Comment preservation from doubleposted threads? November 25, 2005 6:43 AM   Subscribe

I was cool having my thread deleted, because it was a double...but it seemed like more people had commented in that one - and now those comments are lost. Can they be moved?

Better still, would it not be wiser to have read in the post that people wanted to keep open, and followed those wishes?
posted by mattr to Etiquette/Policy at 6:43 AM (20 comments total)

Thats 'keep it open' - my fingers are not working well today.
posted by mattr at 6:46 AM on November 25, 2005


yeah, it's like when my pet goat died. you tend something, watch it grow, take pride in its first steps, how it matures, it's problems, and successes. and then it's dead. killed in its prime. turned into tasty kebabs with spicy sauce.
posted by andrew cooke at 7:10 AM on November 25, 2005


I like kebabs...
posted by mattr at 7:15 AM on November 25, 2005


I liked yours better mattr - It was certainly better composed. Perhaps Matt or Jessamyn can perform the MeFi Mind Meld and add your additional links to the existing FPP?
posted by longbaugh at 7:28 AM on November 25, 2005


mattr, I got as far as your "feel free to remove this" comment after following the double-post flags to the thread in the first place. I agree that it sucks when the second post in a double-post pair is better and gets removed. However, the general rule has always been that the first one stays. This avoids the judgement call of determining which post is better and the inevitable scuffles that follow that sort of decision. You can move your links and comments yourself to the open thread. I think this is the sort of thing mathowie can do if he catches it early enough, but it's 7:30 am there on the day after Thanksgiving so it may not be your lucky day.

And, if you're seriously questioning the wisdom of not leaving two nearly identical posts on the front page next to each other, I'm not sure what to tell you.
posted by jessamyn at 7:35 AM on November 25, 2005


Shame you hadn't kept reading. Though, deleting this threads systematically probably does lead to less bitching. Mattr, you can include a link to the deleted thread in the older thread. That's one way to preserve those comments.
posted by chunking express at 7:44 AM on November 25, 2005


And, if you're seriously questioning the wisdom of not leaving two nearly identical posts on the front page next to each other, I'm not sure what to tell you.


No...I wasn't - I was questioning the wisdom of not reading a post before deleting it.
posted by mattr at 8:05 AM on November 25, 2005


There's nothing to read. "First post wins" has always been policy; if it's a double it's a double. Encouraging people to make double posts just because they can provide better links is silly. If you want the world to see your links, post them in a comment in the original thread.

Having Matt or Jessamyn delete the post they like least in the case of a double post is far, far worse than applying a first-wins rule in terms of making people unhappy. If you're going to race to post newsfilter posts ahead of anyone else, you're risking that you'll lose the race and have wasted your time; if you don't like that, don't post newsfilter posts.
posted by mendel at 8:27 AM on November 25, 2005


Thanks for the advice mendel.
posted by mattr at 8:33 AM on November 25, 2005


I ♥ mattr
posted by terrapin at 8:43 AM on November 25, 2005


mendel writes "if it's a double it's a double"

Contrary to fixedgear's comment it wasn't even the fastest double; we've had them posted in the same minute.

mendel writes "If you're going to race to post newsfilter posts ahead of anyone else, you're risking that you'll lose the race and have wasted your time; if you don't like that, don't post newsfilter posts."

You've got to be like newspapers and have your post for famous people ready. And then hope your awake and at your machine when the news hits.
posted by Mitheral at 9:03 AM on November 25, 2005


you're
posted by blue_beetle at 9:54 AM on November 25, 2005


Why not treat first posts as a "folder", to which selected subsequent posts can be added, with attached comments. Instead of deleting all doubles, the best ones--the ones that inspire updated or better comments--could be tacked on to the end of the originals. A couple of lines of the double could be left on the front page, tagged with "DP" and linked to the original.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:26 AM on November 25, 2005


The fact that deleting doubles sometimes severs fruitful discussion should just serve to encourage you to be more vigilant. When I read an FPP, I have implicit trust in the poster that they've done
their research and that the thread is original; the onus of responsibility is on them. It's disheartening to type out a four-paragraph comment and find out the thread has been deleted immediately after. In short: it's not a huge deal if you slip (happens to everyone) but effort should be channeled toward not posting doubles rather than contriving elaborate mechanisms to move discussions.
posted by ori at 2:42 PM on November 25, 2005


Jessamyn -- would there be a way, when a double post is being deleted, of including something at the top or bottom of that thread directly linking to the thread which is being left up (and vice-versa) if the discussion in the old post was of some merit (ie -- not just a bunch of pancake jokes). That way your deleting the post, but not the comments.
posted by feelinglistless at 4:10 PM on November 25, 2005


feelinglistless: they usually do provide a link, but when the first post is the previous post on the front page that doesn't really buy you much.
posted by mendel at 6:28 PM on November 25, 2005


mendel -- Oh yes I see. Thanks.
posted by feelinglistless at 2:16 AM on November 26, 2005


There are very few problems that can't be fixed by the proper application of high explosives thread deletion.
posted by warbaby at 6:14 AM on November 26, 2005


feelinglistless, mendel's got it. Anyone who takes the time to flag double posts could also post a link to the older post in-thread which is really helpful both for people reading the soon-to-be removed double as well as mathowie and I to find the thread it's a double of.
posted by jessamyn at 7:03 AM on November 26, 2005


Anyone who takes the time to flag double posts could also post a link to the older post in-thread

while it's a perfectly sensible suggestion, we've all seen that when someone does a "double" link in the thread, a bunch of monkeys yell "flag it and move on". Kinda getting mixed signals here.....
posted by dabitch at 3:35 AM on November 27, 2005


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