META: Deletion of old threads

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Necrophilia: Classic or Dud?
How many people have you, well, YOU know...?

Neither of these are recent threads. One is a "forum milestone" thread. Under current guidelines, at least one of them is a candidate for deletion.

Is there or should there be a statute of limitations on when a thread can be deleted?

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 5 March 2004 15:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Very good question to which I have no immediate answer. Still, would a simpler answer be to lock the thread? It won't prevent it from being read by someone, but reviving a thread always seems to be the way it's suddenly brought back into public consciousness.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:18 (twenty-one years ago)

That was my initial thought. It's a thorny issue (not so much for the necrophilia thread) in that there's many a controversial thread in the database that is actually a worthwhile/entertaining read and which might actually engender new conversation germane to the original topic. Should we get into the practice of declaring that threads are over?

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 5 March 2004 17:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Er, who's "we" in that sentence? People already unofficially declare threads over, and sometimes they have wonderful life left in them. Perhaps a time-limited locked status?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Friday, 5 March 2004 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Should we get into the
practice of declaring that threads are over?

Only if you do it KRS-One style. More seriously...*scratches chin*...well, this could be unnecessarily complicated/ridiculous, but maybe certain locked threads that did attract controversy/seem pretty poor in hindsight could have a final post explaining why it was locked and that if there's a good reason it should be unlocked, send it to the mods who will consider it.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 5 March 2004 17:40 (twenty-one years ago)

None of my business obviously, and surely there's a case for threads being locked (Marcello and Laura ones being the obvious candidates just in case some fuckwit decides to try and be funny), but deleting things altogether is a bit of a drastic step? As Dan says, if you delete every instance of someone throwing a huge violent strop you lose half the board.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Saturday, 6 March 2004 00:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Personally speaking, I don't like the idea of older threads such as those listed above being deleted. It's kind of hard to say exactly why, but the idea makes me a little uncomfortable in some way. I find that even on long flamewar threads, there is usually some interesting piecs of information, or wit or whatever buried in there. (heh, of course, I can pillage particularly good putdowns for arguments on other boards & lists)

OTOH, there have been a few instances where an old thread has cropped up again, and the stuff added on has just been a load of stupid assholism. Sometimes I think some stuff shd be locked just because it has reached a state of near perfection, and things can only get worse. For god's sake don't ask me for any examples or anything!!

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Saturday, 6 March 2004 13:40 (twenty-one years ago)

But I kind of trust dan, martin and sean's judgement pretty much on these matters, FWIW.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Saturday, 6 March 2004 13:41 (twenty-one years ago)

OK I don't want either of those threads deleted (I'm also not really the person who asked for them to be, mostly) but can someone please just delete the post on the Necrophilia thread that I made about my personal history? It was a stupid mistake made out of anger, poor judgement and drunkenness and quite frankly I see very little reason that it should stay there for anyone who wants to google my name and email address to read. I'm one of about 800 people on ILX who have let Marcello's behavior get the better of them and I regret it and the fact that it is there isn't just kind of a personal "yikes, bad idea" for me but is actively upsetting someone close to me and I am really just begging for someone to be rid of it.

No one directly replied to it, so none of the obvious, apparent "wit" and "information" contained on that thread is lost for whatever sick posterity ILX has decided sheer embarassment of several people on that thread is worth.

― Allyzay, Tuesday, 9 March 2004 00:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Just never mind. I learned my lesson. ILE has been deleted from my bookmarks, my history file is wiped and I'm done. I honestly feel I have nothing further to gain by being a part of this community and I doubt I'll be missed by more than a couple of infrequent posters who happen to know me IRL.

I'm sorry to have wasted your time.

― TOMBOT, Tuesday, 9 March 2004 03:36 (twenty-one years ago)

But I kind of trust dan, martin and sean's judgement pretty much on these matters, FWIW.

I don't anymore, FWIW.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 9 March 2004 04:28 (twenty-one years ago)

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