Mother of all moderators

[yarisugi]

What's up with mods deleting my posts?
I reply to some of the questions with a proper link to other posts/threads and a little
added sarcasm and I got net nanny moderators quietly deleting my posts like it never happened.
I'm not talking about all moderators, just the Mort Goldmans who hide behind their powerthrone.

[Billiam]

Only certain people around here are allowed to be sarcastic.

[cali yaris]

Maybe this thread is a good example. You seem to be asking a legit question.

Then you call the moderators a name ("nanny moderators") and refer to them sarcastically.

just the Mort Goldmans who hide behind their powerthrone.

On our forums, we have a rule that any moderation is accompanied by a PM explaining the edit/deletion/etc., usually with a request to review the forum rules. We think the forum member deserves to know why every time -- but to be clear, we do delete strong sarcasm, the kind that is not meant as a playful joke.

I think most people get the distinction.

[fnkngrv]

^ This is a great policy to have. More work for those that are volunteering their time to moderate, but worth it in the end IMHO. Too bad you can't do the same with your own wall on FB!

Some folks look at the forums as a place to play and others look at is as something that is going down in posterity. I think that might be part of the distinction as well.

[jpmck03]

I think I know what post yarisugi is referring to. Yeah, it was a little snarky, but it was a response that someone could have easily answered if they used the search function on the site. I mean, I don't think it adds anything to the site if someone starts a thread asking a question that's been discussed before and have some else search for them and post a link.

I'd rather see a mod chime in and say, "hey new guy, use the search function! hey old guy, be civil!" You know, instead of just deleting the snarky post. How are people supposed to learn to use the search function, if posts telling them to do so are "too sarcastic" and then deleted?

[cali yaris]

Easily handled a different way that includes the member and creates positivity:

"With all due respect, please try the search function and then ask any particular or specific questions you might have. That material is definitely already on the forums here".

[cali yaris]

Too bad you can't do the same with your own wall on FB!

Sure can, but if I don't see it how would anyone know? That's what post reporting is for!

[tk-421]

Originally Posted by yarisugi

What's up with mods deleting my posts?
I reply to some of the questions with a proper link to other posts/threads and a little
added sarcasm and I got net nanny moderators quietly deleting my posts like it never happened.
I'm not talking about all moderators, just the Mort Goldmans who hide behind their powerthrone.

I have no idea what post you are referring to, but I can look into it if you want. Most posts can be easily recovered.

Originally Posted by fnkngrv

^ This is a great policy to have. More work for those that are volunteering their time to moderate, but worth it in the end IMHO.

This is a bit unrealistic, precisely because it means more work for the moderators. I don't know about the other guys (and gal), but I tend to be a pretty busy guy. I don't mind helping out here and there, but what you suggest involves receiving a complaint, then reviewing it, issuing a ban/deletion/whatever, and then finally redacting a PM to the affected party every single time. Now try doing that 20 times a day.

I think the best way to solve this is to be mindful of others before posting a comment that may just end up insulting someone else. Just by doing so, you can avoid quite a bit of work for everyone (you don't have to waste time writing something that will be deleted, I don't have to receive 20 reports about said post, and the mods don't have to go hunting them down and then explaining themselves to people).

[yarisugi]

It was this thread. I can't remember what I wrote exactly because it was deleted but it was to the tone of:
Did you you know there is a sticky called The Coilover Thread? (<--- included a link to that thread).
Then I wrote: We learn something new everyday. SEARCH (<--- linked to post #149 from 03Z33's post which best answered the OP's question)

The OP's reply was also deleted. It said something like that was uncalled for or rude.

Mods are almost always fair and objective so I didn't mean you tk-421 (unless it was you!) :P
I call the mod who deleted my post Mort Goldman because it was deleted
without any notice or warning. I personally think it's an abuse of power
because that mod can delete anything he/she wanted to. Do you think
what I posted above was so horrendously offensive that it deserved deletion?
If things got so bad, mods usually leave a final post like "that's enough"
and lock the thread to prevent further conflict.

I've seen much worse on this forum that hasn't been deleted at all. So
what makes mine so ghastly that it has to be deleted. The OP has over
100 posts so I'm sure he/she knows how to search but was lazy to do
so. I'm sure other members would write "Do a search OP" and leave it
at that. Don't we all hate repetitive threads that ask the same FAQs?
A little banter doesn't hurt the OP if the replies help and it's like telling
that person, "hey, how about YOU doing some reading yourself?"

I like this forum because there is a lot to learn here. But to keep
moderating it to a Disney degree would leave me to just read other
posts and don't even bother helping them out. I think I'll just do that from now on.

[yarisugi]

Originally Posted by Billiam

Only certain people around here are allowed to be sarcastic.

DELETE THIS POST! I'm so offended.

[tk-421]

Originally Posted by yarisugi

It was this thread. I can't remember what I wrote exactly because it was deleted but it was to the tone of:

...

The OP's reply was also deleted. It said something like that was uncalled for or rude.

I don't see any deleted posts on this thread... I'm guessing there's a very similar thread floating around...

Mods are almost always fair and objective so I didn't mean you tk-421 (unless it was you!) :P

That's the really key part of your message IMHO. There's always room for improvement, though, and I totally get that.

I like this forum because there is a lot to learn here. But to keep
moderating it to a Disney degree would leave me to just read other
posts and don't even bother helping them out. I think I'll just do that from now on.

We try to keep things fair, but we are human and I'll be the first to admit that we make mistakes.

The Yaris is a car that appeals to many kinds of people of all ages and cultures, and as such we must be particularly aware that some content may need to be removed in order to preserve sanity across the board. Sometimes we do go overboard, but you have to admit that it's not the end of the world. We can always restore threads/posts, as long as they're not actually deleted from the database...

Do I think we went overboard in your case? It would appear so. If we can find the actual thread I will be glad to give it a closer look and possibly restore the post. Then again, if the mod permanently removed it then there's nothing that can be done short of restoring a backup.

[tooter]

I think of this forum as a place where I'm allowed to visit as a guest.

[cali yaris]

Now try doing that 20 times a day.

Besides spam, which is obvious, are 20 posts a day really edited/deleted? Just curious.

This is a bit unrealistic, precisely because it means more work for the moderators.

It's one extra step, a quick PM. If it's too much work, I respect that, but threads like this probably wouldn't exist if that policy were in place. I'm guessing that while yarisugi might not have agreed with the decision, a PM explaining it would have gone a long way. Just a thought. Long term, maybe less work? I don't know.

[Billiam]

Originally Posted by yarisugi

DELETE THIS POST! I'm so offended.

Suck it Duckboy!!!

<--- Me

[jpmck03]

Originally Posted by yarisugi

It was this thread. I can't remember what I wrote exactly because it was deleted but it was to the tone of:
Did you you know there is a sticky called The Coilover Thread? (<--- included a link to that thread).
Then I wrote: We learn something new everyday. SEARCH (<--- linked to post #149 from 03Z33's post which best answered the OP's question)

The OP's reply was also deleted. It said something like that was uncalled for or rude. ...

Originally Posted by tk-421

I don't see any deleted posts on this thread... I'm guessing there's a very similar thread floating around...

I'm not trying to rock the boat here, but yarisugi definitely did respond to that thread, and his response is not there anymore. I know that because when I clicked on the New Posts link yesterday, the first two new posts were by ijose 845. Both were within half an hour of each other, and both threads were questions that had already been discussed on the forum before.

yarisugi responded to the one about lowering for maximum drop and I responded to the one about disabling the traction control. My response was only slightly more "civil" than yarisugi's and is still there. Which for me begs the question: where did yarisugi's post go?

[tk-421]

Then I'm afraid the posts have been permanently lost. I see no record in there at all.
I'll try to find out what happened and report back...

[jpmck03]

It's no big deal to me if you find it or not, tk-421.

I can, however, understand yarisugi's frustration, as he did go to the effort of searching for the information and providing a link to it in that thread only to have it deleted because he sarcastically let the OP know that they should have just searched for it themselves.

[tk-421]

Originally Posted by cali yaris

Besides spam, which is obvious, are 20 posts a day really edited/deleted? Just curious.

Maybe not 20/day as an average, but I'm sure it could come to that if we had to mass-delete threads by a flamer (it's happened before...)

Look, I have no problem in implementing this, quite simply because I don't tend to delete legitimate threads. Heck, I tend not to delete anything at all! Everything I "delete" is actually just hidden from view, accompanied by a short reason about why it was done. (Yes, even spam threads/posts aren't really deleted).

So I guess that it would make more sense to request that threads/posts should never be permanently deleted by moderators, no matter what. This way threads/posts can always be recovered if need be.

Whatever you guys choose, I'm game. Let's just try and figure out the best way to fix the problem first!