Thread: Posts undeleted
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Old 08-14-2007, 02:49 PM   #18
Xerihae
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Name: Chris
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Re: Posts undeleted

Which leads to forum members correcting other forum members in a thread, which leads to said forum members arguing their point back again, which leads to the thread going more and more off-topic, which leads to forum members arguing with forum members constantly.

As for enforcing politeness, there is such a thing as common courtesy. Allowing everyone to bitch and flame at each other repeatedly is a quick and short path to a forum full of people who constantly argue and spend more time insulting one another than answering the question of the poor bewildered sod who just came here for help. Oh wait...

We'll have to disagree there. When I selectively deleted the posts, the thread read as someone asking a question and getting an answer clearly, concisely, and without any bother. The only reason you guys know different is because of the stubs and the fact you read it before it was moderatated. Anyone else reading the thread for the first time would have hard a hard time spotting small, if any, discrepancies that would indicate a deleted reply. I was very careful to ensure the continuity of the thread was preserved whilst removing the argument. This, I believe, is the heart of a mods job. Otherwise we end up with what was there, a question asked and a couple of helpful answers swamped by a bunch of arguments. This may happen all the time in other sections of TMS (and does) but that does not mean I have to let it become the norm.

If they're not having posts deleted because they're getting into silly arguments in the middle of threads, why would they even have to worry about it?

For a start, this wasn't aimed specifically at Brody. I also fail to see how it's a symptom of any problem. Techical people can answer in technical ways without a problem, my only hope was that perhaps this little issue would highlight the need for a bit of common courtesy and thought when replying to someone, even (or especially) if they're trolling.

People who know what they're talking about are free to help people who ask for help. People who lace said help with insults (and this is NOT aimed at Brodys initial reply, just a general thought) because they're fed up of the general ignorance/stupidity/laziness of the world at large should not bother replying. Telling someone the best way to help themselves is excellent and a good way of helping them grow. Telling them how to do it whilst bemoaning the fact you have to tell them to do it at all is counter-productive and doesn't put a very good front on the community.

People can turn their phrases as they wish, as long as it doesn't involve insulting or rude behaviour. There's simply no need for it and I'm relatively certain there's a rule against it somewhere, there usually is on these types of forums.

I never blamed Brody for anything. The thread got pruned because of the argument irrespective of the cause. I pointed out to Brody which post of his I felt might have been misconstrued, but at the end of the day the argument as a whole was what prompted me to action. If you want to lay blame, I personally would lay it at the foot of the original poster for replying to Brody in a sarcastic way, and then at Brody for lowering himself to his level and replying in a sarcastic way, and then back with the OP for calling Brody a jerkoff. I've done similar prunings before and never had a problem, which is why I found it so strange to have all this fuss kicked up this time. Perhaps we're all just that bored?

I also replaced the posts because I agreed with someone that the stubs made the whole thing look terribly messy, not because of the numerous complaints. I've had long years of things where people complain about everything to me and am not likely to be bothered about it unless I look back at what I did and see a fault. I stand by the moderation I did and wouldn't hesitate to repeat the same thing again. A thread should stay on topic and stay civil, and it is the job of a moderator to ensure this happens. If people don't want their replies deleting, they can keep them on-topic and at least moderately polite. I fail to see how this is a Bad Thing.

Should I mention this whole discussion is terribly fun?
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