-5

Up until a few minutes ago, a relevant, important, and sufficiently constructive exchange was going on in the comments under this answer:

https://writing.stackexchange.com/a/55746/49392

Now, however, the entire comment thread is nowhere to be seen. Not moved to chat; instead, gone without a trace. Every other comment thread, under the question post and other answers, appear to have remained intact.

Is this how things are dealt with around here, really? Still?

Anything that's not your opinion, gets destroyed? Silenced? Hidden?

Even after the simmering frustration of the past nearly one and half years?

What are your lamentations for, losing so many high-profile contributors recently? What had been learnt? Little?

Is there anyone who can restore the deleted comments (hopefully with the numerous votes cast on them still visible)?

Is there willingness?

Update, following motosubatsu's answer:

At this point I am unhappy with how the community has no option to see what comments we are talking about. Everyone who has not seen the original thread, will have to rely on the deleting mod's stultifying account of them, which, along with the posted answer's general tone, doesn't fall far from what is discouraged in the CoC.

Overall, the experience I am exposed to here is the insulting one, not my comments.

I maintain that my first two, thread-starting comments had entirely adhered to and fulfilled the SE commenting guide. If a third comment of mine fell out of line with the original intent of the commenting feature (the one labelled as "soapboxing"), I can admit to that (while I point out that it came as direct response to another comment, that was addressing me by my username). Regarding labeling the situation as back-and-forth discussion, there is a more fit and widely used moderation tool for that: moving into chat (implying that a link is left under the answer allowing users to access the migrated content).

I posit that the decision for the deletion came from giving way to political motivation and not from reasonably leveraging moderation options.

7
  • Generally, main site comments shouldn't be a space to discuss, that should be done in chat.
    – user11111111111
    Apr 30, 2021 at 19:12
  • 2
    What matters is that I trust the moderators, who took a look at a situation, did their job, and removed clutter.
    – user11111111111
    Apr 30, 2021 at 19:27
  • I appreciate your frustration (and I do think Nai54 could, on this occasion, have used an edit summary that wasn't guaranteed to rile you up), but you should note that this site is built on the ethos of collaboration. People don't need permission to edit your posts; you are of course entitled to roll their edits back should you disagree with them, but rolling back any edit regardless of its merits is not a good path to go down. (Not saying that's the case here, just an advance warning.)
    – F1Krazy Mod
    May 2, 2021 at 20:39
  • @F1Krazy right now, as things stand, I am not the one in need of warnings here. I invite you to make an attempt to reach a neutral viewpoint, and see the situation from that. Look at contributions from me if you please, on this SE or elsewhere on the network. See for yourself that I am a respectful and mostly disciplined contributor, capable of, and on the whole, practicing valuable collaboration. Your impression of me, at this time, might not yet be accurate. Perhaps in consequence of that, you seem to be stepping up in defense of the undeserving conduct, this time.
    – Levente
    May 2, 2021 at 21:03
  • @F1Krazy "People don't need permission to edit your posts" — yes, it's a generic SE practice. Meta SE posts, however constitute to a different situation. Unlike posts on the main site, these are highly specific to the person posting them. This is our voice here. Even if I am too ignorant to find any official policy regarding this, as a moderator sincerily wishing for the re-generation of a healthy community here, you should see that, and practice your powers in respect of it.
    – Levente
    May 2, 2021 at 21:03
  • 3
    @Levente I have removed your additional updates because we don't accept personal commentary (calling out users by name) or discussion on disciplinary actions of other users. The comments you are referring to have been removed as they were not constructive to the discussion. I would advise you to assume that everyone here is acting with good intent and in good faith. Generally the users that struggle to adapt to our model are those that see all moderation activities (by diamond mods or not) as personal insults.
    – linksassin Mod
    May 3, 2021 at 0:24
  • 1
    Following guidance issued on the Expected Behaviour SE help page, addressed at the topic of misinformation, I am adding a comment indicating what is wrong. This page, in its current state, does not represent any more the true exchange that took place here. By carefully designed steps, including the removal of select comments, and by secretly replacing an edit-message in the version history of my question, the now-doctored page — amalgamated with subtle, manipulative language — is geared towards discrediting me, and the case I bring.
    – Levente
    May 4, 2021 at 11:55

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4

Up until a few minutes ago, a relevant, important, and sufficiently constructive exchange was going on in the comments under this answer

SE comments aren't intended for general discussion, nor are they intended for soapboxing or otherwise waxing lyrical.

Now, however, the entire comment thread is nowhere to be seen. Not moved to chat; instead, gone without a trace.

Yep, I deleted them - it wasn't adding anything to the answer and I'd already received a flag objecting to the content of one your comments (hardly the sign of it being "sufficiently constructive").

I agreed with the flag, I'm not going to post the text of the flagged comment here (since that would defeat the point) but it was most definitely not constructive, it was most definitely not in keeping with the purpose of comments on SE - and since the whole thread was of questionable value I removed it entirely.

Every other comment thread, under the question post and other answers, remained intact

While other answers and the question post do still have comments on them - you are mistaken in your belief that they are "intact", other removals have been made.

Is this how things are dealt with around here, really? Still?

Anything that's not your opinion, gets destroyed? Silenced? Hidden?

Even after the simmering frustration of the past nearly one and half years?

What are your lamentations for, losing so many high-profile contributors recently? What had been learnt? Little?

This is how SE operates, this is how SE has always operated. There's no need for histrionics and melodrama.

Is there anyone who can restore the deleted comments (hopefully with the numerous votes cast on them still visible)?

Yes, any of the Writing SE moderators could restore those comments if they so chose.

Is there willingness?

I won't claim to speak for my fellow mods but on my part? No.

5
  • I don't understand the terms "soapboxing" and "waxing lyrical".
    – Levente
    Apr 30, 2021 at 17:06
  • 2
    soapboxing - making impromptu speeches of a political nature and waxing lyrical - in this context to go on extensively about a given topic
    – motosubatsu
    Apr 30, 2021 at 17:11
  • 1
    This site has "Exchange" in its name: a number of its users may use it expecting its nature to correspond to that. I ask, what kind of an exchange is the one where only one school of thought is allowed to be heard? What makes that attractive for those who are after the best possible answers?
    – Levente
    Apr 30, 2021 at 17:14
  • I agree, posting a single comment wouldn't indeed make much sense; it makes sense in its context, with the rest of the thread. It also seems relevant that my three comments in the thread had 2, 5, and 2 others (correspondingly) agreeing with them ("upvoted"). That also belongs in the context. You are silencing a number of people.
    – Levente
    Apr 30, 2021 at 17:20
  • 4
    @Levente Comments are not a discussion forum, they are not for debates, How many votes the various comments had is irrelevant.
    – motosubatsu
    Apr 30, 2021 at 17:24
0

@motosubatsu is correct in their answers- comments aren't for discussion.

I would like to add this from the tour:

This site is all about getting answers. It's not a discussion forum. There's no chit-chat.

See, no chit-chat.

This matter is not up to debate, I know there are answers on Writing SE where comments are used to debate, but they shouldn't be and when mods find them (or you flag them), they will be removed or moved to chat.

I didn't get to see what comments were removed, but you say this:

I posit that the decision for the deletion came from a political motivation and not from reasonably leveraging moderation options.

It was not from a political motivation. All irrelevant comments will be removed or moved and especially political ones, which tend to start a debate, no matter which side of politics they are on.

I maintain that my first two, thread-starting comments had entirely adhered to and fulfilled the SE commenting policy. If a third comment of mine fell out of line with the original intent of the commenting feature (the one labelled as "soapboxing"), I can admit to that (while I point out that it came as direct response to another comment, that was addressing me by my username). Regarding labeling the situation as back-and-forth discussion, there is a more fit and widely used moderation tool for that: moving into chat.

If the moderators think the comments aren't worth being in chat or are not useful, it is completely legitimate to delete them.

5
  • The right measure could have been moving into chat.
    – Levente
    Apr 30, 2021 at 19:27
  • @Levente that is up to the mod. If they think the comments aren't worth being in chat, it is completely legitimate to delete them.
    – user11111111111
    Apr 30, 2021 at 19:28
  • 1
    You (us) have a right to be moderated fairly. Do not throw it away.
    – Levente
    Apr 30, 2021 at 19:28
  • 1
    @Levente Stop. The moderators were moderating fairly. They are elected officials and volunteers. They are fair. Enough.
    – user11111111111
    Apr 30, 2021 at 19:30
  • "All irrelevant comments will be removed or moved" — as I had stated, my first two comments were relevant, and constructive (as per "Leave constructive criticism that guides the author in improving the post")
    – Levente
    Apr 30, 2021 at 19:36

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