Closing duplicate threads.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Then leave the front page thread open AND the original thread.

In this case, the original post was a better news item then what's ended up on the front page.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64592

That one is the earliest I've so far seen. And that makes it the original post if I am not incorrect.

And to be honest, that thread would have made a better front page then the little blurb Nate posted to the front page.

That's the one I saw first.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So what is going to be done to sort out the problem of the original thread being closed in favor of the thread a mod started? And yes, it was 100% a duplicate thread.

What did you think should be "done"? Nate was in the process of posting a thread and preparing it for the front page. While he was doing that someone else posted about the email. After Nate finished his post he noticed another had been posted. So, he closed those threads.

Jon, you should be most happy about this, considering how often you report duplicate threads that you would like to have closed. I don't understand why this is so bothering you.

Fairness and credit? Did it really bother the person that started the other thread? Isn't the reason the thread was started to share this information with others? That in is the result of the post getting on the front page, no matter who actually posted the first message.

The reason we will post another thread rather than front page the existing post is because the first post isn't adequate. The front page is viewed by many people so we try to post decently worded threads, giving credit for any information if it came from another web site and making sure that the message isn't just a wholesale cut-n-paste of the article on that other web site.

To say this is some abuse of power is out of line and insulting. If the mods wanted to abuse their power we would moderate every post and only release the ones we didn't care to steal and post on the front page so we get "all the credit".

BOb

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64592

That one is the earliest I've so far seen. And that makes it the original post if I am not incorrect.

And to be honest, that thread would have made a better front page then the little blurb Nate posted to the front page.

That's the one I saw first. I started checking time stamps when I saw all the thread closings popping up.

[daffy4u]

I hope you folks notice that Jon and I are actually on the same side, which means a certain place south of here is getting very chilly. If two people with normally diverse opinions are seeing the same thing, its probably an issue that needs a policy that all can understand and adhere to.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I hope you folks notice that Jon and I are actually on the same side, which means a certain place south of here is getting very chilly.

BOb

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Then leave the front page thread open AND the original thread.

That's what I tend to do, myself. We're currently discussing that in the Mod area, and we make it a practice not to discuss in the "open" stuff we discuss in there, for the obvious reasons.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64592

That one is the earliest I've so far seen. And that makes it the original post if I am not incorrect.

Ah yes, I see that now, I did miss it.

As Nate said, the write-up takes time to do, he didn't say whether he'd seen the other or not when he started his, but he well might not have. As a matter of course, I'd probably go back and add a note that someone else beat me to it, but that might depend on what else was going on with me at the time.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And to be honest, that thread would have made a better front page then the little blurb Nate posted to the front page.

I'm afraid I must respectfully disagree with the view that a bald quotation of an e-mail, with a single line introduction is a better front page post than a summarization of and commentary on the same information, the latter is reporting the other is simply quoting.

Please understand what I'm saying, everyone (I'd rather not chase any rabbits if we can avoid it): there's not a blessed thing wrong with a thread starter that's just an intro line and a quotation, it's just not the way we try to run the front page, that's all.

[Nate the great]

There were 5 largely identical posts in the space of half an hour (one was deleted by request). Only one of the threads should stay open. Why shouldn't it be the one on the front page?

[daffy4u]

You'll have to re-read this thread for those answers.

[DaleDe]

sometimes if there are substantial information differences a thread can be merged rather than closed. This can be a judgment call.

[JSWolf]

The thing to do would have been to see that the original thread's first post was better as a front page post, delete the front page post Nate put up, delete the thread Nate started, open the original thread and use it's first post as a front page post. Simple really. And then this issue would not have every been an issue.

And if I was going to be reporting duplicate threads, Nates would be reported as it is a duplicate thread.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Explain to me, what does the moderator gain if the thread he posted is the one where the conversation takes place? What does the user lose if it doesn't take place in the thread they started? What does the user gain if the conversation does take place in the thread they started?

The rights given in the guidelines to the original posters.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by NatCh

And in the case of the front page, it's our "face," so to speak, so on it we tend to want to be extra ... "approachable" is a good word.

I have never understood how people see the frontpage. I never see it. I go directly to the forums and if I google I never end up on the front page. So how does new people see the front page?

[NatCh]

@Jon: Since it is a longstanding moderator/editor policy (longer than I've been around the forum, anyway) not to make front-page posts that consist solely of a single comment and a quotation, I'm pretty sure what you're suggesting is not what's going to happen here.

@Tompe: If you'll go to https://www.mobileread.com you'll see the front page. Alternately, you can click on the MobileRead logo at the top of each page to get there.


As it happens, we don't have a formal moderator guideline for this sort of situation (and, yes, we do, in fact, have an actual list of them). It's simply never really been an issue before. However, now that it is, the moderator team is currently discussing a formal rule of thumb (for ourselves) for dealing with this general type of situation, so that we can be consistent about it going forward. We're also hashing out how to deal with this specific case while we're at it, and this specific one may or may not vary from whatever guideline we settle on, depending on the specific circumstances. We will let you know what the outcome is once we know ourselves.

In the meantime, we're asking for your patience as we figure out how best to deal with things. This is one of those things that the current members of the moderation team, as a team, need to reach an agreement about. Your concerns and suggestions seem to be cataloged here sufficiently for us to consider them in the process, and we thank you, both for the suggestions and your patience.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by NatCh

[
@Tompe: If you'll go to https://www.mobileread.com you'll see the front page. Alternately, you can click on the MobileRead logo at the top of each page to get there.

Yes, I know. Are you saying that people do that? Why would they want to do that?

Or maybe a lot of people are following the front page as an rss feed?