About the recent deletions of Daschle's anthrax posts

FreeRepublic ^ | 10/15/2001 | sidebar moderator

[TomServo]

Multiple threads on a topic not only waste bandwidth, but spread the discussion over too many threads to follow.

I hope that you, the numerous defenders of duplicate posts, took note of this little tidbit.

[Sidebar Moderator]

I can't imagine what it's like to have to review every thing that is posted.

Thanks, but we don't review everything that's posted. We rely on abuse reports and our own observations while reading posts that interest us.

[Nora]

Kewl.

See what a little brainstorming can do for us?

[Ratatoskr]

I hope that you, the numerous defenders of duplicate posts, took note of this little tidbit.

Yes, it's much easier to follow along when all the threads on a topic are deleted. Pretty pointless, though.

[TomServo]

Yes, it's much easier to follow along when all the threads on a topic are deleted.

Notice that only duplicates are pulled. Is that easy enough?

[<1/1,000,000th%]

I canno' change the laws of Physics Captain!!

[1rudeboy]

I noted the absence of something, which is circumstantial evidence that I am using to show that you have no regard for the benefits of consolidating threads. Furthermore, two (or more) of the threads were reinstated. Where is the injury, counselor?

[Ratatoskr]

Notice that only duplicates are pulled. Is that easy enough?

Did you miss the beginning of this little fracas? All the threads were pulled because multiple moderators were working independently (does this strike you as a smart way to do things? Think this situation might crop up again?). When they realized the error, one was restored. But by that time the conversation was pretty exclusively "what's happening to all these threads?"

[Nora]

G' Afternoon Tom!

I don't think you were on line for a fairly harrowing 20 minutes (?) when everytime the story would go up, it would disappear immediately - I am sure that in the sequences of refreshes and whatnot, it may have always been up, if you were lucky enough to be in the right window. I wasn't, several times

From my vantage, trying to grab a bite of lunch and freep, the problem was that I couldn't tell whether something truly bad had happened - or whether we had a singularly bad Drudge blue light special hoax going.

In the tension that is part of the last month, we are all a bit more susceptible to the call of the Reynolds Wrap of course. But it was truly unsettling to see it happening on FR.

[Ratatoskr]

I noted the absence of something, which is circumstantial evidence that I am using to show that you have no regard for the benefits of consolidating threads.

Deletion is not consolidation. I have no regard for deletion. Consolidation might be nice, if one could devise an elegant way to do it.

[okie_tech]

Thanks for the explanation, sometimes threads are pulled with no obvious reason and the effects are disconcerting.

[TomServo]

Did you miss the beginning of this little fracas?

As a matter of fact, I did miss the little fracas. (Damned 4 hour conference call ;-)) I was going by what was stated earlier. My bad on that one, and my apologies.

And a hearty pat on the back to the moderators for doing the yeomans job that many of us would rather not do.

[Sidebar Moderator]

All the threads were pulled because multiple moderators were working independently (does this strike you as a smart way to do things? Think this situation might crop up again?).

True, moderators were operating under the same constraints as the people posting. We were simultaneously viewing and acting on rapidly arriving, duplicate posts.

Perhaps the volume of posts had something to do with our making a mistake while attempting to deal with them? We acknowledged and have learned from our mistake. I have only seen one or two posters do the same.

[Ratatoskr]

Oh, good. As a dedicated MST3K fan, I hated arguing with Tom Servo.

[Ratatoskr]

We acknowledged and have learned from our mistake.

Oh, good. Since current events guarantee there will be more breaking stories posted thick and fast, what is the new mechanism that will prevent excessive deletions in the future?

[Sidebar Moderator]

Neat, huh? We're always open to suggestions on improving what we're doing.

We prefer 'constructive' ones. :o)

[Sidebar Moderator]

Have you been reading this thread? Check out reply 63

[WIMom]

See post 63 and get over it.

[Ratatoskr]

Have you been reading this thread? Check out reply 63

I have been reading this thread. Reply 63 answers a question I didn't ask.

Locking threads is certainly preferable to deleting them, but what's to prevent multiple moderators working independently to lock all the threads, pointing users to threads locked by other moderators? The multiple, uncoordinated moderators are still an issue.

I object to moderation generally, but ham-handed moderation is really indefensible.

[Octavius]

Seems we need to lay nuclear on the table now.