I like this idea very very much. My first day here, I had posted a thread where I asked folks to share a fun secret, and I gave some simple examples. I had a couple of new hubskiers post quite graphic and kind of creepy sexual stories. It wasn't what I was expecting, and though I'm not a prude by any means and have certainly "been there done that" as a rather bohemian chick in my late 40s, it was still a bit unnerving, so I deleted the thread because I didn't know what else to do. It was obvious that others weren't participating because the conversation quickly escalated to such a nature. And yes, I SHOULD HAVE REALIZED it would go that way! Ha! Duh! But, I didn't, and had this cute idea that we would talk about the roads not taken or the flowers we secretly left on someone's grave. (Yes, I'm such a "mom.") Of course, now that I am typing this and thinking more about it, I am wondering if this is a good idea. Maybe someone would delete my comment simply because they found me annoying, even if what I said added to the conversation. And yeah, I'm human so maybe I would do that to someone, too. It's complicated. Maybe, now that I really get my brain wrapping around this, the trick - for me, anyway - is to be a better thread crafter. If you ask a question and someone simply answers it, which is what those young men did, then the fault doesn't sit with the honest answer, I guess it does sit with the not-quite-though-out question. Argh. End of the day and I am going to get a shot of whiskey! I will keep thinking.
You're right. I'd hate for my comment to be deleted just because I disagreed with the OP. Not saying that many on Hubski would do that, but someone out there is bound to. If we're trying to foster discussion, letting OP delete specific posts could potentially skew conversations in his or her favor.
But that disagreement between OP and the commenter is what garners discussion. If OP wants an interesting thread full of lots of comments, OP is going to have to leave the posts he disagrees with alone. If OP wants to only speak with those he agrees with, then the thread will be lame and have very few comments. Sure, your comment could be deleted because OP thought you were annoying. But in deleting one comment, how many others could OP have deleted?
I hope we are not allowed to mod our own posts for exactly this reason. In fact, I've wondered many times about the opposite. What if after a few hours, you couldn't even edit your original post? (A little time to catch typos, etc). I don't think I can count the number of times I completely disagree with the OP, or commenters shred me to pieces... And I love it. Not agreeing is why this place is fertile soil.But that disagreement between OP and the commenter is what garners discussion.
The former part of your thought here is exactly the kind of sentimentality that I would hope Hubski could protect and nurture. Unfortunately, many of the best tools we have (loosely falling under the term 'moderation') to aid this leads to the abuses listed in the latter part of your thought. This is why I like blocking to work as I described above to syncretic. I think it may be the best balance, but I'm always open to a better way of doing things.And yes, I SHOULD HAVE REALIZED it would go that way! Ha! Duh! But, I didn't, and had this cute idea that we would talk about the roads not taken or the flowers we secretly left on someone's grave. (Yes, I'm such a "mom.")
Of course, now that I am typing this and thinking more about it, I am wondering if this is a good idea. Maybe someone would delete my comment simply because they found me annoying, even if what I said added to the conversation. And yeah, I'm human so maybe I would do that to someone, too.