[Tony]

Several people have started threads devoted to their frustration or wonder as to why their threads or posts have disappeared so an explanation is obviously in order.

Threads which are shallow or which have absolutely no value whatsoever to any other person on earth are deleted. Threads which challenge the authority of administrators or moderators are deleted. If a person wishes to comment on the judgement of a moderator, it should be done through the "contact us" utility which is at the bottom of every page. You will find the "Contact Us" feature if you scroll to the very bottom of any page on LoveShack. These queries are taken seriously and challenges are conscientiously reviewed.

There are some very nice posts which get deleted once in a while. This is because they are located within a string of irrelevant or inappropriate posts and it would not make a user look good to delete around it and leave it dangling. So if you put up what you felt was a good post but it fell amidst a lot of bantering, meaningless exchanges of superficial verbage or off-topic discussion, it would be deleted out of respect for you.

Posts which are irrelevant to the original thread are deleted at the discretion of the monitor. VERY often, someone posts a serious thread which requires thoughtful and compassionate responses. Six or seven posts down someone goes off on a tangent and it goes on from there. These tangents rarely get back to relating to the original post. Particularly inappropriate is talking back and forth to other users with one-liners as one would do with IMs. This is always deleted. If you wish to talk to another member about matters not related to this board, use the Private Message function of the site.

Currently, moderators do not have the time to contact multiple users to let them know why their post or posts were deleted. We do not disagree that this would be the courteous thing to do but the board has gotten so big and moderating is far too time consuming to write individuals. We hope in the future to have software that will enable one email to be delivered to all users who posted within a deleted thread or string of posts. In extreme cases, where someone is repeatedly offending, a moderator may contact a member or guest to inform them of why their posts are repeatedly deleted.

We truly regret if one of your posts has been deleted but please be sure that in the judgement of a moderator it was the right thing to do. If you stay on topic, refrain from personal attacks, use appropriate language and keep in mind that the mission of this forum is to help people who are hurting or who have problems they can't solve alone, you will never get deleted.

We want LoveShack to be a warm, friendly and compassionate place. It's not really meant to be a place for social gatherings or lengthy personal conversations, although if that happens at the Water Cooler or Rant categories it can be OK. We hope everybody will consider making their time here as meaningful as possible by thoughtfully replying to original posts, reporting posts which you feel are inappropriate, and generally keeping in mind that the site is here to help those who are in need of advice.

Thank you for your understanding of our deletion policy and for your compliance with same.

[Tony]

Test

[BlockHead]

Disappearing threads drive me crazy!!!

Could we please have a thread section that is “Controversial” or “Politically Incorrect” where we can discuss and argue less pleasant issues.

[Tony]

Go to the Water Cooler and type away.

The big problem in the forum is that people ask legitimate questions and by the fifth post people are off on major tangents talking about totally irrelevant BS and making posts that are unproduction, non-instructional and of no social value to anyone. That type of bantering belongs in instance messages (IMs) which are deleted in short order.

We can no longer allow members to show total and complete disrespect for posters seeking advice or information by letting them go so far off topic that a thread becomes just another notepad for scribbling trivia in the middle of the night.

Again, by all means start your controversial or politically incorrect threads in the Water Cooler or Rant categories and as long as they remain tasteful they will not be edited or deleted no matter how off topic they are. However, it would be more fun to get a group together on AIM to do that sort of thing in real time, in my opinion.

We can no longer allow members to show total and complete disrespect for posters seeking advice or information by letting them go so far off topic that a thread becomes just another notepad for scribbling trivia in the middle of the night.

What if it's profound trivia? Meaningful scribbling?

[midori]

Originally posted by jester
What if it's profound trivia? Meaningful scribbling?

Even this kind of jest treads the line, because if the next poster decides to chime in with his or her joking question, the thread -- which addresses a legitimate question that members periodically ask -- gets side-tracked into the afore-mentioned BS.

People like to pipe up with witticisms and ways to participate on threads, even when they don't have something of relevant substance to say. Members like to greet each other and have little personal exchanges within the context of a particular thread they are posting on. But you have to use your discretion to ask if you're posting just to post, and possibly opening the door for the thread to head off into off-topic blathering.

There is a purpose for this forum: to offer helpful advice to people with relationship problems. Everything else, while fun and meaningful to the people who wish to engage in it, is secondary, and MUST be kept where it belongs. Or it will be deleted.

[dyermaker]

Is it protocol (e.g., in moimeme's gay thread) to delete irrelevant posts and leave the debate entact, or is it doomed because of tangents?

[Paul]

Originally posted by dyermaker
Is it protocol (e.g., in moimeme's gay thread) to delete irrelevant posts and leave the debate entact, or is it doomed because of tangents?

Our protocol is to preserve as much as possible while retaining a discussion that continues to make contextual sense in the absense of removed or edited posts.