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Fred Longworth
Senior Member
Username: sandiegopoet

Post Number: 6835
Registered: 05-2006
Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2009 - 12:11 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post

Why are members not allowed to delete posts in their entirely immediately after posting?

You can delete the text, but not the post as a whole. And you can change the text, but you cannot change the signature.

Why the restriction?

**********
Welcome to the Wobegon Poets Forum, where all poems are above average.
LJ Cohen
Moderator
Username: ljc

Post Number: 11445
Registered: 07-2002
Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2009 - 6:09 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post

It has to do with the board software, Fred, and the way it builds the database to know where all the posts are. It's a restriction we have no control over, unless we move Wild to an entirely different software system.

Members also cannot change the titles of their own posts.

If anyone needs to delete a post, unfortunately, you need to ask a moderator.

best,
ljc
Once in a Blue Muse Blog
"Chop Wood, Carry Water"
Judy Thompson
Advanced Member
Username: judyt54

Post Number: 1867
Registered: 11-2007
Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2009 - 6:42 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post

the only way around that is to edit the post, wipe out the contents, and leave a dot.

In fact I know of no board where anyone short of admin (and sometimes not even then) can physically remove one of their own posts all the way back to include the name. You can take out your comments, but not the 'posted by' line.
Afraid of the Dark
M
Board Administrator
Username: mjm

Post Number: 35434
Registered: 11-1998
Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2009 - 7:41 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post

Well, I hate to contradict, but that's not exactly the answer. Members cannot delete posts in their entirety because when they were allowed to do so here, many abused the privilege, and were playing games with it. Abusive posts were appearing and disappearing, without moderator ability to track those posts. So, admin came to the decision to disallow member access to the delete function.

Yes, you can still modify a post, removing its contents. But admin and mods (and members) can still see that a post was indeed made and who made it.

Admin/mods are happy to delete posts in their entirety upon member request. We do it all the time. Members can only request that their own posts be deleted. Members cannot request that other members' posts be deleted. This is a decision for admin/mods to make.

And no, we will not consider changing back to member deletions of posts, so don't ask. This is an administrative decision and function. We don't have time for abuse and game-playing. Sorry, we understand that restricting everyone because of this misbehavior by some is unfair, but life is not always fair. For Wild's protection, and admin sanity, some things just have to be the way they are.

Lisa is correct, however, about alteration of titles. Wild tracks threads by their "subjects," i.e., titles of the threads. Unless we alter those titles formally in the backroom (where the system goes through some chugging and wheezing), Wild goes haywire. So, altering information in title or subject lines is an administrative function, and we cannot change it into a member function. It's a restriction of the software.

If anyone has any further questions, please let me know.

Love,
M
LJ Cohen
Moderator
Username: ljc

Post Number: 11454
Registered: 07-2002
Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2009 - 7:47 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post

Thank you for the clarification, M. I stand corrected.

best,
ljc
Once in a Blue Muse Blog
"Chop Wood, Carry Water"
Fred Longworth
Senior Member
Username: sandiegopoet

Post Number: 6837
Registered: 05-2006
Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2009 - 9:14 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post

Thanks for explaining this. I know you can delete a post totally in every respect on Facebook. But then Facebook is largely an unmoderated forum.

**********
Welcome to the Wobegon Poets Forum, where all poems are above average.
M
Board Administrator
Username: mjm

Post Number: 35436
Registered: 11-1998
Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2009 - 10:22 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post

You're welcome, Freddie. Yes, Facebook is a largely unmoderated forum, and we all know the unfortunate risks in that. And they are great. Whole forums have dissolved from lack of moderation and lack of having a select group of moderate/fair/objective people making decisions for the common good. No, it's not perfect, but it's worked pretty well for nearly 11 years. No system is perfect, because humans are not perfect.

Personally, and generally speaking, I don't wish to see those risk taken at Wild. Dissolution of this forum, by any means, is not in our mission and goals. And I'm not willing to take that particular risk. Thanks for trying to understand why and being satified with that.

Love,
M