I'm sorry Peter, I didn't make myself perfectly clear.Peter O'Donnell wrote:As far as I am aware, there is no implied total freedom on this forum to post whatever you want with no expectation of moderation.
I'm not addressing any aspect of moderation other than post removals.
Where, eg., a thread was removed due potential for impacting ongoing litigation, one can accept that the retraction was warranted to avoid adding to any potential outside penalty which might accrue beyond removal at the earliest opportunity.
Equally, and due the nature of 'human rights' in Canada, allowance must be made to prevent forum owners being sued by serial-complainers for post made by their own cyber-identity.
But, where posts are deleted which would otherwise simply fade into 'the oblivion that time brings to all internet posts', I believe a different standard applies.
Folks posting to FreeDominion quickly become accustomed to having no edit option available, a fact that in itself has a moderating influence. ie. Once posted, forever seen.
Coupled with the ability to conduct searches of any given posters' past comments, the lack of edit ensures that any past comment may be referred to in future discussions.
When 'vexatious' posts are arbitrarily removed, either by the poster or admin, history is altered. It's not that such 'history' may be of any importance, it's that the alteration itself brings into question whether archived material is a reliable representation of poster views.
An edit option allows the poster to alter prior opinions (albeit also noting that the post has been edited) or removed entirely.
Absent an edit option, and given a history of letting poster comments stand, archived material can be seen to be historically reliable - within reason.
Not so if arbitrary removal occurs, however 'benevolent to the public common' is the intent of such decision.
I am probably making a mountain out of a molehill on this point, but principled conservatism allows for (some might say encourages) same.
