Politics Black Hole or Demiurge?

[Scouter99]

Just awakened my laptop for the first time in a few days and refreshed the browser to find that the thread "It ain't just Republicans" in regards to US/Obama Administration spying had disappeared, along with any reference to it in my own last posts list.

Several weeks ago a couple Trail Life threads disappeared.

 

Are threads disappearing in more mundane areas of the forum? Is there a black hole in this sub forum, or is there an intelligent actor? I personally decided not to participate in this area much anymore, but the possibility that someone is censoring it (except for rules compliance) is not appealing in general.

[packsaddle]

I was wondering where that one went too. All I can say is that, as my cub scouts used to say at the sound of breaking glass...."I didn't do it!".....whatever 'it' was. I'm not even sure a moderator has the ability to delete an entire thread...we CAN move them to different forums and we DO that once in a while. But the one you mention would stay right here. Anyone else have any idea what might have happened?

[Stosh]

I was wondering where that one went too. All I can say is that, as my cub scouts used to say at the sound of breaking glass...."I didn't do it!".....whatever 'it' was. I'm not even sure a moderator has the ability to delete an entire thread...we CAN move them to different forums and we DO that once in a while. But the one you mention would stay right here. Anyone else have any idea what might have happened?

It's Bush's fault.

 

Stosh

[Papadaddy]

If you like your post, you can keep it.

[Sentinel947]

Scouter99/Packsaddle, a moderator has the ability to remove any post or topic If they wanted to.

 

 

 

When the last group of new moderators was appointed (I was one of those) we agreed that we didn't want to censor posts, and if we felt something crossed the line, we would ask the poster to edit their post before taking action on it. We then inform the other moderators of any actions we take.

 

 

 

We almost never delete whole topics, unless it's an advertisement or obvious spam. An angry or heated argument isn't justification for us to remove a thread.

 

None of the moderators have posted to having removed any of the topics in question. I haven't deleted any threads or posts other than obvious advertisements since I got my administrator powers in the spring.

 

 

 

I think the server hosting V Bulletin is all jacked up, and is losing the threads. I haven't seen any evidence of moderators removing posts or threads, although to be honest I don't know what signs to look for.

 

 

 

Sentinel947

[King Ding Dong]

Scouter99/Packsaddle, a moderator has the ability to remove any post or topic If they wanted to.

 

 

 

When the last group of new moderators was appointed (I was one of those) we agreed that we didn't want to censor posts, and if we felt something crossed the line, we would ask the poster to edit their post before taking action on it. We then inform the other moderators of any actions we take.

 

 

 

We almost never delete whole topics, unless it's an advertisement or obvious spam. An angry or heated argument isn't justification for us to remove a thread.

 

None of the moderators have posted to having removed any of the topics in question. I haven't deleted any threads or posts other than obvious advertisements since I got my administrator powers in the spring.

 

 

 

I think the server hosting V Bulletin is all jacked up, and is losing the threads. I haven't seen any evidence of moderators removing posts or threads, although to be honest I don't know what signs to look for.

 

 

 

Sentinel947

Absolute power corrupts......(kidding)

 

I do have a question though with some of the recent spam. A few other members responded with lots of "llama" and I chimed in as well albeit blindly. Can someone explain what that is supposed to accomplish ?

[King Ding Dong]

I was wondering where that one went too. All I can say is that, as my cub scouts used to say at the sound of breaking glass...."I didn't do it!".....whatever 'it' was. I'm not even sure a moderator has the ability to delete an entire thread...we CAN move them to different forums and we DO that once in a while. But the one you mention would stay right here. Anyone else have any idea what might have happened?

Naw, not Bush......Cheney probably.

[Stosh]

Scouter99/Packsaddle, a moderator has the ability to remove any post or topic If they wanted to.

 

 

 

When the last group of new moderators was appointed (I was one of those) we agreed that we didn't want to censor posts, and if we felt something crossed the line, we would ask the poster to edit their post before taking action on it. We then inform the other moderators of any actions we take.

 

 

 

We almost never delete whole topics, unless it's an advertisement or obvious spam. An angry or heated argument isn't justification for us to remove a thread.

 

None of the moderators have posted to having removed any of the topics in question. I haven't deleted any threads or posts other than obvious advertisements since I got my administrator powers in the spring.

 

 

 

I think the server hosting V Bulletin is all jacked up, and is losing the threads. I haven't seen any evidence of moderators removing posts or threads, although to be honest I don't know what signs to look for.

 

 

 

Sentinel947

When someone spams a site, it's always a ton of fun to mock it.

 

Gotta be careful, some newbie might make his/her first post and the forum could tear them apart!

 

Stosh

[Sentinel947]

Scouter99/Packsaddle, a moderator has the ability to remove any post or topic If they wanted to.

 

 

 

When the last group of new moderators was appointed (I was one of those) we agreed that we didn't want to censor posts, and if we felt something crossed the line, we would ask the poster to edit their post before taking action on it. We then inform the other moderators of any actions we take.

 

 

 

We almost never delete whole topics, unless it's an advertisement or obvious spam. An angry or heated argument isn't justification for us to remove a thread.

 

None of the moderators have posted to having removed any of the topics in question. I haven't deleted any threads or posts other than obvious advertisements since I got my administrator powers in the spring.

 

 

 

I think the server hosting V Bulletin is all jacked up, and is losing the threads. I haven't seen any evidence of moderators removing posts or threads, although to be honest I don't know what signs to look for.

 

 

 

Sentinel947

JBlake, sometimes I have difficulty figuring out if it's spam or a real post, I tend to lean on leaving it alone if I can't tell the difference.

[Stosh]

Scouter99/Packsaddle, a moderator has the ability to remove any post or topic If they wanted to.

 

 

 

When the last group of new moderators was appointed (I was one of those) we agreed that we didn't want to censor posts, and if we felt something crossed the line, we would ask the poster to edit their post before taking action on it. We then inform the other moderators of any actions we take.

 

 

 

We almost never delete whole topics, unless it's an advertisement or obvious spam. An angry or heated argument isn't justification for us to remove a thread.

 

None of the moderators have posted to having removed any of the topics in question. I haven't deleted any threads or posts other than obvious advertisements since I got my administrator powers in the spring.

 

 

 

I think the server hosting V Bulletin is all jacked up, and is losing the threads. I haven't seen any evidence of moderators removing posts or threads, although to be honest I don't know what signs to look for.

 

 

 

Sentinel947

I've been a moderator on many forums over the years, it's a thankless job. You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

 

I was being a bit sarcastic, but there's a cautious warning behind it. Be careful of one's posts, one can do a ton of harm to the members, especially the newbies.

 

By far this is one of the best moderated forums I have been on. Some get way out of hand.

 

Stosh

[NJCubScouter]

Due to time pressures elsewhere I have been virtually absent from the forum recently, except to read some posts, but I just wanted to chime in here.

 

I have no reason to believe any human being is intentionally removing topics around here. With the Trail Life topics that vanished some time ago, I know that an inquiry was sent to the "developers" to confirm that it was a technical glitch and hopefully find out the cause and put a stop to it, but I don't know the results. But I am sure that a technical glitch is what it is.

 

Just a few random added comments:

 

Sentinel, you make the Moderator Team sound almost organized. But I agree with what you say about what the moderators generally believe we should be doing and not doing. The one exception I would make is to your statement that if something "crosses the line", we request that the poster make the edit before taking action. It depends on how far over the line it is, or if you prefer, maybe there is more than one line. If something is sort of in the "border area" over the line (or the first line), yes, a request should be made before the Heavy Hand of Moderation takes hammer in hand. But recently there was a post that had a certain four-letter word (the one the narrator of "A Christmas Story" describes as "the Queen Mother of Dirty Words") sprinkled throughout, and that post was edited by a moderator without a lot of discussion. Hopefully we can all agree that that is the proper action in that situation, in a "family forum."

 

Packsaddle, when my son was somewhere around the preteen years, he took the "I didn't do it" routine to another level. He took the idea of "Whatever it was", but he actually said that - when it seemed like he was about to be blamed for something, he would say "Whatever it is, I didn't do it." It became sort of a family joke, but of course it was only funny if he actually DIDN'T do it, or if "it" wasn't too serious.

[King Ding Dong]

Due to time pressures elsewhere I have been virtually absent from the forum recently, except to read some posts, but I just wanted to chime in here.

 

I have no reason to believe any human being is intentionally removing topics around here. With the Trail Life topics that vanished some time ago, I know that an inquiry was sent to the "developers" to confirm that it was a technical glitch and hopefully find out the cause and put a stop to it, but I don't know the results. But I am sure that a technical glitch is what it is.

 

Just a few random added comments:

 

Sentinel, you make the Moderator Team sound almost organized. But I agree with what you say about what the moderators generally believe we should be doing and not doing. The one exception I would make is to your statement that if something "crosses the line", we request that the poster make the edit before taking action. It depends on how far over the line it is, or if you prefer, maybe there is more than one line. If something is sort of in the "border area" over the line (or the first line), yes, a request should be made before the Heavy Hand of Moderation takes hammer in hand. But recently there was a post that had a certain four-letter word (the one the narrator of "A Christmas Story" describes as "the Queen Mother of Dirty Words") sprinkled throughout, and that post was edited by a moderator without a lot of discussion. Hopefully we can all agree that that is the proper action in that situation, in a "family forum."

 

Packsaddle, when my son was somewhere around the preteen years, he took the "I didn't do it" routine to another level. He took the idea of "Whatever it was", but he actually said that - when it seemed like he was about to be blamed for something, he would say "Whatever it is, I didn't do it." It became sort of a family joke, but of course it was only funny if he actually DIDN'T do it, or if "it" wasn't too serious.

My 8 year old's defense is "I don't remember you telling me not to do that." He will argue that to the death.

[packsaddle]

Due to time pressures elsewhere I have been virtually absent from the forum recently, except to read some posts, but I just wanted to chime in here.

 

I have no reason to believe any human being is intentionally removing topics around here. With the Trail Life topics that vanished some time ago, I know that an inquiry was sent to the "developers" to confirm that it was a technical glitch and hopefully find out the cause and put a stop to it, but I don't know the results. But I am sure that a technical glitch is what it is.

 

Just a few random added comments:

 

Sentinel, you make the Moderator Team sound almost organized. But I agree with what you say about what the moderators generally believe we should be doing and not doing. The one exception I would make is to your statement that if something "crosses the line", we request that the poster make the edit before taking action. It depends on how far over the line it is, or if you prefer, maybe there is more than one line. If something is sort of in the "border area" over the line (or the first line), yes, a request should be made before the Heavy Hand of Moderation takes hammer in hand. But recently there was a post that had a certain four-letter word (the one the narrator of "A Christmas Story" describes as "the Queen Mother of Dirty Words") sprinkled throughout, and that post was edited by a moderator without a lot of discussion. Hopefully we can all agree that that is the proper action in that situation, in a "family forum."

 

Packsaddle, when my son was somewhere around the preteen years, he took the "I didn't do it" routine to another level. He took the idea of "Whatever it was", but he actually said that - when it seemed like he was about to be blamed for something, he would say "Whatever it is, I didn't do it." It became sort of a family joke, but of course it was only funny if he actually DIDN'T do it, or if "it" wasn't too serious.

Yeah, that was me all over that Queen Mother. Sounds kind of creepy, doesn't it, written like that?

 

NJ, I might have mentioned before...I really like your son, from what I read of him. I can see where he gets his sense of humor.

[Scouter99]

Well, like I said, I frequent the program subforum much more than this one, and hit the rest when a title looks interesting, and I've never seen a thread disappear in those areas. I would find it hard to believe that there's something special about this subforum that threads only magically disappear on teir own here and nowhere else.

 

Has anyone noticed threads disappear anywhere else?

[packsaddle]

Short of invoking space aliens, in order to approach this suggestion objectively, we need a comprehensive list of threads that have disappeared. Which, I hope you recognize is going to be difficult because the task involves enumeration of things that don't exist, at least not anymore. So....I guess we might just as well invoke those space aliens after all....lol.