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Yeah personally I would prefer posting here. It feels more informal really.
No amount of self pruning threads is going to make any difference to what you describe - if you want to post something so specific you think it'll identify you from a single post from a single anonymous account then it doesn't matter if it's going to be up for 2 hours or 2 years - it really probably shouldn't be public.
I can't help but recall your wish to organise a meet with people from TheSite but for no one to be allowed to mention they were from TheSite. It imples a perspective that wishes to hide your presence here, which is fine, but is always going to be incompatible with the principals behind why a public forum exists.
The idea of public peer led advice service is to make problems public whilst keeping identities private, if people so wish. By allowing threads to stay visable it means that many hundreds or even thousands of people are able to benefit from that advice without asking the question themselves. By removing threads you aren't increasing anonmity you are actually forcing people to sign up to get advice who would have already recieved it.
There is also a risk that users who have to deal with sensitive issues may end up always using self-pruning threads, which will eventual build to a point where it looks like almost nothing is being discussed - creating a negative incentive to post problems.
I'd suggest what would be a much better idea would be to look for the return of the ability to self-delete threads and for threads older than say, six months, to automatically lock themselves.
But fundamentally we offer to routes to direct advice, completely anonymous one-to-one expert advice and a public peer to peer community. Access a wide group of peer support will mean it being public, that's central to how a trusted community can flourish.
So thats a no to the stars coming back then
PS: Say thanks to Helen for my present for me :thumb:
If you can name the company then others can help you search for information - nothing libelous there, but should you get the job then you don't exactly want someone to track down the thread a year later and link it to yourself.
Other examples I am thinking of is naming places more specifically - e.g. you might want to say I do volunteer work for xxxxx based in a little town named xxxxxx can you recommend how to get from A to B.
I might want to ask how to get from London to Newcastle - but Newcastle is tiny compared to London. If I wanted more specific information I might want to say which part of London I live near seeing as it can easily take 2 hours+ to get from one end of London to another.
Using a public forum is a personal choice - this isn't a private forum and you have to decide yourself how you are comfortable using it. We always maintain that people need to bear their anonimity in mind and it's clear it's simply something your not going to be comfortable with - which is why it's good you have alternative ways to look for advice.
a) Register
b) log in
... I still think there's people out there who want help but get turned off seeking it because of the high profile of this site with search engines.
I am also guessing there might be some reluctance in self pruning threads as most organisations that rely on external funding need to have statistics, proof of how they help people, etc and self deleting threads would take away from that?
Most of my suggestions would be forum related as I've booked marked the forums main page and hardly every look at the rest of the site.
Again I am talking about a single thread NOT the entire forum and search engines CAN index threads behind password protected Threads - these are called Bots and most modern forum software has this ability built in.
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=108070
I think a thanks button would be a really bad idea. A good idea in theory, but it's an excellent means for passive aggressive people to be a bit mean. Say there's a thread where someone who isn't that popular or well liked says something, and someone replies:
"You're a twat"
And underneath...
25 siters thanked xxx for their post
I quite like this idea, but wouldn't that mean mods having to check it all first? I mean, just in case people were doing it to attack other people.
I'd prefer this than having to ask a mod to do close/delete a thread.
I was joking about the stars, I couldn't really care less about them.
mwah ha ha. are you thinking what I'm thinking?
THAT IS SO FUNNY!
How about having a system where over a period of time the thread locks itself and the people who posted turn into 'User1, User2, User3' That solves the privacy issue?
I would like like a wider range of emotions, and when i type : P it actauly comes up as the emotion!
I know these are really trivial bits and don't matter but I thought I would say anyway!
And
Haha too right!
I just use the black and white version, and you can always set your browser up to not show images.
Auto-locking of threads after say, six months after the last post, so the threads and the information is still there but cant be dragged up from the dead again.
And no stars, regonitions etc as it takes away from the meaning of this place.