As you may have read on other topics especially dealing with Threads vs Blogs, the discussion concerning " chaff" arose, that is posts which at the time are complimentary or just chit-chat. Now to assist in reducing Thread size & maintaining some reasonable sense of order, it was suggested that after some duration, threads are cleaned of "chaff" - it maybe complete posts or editting parts of posts and to be done by Moderators.

So to get members thoughts, a poll which will run for 30 days & then considered in the light of the responses.

For instance if prior to 6 months, the Mod for that forum section would only look at post before 6 months from the day he decides to clean. That thread may not get looked at again for some months but it does mean that in time, the forum is reduced in size.


Your comments of course most welcomed.

It should be noted that any cleaning would be done in consulation with the original creator of the thread.

After just having a go at thinning Ron's 24 page layout thread I realise that this is going to be a mammoth task and is going to take hours of someone's time, and I only did the first two pages. It will make it worse if you are going to start editing posts instead of deleting.
Before anyone votes I would like to point out that saving web space is not an issue as we have plenty and can always get more if needed.
Please don't think I am being negative about this. I am just pointing out that one or two people must be prepared to take on a much larger work load.

I would only remove banter from the thread rather than layout discussion.

I'm still mystified as to why there is bandwidth for the word association thread and not for laugh icons in the humour section.  :???:   What makes this forum so enjoyable IS the banter.  I usually run my threads as complete as they can be before I post them - that's just me; having said that, I sometimes like to re-visit old threads and enjoy them again, including all the entertaining comments.

Good point Max!  I, for one, never thought along those re-visiting lines.

I for one will not be voting.
 
 I won't presume to advise any member how to run his own thread.

I shall abstain from the vote. The threads and banter make the Forum. Too reduce threads etc would not be right in my view. after all it can take some time for a member to write a thread about what he or she is doing and i as Mike pointed out have no right to tell them their thread is being cut.

So where is the problem if Bob says we have no space issue's.

 

Phill

Firstly Phill, I have posted that any editing / cleaning would be done in consultation with the originator - it is his/her thread - not a blanket wielding of the axe. It is  mainly cleaning out the "well done" replies that while the OP is happy to receive, it really does not add to the information being posted in the first place.

I will restate - cleaning would be in consultation & agreement with the OP and I think the OP would be the one to request any cleaning. This perhaps is in contradiction to the poll which initially posed that auto cleaning would occur & after reading some of the various comments to date, makes me change tack & invoke consultation as the prime point.

 

Secondly that while a general thread can be made up of not only original posters ideas, etc but many comments from others, if cleaning / editing is not required or desired,  it is thought that a new thread be created by copying various posts as determined by the creator of the first post  with consultation with a Moderator into a new thread titled such as " the story of XXX" which contains only the story by the creator and is locked so no comments can be added to this thread. For additional posts, as determined by the Author, could be copied into this locked thread.

The drawback is that the same info is in two threads & also increases bandwidth.
 
 
Again nothing will be done on your threads without talking to you.
 

[user=9]phill[/user] wrote:

So where is the problem if Bob says we have no space issue's.

 

Phill

Phill, not so much a space concern but consider a  member picks up my thread , it was 24 pages & now back to 22 & many posts are not informative & so takes a lot of reading to glean modelling info. By cleaning it removes this time consideration but then my paragraph starting with Secondly just above this post would help to overcome that.

Don't forget that you can vote, for

 Other time scale or Never

& as pointed out above, I created the poll, etc based on the idea of "auto"  cleaning but have changed it to selective cleaning as being requested by the OP so in reality the voting is perhaps not so important now but the concept of cleaning / creating a new locked story thread can still be discussed.

I was not looking for any additional work to be undertaken by Mods without some benefits to all of us.

 

 

Ron  while it is of course understood that this would be at the discretion of the original poster, I think those that ARE done will read like text books. If that's what the thread "owners" want, so be it. I won't be saying they're wrong.

Mike

[user=8]MikeC[/user] wrote:

Ron while it is of course understood that this would be at the discretion of the original poster, I think those that ARE done will read like text books. If that's what the thread "owners" want, so be it. I won't be saying they're wrong.

Mike

That is something I had not thought of - perhaps this idea should be put on the back burner:exclam

 

regards

I'm assuming then that it's fine to ignore your posts in future.

I certainly will be . . .

I suggest that the failed 'Word Association' thread be deleted.
It was only started to make Don and others feel at home and he doesn't like it!

I can see both the point for and against this suggestion.  There are indeed many posts that may be just a smiley or "well don" but to remove those would, IMHO, detract from the friendly "over a pint" chatter that makes this forum what it is.

Certainly some posts being remved would make absolutely no difference to the thread but where to draw the line ?  As Bob says, the work load in doing so is huge - is it really necessary.

I wouldn't want a "text book" type thread, as MikeC put it so well,  that's not, to me, what this form is about.  There are plenty of text books around dealing with "instructing" on railway modelling.

As bandwidth isn't a problem, reading the threads as they stand immediately sets one at ease - you learn something, you have a smile at the "banter" and feel "involved".

I'm voting to leave well alone - but, like Mike, I'm not telling others what to do.  It's just my personal preference.