Missing Thread

[George M. Perzel]

I guess I am really starting to lose it. I could swear I saw a thread on here yesterday from someone needing help with making a picture on a GCC Venus laser. The guys name was Andrew Platt.
I looked today and the thread is gone as is any thread with his name on it.
What's going on ???

[John Noell]

(He was offering the lasers in addition to asking for help and that's the kind of thing that goes somewher else, maybe in classifieds.)

[Dan Hintz]

First time poster trying to sell stuff... not a good idea.

[Mike Null]

George

The other guys nailed it. It was an ad by a non-contributor. To advertise you must be a contributor and the ad must go in the classified forum.

[George M. Perzel]

Interesting how we always want to assume the worst about people. I was able to contact the person - is it still considered a "classified" ad if the guy wants to give something away??

[Ken Fitzgerald]

George,

Keith Outten pulled the thread. I suggest you take it up with Keith IN PRIVATE. As so often has been stated......Moderation activities WILL NOT BE DISCUSSED IN PUBLIC. Use PM or Email.

[Mark Winlund]

George,

Keith Outten pulled the thread. I suggest you take it up with Keith IN PRIVATE. As so often has been stated......Moderation activities WILL NOT BE DISCUSSED IN PUBLIC. Use PM or Email.

Remarkable statement.

Mark

[Rodne Gold]

Ken , I dont think he realised the thread had been pulled by a moderator as there was nothing on the forum itself to indicate it , IE no "moved" or "deleted" etc.

[Mike Null]

But it is reasonable to assume that a first post which contains an offer to sell was posted for the purpose of advertising without regard to the rules of the forum.

[George M. Perzel]

Exactly my point- we tend to assume the worst without making any effort to get clarification.
I think it's symptomatic of our society and culture today- so many rules and regulations to protect the masses against a few bad apples that the good often go unrecognized and unrewarded - getting tougher to make an apple pie anymore.
Still didn't get an answer to my question, but guess I'll have to pursue it IN PRIVATE.

[John Noell]

Probably not a really viable idea, but, sure would be nice sometimes if a post could be edited and retained. I thought the main point was the guy asking for help with a picture. The offer of the machines (were they really trying to SELL them???) might have been edited out, no?
I am very grateful that the Creek exists. I know it is always hard to deal with the gray areas and I am not complaining about the way the mods have chosen to deal with them.

[John Noell]

I think it's symptomatic of our society and culture today- so many rules and regulations to protect the masses against a few bad apples that the good often go unrecognized and unrewarded - getting tougher to make an apple pie anymore. Couldn't agree more. Over here things are a LOT looser and if you lean out the bus door while it is going, fall and get hurt, don't bother trying to sue. Yes, there is a need to protect people from really dangerous things (esp. if it is not obvious how dangerous they are) but warning me that the really hot coffee I ordered might burn me is pretty ridiculous. (But if I think you might sue me I will put the warning on the cups I sell.)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Here's my take on it.

Most, if not all, of the staff here at the Creek have full time careers and some folks even have one or more businesses to run and then their duties here at the Creek.

Often when we move a thread, we do so for one of a couple reasons.

1) The thread is just a gross violation of one or more terms of service and it has no informational value to members of SMC.

2) It is just more expedient to move it and we don't have time to edit it.

I can only speak for myself for this portion of the statement. I try to always send a PM to the OP if I move a thread. (We never delete them. They are moved to the Moderator's Forum). On a very rare occasion, I may not have time to send a PM to the OP but that is a very rare occasion.l

Often...we see something and have to make a decision and act and yet we have to be somewhere in a short period of time.

All the Moderators are invited unpaid volunteers. There are none, including myself, who are sadistic. We don't enjoy reprimanding people, editing threads, moving threads etc. Frankly, it's not fun and we take a certain amount of heat when we do our job. We are human. We make mistakes. Contrary to anything grousing you might hear among us...there is no SMC corporate jet.....that's just a little joke we throw around. In short, there are a lot of reasons why Keith has decided there will be no public discussion, ranting or criticism of moderator activities in public. Every Member and Contributor should feel free to disagree, discuss and argue moderator activities civily within the confines of the TOSs using PMs or email.