For those who were not here when the event under discussion happened:
A poster who felt that the moderators here in the DB forums edit and delete too many posts started a thread entitled "Thought Police, or Thoughtful Policing?" to open a general discussion of the topic of moderation style. Although such discussions are against the rules Paul set out for talkbass (see rule #5 under the "Rules" link above), both moderators and Paul allowed the thread to stay open because the general consensus was that it might be good *just once* to "air out grievances". As was completely foreseeable, grievances were aired out in all directions - against the moderators, against some of the long time members, against the intent of Paul's forum rules, and ultimately (and again, foreseeably) against the thread starter himself. For most of the thread, the fur was flying in all directions, and it got pretty heated at times. In the end, everything seemed to calm down and some good natured humor (that's "humour" for Bruce) ruled the end of the day by most participants.
It seemed that all was fine until the thread starter sent me numerous PMs demanding that the "airing out" by a few members that was directed at him in the thread be forcibly edited out by me. I refused, as I felt that the irony of being asked to edit another person's post in a "Thought Police" thread which was started to complain about overediting by the moderators was a bit too thick to consider. The thread starter decided to delete the whole thread rather than leave the "airing out" of grievances directed toward him up in print on the thread. This was the thread starter's right according to the setup of the board.
The thread starter felt that I had done him an injustice by refusing to edit out the comments which portayed him in a negative light, and it appears that he may be deleting some or all of his previous posts since then. This is also his right. It was never the intention of any moderator to cause this action, but rather a decision on the part of the member in question that the way the board is run by the moderators and admin is unacceptable to his wishes at this time. This is unfortunate, but it is what it is. I personally harbor no ill will over this issue - it simply is what it is. Sometimes members get fed up with the board for various reasons and decide to leave. It's happened before, and I have little doubt it will happen again. Members who do so are always welcome to come back when and if they choose. Only members who break the rules to the extent that they get banned are not allowed back, and that was not at all the case here.
I started this thread only to let the curious know that the thread in question was not deleted by me, by Francois, or by Paul, but rather by the thread starter. I would only ask at this point that rule #5 in the FAQ above be observed here and elsewhere on the forum at this point, and that my inbox and Paul's are always open to those who feel that they have been misused or otherwise harmed by moderator actions.
Peace.
P.S. - As I lost nearly an entire day of my all-too-short time on this earth trying to sort things out in the previous thread only to have my efforts deleted, I do not want a repeat of that situation to happen here. This thread will remain open as long as the board rules are observed. If they are not, I reserve the right to close it and refer any disgruntled parties to the PM system. Life is simply too short to spend over disgruntled ones and zeros in cyberspace, and I would rather spend my time with my family (and practicing...imagine that! Isn't our craft the real thing we are all really here to discuss?) at this time of year. I hope that most of you will understand.
So...discuss what you feel you need to, but please play by Paul's rules, without which there would be no Talkbass as we know it, in which case none of us would be here. In closing, I would like to simply thank Paul again for his perseverance in creating and maintining this wonderfully quirky and necessarily imperfect little corner of cyberspace where we can all hang out and learn from each other.
Pale bald guy speakum truth.
