So, recently the community has been more sensitive to messages being deleted from the forum. There are a lot of reasons why a message might need to get deleted, and a lot of work goes into trying to make the best decision and to be consistent. Plus we always let the poster know why it was done. But I can see why there would be confusion to everyone else when a message just goes poof, with no acknowledgement at all. So going forward, the ghost of deleted posts will stick around for a couple of days with the message itself removed. I've also given moderators space to leave a public comment about the removal in its place, if it was an admin action.

Posts do get deleted for a reason though, and we really don't want them to become honeypots for more problems. So for now they will only remain for 2 days. I think that should be enough time for people who were involved in the thread to at least see what's up. I will still completely remove messages when appropriate, like if it's spam, or a privacy or safety issue or something like that. If you have any questions about the removal of any post, or need one purged more quickly, just get at me.

Everyone's posts literally become a part of this website, and sometimes we end up with stuff that we really are not at liberty publish. Thanks for helping me walk this tricky line between transparency and privacy.

Peace!
Messmaster

I trust you to always do the right thing. You built the site...you maintain it...your decision. You welcome input and that's all one can ask. I would however like to ban run on sentences and long paragraphs though.

Robby

If you do that, we will completely lose our favorite person here though.

I don't think that it is within the remit of the site owners to be active grammar police. Please remember that some posters here do so in a second language. It is also a fact that some have not had the benefit of advanced English grammar during their education. I fully endorse the comments about trusting MM's judgement.

DELETE THIS POST, MESSMASTER. fuck you, robby. i havent had enough coffee yet. lol

im kidding though. im sure its a tough decision and i, myself, have been on both ends. I have had things deleted that I was upset about BUT, there IS typically a motion of "for the greater good" and all that. I trust that is being played out (wipes brown off nose)

oh and FUCK YOU, ROBBY! ill run on my sentences allll DAY!!

I type like i would be speaking. Rambling, over dramatic, hand gestures and over animated. That is how i talk so i type the same way. Anyone who has actually spoken to me, knows I am not uneducated I am just hyperactively talkative, I let my typing just portray that. hahah. robby is just being silly and i think a skit is in store including pies and "paragraphs" haha!

I am all in favor of having deleted posts and what not as needed. I would like to offer some constructive criticism about my deleted post in this thread.

Email I received:

"We had to delete one of your forum posts. The reason was: Please don't call people snowflakes here. Your message is below:

Thank you for understanding,
UMD admin
Carmella"

Message in UMD:

"We had to delete one of your forum posts. The reason was: Please don't call people snowflakes here. Your message is below:

Thank you for understanding, UMD admin 1 hour ago by Messmaster"

Message where post used to be:

"Post deleted June 12, 2019 at 8:26am (1 hour ago) by admin.
Reason: We don't call each other snowflakes here. It is now a politically charged word that specifically makes fun of certain groups of people."


Is it possible for the admin that sends the email to also send the message in UMD, or is there a setting that prevents that on the back end? The message where the deleted post was is a lot more clear than the message in the emails. I suspected it was because I used the snowflake word and what it means and I appreciate the justification in the deleted post.

I like the change with the edited posts! I think it will help people a lot in the future.

Thanks admins!

Could I suggest leaving the ghost post for three days instead of two, to allow for people who may not have access over weekends but do during the week? In my case I'm often busy shooting scenes at weekends so tend to be on here more Monday to Friday, and I'm sure there will be others with similar schedules.

That was my fault... We admin now have a private and a public explanation box to fill out when deleting a post. I should have also told you that additional reasoning in the private message. I'll take your suggestion and update it to send the OP both explanations in the notification.

Thanks!!
MM

I agree. I've taken your suggestion and it's already implemented. I appreciate it!

Thank you MM!!! I think if we all work together there is no reason we can't keep things great here.

You see that? You see how she is? I try to help and she tells me to be fruitful and multiply in a biologically impossible way.

What is "the change with the edited posts"?

I've edited lots of posts, and I haven't noticed any change.

This refers to a post that was deleted and rather than disappeared was edited.

I must say, this makes even less sense to me.

I think it means "a post was deleted, but instead of disappearing as would previously have been the case, a placeholder, edited by Admin, replaced it." Though that's just how I'm interpreting it.

One of my ghost posts from a delete has been up for 5 days now. It's one that I deleted myself -- does that make a difference?

I see that I have the privilege to delete this ghost post myself, but will that result in a ghost of the ghost post??

That is exactly what I was saying. Thanks DMO! I like that the removed post has information in there about why it was deleted instead of just disappearing. It adds some context to things and I am hoping is a step towards calming down people that act like they own the place and can demand explanations.