Disappearing Threads

[jaco]

I have been doing a bit of quick research on my last 100 threads. (Necessary to answer another thread .)

In doing so I think I noticed that at least 3 threads that I contributed to have vanished. Maybe they have just been re-located ? But no sign of them in a search effort. I did not start any of the three threads.

They were:

a thread about bidders on ebay paying more than they can buy retail. It was started by Inland Andy I think.

a thread mostly humor about Where's Twink (eric) Silvertwinkie (he vanished too)
started by XRAY

a long thread about Politics and other related topics (war, Iraq, military, etc)
I think it was called "Lest We Forget" wish I could remember who started it as I want to bookmark the site he included re: the 911 tragedy.
FWIW I haven't forgotten.

All three threads hung around for a while, so I guess they were legit within policy. Might have been others gone too I only recall these now.
Gee what happened?
Hope I don't vanish for asking

[TomW]

After reading PMs from several concerned readers, I have deleted my original post here agreeing that it added nothing to the principal reason we all visit this forum.

My apologies for my lapse in good judgement. I will think thrice before responding to future posts of a similar nature.

Tom

[jaco]

Hey TC ,

Be sweet please. Is rudeness really necessary? Isn't it against forum policy?

I'm always surprised at and interested in what you do or don't miss.
Thanks for sharing.
I will weigh your advice very carefully.

BTW how are you coming with that job of placing the rebar in your trailer floor? I hope that makes things a bit more stable for you.

you are always welcome in "my world" but it will be a while before the facility is ready. Please call ahead.

Oh we have chosen to forego the rebar but good luck with the patents on the method.
Maybe we'll see ya at the AACE confab in Birmingham. Molly sends her love.

Fond regards
jaco P.E.

[67caravel]

It's obvious that A/Sforums is being censored for some reason or another.

That's the breaks.

X

[tin can luv]

I feel you Jaco, but I'm afraid to question what goes on around here anymore.

You guys are a great releif to talk to after I've been busting my tail working on the Airstreams. I need the forum for answers, but it's great being able to shoot the stuff on times other than Tuesday night.

You guys are awesome, and I hope in the long run this gets straitened out.

Ron

[InsideOut]

I'm afraid to question what goes on around here anymore.

No need to be afraid...if threads were closed or deleted there was good reason, they had run their course, evolved, deteriorated, went over the line and/or there were enough complaints to warrant their removal.

And no...I was not the one to delete them.

Shari

[tin can luv]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

No need to be afraid...if threads were closed or deleted there was good reason, they had run their course, evolved, deteriorated, went over the line and/or there were enough complaints to warrant their removal.

And no...I was not the one to delete them.

Shari

Thanks for the reasuring note, Shari, Us big mouths, OK, at least my bigmouth is just trying to figure things out here....

Ron

[74Argosy24MH]

Don't bother searching, the threads were deleted. Sometimes the moderators allow off topic threads to go on hoping they don't go to far astray and cause problems. We don't delete threads to censor individuals and we don't do it lightly. There have been very few threads deleted over the life of the forum considering the number of daily posts.

We do delete threads when they go too far astray, other members are insulted or harrassed, or the subject is totally unrelated to the AS community and that obviously will cause hard feelings. This is a forum for sharing Airstream facts, experiences and information. It is not to here to insult, nit pick and stir the pot.

I left about 3 weeks ago on vacation, everything here was cruising along nicely. When I came back, we have paranoia and members being suspended. Cabin fever, personality conflicts, who knows. But it is a virtual world, we aren't face to face, and there are several ways to ignore members we don't want to "associate" with. We all need to step back, take a breather, be glad that the warm weather is coming, and quit the petty bickering.

And if this thread continues it course, it will be the next one on the deleted heap. I don't see a lot here AS related of value.

John

[tin can luv]

It IS crazy what has happened, and how quickly it all went wrong. Talk about paranoya, we're walking on eggshells around here.

I, with tail between my legs, accept that warning, and have this to say.

Airstream's a great. I am happy to be part of this airstream forum. I am happy to have met all of you, and sad that I spend more time dealing with problems here, than enjoying this thread. But, I try to ride both sides of the fence, as the good guy and the rebel. I see it from both sides, and find there is no way to make everyone happy. I have contacted a moderator about a few other issues I have, and will just leave all other issues off the mainstream forum.

I have spoken. now I am off to talk airstream drama with Panub at dinner. We're finally hooking up and meeting for the first time.....Stopped in at the rally at Bill Thomas' today, but no one was around. I was greeted by Mack, who was fantastic....I think it was mack....hmmm....

After we talked for a while, he realized who I was, and wondered where this St.Louisan came from, which was pretty much no where, to here in three months.

Thanks guys. I appreciate all of the fun times, but I am just going to back down now. Hope not to dissappoint anyone.

Ron

[tin can luv]

Originally Posted by tcwilliams

I will think thrice before responding to future posts of a similar nature.

Tom

Admittedly this has NOTHING to do with airstreams, but isn't THRICE a great word...

Thanks Tom, very kind of you. I think this thread has been laid to rest.

Ron

[85MH325]

I feel compelled to make a positive comment here.

As many of you know, I'm not bashful about posting my thoughts or opinions if I feel I can add something. I also post occasionally with the thought that I might inject some levity and bring a smile to someone. I participated heavily in the "We Must Never Forget" thread; I sometimes have strong opinions on issues affecting our country and our world. I enjoy these forums immensely, partially because of the diversity of thought and opinion, and the level of literacy among our membership. I have always tried to be circumspect in my posts. I have tried to ensure that my posts in discussions of a controversial nature have always expressed my position on the issues. I have also tried to ensure that they could never be taken as an attack on another forum member or forum management.

I have 'lurked' and read comments on a number of forums other than this one. The out-of-control atmosphere that permeates some forums is totally absent here, but I'm also not concerned about a feeling of unreasonable censorship either.

I want to commend the moderators and the membership for their ability to have and continue stream-of-thought threads on a variety of issues while largely remaining factual and friendly. The Forums remain a place where free thought, agreement and disagreement occurs, and yet everyone remains largely calm and pleasant. I understand the ownership's need to keep control, but I have also had a number of off-line discussions with moderators over issues and have found them to be generally most tolerant.

My point here is that we, as members, need to understand that there will be off-topic threads that will be thought provoking as we have a very diverse membership. We may offend one another occasionally, as that is the way of the world. However, we can still be as civil to one another as possible, and if we stay in the bounds of good taste, and the discussions have relevence to the Airstream community, I don't think that there's any need for paranoia or concern in general. And I would hope that all of our 'guests' out there will feel welcomed to chime in on ANY thread without fear of being harshly rebuked my any other member.

AirstreamForums.com remains, in my estimation, the premier Airstream discussion site on the web.

Thanks all!

Roger

p.s. and I won't be offended in the least if this thread disappears!

[67caravel]

Great post Roger.

One thing to add: If you are wrong, admit it! Don't go and delete all your old posts just because you were found out wrong about something!

Heck, we're all wrong about some things... even me!

X

[tin can luv]

I promised myself I would not continue my involvement in this thread, but I do have to add, that although your comments are true, and I also enjoy the diverse range of opinions, what has happened in this thread, and that of 'where's twink' is , people are comming on and making negative comments about other forum members, in otherwise peaceful threads.

With Twinkie, we were talking about a person, not a tow vehicle, or the difference between MH's and TT's. If someone wants to come along and say that they don't like MH's because.....that's one thing, but to come on and say you don't like Twinkie, or don't like Jaco, or don't like TCL, then you are just asking for trouble. Everyone has their own opinion about everything on this forum, but to attack a member (or past member) of this forum, is wrong. I don't like a LOT of people, but I don't feel the need to publicly tell the forum that I don't like them. I know people don't like me, and they are welcome to PM me and let me know what they think. But I can't imagine someone needing to jump on my what we're doing thread, and going off on me. there's We are people, not axles, not windows, not TT's, not outdoor water showers....so saying you don't like one of us, is a completely diferent ball game, than saying you don't like TT's or SOB's.

Ok, that came out stupid, but there is a place where opinions are welcome, and ignorance toward other people is something best left off of the public forum.

Ok, hopefully this thread will disappear, so I don't feel the need to keep looking at it...LOL

Ron

[85MH325]

Ron,

I consider Eric a good friend, and have for over a year now. We chat almost daily. No one misses him here more than I. The entire circumstances regarding his departure are certainly unfortunate.

I'm not certain toward whom your post was directed, but mine was directed toward all of the membership and mods and their general civlilty. That said, I recognize that some behavior is inappropriate, comments are made that shouldn't be made, and that the moderators have been tasked with determining when that line is crossed.

I believe that we are all capable of having continued discourse without rancor even with extreme differences of opinion, and continue that discourse about issues without directing comments towards individuals. THAT was what my post was about.

Roger

[uwe]

I don't like disappearing threads or censorship.
I think members that offend others by personal attacks should be barred from posting on the board, period. The moderators might give a warning, but it's hard to see what's going on if threads are simply deleted.
No one here, including myself, should have the right or the opportunity to bash others, regardless of their mistakes or attitudes. I feel that his forum is a privilege to post to, not a basic right.
What starts out as a harmless question ( e.g. "where's twink?") turns into a deleted thread? Because of who? Well, uninvite the members that made the deletion necessary, and it is less likely to ever happen again.
Alright, go ahead and delete this thread, too. I'll get over it.....

[Silvertwinky]

We do delete threads when they go too far astray,

I have noticed there is a forum "Community Forum" that is an open forum

to share whatever is on your mind!

I don't think going astray should be reason for deletion, maybe it should just be moved to a more appropriate location! However, if there is bashing going on, well I feel that's another subject altogether!

Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents worth!

[74Argosy24MH]

The real purpose of the forum is AS info dissemination. It is hard to draw a line on when and where to delete threads. We do keep a fairly narrow focus, but the internet is huge, there are sites for discussing anything and everything; it was decided to maintain this focus and let other sites host other discussions. In a sense it is censorship but not so much to stifle opinions and thoughts but to keep the focus here. As Roger pointed out, there is an out of control atmoshpere on some forums, that is what none of us want. We want to share AS info, have members and guests come here and not have to sort through a ton of totally unrelated garbage, commercial ads, links to unrelated sites, flame wars, etc. A fairly large percentage of the trailers never had a factory service manual, others are shared across several models or hard to understand. We want newbies to be able to ask very basic questions without getting flamed. We want this to be "The Airstream Knowledge Sharing Forum" and try to keep a balance that is friendly and open but still focused.

So where do you draw the line? Make it strictly technical and there is no appeal, there will be little traffic, few questions and fewer answers. OTOH people do have interests other than AS, many of us spend a fair amount of time here and it is a logical place to post ideas and thoughts other than AS. There are many past threads that have no relationship to rving much less AS. 99.99% of these run their course, no big deal. But .01% of the time they will become controversial (that is what I mean by astray, not so much off topic or non AS related), someone takes offense and the problems begin. I understand when a thread disappears it leaves questions as to why, but in just a couple of posts things can change dramatically. IMHO the better action is to delete the thread than remove the post(s) and take the chance they will return when you log off. Part of it is not loosing control now and then try and wrestle it back in 6 months. The forum should not become too free form, it must remain focused if it is to be of value as an actual resource.

John

[Rog0525]

It is just the best and most comprehensive database of Airstream related information on the web.
It is also a very friendly community of folks who share a common interest in thr RV lifestyle.
I have learned most of everything I know about Airstreams from this free forum and I feel indebted to the administrator, moderators and members who have generously volunteered their time and knowledge. Constant revisions and improvements are making it even more user friendly.
It is not possible to totally please everyone but this Forum stands heads above all others IMHO.
We can nit pick the flaws to death or we can reap the many benefits and enjoy the ride. It's an easy choice for me.

[thenewkid64]

I have been gone to a rally so this is my first opportunity to respond to this thread.

There is one issue that John did not mention.

What a first time surfer of the site will think when they come across the types of threads mentioned here.

What will be this person's opinion of the forum of if the threads they read rarely have to do with Airstream's, and Airstreaming, but with hotly debated politics, or the status of a member.

I look at it on a long view. What good is the data that is here, created by the members, if it has all this other stuff that needs to be sorted through?

I admit, life is about more than Airstreaming, and I think having a section about topics other than Airstreams is good, but keeping threads on the forum that in some ways show a very unflattering picture of the members of the forum does nothing positive.

So sometimes, depending on the topic a thread may be deleted after it has run it's course. If there was pertinent information that can be moved to another thread that covers the same type of issue it normally is. But off topic threads like some that were mentioned here will likely end up in the old bit bucket once the thread has run it's course. I would bet in 3 months this one will be gone too. There is just not much of value to the forum, in the long run, in a thread like this.

All forums will have a level of control placed on the postings of members. Some allow instant posting like we are doing now to everyone. But do not allow posts to be edited once they are posted or have a period of time where all members must submit to moderation before they are given the "privilege" to instant post.

To sum it up, the Management/Moderators of the forum will continue to work to keep the forum organized, and as much as possible on topic. Some of the posts may go away, without fanfare, or reason. That goes for information anywhere that the Moderators/Management deems is in the best interest of the Forum at large. That is something you agreed to when you became a member.

To answer the question of why am I even responding to the thread; I was the Moderator that removed two of the three posts in question.

[2airishuman]

still worth reading

so how has the forums evolved...

in exactly 3 years?

cheers
2air'