Why Can't We Delete Our Own Threads? - Writers Forum

gigi · 11-22-2006, 02:15 AM

Isn't it our prerogative?

Ilan Bouchard · 11-22-2006, 02:25 AM

It's because the staff needs to make sure the regular members knows who wears the pants around here.

We do. We wear the pants.

If you want a thread deleted, PM a mod.

gigi · 11-22-2006, 02:42 AM

that's not a good enough explanation and/or rule. just because you wear the pants doesn't mean you should fly by the seat of them.

how about trying it again.

Ilan Bouchard · 11-22-2006, 02:50 AM

Sorry.

I don't know, actually. Pawn can probably answer you better than I can.

Hodge · 11-22-2006, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ilan

I don't know, actually.

So, in other words, the pants don't fit!

Hodge · 11-22-2006, 03:01 AM

On the forum I used to belong to, members were allowed to delete their posts whenever. One guy came in, made like a thousand posts, and then deleted them all. It messed a lot of the current discussions because there were suddenly big, gaping holes. That would be my guess as to why you can't delete your posts. After him, the administrator turned off that option, but that didn't stop another guy from going through and editing all his posts so they were pretty much deleted (after that they made it so you could only edit within like 3 days of posting).

Ilan Bouchard · 11-22-2006, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hodge

So, in other words, the pants don't fit!

I use a belt.

Or, if I'm feeling extra manly, suspenders.

Pawn · 11-22-2006, 04:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gigi

Isn't it our prerogative?

No.

Why would it be?

A thread represents the input often of a significant number of users. The fact that you created the thread does not give you the right to their posts.

Of course, Moderators will in general be happy to comply with any reasonable request to remove creative work.

gigi · 11-22-2006, 07:47 AM

Why would it be?

Because it's our own creative work. We don't give it to you, and the advice is given to the author, and merely posted on this website. If I decide to publish something, I should be able to pull a piece off a bulletin board as easily as I can on lit.org, for example.

I don't see why writingforums.com wouldn't want to ease the burden on their already busy staff. It's not unreasonable to think that an author should have this control over their own work. Staff doesn't always work at the author's pace.

There really is no need to be obstinate and snarky about this. But then again, I forgot who I was talking to. Congratulations on your promotion, Pawn.

Pawn · 11-22-2006, 08:24 AM

I was talking about threads in general. Of course you have the right to remove your creative work, but that is the exception rather than the rule.

It seems reasonable to me to allow users to remove threads they created within the Creativity forums only. This should now be the case. If you have any difficulty let me know via PM.

Foxee · 11-22-2006, 08:41 AM

I don't need pants, thanks, I'll just wear a my toga.

Honestly, I've been on forums where you can only edit your posts for a half-hour after posting and couldn't even start topic threads. I've been on others where you had much more freedom and could edit posts anytime but I think I still couldn't delete topic threads. Never has really bothered me.

If I really want something taken down I approach the admins/mods and I've never had a problem.

thamior · 11-22-2006, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gigi

Why would it be?

Because it's our own creative work. We don't give it to you, and the advice is given to the author, and merely posted on this website. If I decide to publish something, I should be able to pull a piece off a bulletin board as easily as I can on lit.org, for example.

I don't see why writingforums.com wouldn't want to ease the burden on their already busy staff. It's not unreasonable to think that an author should have this control over their own work. Staff doesn't always work at the author's pace.

There really is no need to be obstinate and snarky about this. But then again, I forgot who I was talking to. Congratulations on your promotion, Pawn.

Its just as easy to edit your thread and delete the creative work.

mammamaia · 11-22-2006, 02:35 PM

exactly!... that will only leave the subject head in the menu, but a note to a mod will take care of that...

thamior · 11-22-2006, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mammamaia

exactly!... that will only leave the subject head in the menu, but a note to a mod will take care of that...

? but the subject head wouldn't violate anything with publishing would it?

11-22-2006, 04:05 PM

Needing to reply to this thread makes me angrier than I have been in a very long time.

The creative work that is posted on these forums does not belong to writingforums.com. It belongs to the person who posts it here. If you post work on a writing forum which you intend to have published people can and will do a search to see if the work has been published before. If they see that it has been posted on a writing forum they can and will reject your submission for that very reason. You should know this before you post your work here.

When I left writingforums I specifically requested that my account and posts be completely deleted. In my opinion, if the posts you make are automatically the posession of writingforums.com, you should be given notice of that. You should know straight up that whatever you post no longer belongs to you. The deletion of my account did not go as it was supposed to and all my work and all my posts remained. I was willing to walk away from the posts, but I wanted the work deleted so I could have first rights returned to me. I was told that if I wanted the work deleted, I would have to provide specific links even though the error was not made by myself, which I did. I searched up 76 links due to someone else's mistake. It literally took hours. The system no longer recognized my name at all. The posts themselves were moved to the trash, but they were not completely deleted. Searching the titles of my work brings them up still. I don't know for sure if physically deleting my work from the forum would cause the titles and the cache to delete when googled, but in my opinion, it is worth the effort. It's my work, why shouldn't I be able to choose what ultimately happens to it? Although I requested that the posts be deleted from the trash, I was told that it would take too much time and that my concerns were baseless. At that point, I was powerless. I cannot access staff forums and physically delete them myself anymore. You should also know that before you post here.

So in summary, after spending two years posting my work to writingforums.com and being one of the most read poets on the forum for the duration of the time I was here, working as staff and generally being a productive part of the forum, staff tells me that doing the one thing which I asked them to do even after the deletion of my account was blundered is too much work.

Apparently when you post, not only do your posts belong to writingforums.com, but they also have the last word in how to handle the removal of your 'creative work' regardless of what you express you would like to have done with it.

Keep that in mind when you private message staff with a request.

theghostofvodka