothing could be plainer!
If, a little while after, you go to 'My Discussions' and it isn't there, there can be no mistake! It MUST have been deleted by Admin. Surely, that should be obvious too!
If it has been deleted by Admin, then it was deleted FOR A REASON! That reason is almost certainly because it was considered a violation of the Guidelines and you should take it as a WARNING.
How stupid must a person be before he or she fails to understand this simple logic? Reposting a discussion which was deleted because of a Guideline violation is, eventually, going to get you banned!
[/Rant]
16 people like this
16 responses
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
23 Oct 16
That is assuming the person actually read and comprehend the guidelines.
5 people like this
@yukimori (10193)
• United States
23 Oct 16
@Mike197602 I still say that we need a link right next to the discussion box.
And a very visible link on a welcome page when a new account is made.
4 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
23 Oct 16
@Mike197602 And sometimes the non-newbies just forget.
3 people like this
@Mike197602 (15504)
• United Kingdom
23 Oct 16
that's the problem...how to properly direct people to the guidelines as I'd say the majority of new members don't read or understand them properly.
4 people like this
@yukimori (10193)
• United States
23 Oct 16
@owlwings infinite amount of patience or not, I think there has to be a concrete point where the line is drawn and it needs to be consistently applied to ALL members... Particularly when the poster reaches a point where they're being directly abusive to other members and making personal attacks simply because someone doesn't agree with them.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
23 Oct 16
@yukimori There certainly is a point beyond which Admin will not give any quarter. Defining it in terms which would be meaningful or useful to others is the difficulty (I'm sure that you are one of the few who understand that).
Serious abuse is never tolerated. That was one of the "few other things".I mentioned. An admin also has to be able to distinguish between "serious", "temporary" and "playful" abuse - and that is not an exact science, either!
1 person likes this
@yukimori (10193)
• United States
23 Oct 16
Most of the birthday discussions that stay up have actual substance beyond the milestone celebration. Describing the party, how the day went, etc. all contribute value, where a post that's just something like "It's my birthday!" doesn't.
3 people like this
@yukimori (10193)
• United States
23 Oct 16
@LadyDuck It might depend on whether or not they've been reported. I don't think Alex has time to read through everything, so discussions that have been reported by someone probably end up being a higher priority than checking through everything else.
3 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (17239)
• China
23 Oct 16
Thank you for reminding us of it,though that hasn't happened to me.
1 person likes this
@silvermist (19701)
• India
23 Oct 16
@owlwings This was a nice way of pointing out discussions get deleted because of some violation of guidelines.Some still post discussions like it again instead of understanding where they went wrong.Good discussion.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
26 Oct 16
Some might not realize that simple fact!
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
24 Oct 16
I do wish we got emails when they were deleted, a simple "discussion X was deleted due to violation of blahreason" I want to know if I run afoul of the rules and if so, what I did so I can not do it again!
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
24 Oct 16
There used to be a function which advised members when Admin deleted a discussion. I forget now whether it used to give a reason or whether it just referred one to the Guidelines. Unfortunately, it ceased to work properly and the code has never been repaired. I believe that it's on a long list of "things to be done".
1 person likes this
@hora_fugit (5859)
• India
24 Oct 16
@owlwings My discussions were never deleted, otherwise I could dig that...
1 person likes this
@Hasana (348)
• Mumbai, India
23 Oct 16
According to me, a discussion maybe deleted at later stage also if someone hits the 'report' tab.
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
23 Oct 16
admin has the final say whether it gets deleted or not. he also said we can pm him if we want clarification.
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
23 Oct 16
@Hasana Discussions are NEVER deleted simply because they have been reported! Admin only deletes discussions which violate the Guidelines. It is true that Admin may not see all discussions at once and so some may remain for a time before being removed.
1 person likes this
@Mike197602 (15504)
• United Kingdom
23 Oct 16
that's not true, admin looks at all reports.
I've reported a few and they haven't been deleted...some of the more obvious violations are removed but others I've reported admin thinks are ok so they stay up.
2 people like this
@hora_fugit (5859)
• India
23 Oct 16
Owls generally are not capable of rants, though I heard they have special affinity for rats....
Someone making you angry is a rare sight, I have to say. but, sometimes, just sometimes, a discussion may not have been posted due to technical glitch. It appears as all is well, and a refresh shreds the illusions.
Just sometimes....
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
23 Oct 16
A rant and a rat are sometimes difficult to distinguish in the half-light.
It is VERY rare - I'd say only infinitessimally possible - that a discussion is posted (and assigned a URL) and then disappears off the system of its own accord.
What DOES happen sometimes is that the discussion is recorded and assigned a URL but then there is a breakdown in communication and an error is generated when trying to load the discussion page. That can often result in the same discussion being posted twice (or even three times) in quick succession and it's then pretty obvious what has happened. Of course, that isn't what I'm referring to here.
1 person likes this
@hora_fugit (5859)
• India
23 Oct 16
@owlwings This URL aspect is what may save a discussion. But then, once I had posted a comment somewhere, and made sure it was there, closed the page. Minutes later, I was on same page again and the comment was nowhere to be seen!
Now... we know comments are assigned their own addresses too. We know that I can delete the comment, that can be done by the box owner too. And I believed when they said it was not their act.
I did repost the comment. It was not offensive, so I will not even count the admins.
1 person likes this
@amitkokiladitya (171988)
• Agra, India
23 Oct 16
Yes there are certain rules to maintain the integrity and all should follow them
