Mr. Mugen

Just got a post removed due to "posting to an outdated thread". How long is too long? I have threads of projects I started when I first joined...is this too long ago to reply to them again?

I didn;t notice any policy or rule about how long a thread can live. Anyone know?

Funny thing is iit came up on the forum page without issue....worked fine....

Curious,
Kevin

HJJFFFAA

Yea. What's the problem with reviving old threads? If they weren't breaking any rules then what's the big deal?

hands without shadows

All the data is archived so that it can searched for relevant data. It doesnt make sense to have a rule saying it can't be updated after a certain amount of time.

The Hedgehog

It hurts and angers members so it must be removed.

HJJFFFAA

What?

Dokioto

^ Joke...

SAVAGEJIM

There is no rule that says there is too long to post in an old thread, the decision is solely at the moderator's discretion and prerogative.

The mods have been consistent in that several have moderated in this manner, that is why it seems like a new policy, but upon rereading the RCU rules, there are none that prohibit the posting of old threads.

I have always been under the impression that a thread is out of date once it is archived. Until then, it is fair game, so long as the posts remain on topic and remains within RCU rules.

However, if this is a new policy, it should be made publicly aware to the all of the members and clear definitions must be laid out. For example, any thread that has not been posted in for more than 6 months are automatically out of date, in which case, the mods should automatically lock it at the 6month mark and forward to teh administrators that the thread should begin teh process of becoming archived.

I say this so this situation can be treated in a consistent manner and everyone will know what to expect and what rules to follow. Granted, there are other situations in which it is impossible to lay out exact rules for and the moderator's discretion is therefore a must, but this situation is not one of those. Rules for posting in old threads can be created and made clear with no gray lines anywhere, and for the sake of consistency, should be adopted, or if deemed no rule should be created, the enforcement of a non-rule should be prohibited.

Ttam Says Blarg

Well some mods like to delete post just to delete them it seems........ Maybe its just me.

HJJFFFAA

No I've seen that too.

Expect this post to be deleted.[8D]

SAVAGEJIM

No, they have their own rules too.

From what I understand, the mods have a hierarchy amongst themselves.
The basic mods are those we are all familiar with. Then there are the mods who supervise them, the family mods I think.
Then there are site administrators who supervise all teh mods.
And it is the higher mods and admin who make sure even the mods are following the rules.

I cannot exactly remember the hiearchy structure, but it i something like I said, I might be missing a level.

HJJFFFAA

How do you know all this?

SAVAGEJIM

I dont know definitively as I have never seen an actual agreement that moderators must agree to an follow. But there has to be a body of rules for the moderators, otherwise, too many things being left to personal discretion would lead to way more inconsistencies in enforcement. And fortunately, here in RCU, inconsistencies in enforcement are rare.

SAVAGEJIM

I made a mistake in the mod and admin structure. It goes something like this:

Community Moderators
Forum Managers
Administrator
Owner

khodges

My Feedback: (1)

The administrator IS the owner.

emaXXman123

My Feedback: (1)

dude what are you talking about!!!!

THE OWNER IS THE ADMINISTRATOR!!!

Longhair

I have been an administrator on plenty of sites that I haven't owned.

calvino

some sites have multiple admin's, i know on one small plane forum there are 2 admin's, one "technically owns" the site but whatever, you get the idea [8D]

warheadforever

You know, I had that happen to me once as well, I think is was in a thread where VXL Taco (I think it was him) got his hand broke, and about 3 months latter, I ask if his hand healed correctly, and my post got deleted. "For replaying to a out of date thread".
So I to am interested to know.

Mr. Mugen

Yes it seems weird. I am not complaining about it...just curious on the ruling of such a rule or nonrule....or? I guess it's a gray area. However I have posted since this happening to a thread I created when I first started and it went unattested. In the court system this wouldn't fly....but the judge is impartial in a court.

Kevin

RCtruckRacer

Keeping in mind that my answer is unofficial....

As far as I know there is no reason to delete a post to a thread that is X # of days old. There certainly is no specific rule that would outline that. I would point out a couple of things though. First, everyone makes mistakes. It's entirely possible that whomever deleted said post did so accidently. I've been guilty of doing that exact thing when I have multiple windows open. Just go to the wrong window and blammo. Also, there is the matter of whether the subject matter is still relevant. If someone posts to a really old thread who's subject no longer contains any relevance to the present, then it would make sense to delete it.

No doubt there are other reasons as well, but I can't think of anything else that would fall outside the established posting rules.

Hope that helps!
Rob

HJJFFFAA

Makes sense. But would it make sense to delete a whole bunch posts in a thread about avatars when they are still relevant?

warheadforever

Thank you, it does help to a very large degree!