posted
At the risk of appearing to be even more of a butt kisser than I already have in this forum, another thing I really like about the Mods and Admins throughout this collection of boards is that you guys actually take the time in almost every case to either explain or give some kind of idea as to why you've closed a thread. Having your thread closed is pretty humiliating so some kind of explanation is appreciated. I've never seen a board where so many different mods and admins are so consistently thoughtful in this regard.
Which brings me to the questions. Hopefully you will take this as the honest curiosity it is rather than derive any kind of implied criticism from these questions.
1) Why do you guys close threads rather than delete them? Perhaps you do delete loads of threads and I just haven't noticed because they're not around to notice. But I've seen some major Special Ed threads merely closed rather than deleted ("does the Emperor pee???") and even obvious spam is closed rather than deleted.
2) If a post is deleted, does the person who created it and anyone who replies see a drop in their post count?
3) Have you ever had a change of heart and reopened a previously closed thread?
Just curious, these questions weren’t prompted by any specific event or post.
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quote:The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.
posted
It's nice to see interest in such things, so I'll be glad to share at least my take on things.
1) For me, a thread/post that warrants deletion is one that clearly breaks with the user agreement in ways that the material contained within should be nowhere to be found on the board. Another case is advertisement spam. That gets deleted immediately with me. A thread getting closed, though, could be due to a variety of reasons, such as redundancy or complete lack of relevance. Often times, this gets closed rather than deleted so as to properly direct the discussion to the proper place or to help ensure that the point is made that the offensive elements are not wanted.
2) If a post is deleted, postcounts aren't affected.
3) I haven't done this often because usually a thread warranting a closing from me is due to redundancy, in which case, there's no point in reopening it. I know others have reasons for reopening threads after cleaning up offensive material, though. A lot of this depends on the forum in question because some are much more volatile than others and require more maintenance and looking-after.
I hope I answered at least some of your questions.
-------------------- Still the place to be. Posts: 29953 | From: Land of the Terps | Registered: Apr 2000
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posted
I'll speak on behalf of Rock Maedo, The People's Admin.
1) Why do you guys close threads rather than delete them? Perhaps you do delete loads of threads and I just haven't noticed because they're not around to notice. But I've seen some major Special Ed threads merely closed rather than deleted ("does the Emperor pee???") and even obvious spam is closed rather than deleted.
It's a case-by-case basis. Sometimes I'll just close a thread if I want to make fun of the poster (See my Banned T-Shirt thread closings). Other times, I'll do a close to give a short explanation on why it was done so. Another reason is to make an example out that topic/poster to show other what not to do; people tend to read closed topics more. "If you kill him... he won't learn nothing!" - The Riddler, Batman Forever
Anything else just gets deleted, which is rare.
2) If a post is deleted, does the person who created it and anyone who replies see a drop in their post count?
No, post counts remain the same.
3) Have you ever had a change of heart and reopened a previously closed thread?
A few times. One specifally in the prequels where the members got completely out of control, so it was closed. But due to a lot of requests, I did some damage control (LOTS of post deletions/edits) and re-opened it.
-------------------- I come to you now at the turn of the tide. Posts: 20523 | From: Jax, FL U.S.A. | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
1. There's no rules on whether to close or delete a thread. Every mod does it differently.
2. Already answered.
3. I can't recall re-opening a thread that I closed because of a change of heart, but on occasion, I have re-opened ones that other people have closed. It's not very often that I've overruled a closure, but it happens from time to time.
-------------------- Ummm....I don't know what this means....but a giant iceberg just winked at me. Posts: 20122 | From: Terminal Dogma | Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
Keeping threads closed/viewable rather deleted, as I have been taught, makes the guilty parties accessible for punishment...
-------------------- -Nightly Fantasy Basketball Season 1: 2nd place -Nightly Fantasy Baseball Season 1: 3rd place -Nightly WWE Fantasy Season 4 Champion -Nightly WWE Fantasy Season 5 Champion, 51st overall worldwide -Nightly WWE Fantasy Season 6 Champion Posts: 17912 | From: Houston, TX | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Stop whining. You're lucky I don't ban you. We don't like people flooding the boards. This isn't your playground.
-------------------- Ummm....I don't know what this means....but a giant iceberg just winked at me. Posts: 20122 | From: Terminal Dogma | Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
I changed my mind. After seeing what you did in SWS and other boards, I think you deserve a temp ban for a couple days.
-------------------- Ummm....I don't know what this means....but a giant iceberg just winked at me. Posts: 20122 | From: Terminal Dogma | Registered: Oct 1999
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quote:Originally posted by ShadowDog: 1) Why do you guys close threads rather than delete them? Perhaps you do delete loads of threads and I just haven't noticed because they're not around to notice. But I've seen some major Special Ed threads merely closed rather than deleted ("does the Emperor pee???") and even obvious spam is closed rather than deleted.
I prefer to delete threads, it just makes me feel more powerful. JHonestly, I don't like seeing threads with the little lock on it all over the first page.
Have you ever had a change of heart and reopened a previously closed thread?
Sure, I even opened a thread that was closed by Solo. If I close someone's thread, and they give me a good reason to open it back up, I have no problem with it.
-------------------- MORE SPORTS DISCUSSION, CLICK HERE
Descartes walks into a bar.... Bartender asks "You want a beer?" Descartes says "I don't think so" and then Descartes disappeared. Posts: 9578 | From: Austin,TX | Registered: Oct 2003
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-------------------- Pants quote of the week: "Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those pants, and bring me the passengers, I want them alive!" Posts: 19070 | From: Central Florida | Registered: Jun 1999
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What does the IP logged function do at the bottom of each post?
Every now and then I scroll down to reply and then and image loads and I click on one of these by accident and it says 'Only Mods and Admins can perform this function, click the back button now or be ccharged $1,504,765'
-------------------- Mr Flibbles very cross...
nAw Tag Champ and GWF World Champ Posts: 11848 | From: ESPN 8 'The Ocho' | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
Thanks guys. I appreciate the straightforward answers. What you say makes a lot of sense.
Something else I don't see that I see most other places is people (especially the authors) bumping threads up they like just to be bumping them (ie. to get more attention). A lot of times the only message will be the word "bump." That has always seemed tacky to me and more than a little annoying.
You guys run a tight ship while still allowing us to express ourselves. That's very rare.
[/buttkissing mode] [annoying people in Lando]
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quote:The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.
posted
If a moderator opens a thread, can other mod's or admin's tell who repoened a closed thread? What if a mod just decides to go crazy and reopen every single closed thread on nightly?
-------------------- "You can oppose yourself and edit yourself all you want, but there's still a little freak inside you that wants to talk." - Ben Folds Posts: 4658 | From: From: | Registered: Nov 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Beer Baron of Canada: If a moderator deletes Lando do you fire him or just give him a stern talking to?
He becomes our designated whipping boy for the next year and is subjected to any number of painful jokes entirely at his expense.
quote:Originally posted by Yoda Dude: If a moderator opens a thread, can other mods or admins tell who reopened a closed thread?
Nope. Unless they come out and admit it, the software gives us no way to tell who closed or reopened any given thread.
quote:Originally posted by Beer Baron of Canada: how do you guys get the caramel in the caramilk bars?
That's handled courtesy of Nightly's own Cambodian sweatshop, currently supervised under the iron fist of everyone's favorite despot, Darth Bane. The kids love him down there, especially when it's payday and he drives through the place in his golf cart and flicks shiny new American nickels right at their foreheads.
Posts: 18143 | From: Indianapolis | Registered: Jul 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Beer Baron of Canada: Oh, i have another question...
If a moderator deletes Lando do you fire him or just give him a stern talking to?
or maybe you reward him?
Didn't you know that there is a Titanium Member Status...currently never used...for just such an occasion?
Posts: 11058 | From: Indianapolis, In. | Registered: Jun 1999
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UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
It's not very often that I've overruled a closure, but it happens from time to time.![[Wink]](wink.gif)
JHonestly, I don't like seeing threads with the little lock on it all over the first page.![[No-no]](graemlins/nono.gif)
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
I miss those from time to time ...
![[Blush]](graemlins/blush.gif)
