Suggestion: Allowing Members to Delete Their own Threads

I've found this is a function that I quite miss on these forums, and I feel it should be the posters prerogative to be able to delete the threads that they post if they do not wish them to remain. I will give an example for when this would be useful. Today I posted a thread regarding stocking my new 75 Gallon, along with my Ryukin, I made the mistake of listing a comet goldfish that I currently had in the tank, but would not be staying. Instead of focusing on my Ryukin and schooling fish community, the conversation turned into one about how big comets grow, and by the time I could correct this mistake the thread had degraded and died. Had I been able to delete the thread myself, I could have made a semi-identical thread with the appropriate information, thankfully, with admin assistance, the thread was able to be deleted and I was able to make a new thread with the appropriate information, but not without causing me and the moderators headache in the process.

I believe allowing members to delete their own threads would elimination a lot of frustration, not only for the poster, but the moderator. I understand that this forum isn't only about what we as individuals can learn, but what those who come searching for information can learn, but I also feel that some consideration should be given to the poster who makes the thread to be able to delete it, if the information posted, especially if it is their own, is misunderstood, or driven in a direction that isn't intended. I hope this gets genuine consideration, I know that the lack of this feature is frustrating to many fishlore members, and while I do not speak for all of them, I would like to speak for those who do share my feelings on the matter. We are trusted to give good advice, however, we are not trusted to manage the threads that we ourselves create, and I feel this is something that should be considered and modified.

With that being said, this is a great forum and the best I've found so far, even with the few frustrations I have regarding moderation. I would certainly recommend it to other people, and have.

 

I am behind this one. swear I am not stalking you price

 

I disagree, I think that all the information that is posted is worth reading thru, you never know who is going to come looking for some information and it might be information that you already had or didnt need for your particular tank but because a member shared it it might help someone else along the way.

You can always report your own threads and request that they be deleted but in most cases I believe that the mods and admins would rather the informatin stay available to the group and be indexable for future research.

 

I don't think this is such a good idea. Over the years, the majority of times a member has wanted a thread deleted was because they didn't like the advice they were given.

Further, this creates a nightmare when a member decides to throw a tantrum and leave, and they delete all threads that they have started.

For the most part, we don't even want members closing threads, let alone deleting them. The threads aren't just for the original poster, but for others who may come along with a similar question. Therefore, we don't want threads closed or deleted just because the original poster is done with them. Someone else may come along and learn from these threads as well.

 

Many times those threads that the original poster would delete have information in them that an other member would find beneficial. This would keep members from asking some of the same questions over and over. It also keeps members from deleting threads just because they don't like the advice their getting even if it's good advice/information.
there are many things the Mods think about before they delete posts/ threads.
carol

 

I disagree, I think that all the information that is posted is worth reading thru, you never know who is going to come looking for some information and it might be information that you already had or didnt need for your particular tank but because a member shared it it might help someone else along the way.

You can always report your own threads and request that they be deleted but in most cases I believe that the mods and admins would rather the informatin stay available to the group and be indexable for future research.

Taking that into consideration, you also have to consider how many individuals use this website, even if one topic is deleted, the same information will be given in multiple topics, I see information repeated all over the forum in a variety of threads, because of this, I don't believe that giving posters the ability to delete their own topics would be a problem.

I don't think this is such a good idea. Over the years, the majority of times a member has wanted a thread deleted was because they didn't like the advice they were given.

Further, this creates a nightmare when a member decides to throw a tantrum and leave, and they delete all threads that they have started.

For the most part, we don't even want members closing threads, let alone deleting them. The threads aren't just for the original poster, but for others who may come along with a similar question. Therefore, we don't want threads closed or deleted just because the original poster is done with them. Someone else may come along and learn from these threads as well.

While I agree that's annoying, I still believe that the same information is available in other topics throughout the forum, rendering this concern less concerning.

 

I dnt like this post, wish I could delete it

 

I dnt like this post, wish I could delete it

you can

 

I dnt like this post, wish I could delete it

Ah, but that's not the point, you didn't create this thread. Cheeky cheeky

 

Not necessarily a bad idea, but deleting threads does have some flow on effects. Namely:
- it reduces members' post counts, sounds trivial, but consider a long thread that gets deleted, and a member falls below 50 posts, they are no longer eligible for Buy/Sell/Trade/Free activities that they may already be involved in.
- Members un-necessarily deleting threads that contain good information

My suggestion is:
- If your thread is un-answered, simply EDIT the original post
- If your thread has been answered, EDIT the OP, and post a follow-up reply stating the new conditions
- If you are dead certain you don't want further replies, unsubscribe from the thread, and let others continue to learn
- If you really, really, really want the thread deleted, ask a moderator.

Deleting information causes un-necessary loads on servers and search engines alike, and to be honest, isn't necessary. Irrespective of the topic, the information in the thread may be beneficial to someone else down the track.


EDIT: That said, let's wait and see what Mike thinks.

 

While I agree that's annoying, I still believe that the same information is available in other topics throughout the forum, rendering this concern less concerning.

And yet, it has happened that we've lost some very important information when members left the forum in a tizzy. The information was posted in a member's blog by another member. We're talking a comprehensive betta breeding guide that was just gone. Not all threads are duplicated. There are plenty of unique ones. Further, there are threads that are the standard go-to for certain topics. While there may be tons of threads on the topic, much of the information can be condensed to "check out <this thread> on the topic."

Conversely, it's really very easy to deal with things if a thread has gone off topic. Most of the time, if a member says "okay, but what about my original question," things will move back on topic. And if they don't, the mods can very easily push things in the proper direction.

 

oh I totally get the point. I agree about deleting once the topic in a thread is beyond the scope of the header it is under, how would someone ever know to look there for all that good information.

well there's good points on both sides

 

Not necessarily a bad idea, but deleting threads does have some flow on effects. Namely:
- it reduces members' post counts, sounds trivial, but consider a long thread that gets deleted, and a member falls below 50 posts, they are no longer eligible for Buy/Sell/Trade/Free activities that they may already be involved in.
- Members un-necessarily deleting threads that contain good information

My suggestion is:
- If your thread is un-answered, simply EDIT the original post
- If your thread has been answered, EDIT the OP, and post a follow-up reply stating the new conditions
- If you are dead certain you don't want further replies, unsubscribe from the thread
- If you really, really, really want the thread deleted, ask a moderator.

Deleting information causes un-necessary loads on servers and search engines alike, and to be honest, isn't necessary. Irrespective of the topic, the information in the thread may be beneficial to someone else down the track.


EDIT: That said, let's wait and see what Mike thinks.

All VERY good points, better than most have been able to give as to why being able to delete your own posts isn't an allowed function.

To remedy the concern of lowering a members post count, lets say if someone wanted to delete all of their posts as sirdarksol suggestion, maybe create a time limit on a post for when it can be deleted, as in, it can only be deleted in the first few hours or so, or something similar, a day, and after that time limit has run out, the post can no longer be deleted, however, this still gives the poster the option to delete the thread in a given amount of time, and I feel it only takes a few posts for a poster to realize that what they've posted needs to be deleted, corrected, and re-posted. This would eliminate the concern of people deleting a very involved topic, or all of their topics.

 

oh I totally get the point. I agree about deleting once the topic in a thread is beyond the scope of the header it is under, how would someone ever know to look there for all that good information.

That's where we come in
If necessary, mod's will split a thread if there are two distinct topics worthy of separate threads.

 

Seems pretty well covered but I'll butt in too.

I agree, the only reasons I see for deleting a thread are 1) A rewording/editing issue which mods can handle for you or 2), The op didn't get what they were after information wise or was proven wrong/silly/incompetent or anything to that effect.

 

In the end, this is Mike's decision to make, though my gut feel is that it won't be allowed.

Let's wait and see what Mike thinks.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the repuation system, I haven't checked, but deleting may remove reputation as well

 

I understand why you'd want to delete a post or a thread. In an imperfect electronic word, the slightest mistake can change the questions or answers in any given thread. That being said, rather than completely deleting I'd prefer editing the original post and commenting the changes. That's just me and I understand that not everyone feels the same way. I do think it is a good suggestion because it brought up the reasons why posters cannot delete their posts. Case in point, if this thread were deleted that information would be gone as well

 

I still think it would be a good idea to allow a poster to delete their post for the first few hours after it's posted, but not after the time deadline runs out. This will solve many of the issues stated.. I've run a forum board for the last 4 years, and there are ways around a lot of the concerns the moderators have, while still allowing the forum member some freedom to practice their own discretion.

 

This thread out of some reason reminds me of a quote from my favorite movie When Harry Met Sally:

Harry: ... what do you want me to do about it? I take it back, okay, I take it back.
Sally: You can't take it back.
Harry: Why not?
Sally: It's *already* out there!
Harry: Oh geez, what are we supposed to do? Call the cops. It's already out there.
Sally: *Just* let it lie, *okay*?
Harry: Great! Let it lie, that's my policy.

 

I've run a forum board for the last 4 years, and there are ways around a lot of the concerns the moderators have, while still allowing the forum member some freedom to practice their own discretion.

And, as has been pointed out here, there are ways around your concerns that allow members to practice their own discretion without creating huge headaches for the moderators and admin.
While it's awesome that you've run a forum that's maintained for that long, it's really irrelevant. What works at your forum may not work here, and what works here may not work at your forum. In fact, given the nature of the topics, the two forums are going to start out with basic differences in the way communication happens. This site has been running for quite awhile now (when I joined six years ago, it was already close to the top of the search engines when you looked for aquarium forums), and Mike has been building it, and its rules, for that entire time. It is a fluid process, and he takes member suggestions (which is why this section is here), but, like Ryan, I don't see him making a change that has very little payoff but potentially is a huge detriment to the forum.

 

I know in the moderation of other forums that I'm part of I have this same issue. Like it or not, even though we make threads that are 'ours', they really aren't 'ours' anymore once they are submitted. Along with all of the other points in the thread, I can add one more specific one. The ability for people to go in and delete their own threads leaves the door wide open for revisionism which is already a problem everywhere else.

 

I know in the moderation of other forums that I'm part of I have this same issue. Like it or not, even though we make threads that are 'ours', they really aren't 'ours' anymore once they are submitted. Along with all of the other points in the thread, I can add one more specific one. The ability for people to go in and delete their own threads leaves the door wide open for revisionism which is already a problem everywhere else.

Again, with a time limit on when the post CAN be deleted, there should be no issue with allowing the members this rational and convenient forum power. It would eliminate the problem with posters "throwing a tantrum" and deleting every topic they've made, it would eliminate a lot of steps in moderation, it would eliminate the posters frustration, and it would prevent good information from being deleted. I think it's a good compromise to allow them to delete posts, however, restricting them with a time limit after the post has been created, doesn't even need to be a few hours, could be 1 hour or a half an hour... not many posts can be made in such a time, and not enough to effect anyone's post count adversely. I believe this function would be an improvement to these forums and would certainly make a lot of members happier. If suggestions are taken, then why have I not heard any plus sides to mine and only why it shouldn't be done? It should be considered in a positive light as well, and not just in the negative. I can't see anything negative coming from allowing members to delete their posts up until an hour after it's posted, at which time it becomes undeletable. Again, I feel this is a good compromise between the admins control and the posters freedoms, it's a good balance...

 

Thanks for the suggestion but we're not going to allow the deleting of threads for all the reasons mentioned above. You can delete your post within a thread but allowing the deleting of threads could cause a lot of issues.

If a member needs a thread deleted, contact a moderator and they may or may not delete it depending on the circumstances.

 

Thanks for the suggestion but we're not going to allow the deleting of threads for all the reasons mentioned above. You can delete your post within a thread but allowing the deleting of threads could cause a lot of issues.

If a member needs a thread deleted, contact a moderator and they may or may not delete it depending on the circumstances.

Even if there was a time limit as I've suggested? I would like to know your thoughts on that and why it wouldn't work to allow a member to delete a post within at least 30min after posting it?

 

Thanks for the clarification Mike.

Thanks for the suggestion but we're not going to allow the deleting of threads for all the reasons mentioned above. You can delete your post within a thread but allowing the deleting of threads could cause a lot of issues.

If a member needs a thread deleted, contact a moderator and they may or may not delete it depending on the circumstances.

 

Even if there was a time limit as I've suggested? I would like to know your thoughts on that and why it wouldn't work to allow a member to delete a post within at least 30min after posting it?

While this is no longer a subject open for debate (Mike has already stated it will not happen), deleting threads puts the members in a position to moderate the forum as well as being able to delete posts by other members. Only the moderators and site admins are in a position to make such decisions. And each decision is based on what is best for the forum and site as a whole.

Something else to consider. The very second you click that post button, you no longer own those words. It has become property of the website. If you want an extra hour to decide if you want to delete or otherwise change the post, simply stop. Wait an hour. Then decide to click the post button or not.

IMPORTANT: All uploaded photos, videos, articles and text (posts) become property of FishLore.com. If a member is banned we may or may not delete the banned member's posts, videos, articles or text.

FishLore.com reserves the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason at any time.

 

Thanks for the suggestion but we're not going to allow the deleting of threads for all the reasons mentioned above. You can delete your post within a thread but allowing the deleting of threads could cause a lot of issues.

If a member needs a thread deleted, contact a moderator and they may or may not delete it depending on the circumstances.

Since MIKE has made his ruling, I consider the subject closed so I'm also closing the thread. Thanks for everyone's input!

Ken