locking topics?

[dhammastudier]

i'm new to this forum and have had two of my topics locked. one i appreciated as it was turning into something negative instead of just a discussion. it would be nice if it could just be deleted. the other was just a topic about violence and when and if it's ever ok to fight back from a buddhist standpoint and it turned into something more along the lines of whether or not using weapons for target practice was violent. it was locked and no reason was given. are topics locked when they get boring? that seems unfair to people who are still talking on them. i could see locking them when they are inappropriate or cease to make sense but just because someone's opinion is that they are not interesting any more?

also it would be nice to be able to delete a posting. why can't you delete your own posting?

[retrofuturist]

Hi Zac,

If we see a post where a member has gone back and edited their post down to "...", "nevermind", "post deleted" or something similar, a moderator will generally delete it on that person's behalf. Obviously it gets a bit more complicated if the original poster does something similar to their original post, as that was the post that framed the entire discussion.

I'm reticent to completely remove the topic in question, because people spent time writing responses and it's not fair to just delete their words out of the existence when their posts were compliant with the TOS. Only the most venomous of topics might suffer such a fate.

As for the other topic in question, people wandered off-topic and were getting tetchy with each other. There seemed to be little interest in getting back on topic, presumably since most people still participating had already said and read all they wanted to on the topic. We try to proactively intervene and get discussions back off topic, but sometimes we just get to it too late.

If you wish to start a new topic to pick up on any loose ends still remaining from that closed topic feel free to do so... just keep it specific, focused, and in the most appropriate sub-forum.

Metta,
Retro.

[dhammastudier]

Hi Zac,

If we see a post where a member has gone back and edited their post down to "...", "nevermind", "post deleted" or something similar, a moderator will generally delete it on that person's behalf. Obviously it gets a bit more complicated if the original poster does something similar to their original post, as that was the post that framed the entire discussion.

I'm reticent to completely remove the topic in question, because people spent time writing responses and it's not fair to just delete their words out of the existence when their posts were compliant with the TOS. Only the most venomous of topics might suffer such a fate.

As for the other topic in question, people wandered off-topic and were getting tetchy with each other. There seemed to be little interest in getting back on topic, presumably since most people still participating had already said and read all they wanted to on the topic. We try to proactively intervene and get discussions back off topic, but sometimes we just get to it too late.

If you wish to start a new topic to pick up on any loose ends still remaining from that closed topic feel free to do so... just keep it specific, focused, and in the most appropriate sub-forum.

Metta,
Retro.

ok, thanx. i just thought it seemed like the people responsible for locking it were talking on it in the last two pages of off topic discussion so i didn't get a chance to try to get it back on topic. but that's cool, i can always make a new one like you suggested

[Kokoro]

I know this is somewhat off topic but I would like to make a small suggestion if possible. My suggestion is that you do not delete your own posts, however you may feel about them. The reason I say this is twofold: first, once you say something, it is done and even if you remove it later the people who read it will still remember it, and second: unless the post is particularly offensive and/or breaks a TOS, there is nothing negative about leaving it as it is, since we can always learn from our own experiences. Many of us I'm sure have posted things on forums we wish we didn't, but once it's done why back up and try to pretend like it never happened? Why not just let it be and be able to look back at a post you made some months ago and take solace in knowing how much you've grown since then?

Again, just a little suggestion I felt could be useful concerning the deleting of posts. Apologies if off-topic to the main point of the thread and may you be well and happy.

[Ben]

Kokoro I don't think that's such a good idea. At Dhamma Wheel we encourage our members to self moderate and to be mindful that every member is responsible for their right speech. I'm heartened when members, after realizing they've said something they later regret, go back and remove the comments that are either offensive or in breach of the terms of service. It indicates a certain depth of respect for interpersonal relationships that I think is valuable to Dhamma Wheel.
kind regards

Ben

[Kokoro]

Kokoro I don't think that's such a good idea. At Dhamma Wheel we encourage our members to self moderate and to be mindful that every member is responsible for their right speech. I'm heartened when members, after realizing they've said something they later regret, go back and remove the comments that are either offensive or in breach of the terms of service. It indicates a certain depth of respect for interpersonal relationships that I think is valuable to Dhamma Wheel.
kind regards

Ben

Good point. Thank-you.

[dhammastudier]

Kokoro I don't think that's such a good idea. At Dhamma Wheel we encourage our members to self moderate and to be mindful that every member is responsible for their right speech. I'm heartened when members, after realizing they've said something they later regret, go back and remove the comments that are either offensive or in breach of the terms of service. It indicates a certain depth of respect for interpersonal relationships that I think is valuable to Dhamma Wheel.
kind regards

Ben

yeah that's what happened with me. i posted something that was meant to be a conversation starter but seemed to be making some people think i was trying to be mean even though i stated that i wasn't trying to be and so i added more to it to make it even more clear that i was speaking in a positive way and when that didn't work i finally removed it to stop more people from feeling that way.