Disallowing post deletions

[BuggyProgrammer]

I don't think users should be able to delete their own posts. If the person wanted to have it deleted, they could ask a mod to do it. There shouldn't be anything to hide. If there is, then they shouldn't have posted it in the first place.

What do you think?

[Electroman]

I don't agree but it wouldn't really work though, because if a user wants to delete a post then they could simply edit it and remove all content. The only thing it would stop is the whole thread beign able to be deleted by the thread starter. And I think the person who started a thread does have the right to delete it if they change their mind.
That and not being able to edit the title of a thread are the two things I prefer about this site over codeguru. .

Just my point of view. .

[BuggyProgrammer]

But they DO get the choice if they want the thread to be deleted. They just need to get a mod to do it. Like I said, they shouldn't be posting things that they don't want a mod to see.

But just limiting it to not being able to delete thread topics would be good as well. Having whole discussions deleted by the thread starter isn't good .

[Electroman]

Posted by BuggyProgrammer
But they DO get the choice if they want the thread to be deleted. They just need to get a mod to do it. Like I said, they shouldn't be posting things that they don't want a mod to see.

Yea but thats why we would normally want to delete them...you might think a second after posting it that you shouldn't really have done it and want it deleted....where as your way it would mean the thread is there longer while a moderator has to respond to it. Maybe if when deleted the posts didn't just disapear then that would be good, like they went invisible to all but your self and you could restore them...but that is more a extra feature that wouldn't be done by VBF .

Posted by BuggyProgrammer
But just limiting it to not being able to delete thread topics would be good as well. Having whole discussions deleted by the thread starter isn't good .

I see your point here but this doesn't happen much....and it would be nice to be able to delete a thread you started it everyone starts taking the mick out of you in it .

Think of the situation where a member goes to ask a question in say the Classic section.....they create the thread and as they read their own thread after posting it they get a brain wave and solve it, there isn't much point for that thread and they would end up creating a second post stright away saying "Sorry solved it already" which doesn't really have any significace. Yet I wouldn't expect a mod to delete that thread the member could have decided that they may aswell delete it rathewr than look like a spammer .

I think thats my good 2 cents now .

[BuggyProgrammer]

Originally posted by Electroman
I see your point here but this doesn't happen much....and it would be nice to be able to delete a thread you started it everyone starts taking the mick out of you in it .

Well if they delete the post then you wouldn't know they deleted right (unless several things happen, which I think people should figure it out on their own).

And there's a reason why mods are here. Lock posts that are getting out of hand or just plain delete them. And of course keep order.

[Electroman]

Posted by BuggyProgrammer
And there's a reason why mods are here. Lock posts that are getting out of hand or just plain delete them. And of course keep order.

But you have to see there is also cases like the example i gave which doesn't require a mod in order to solve the problem.

I know its not nice reading a thread where someone has deleted some of their posts and the replies don't quite seem right. But after all i think it is their right considering they created it.

As for deleting the whole thread well normally people won't do this unless they are the only one who posted in it. It does happen when this isn't the case which can be annoying but I still think the creator shoudl have the choice.
For example a strong reason for this might be the creator is unhappy because the thread went off topic from the start so I think it would be ok for them to not want this thread to stay.

The thing is if a memeber submitted this type of thread to a mod to delete then how would the mod decide wether it should be deleted?
EDIT: By this type of thread I mean the one I gave in the example, not the thread we are writting it

[brad jones]

There are both pros and cons for deleting and not deleting posts. We've had people ask for things to be both ways. There is no right answer.

Brad!

[Dillinger4]

BuggyProgrammer i think you have to understand that moderators donate their time to helping other users by answering threads, moving threads and just keeping things in general order. Having users pm mderators everytime they want a post deleted would just add to the list of things to do. I think if a user wants to have a post deleted than it is up to them and them alone. Granted it is not fair to the users that have previously replied to the thread( because i think their post count is deincremented) by it still should be up to the thread starter whether they want to delete the thread that they started.

[Dillinger4]

Posted by Electroman

The thing is if a memeber submitted this type of thread to a mod to delete then how would the mod decide wether it should be deleted?

That's another thing. Moderators arent going to want to read every post wishing to be deleted to try and figure out if the post should actually be deleted.

[MartinLiss]

I would certainly not want people to have to justify deleting the post/thread, let alone delete it myself.

[SuperSparks]

I'm a moderator over at our sister site Virtual Dr, and we have had to stop members from deleting their own threads after a couple of guys managed to mangle a few thousand threads in a temper tantrum. We still allow people to edit the threads - at least it gets noticed quickly when they do. The trouble with deleting threads is that it can be done insidiously in the background until the damage has ben done.

And the threads belong to Jupitermedia, not the poster - that's the very first item in the AUP that everyone agrees to when they join. The threads are a very valuable resource, and even more so over here. I've leraned a tremendous amount by reading some of the old threads here - it would be a shame for them to get mangled up.

[MartinLiss]

Originally posted by SuperSparks
I'm a moderator over at our sister site Virtual Dr, and we have had to stop members from deleting their own threads after a couple of guys managed to mangle a few thousand threads in a temper tantrum. We still allow people to edit the threads - at least it gets noticed quickly when they do. The trouble with deleting threads is that it can be done insidiously in the background until the damage has ben done.

And the threads belong to Jupitermedia, not the poster - that's the very first item in the AUP that everyone agrees to when they join. The threads are a very valuable resource, and even more so over here. I've leraned a tremendous amount by reading some of the old threads here - it would be a shame for them to get mangled up.

Good points.

[Pc_Madness]

The only thread that really matters would be the Post Race. It doesn't really matter if someone deletes the others.

[Dillinger4]

Would it be possible to set a certain date by which a post cannot be deleted? This way vbforums perserves old posts that have possible helped users in the past and prevents disgruntled users from deleting them.

[brad jones]

I've matched the settings on this board to the other Jupitermedia boards for deleting posts. People can delete their own posts; however, they cannot delete a thread by deleting their post out of it.

[MartinLiss]

So what happens if the first poster in a thread attempts to delete the first post?

[NotLKH]

Originally posted by MartinLiss
So what happens if the first poster in a thread attempts to delete the first post?

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[MartinLiss]

Brad, I kinow we already have two ads in the forums but how about posting a sticky (for a short time) in all the forums informing people about the change since I think few people actually go to Forum Feedback?

[Electroman]

emmm..........I just created a thread in the test area....then I posted a reply and tried to delete the first post. It worked and the whole thread is gone . I shouldn't have any extra abilitys in the test area though, should I ?

[brad jones]

Originally posted by MartinLiss
Brad, I kinow we already have two ads in the forums but how about posting a sticky (for a short time) in all the forums informing people about the change since I think few people actually go to Forum Feedback?

I don't believe this is necessary. I think that if anything, it would only cause more questions and concerns than the changes wouuld cause.

I don't think it is worth posting yet another sticky.

[brad jones]

Originally posted by Electroman
I shouldn't have any extra abilitys in the test area though, should I ?

As a moderator, your right to do things are different than a standard member.

[NotLKH]

Hmmm.
I made my Delete test yesterday in the test area, and yep!
I couldn't delete it.

However, Today I went into chit chat, and tried to delete a thread I made last night.

It deleted.

Not that thats a Bad thing. Chit Chat should be the one area where we should be allowed to delete our useless threads.

So,

Nice Work Brad!

[CyberSurfer]

Originally posted by Pc_Madness
The only thread that really matters would be the Post Race. It doesn't really matter if someone deletes the others.

Don't worry, the post race wouldn't be going anywhere even if I could still delete threads

[Pc_Madness]

Originally posted by CyberSurfer
Don't worry, the post race wouldn't be going anywhere even if I could still delete threads

I remember long ago that you threatened to delete the post race.

[BuggyProgrammer]

Nice to see that part of my idea went through .

[The Hobo]

Alright -- I just posted a thread in PHP forums and very shortly afterwards realized I was an idiot and fixed my problem.

I had a problem with an SQL statement, and I couldn't solve it because I was looking at the wrong statement in my code.

So I figured I'd just delete the thread before anybody had a chance to read it...but soon learned I can't, came here, and read this.

So now what about my thread? Should I just edit it to day "nevermind, folks, hehehe?"

I know it really doesn't matter, but I'd rather not have threads like that count towards my post count, because I seriously do this all the time.

Now that I can't delete my stupid threads like that -- my post count is going to shoot up and make me look smart. And I don't want people thinking that.

Just my 4 cents.

[MartinLiss]

I think the best solution is to send a "report this post" with a "please delete my thread" message.

[The Hobo]

Originally posted by MartinLiss
I think the best solution is to send a "report this post" with a "please delete my thread" message.

Yeah, but I do stuff like this a lot. I'll ask a question, the immediately realize I did something stupid (something that the person reading the question wouldn't know about), so I delete the thread.

I understand we want to have a database with answers for people to search, but the type of threads I'm talking about don't really have an answer besides "I made a typo elsewhere in the document" or "whoops, I was debugging the wrong SQL query."

I'm just saying that I do it so often that I think the mods will get annoyed if I'm always asking them to delete my threads.

[MartinLiss]

Measure twice, cut once?

Other than that the only think I can suggest is to change the Subject to "Please delete this thread" but that is really no different in effect on the mods than the "report this post" - only a little less efficient.

[The Hobo]

Originally posted by MartinLiss
Measure twice, cut once?

Not sure I understand your metaphor. Are you telling me to spend more time analyzing my problem? If so, that's probably the best idea.

[MartinLiss]

Originally posted by The Hobo
Not sure I understand your metaphor. Are you telling me to spend more time analyzing my problem? If so, that's probably the best idea.

Yes, that's an old expression from carpentry which translated into VBF would be something like "think twice before you post"