Thread "ownership" and deletion
 

This is an observation and opinion based on the recent deletion of a thread titled "Urgent!". I don't really want to discuss that particular thread, or whatever happened to it, that's not the main point. I'd rather just voice my opinion on the general principles involved, and perhaps get some discussion from it.

In a follow-up thread, SlickOne stated:
To me, this seems to be an unreasonable policy, in general. First of all, calling the person who started a thread for the "thread owner" seems wrong. This is a public board, but run by a private person. Either the threads "belong" to the owner of the board, or to all of the posters. I can understand deleting posts at the request of the poster who made it, but deleting an entire thread, including all the posts made by other posters, at the request of the original poster is not fair to the other posters.

In this thread there was no specific content, so nothing was really lost, but imagine a thread with contributions from a number of posters, including pictures and videos, suddenly being deleted because the original poster wanted it? Delete his posts, if necessary, and keep the rest of the thread intact for the rest of us to enjoy would be a more fair policy, IMO. Exceptions being in cases where the subject matter of the thread is the problem at hand, and not just certain posts, but in those cases anybody should be able to request the closing of a thread, and not just the original poster.
It could also be helpful to include some kind of link, as with moved threads, containing a single post explaining that the thread has been deleted, and possibly an explanation if appropriate, so that people don't get frustrated or confused, and so that there won't be started a new thread with the same problems.

These are only suggestions and an invitation to discussion, and fortunately these things rarely happen, but it is still something I'd like to see adressed.

Not true, actually. In the last post, the OP posted two screen caps of the subject in question, which was actually one of the reasons he wanted the thread removed.

This was exactly the reason the "Urgent" thread was pulled: the entire subject.

Fango

If the thread was a popular photo or video thread with multiple contributions the thread would not be deleted in it's entirety. The thread would be edited to fit the thread creator's (maybe a better choice word choice than "owner") request. In this case as you already stated it was not that kind of thread, it was mainly just general discussion of a topic, which can be carried on in another thread. Rather than just editing the thread (which would probably leave some big gaps in the discussion) it was deleted.

We would not delete anyone's contributions just because someone wanted the thread deleted. We also don't delete any threads or posts unless there is a valid reason. If someone were to report your post and just say "delete this, please", we wouldn't. There would have to be some reasoning behind it.

If a thread is deleted we normally send a explanation to the thread creator. We wouldn't want to post an explanation for every thread that's deleted. We try to hold a certain level of respect and privacy here, we don't want to "out" anyone for posting something. There are some cases when we do post explanations, though. Like for example when a thread is closed rather than deleted, normally done when a forum rule is broken. I understand it's frustrating to see a thread missing that you've been browsing for a long period of time but it's missing for a good reason. If someone is curious as to why it was deleted they can always PM a Moderator and ask. The information may be disclosed or not, depending on the reason.

Hope that clears some things up.

Slick

Well, there is another thread dedicated to the exact same subject now, so I'm not sure we mean the same thing here?

Yeah, from the wording in the new thread, I was under the impression that you would generally delete a thread as long as it was the creator of the thread who requested it; with your comments here explaining in more debth it seems we generally agree after all.

No. The deleted thread was about a specific production and an attempt to record it. The new thread is about the play in general. Or rather, it's intended to be about the play in general, since as it's started out, it's more about confusion over the deleted thread.

Fango

I do not normally post here, but as someone involved with the above mentioned thread and a mod of another (very different) forum, I am tempted to add to the discussion.

Threads can be like a plant, a seed is sown and sometimes it will exist for a few days then wither and die. Other times it will find a fertile soil and thrive (like some of the 1,000,000 view ones here). But once in while, a pest of one form or another will come along and cause disease or a canker.

On the above thread, (IMHO) the pest was the planter of the seed. The thing was planted on very fertile soil (the sort of performance art involved has a large following on the net and in this forum), but the seed was doomed pretty much from the start, only a freely available version of what was 'promised' would have been an acceptable outcome.

When you consider the subject matter that this forum deals with, 99.9% of the time, things are friendly and everyone is very helpful. That is a tribute to the moderators here, I hope the odd 'bad apple' will not change the way things are being done too much.

Actually, the new thread is about the same specific production, and a description of it, from a spectator, which makes me consider it basically the same subject. I can see why the old thread was deleted though, I was actually typing a reply to it when it disappeared so I see what you mean.

Actually, my opinon wouldn't be different (although I would be surprised to discover I had a younger sister... :)). My point was that IMO the creator of the thread shouldn't be treated differently than any other poster with regards to removal of content. If anybody sees a thread that they feel is problematic, they should be able to ask for its removal, for instance if the content is something like you mention. That also includes the creator of the thread, of course, but I don't think he should have more to say than other posters. Everybody should be able to have their own posts deleted, though, and if the thread's only content comes from the thread creator, then the thread should be deleted, but if others have contributed too (for instance in a "post your wife"-thread), then only the specific posts should be deleted.

This is, from what I read, also consistent with the policy here, but the way it was presented it seemed that any thread could be closed at the whim of the thread starter, which seemed excessive.