I just wanted to address a concern that affected me here on Saturday. (To make this as neutral as possible, I have eliminated the name of the party responsible as well as the topic in question) Briefly, I had replied to a particular thread by pointing out some reasons the conclusions reached by the individual who created this thread (obviously very passionate about his topic) might not necessarily be as clear-cut as he maintained.  I offered additional variables (I guess I might call it an "X-factor") as to why there were differences regarding his comparisons of two cities that might not lead to the definitive solutions he was proposing in tackling a particular problem. I was not disrespectful in any way in my replies (although I admitted to a little frustration, as this same topic shows up repeatedly on the forum). My own statements--based on personal observations (as I had said, I never claimed to be an expert on the topic)--were not meant to dismiss this person's assertions completely; in fact, I partially agreed. But soon after I had posted, I discovered that my comments had been removed from the thread, and then re-posted on a mock-thread by this person under a subject heading using a sophomoric and presumably humorous reworking of my screen name. In fact I wasn't really insulted and did indeed find it somewhat funny. (What still mystifies me though is how these alterations were performed, as I assumed they would require a higher level of technical access to the system I believed only moderators possessed; but maybe this is a question for another day). But later Saturday evening, I discovered that even this fake thread had been deleted. What really bothered me more than anything was that my comments--which were heartfelt and had offered, IMO, a broader insight on the topic--had been totally removed. I guess all of this is a long-winded way of proposing (I knew I said "briefly" early on) that if there is a way, from now on, that when someone who has posted a new thread, and that person will not brook dissent on his chosen topic (i.e., cannot, or will not engage in discussion with another forumer who has a differing point of view), then that person should red flag the thread with a warning (is there an icon for this?) to those who might disagree, thereby precluding anyone who might share another opinion from wasting precious time and energy in an attempt to actually start a conversation on the topic. If this is not possible, perhaps another solution can be found in order to prevent anyone else being blindsided in a similar manner for "daring" to express an opinion or offer an alternative perspective. I will appreciate any feedback. Thank You!

I was lucky enough to see the offending thread, and am curious if this person was able to delete his offenses himself, or if a moderator did it.  Either way; I would think you, as the offended party, would at least be informed by the moderators as to the outcome.

 

If I knew you personally, I would use your new handle in all of our correspondence!  It was funny!

eastvillagedon[/member] , check your PM inbox.