Deleted Posts

[reed930]

Yesterday, I posted a message about a truly "unique" car for sale on ebay. The thread was later deleted by the moderators of this site when the owner of the car objected.

To the best of my recollection, neither the original message nor any of the replies contained any false or threatening language. Rather, the posts contained people's sometimes humorous opinions on a car offered for sale. Such opinions are expressed about cars and products every day on this and other forums.

Now I know that private boards like this are referred to as benevolent dictatorships and that no one except perhaps Wayne has a right to post here. But I also know that a board is only as good as those who participate on it. It is truly a symbiotic relationship. Without this board, we enthusiasts would lose an effective and enjoyable outlet to discuss our Porsche-related interests. And without the activity on this board, Pelican Parts would likely not survive as a business, at least not anywhere near its current strength.

Now I am new to this board, having just bought my first Porsche in August. But I have been very active on others and feel that deletion of an entire thread simply because it offends one person is a bit heavy handed. My experience is that message boards tend to thrive the most when censored the least. Anarchy--no, a free flow of ideas and opinions--yes.

The deleted thread contained only some humorous comments on a customized Porsche. That those comments offended the owner of the car shouldn't change the principles of an open forum.

I welcome others' opinions. Thanks.

For anyone who is interested or who hasn't seen the car,original ad. Please no comments about the car in the ad--I would prefer not to have this post deleted too.

[AirCooledExcellence]

reed930,

Don't forget it's Wayne's BBS and I guess he's liable for it's content. Perhaps the car owner threatended legal action??

Cheers,

Tim.
____________
1983 SC Targa

[cegerer]

Was this the car with the 'speedboat' interior? -- Curt

[billwagnon]

Please do not consider my 1000 words here to be humorous.

[reed930]

Tim,

Threatened legal action for what? Saying something is ugly? (Not that I'm referring to the car mentioned as ugly. Just a hypothetical). I would hope that the owner/moderators of this board have more backbone.

[AirCooledExcellence]

Originally posted by reed930
Tim,

Threatened legal action for what? Saying something is ugly? (Not that I'm referring to the car mentioned as ugly. Just a hypothetical). I would hope that the owner/moderators of this board have more backbone.

Well, I'm not sure really, Let's hope the moderator who deleted the post chimes in and let's us know why.

Cheers,

Tim.
____________
1983 SC Targa

[Moses]

Shhhhh! Thats Wayne's car.

[thrown_hammer]

UMM...How do you get out?

[Doug Zielke]

Achtung, Moderators.....it's U-G-L-Y!
Can you delete the post *and* the car???

[expat]

Yeah its Wayne's board so I guess his set of rules apply. It would be really sad to know that someone threatened anything and I'm sure that didn't happen.

I do note some unusal moderations lately however. For instance a thread on helping Sarah with her dogs costume went on for a bit while a thread on looks you get in your Porsche got moved to OT pretty quick. I agree with Victor that there's some anomoly it this situation.

Anyhow, I guess when you take into account the number of times people get to express (pretty freely) their thoughts here, the moderators in 99% of the cases to a great job.

This time I actually read the text in the ad. I don't think the seller can criticise us for making fun of his car or ad. I'd say he asked for it.

Demanding 9000 USD for that car is on the verge of swindle.

[Emission]

The owner of that 'car' acts as if his potentail buyer would be hanging out on this board. Hardly likely.

A buyer of that car will (most likely) not even have Internet access.

It is a shame the post was deleted.

[nostatic]

Having been recently accused of censorship (I insisted that an intermediate disclaimer window came up before taking users off our site and onto an external site I considered "viral"), I'm sensitive to some of the issues here. This is in fact Wayne's world, and we are here as his guest. We have no constitutional rights here. I can venture a guess that the seller got wind of the thread and threatened Wayne in some way. One could argue that the posts here were attempting to restrain the seller's free trade, or were libelous. While that all is BS, recall my post awhile back about the online pet store and people that were paying money to keep from entering litigation with the crackpot owner of the business.

Better safe than sorry. Or is it better dead than red? Life was sooo much easier to figure out before the net and during the cold war.

[reed930]

Nostatic,

While it is certainly true that we have no right to post on this forum, I reject the notion that we are all here as Wayne's "guests." Those who post on this forum are the content of this site. Unlike someone who invites us into their home to watch a show, we actually comprise the show; we are both his customers and his product. I believe that Wayne knows this as well as anyone. Just look at what he is now doing to get the BMW board up and running.

I think that both administrators and members must be mutually respectful in order for a forum (and a business) to succeed. In the end, Wayne makes the decisions. But I have seen many people lose interest in once-popular boards when administrators forgot the importance of that relationship.

[nostatic]

I wasn't talking about the way things perhaps *should* be, but rather the facts. Yes, it is a community, and without participants it ceases to exist. But the only person here with any real legal exposure is Wayne. As such, it is his call, and I don't think he has to explain himself. It isn't very often that he exerts any control, so I don't have an issue. In a litigious society such as ours, one CYAs first, and worries about decorum second. imho...

[clay1g]

"While it is certainly true that we have no right to post on this forum, I reject the notion that we are all here as Wayne's "guests." Those who post on this forum are the content of this site. Unlike someone who invites us into their home to watch a show, we actually comprise the show; we are both his customers and his product."

We may not actually be Wayne's guests but we are not his products either. Wayne doesn't make money on this BBS, he makes it by selling car parts. It's the selling of car parts that supports this BBS in the first place.

[reed930]

Nostatic,

The problem with CYA at all costs is that if you start removing posts simply becuase they offend one person, you end up with a rather boring forum that people will lose interest in pretty quickly. Much of what makes a board interesting and gives it its character is the personality that comes through when people post.

Would you remove the post about the $750 license plate a few threads down? Or how about someone comparing two products and declaring one "better"? My point is, everything we say pisses someone off to some degree.

[N11Porsche]

My P-Car is not perfect but at least my car is all the same color. Check out the passenger side door - it doesn't even come close to matching the rest of the car

[reed930]

Yes, Clay, but it is this BBS that helps him sell car parts. I purchased my first Porsche in August and have already spent over $1,000 with Pelican. And I purchased through Pelican instead of other sources primarily because of this BBS. I think others do the same.

[nostatic]

Originally posted by reed930
The problem with CYA at all costs is that if you start removing posts simply becuase they offend one person, you end up with a rather boring forum that people will lose interest in pretty quickly.

Agreed, but I think I can count on one hand the number of threads removed under potential CYA motives by moderators over the past year or so. Our slope isn't very slippery at this point in time.