A question on (self) moderation

capt_slog

I was wondering at the weekend why this forum has no "delete" option in the bit where you can edit your posts. (edit to say.... If there is one, I can't find it!)

Is it not possible with the software that runs this board, or has it been disabled?

The reason I ask is that I've been on another forum where it can be and is used, and it works quite well. If the thread got out of hand, or a user was being a bit of a tit, then another member could PM them and point out the error of their ways and they could delete their post.

One feature of the 'delete' option was that if the OP deleted his initial post, then the thread disappeared too.

It was nice bit of self moderation, and the Mods only had to step in when things got rough.

veronese68

Problem with that is the remaining posts look a bit odd and lose context. It's much better if the person edits their post and says "Sorry, I was a bit of a tit. That was out of order and I apologise unreservedly." Then any subsequent posts still flow. I've see it done on here and it works, also makes the person doing the editing look better than a delete without explanation would.

snoopsmydogg

not sure thats completely true though. if apologising on a forum (very rare) is it not best to do it as a new post rather than editing an earlier post? When I go into a thread I have already been reading i use the 'first unread post' link.

If someone is being a tit then they usually get quoted in a reply which allows the flow to continue anyway.

being able to delete a post helps when you post on the wrong thread, realise you have repeated another members post etc.

dw300

If you can't delete a post, then you should be considering what you're writing about before you say something stupid. You should think about that anyway, but you'll tend not to if you know in the back of your mind that you have a delete option. It's better self-moderation this way .. a prevention rather than a cure.

Anyway .. any good forum member worth his salt will ninja-quote something stupid that's said then edited, so we can all have a good laugh at the guy who didn't think about what he was going to say.

If you could delete, it would do away with several classic threads. And if you don't like that, blame Wiggle.

rick_chasey

Before the update you could only delete your post if it was the most recent post on the thread.

If you want it deleted, flag it up for deletion.

veronese68

snoopsmydogg wrote:

not sure thats completely true though. if apologising on a forum (very rare) is it not best to do it as a new post rather than editing an earlier post? When I go into a thread I have already been reading i use the 'first unread post' link.

If someone is being a tit then they usually get quoted in a reply which allows the flow to continue anyway.

being able to delete a post helps when you post on the wrong thread, realise you have repeated another members post etc.

I kind of agree with you there. The situation I'm thinking of is where someone had posted something inappropriate that should not have appeared in the first place and should be removed. Rather than remove without an explanation, remove and explain by editting.

Cleat Eastwood

Mattc59 and another forumite last year had posts deleted and the intervening comments made no sense - i guess if you want a post removed you can always flag it up.

Frank the tank

Veronese68 wrote:

snoopsmydogg wrote:

not sure thats completely true though. if apologising on a forum (very rare) is it not best to do it as a new post rather than editing an earlier post? When I go into a thread I have already been reading i use the 'first unread post' link.

If someone is being a tit then they usually get quoted in a reply which allows the flow to continue anyway.

being able to delete a post helps when you post on the wrong thread, realise you have repeated another members post etc.

I kind of agree with you there. The situation I'm thinking of is where someone had posted something inappropriate that should not have appeared in the first place and should be removed. Rather than remove without an explanation, remove and explain by editting.

Flippin' 'eck, in the past I've posted some stuff on a particular football forum after I'd been drowning my sorrows only to view them on a Sunday morning and think...................................Surely I wasn't THAT p1ssed!!!!