thread deletions

[LeBearPolar]

Yet another thread I was on earlier has been deleted with this message:

This thread has been deleted at the OP's request. (We don't normally delete whole threads but we will do so when it is to protect a poster's privacy.)

It is very annoying when a thread that people have taken time to respond and contribute to is deleted just because the OP doesn't like the way it was going. And I'm sorry but that 'to protect a poster's privacy' just seems like a handy catch-all excuse to me: there was nothing on that thread that threatened the OP's privacy in any way!

Yep, the one who wanted to force her 19-year-old daughter to take hormonal contraception.

Privacy, my arse.

I read through that thread shortly before it was deleted and I was a bit at that deletion message.

I don't know how that deletion message even makes sense, unless I missed something...? I don't recall the OP giving away any information that might effect her privacy or out her in any way.

This is what I mean: the OP clearly realised that the thread was going badly and that absolutely nobody agreed with her so asked for it to be pulled. And this deletion message is trotted out as an excuse. I've seen it used loads of times and never in relation to a thread where the OP has compromised their privacy in anyway, but always in relation to a thread where the OP had totally misjudged the kind of and strength of reaction they were going to get.

Hi everyone - we do see where you're all coming from with this, and in hindsight we feel we may have been a bit hasty with deleting this thread.

We will be re-instating the thread.

That OP just doesn't like the responses she got. Nothing to do with privacy.

Now,if it was deleted for hirsute digits, that might be another thing.

Well done MNHQ for re-instating the thread, it raises lots of important points about a woman's right to contraceptive choices and, unwittingly perhaps, super-intrusive and controlling family relationships.

So it's pretty easy to get your thread deleted. You just need to give some identifying details (fake for good measure) then you can get it deleted to protect the posters privacy

I would argue that that "having entire posting history" card seems to be played rather lightly too.