Why forum posts are sometimes deleted 10

[Mike Lewis]

In thread184-1813633, Mike Yearwood asked why some of his posts have been deleted. Since this question might be of wider interest, I thought I would have a go at answering it. (Note that what follows is just my personal opinion; I don't have any inside knowledge about this.)

Broadly-speaking, posts are deleted by the forum management, usually in response to complaints by forum members. The main reason for this is the use of inappropriate or offensive language.

Unfortunately, this has become common in the FoxPro forum in recent months. It mainly takes the form of personal attacks and insulting comments against individuals. Here are some examples from the last few days:

[ul]
[li]"fake know-it-alls"[/li]
[li]"your ignorance is boundless"[/li]
[li]"community of sickos"[/li]
[li]"immature attitude"[/li]
[li]"some jerks"[/li]
[li]"so-called experts"[/li]
[/ul]

Of course, if you disagree with what someone says in a post, it is perfectly OK to say so - even to say so quite forcibly. But it must be done politely and with decorum. To call someone a jerk or a sicko just because you disagree with what they say is never acceptable.

To Mike Yearwood, I would say this. You obviously have a great deal of technical knowledge which you are willing to share. But by using this sort of language in your posts, you risk alienating the community and losing its respect. Worse, if you continue in this way, you risk being blocked completely from the forum, which would be a loss to us all.

To other forum members, I would say that when you find yourself the target of this sort of personal attack, try not to engage with it. Rather than getting into a flaming match, try to ignore it (not always easy). And if the post is particularly offensive, use the "Report" button (in the bottom-right corner of the post) to alert the management and request its deletion.

I hope this helps clarify the situation.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads

 

[AndrewMozley]

Mike

Thank you for your note, and I agree in general with the moderation you are trying to encourage.

However, may I be the devil’s advocate? I believe that all the the examples you quoted were from one correspondent. However that correspondent has been deliberately goaded recently by several other contributors.

I will not quote the phrases; They may not be so punchy, but they have been designed to stir up conflict. I feel we should encourage all contributors to be restrained in their language, and not to disparage other persons’ postings; and even to refrain from self-justication “As I told you before . . .”. And certainly not to respond to another member by pointing out how stupid their question is.

Hope that I have not made too many enemies by this post! I still value Tek-Tips, and find that most contributors genuinely want to help.

 

[german12]

Mike Lewis, I think you intend to make peace here - and so I don't see why such an aim should be wrong.
I also find it strange when swear words are used here, but I think that the community here as a whole is smart enough to recognize who only wants to stir up discord or constant dissatisfaction (possibly with themselves) and do this over and over again (like a mantra ) to announce new self-affirmations announced here.
There is only one recipe - and that goes with a German proverb:

"Was schadet es einer deutschen Eiche, wenn sich ein Wildschwein daran schabt?"
Translated:
"What's the harm in a German oak tree if a wild boar scratches it?"

I hope peace will come back here soon.
I think that's what everyone wants - and that's much more conducive to mutual help than foaming at the mouth and wanting to be absolutely right.

Klaus
(I apologize for my English (it is not my mothers-language))

Peace worldwide - it starts here...

 

[Mike Lewis]

I won't prolong this discussion any further. I think I have made my point. And Mike Y's various replies in this thread would appear to confirm it.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads

 

[dbMark]

As someone who was once married to an acting-out personality disordered spouse, and my life forever impacted, I realize that peace-making efforts often fail. That's so sad. All I can do is let the other curse, rant and rant and I get on with my life... or not get on so much with my life.

I can't fix other people. I can't even figure out what the problem is here. And I won't try.

I will add this: JADE (Justify, Argue, Defend, Explain) typically fails with people who won't listen. William Eddy encourages BIFF (Brief, Informative, Friendly, Firm). Even that can fail but at least it sets a boundary of sorts.

And another edit: There are hurt feelings here. That is even harder to deal with.

 

[dbMark]

Wait Mike, slow down. I meant no criticism to anyone. I have absolutely no knowledge of what happened, either regarding you or anyone else. However, I can see you have hurt feelings. Rest assured I don't blame you for anything nor have attributed any negativity to anyone.

Believe me, you are not my ex! My mention of her was to mention I too had gone through hard times. Even at work, too. The worst was near the end five years ago. The IT manager, there just about as long as I was, 15 years, told me to keep maintaining VFP apps while everyone else was given Java assignments. Sure enough, when the software transition was made, I was let go. I didn't think it was fair but that was life. Being close to retirement ago, I failed to find a new job. I was not a college graduate so my two decades experience in a 32-bit older database language could not overcome my age.

I presume you and most others here are employed. Actually I envy all of you.