[Sidebar Moderator]

Because the duplicate threads were coming so fast and there are multiple moderators working, ALL of the posts were deleted at one point and the oldest has been restored.

We also decided to leave a second post, containing a pulished story on the subject in breaking news. Normally it would be better to have the full story added to the original thread, but in this case the original thread had many replies and the full story deserved to be available.

[dep]

i think that if you look you'll note that the threads were being simultaneously composed, which means that a search wouldn't have accomplished anything.

dep

[Dog Gone]

I agree with your actions, and wish that everyone here would check ON EVERY STORY they post whether it has been previously posted.

It's no fun to finish composing a brilliant reply only to discover that the thread has been deleted, or that there are five other threads running at the same time on the same story.

[KeepTheEdge]

Thank you for responding, and for the hardwork, in a flurry of postings.

[rainingred]

Thanks for the explanation. You folks do fine work.

[ScholarWarrior]

Thanks. We are all impatient and a little apprehensive.
This is one of the few places we trust.

[aristeides]

When will we be able to do title searches again? That's by far the easiest way to see if a story has already been posted.

[Ratatoskr]

Because the duplicate threads were coming so fast and there are multiple moderators working, ALL of the posts were deleted

Does this not strike you as a serious design flaw?

[NittanyLion]

Is it possible to close duplicate threads to new posts, with the final reply linking posters to the active thread? That might eliminate the confusion generated when posters are unable to locate the undeleted thread. Perhaps the duplicates could be deleted at a later time.

I'm just throwing the suggestion out there for argument's sake. I think the moderators do a great job given the volume of posts on this forum.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Thanks. My only suggestion is to put out a message in these circumstances to alert WHICH thread is the "official" thread. It was pretty hairy for about 5 minutes.

[technochick99]

Kudos to you. Keeping FR from becoming a jumbled mess is a thankless job.

[Redcloak]

Personally, when I'm about to post a "breaking" story, I always open a second browser window and do one last refresh before hitting the post button. Even then, sometimes it's possible to miss a thread that's only a few seconds old. Multiple posts are just part of the game. I, for one, am glad to see the moderators trying to keep things tidy. However, I do have an idea that might be better than just deleting them. (And thus sending some individuals running for the Reynolds Wrap.) Is it possible to turn off a thread so that no further posts are possible? If that can be done, then the moderator on duty could post one last message to each duplicate thread directing people to a single thread. After that, no more posts would be possible. The conversations would have to continue on the target thread. This would cut down on the duplicates without some people peeking out the shades looking for the black helos.

[mad_as_he$$]

IMO the Terrorist are incompetent. They missed the Capitol and congress on 9/11 and then missed both Brokaw and Daschel. They need better targeting systems..sarcasm off

[subrosa sam]

How does one turn off the sidebar?

[Harrison Bergeron]

Hi SM, nice to meet you.

Why was the AP story about the World News/Landlord/terrorist connection yanked sfer the second post? I couldn't find a duplicate story to save my life.

[PhiKapMom]

You guys are doing a great Job! Keep it up!

[Reborn]

Thank you for explaining why the threads were pulled. Once again, FReeper mods are doing a great job!!!

[WIMom]

Thanks gals! I know you mods are working hard. There's nothing worse that 8 zillion threads of the same thing.

[Terrorista Nada]

Darn, darn, double darn...

[LoneGOPinCT]

I heard that there was quite a mob scene from folks scrambling for tin foil due to the recent deletions.

[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.