OK, maybe I'm going crazy, but I swear I responded to a thread started by B5erik today in music where he wanted some feedback to an unidentified song. I can't seem to find it now and thought we couldn't delete threads anymore. Am I going crazy?

The thread violated forum rules and was removed.

Oh, OK thanks. It didn't seem like that sort of thread.

I've been on this bandwagon for 11 years, but think I'm largely alone.

Threads/posts should never be deleted imo.

Delete the offending/illegal part, often only a single word or link, and write a brief line explaining why it was wrong. That would serve to be an example to others as to what not to do; plus keep all the worthwhile discussion/comments in play.

It wasn't.

Something that I included in the video for YouTube purposes inadverntently ran afoul of a forum rule that I wouldn't have imagined that it could have possibly violated.

There was no violation intended, and the topic/thread itself was fine. It was a web address briefly shown in the video that set X off. I certainly didn't mean to violate any rules here. I've been on this board for 10 years now and have always tried to follow the rules.

Live and learn, I guess.

The thread still exists... in a moderator archive.

The main reason that threads are removed from sight in this manner is to reduce the risk of a situation escalating (or an offence being compounded) while still leaving the door open for something to be salvaged if deemed to be appropriate.

Methinks that a hard and fast rule always to edit and leave a message - rather than to remove posts/threads to a "safe haven" - could result in significant extra work for moderators; something which I think is unreasonable to impose on the volunteers - of which I am one. I do believe, however, that we regularly take on board member suggestions that could achieve a mutually acceptable/beneficial result.

Even where we don't accede to a particular request or suggestion, it is usually considered by a number of moderators rather than being ignored although, for the above-stated reason, we can't go public with the results of each and every discussion.

I didn't ever see the video in question so can only guess that it breached the rules against "piracy" or "no self-promotion" or "forbidden sites". Absolutely no disrespect is intended towards B5Erik if I've guessed incorrectly.

By the way, as a DVDTalk.com forums member of a decade or more myself, I can say that I certainly read the rules several times way before I was asked to help out as a moderator and I would always recommend diligent members to do the same.

(At one point - possibly still - a condition of sign-up was that you had read and agreed to abide by the rules. I agree that they're quite long... but not so long and abstruse that they are difficult to follow, IMO).

NB) Genuine mistakes are usually looked upon with some lenience and I don't think that the particular infraction here resulted in a suspension... or anything more serious.