As the originator of this thread I am upset about its loss. There were no warnings from Moderators in the thread, as originator of the thread I received no notice about why it was deleted (it looks like I was the last one to post to that thread), and if there was a problem with the thread I don't understand why it wasn't just locked versus deleted.
The thread contained some valuable information for D&D players and an intriguing discussion. The last 30 messages in the thread might not have been directly roleplaying involved, but tangents do happen. It isn't like it wasn't relevant to D&D entirely.
This isn't my first thread in Astrid's Parlor to be deleted with no warning. The more active and interesting the discussion the more likely my threads are going to end up deleted. I am not sure why I bother contributing if it is just going to be deleted.
People complain that Astrid's Parlor is just "help me get a gamer girlfriend", "help me make my girlfriend a gamer", and "art threads". However, I have put in plenty of threads that are not related to these topics that end up being deleted, despite being in the spirit of Astrid's Parlor. The censorship is upsetting, especially when there is no explaination of what is wrong with these threads.
If there was a problem with the thread, why wasn't there just a Moderator post and it get locked (which is annoying enough but much better than complete deletion)?
If it WAS just one post though, it would have been better to erase the offending part and explain exactly what it was that was the problem.
"The dead don't learn from their mistakes." That's not exactly right... You get my point though.
I and/or anyone else would likely have tried to avoid making the same mistake twice. We're DnD "nerds" (slang for generally smart people) so I think that's a reasonable thing for me to say and assume.
I agree for this thread to be deleted without warning as opposed to lock is an injustice. To be fair to the moderators there were a few instances in the thread where I believe I saw actual profanity being used and I could understand if they edited those words but to pull this thread entirely is wrong. The thread my have had some tangents, but I think those tangents tied directly to masculinity and the Tough Guise in art and entertainment of which D&D is a factor. I spent a lot of time putting thought into my post and listening fairly and closely to the counterpoints of my peers, and anyone that I didn't want to talk to I told them politely not to engage me in discussion and they complied. For my time and the time of every participant on the thread to essentially be wasted is wrong. Lastly, I have noticed that there is a tendency on the forums that whenever a thread leads to towards discussion of race or ethnicity they get locked or disappear into the Bermuda Triangle of gaming posts. This needs to stop and hopefully the Tough Guise thread can be brought back or at least the former thread will be presented in a locked form in case the discussion chooses to continue we have a reference point.
Peace,
Fallstorm
Lastly, I have noticed that there is a tendency on the forums that whenever a thread leads to towards discussion of race or ethnicity they get locked or disappear into the Bermuda Triangle of gaming posts.
"Fascism will come under guise of anti-fascism."
Here's what I think (abbreviated version):
The thread was deleted closer to 11 EST than 4. There were several posts after CC's and one of them contained the lyrics of an incredibly explicit song. I imagine that this post is the culprit. Considering some of the threads that are still alive, their similar topics and the way that this thread compared to them (far more civil) I have to guess that the explicit nature of the song posted is what got under someone's skin. It was likely reported, viewed and determined cause enough to obliterate the entire thread.
Here's what I know (also abbreviated):
I didn't report the post I mention nor any other in that thread. The discussion was meritous, civil and entertaining. There were no (to my knowledge) moderator posted warnings or edits. None. The thread was allowed to grow to the size CC mentioned and did so fully without issue. It was then completely erased. That's a problem. Unless the offending party(ies) received an email warning, no one participating in the thread will ever know why it was destroyed. Even if they did, the rest of the participants will never know whether or not they contributed to the thread's eventual destruction. In short, nobody learns a damn thing. Not good and not a decision I can agree with.
I didn't report the post I mention nor any other in that thread. The discussion was meritous, civil and entertaining. There were no (to my knowledge) moderator posted warnings or edits. None. The thread was allowed to grow to the size CC mentioned and did so fully without issue. It was then completely erased. That's a problem. Unless the offending party(ies) received an email warning, no one participating in the thread will ever know why it was destroyed. Even if they did, the rest of the participants will never know whether or not they contributed to the thread's eventual destruction. In short, nobody learns a damn thing. Not good and not a decision I can agree with.
ZB, I absolutely agree with you. I also know that I didn't report any post in this thread. If as suspect there was a post that contained the lyrics to an explicit song (I think this is what occurred as well) that caused the thread to be deleted then that is just wrong. What should have occurred is that particular post should have been edited (note I didn't say the post should be deleted) and a warning should have been issued to everyone in the thread to regarding language. What shouldn't have happened is is some moderator rolling in Assyrian style and torching everything. That is just wrong.
Also, if as you and I suspect the post in question that contained the "explicit" lyrics caused the thread to get deleted I know for a fact there was few threads before that one that contained some profanity in them so why did this post cause deletion. Could it be that the poster actually proved a point that someone didn't like?
Conspiracy theories aside I am curious to know is there a way besides posting in this forum, which is totally separate from Astrid's Parlor, and which may or may not been by the moderators (especially the one who deleted the original thread) to raise a greivance? It seems at least four of us are bothered by this and if so I think that is reasonable for the decision to torch an entire thread without warning should be reviewed.
Peace,
Fallstorm
I figured if the first letter with stars wasn't enough self censorship someone would just delete MY post and leave the rest of the intelligent discussion alone. Unfortunately the ones in the title of the song were not starred out.
Constructive Solution:
We have to input our birthdate for this site, so they know how old each user is.
As long as we don't post anything adult image-wise I think a "mature only" function for adult worded topics would work very well. "Mature Only" function limited to the off-topic and semi-off-topic subforums only and not any that deal with rules, errata, builds or the like.
Rambling:
My mother never reprimanded me for language.
In fact if I ever start a sentence with "To quote my mother" , sensitive people should put fingers in their ears and sing la-la-la real loud. Not that I'd repeat anything she said here, I might give someone a heart attack or a stroke. Or... G-whiz forbid... a thought.
(There's an "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" episode called "G-whiz" or something like that where they explain "Standards and Practices" of what is / is not acceptable to show/say on television. Hilarious episode.)
There was an informative, useful thread that periodically veered into off-topic-land. The conversation got heated, and there was an inappropropriate post. A moderator stepped in, and edited the post in question to remove the inappropriate conent. The moderator then posted on the thread to report the edit, why it was edited & remind the posters to not do that anymore. And then the thread continued, and went back to being informative & useful, and the inappropriate content didn't happen again.
I'm deeply disappointed that, with a similar situation, the response this time was to destroy the thread.
Agreed on all counts. I doubt the moderator in question even realised what went on. It seemed that even the people who disagreed the most were fine with the thread, so it had to be some problem with something that the mods didn't want to have on the boards period. And if that's the case, not informing people about what it is wont help.
Having threads disappear like that makes it hard to remember who said what, or even who is who (if a new poster showed up), and since I have settled quite a few conflicts via PM, especially after threads have gotten closed, this is actually making it harder for people to get along. The thread is gone but any bad feelings persist, only now, it's harder to sort out.
Would it be possible for a moderator to move a thread into the Astrid's Groupies private group? That way, no one who's not interested will have to look at it, but the many people who find the thread interesting can still participate.
Constructive Solution:
We have to input our birthdate for this site, so they know how old each user is.
As long as we don't post anything adult image-wise I think a "mature only" function for adult worded topics would work very well. "Mature Only" function limited to the off-topic and semi-off-topic subforums only and not any that deal with rules, errata, builds or the like.
There used to be a forum like that. The mature board, usually referred to as the immature board, it was like the OTT on a bad (or particularly interesting) day, only with added rule 34 images (mindflayers, halflings etc.), rules for tentacle **** monsters and various other ways to put stats on ****, and cybersex roleplaying (tentacle nymphs having oral sex with hermaphrodite halflings). I doubt WotC is ready to try it again
Kind of like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Conspiracy theories aside I am curious to know is there a way besides posting in this forum, which is totally separate from Astrid's Parlor, and which may or may not been by the moderators (especially the one who deleted the original thread) to raise a greivance? It seems at least four of us are bothered by this and if so I think that is reasonable for the decision to torch an entire thread without warning should be reviewed.
It would be still in this forum, but have you posted a query on this thread in the VCL Request Thread? I don't know if Webster has the capability to get a deleted thread restored, but he usually tries if the request is reasonable.
No idea if it's something they can help with, tho.
Posted in the VCL thread.
Please undelete the thread. Lock it if you must, but there were a lot of valuable references in that thread I don't want to lose easy access to.
I didn't realize I needed to book mark them while I could.
Just another quick note. Deleting entire threads actually makes people less likely to report posts that violate the CoC. Nobody likes to see entire conversations wiped for one or two offending comments. So they don't report. Of course it also makes trolls more likely to attack as offensively as possible as they can then get whole discussions obliterated - along with all evidence of their 'contributions'.
Exactly. Most of the time, I don't report anything because it's going to punish everyone. And what's worse, it adds a whole new level of trolling, since there are posters who deliberately troll, not to provoke people, but to get threads they don't like to disappear. I've seen quite a few posters who proclaim that a certain thread/board shouldn't even exist, and afterwards continue to deliberately trying to get it closed, and they usually win.
At any rate, it wasn't me who reported it...
For any moderators who read this, I would REALLY like to know why my thread about the "Tough Guise" was deleted.
Please undelete the thread. Lock it if you must, but there were a lot of valuable references in that thread I don't want to lose easy access to.
I didn't realize I needed to book mark them while I could.
Mods are not supposed to discuss moderation openly on the boards. They also do not actively look at the boards, so it is unlikely that they will see this.
You can try e-mailing Customer Service. Also if you really must, try googling the thread's name and if it comes up, click on the archive button see the thread again.
This account also made a probably pointless effort to post there once a thread had been dumped there by mod action.
The thing is, I find nothing about Atrid's parlour worthy.
It's adult content on a site that can't truly handle adult content.
Frankly if I want to discuss adult content and role gaming simultaneously, I'll do it on a site that has zero trouble with adult content. Because there ARE adult forum sites out there, that offer non adult content sections where people can discuss non adult topics on the few occasions when that is the topic of interest. And not get in a snit over adult content.
I understand this place needs to retain a minimum of family friendly content. Astrid's should be an invite only location not even visible to the pubic if you ask me.
Once upon a time is a long lost discarded account I posted in Atrid's Parlour. For a time it seemed ok. Then it clearly wasn't any place I wanted to post. I left even visiting wizards for a few years.
This account also made a probably pointless effort to post there once a thread had been dumped there by mod action.
The thing is, I find nothing about Atrid's parlour worthy.
It's adult content on a site that can't truly handle adult content.
Frankly if I want to discuss adult content and role gaming simultaneously, I'll do it on a site that has zero trouble with adult content. Because there ARE adult forum sites out there, that offer non adult content sections where people can discuss non adult topics on the few occasions when that is the topic of interest. And not get in a snit over adult content.
I understand this place needs to retain a minimum of family friendly content. Astrid's should be an invite only location not even visible to the pubic if you ask me.
Thank you for that wholly unsolicited opinion piece. If you've got anything constructive to add to the actual conversation (in other words, an on-topic post), please do so. If not, please refrain from attempts to derail the topic into a debate about the merits of Astrid's Parlor. That isn't what this is about.
EDIT: We all know your feelings about Astrid's - as you take any chance mention of the forum to go off the deep end into your opinions. You don't like it. We get it. Movin' on ...
I still would like to know what happened to my thread, why it was deleted instead of locked, and if there is any chance that it could or would be brought back in any form.
Okay, I double checked and yes, my inquiry was passed on. But- it was tagged just before the person who would look into it went on vacation. So, it was noted as something to get back to me on when they get back. I don't know if it's a one week or two week vacation, but it was last week that I asked.
As for brining it back, sadly we probably don't have the ability to bring back deleted threads.
Once upon a time is a long lost discarded account I posted in Atrid's Parlour. For a time it seemed ok. Then it clearly wasn't any place I wanted to post. I left even visiting wizards for a few years.
This account also made a probably pointless effort to post there once a thread had been dumped there by mod action.
The thing is, I find nothing about Atrid's parlour worthy.
It's adult content on a site that can't truly handle adult content.
Frankly if I want to discuss adult content and role gaming simultaneously, I'll do it on a site that has zero trouble with adult content. Because there ARE adult forum sites out there, that offer non adult content sections where people can discuss non adult topics on the few occasions when that is the topic of interest. And not get in a snit over adult content.
I understand this place needs to retain a minimum of family friendly content. Astrid's should be an invite only location not even visible to the pubic if you ask me.
Thank you for that wholly unsolicited opinion piece. If you've got anything constructive to add to the actual conversation (in other words, an on-topic post), please do so. If not, please refrain from attempts to derail the topic into a debate about the merits of Astrid's Parlor. That isn't what this is about.
EDIT: We all know your feelings about Astrid's - as you take any chance mention of the forum to go off the deep end into your opinions. You don't like it. We get it. Movin' on ...
Glad you enjoyed it as much as staff valued the deleted thread eh
Glad you enjoyed it as much as staff valued the deleted thread eh
Ouch? Is that what I'm supposed to say? *shrugs*
Unfortunately, there's no way to bring the thread back.
Could you please let us know the reason by wanting to close it?