I don't think Moving Threads is always good - Page 2

[flapjack]

Yep- this is twice that I've seen a thread be moved out of a DDC. The other, in a different pregnancy, was a mother asking who else was facing an elective repeat c-section. It was a very sensitive thread, and there were people telling her to "just VBAC", "just HBAC" and a few advocating UC, if my memory serves me right. She lost what she was looking for- someone in the same situation to talk with and mull over the decisions in front of her- because the thread was moved.

[hergrace]

I think the general presumption should be that a thread stays where it started if it is arguably on topic.

This is a big board and much as the administrative board might like to think of MDC as one community, the truth is that functionally it isn't. Most of us are too busy to frequent many of the fora. The individual fora do develop a sense of community based on the people who post regularly. Posts have a sense of context because we know each others' situations through following the forum posts. This helps both the OP and responders to communicate more effectively. When posts get moved out of the original forum and into another forum, the context is lost and the conversation may become less relevant to the OP.

Leaving posts where they are encourages community.

In addition, I have seen some threads moved after quite a bit of conversation has taken place. This seems the most counterproductive. In the new forum, people are unlikely to read the whole conversation as it takes time, and people who were participating in the conversation in the original forum are likely to have an emotional response and may not continue the conversation in the new forum even if they would have continued in the original forum.

[GuildJenn]

I want to redact my comments on this thread. Sorry about that.

[kathymuggle]

I recently posted about a sibling rivalry issue on the HSing forum. There are many places I could have posted:

-gifted: one of the dueling duo definitely is gifted
-childhood (6 yr old)
-preteens (10 yr old)
-Hsing -ultimate choice - because I wonder how squabbling impact HSing

In many cases there are numerous right places to put a topic - it is best to let the poster decide where it goes, as they know what issue (and hence what forum) is most pressing and most likely to give them the input they need.

Obviosuly, if I stuck a behaviour question in gardenning, feel free to move it.

[mysticmomma]

Originally Posted by vbactivist

Also, I am just wondering (please I don't want to get in trouble for this ), but what harm is there in a post being in the "wrong" forum? I mean, lets say all sorts of "wrong" posts were all over the board, would that affect the mods in any way? It would actually mean less work for the mods if they only were moderating, snarkiness, etc.. rather than having to move harmless threads.

I also wonder this. It seems so controlling! I especially agree with DDC's.

[nummies]

Yep, this just happened to me as well. I was concerned about numbness in my arms and legs. I posted in the I'm pregnant forum and a poster mentioned that because I am pregnant with twins, I should try posting in the parenting multiples forum. I thought that sounded like a great idea, so I posted over in the multiples section wondering if it was a problem all twin moms had. Well, low and behold, after only two posters were able to comment, it was moved to Birth and Beyond!! Then, I asked a question on this forum about why my post was moved. 3 days later I got a PM from someone telling me to ask the mod that moved the post in the first place. Well, that would be fantastic, if I KNEW which mod that was! Last time I will ask a question, that is for sure.

[mamatoablessing]

I recently posted a thread about airline travel in Parenting. The title specifically said toddlers and children. It was moved to the Toddler forum. Why? When there are several different places a thread may fit, it should be left in the forum where it was started.

[JollyGG]

I find it very disconcerting to open up the forum I want to read or post in and see tons of moved posts. It makes me feel like I shouldn't post anything because I might do it wrong or not explain the real issue well and have it get moved. And honestly I'm not comfortable with every part of MDC. I started visiting this boards because it honestly has the best and most active "parenting the gifted child" forum of any board I've found. There are whole parts of this board that I honestly just don't belong in because I don't agree with the philosophies of that forum. I started out feeling safe and comfortable posting the gifted child forum and I have slowly branched out and am exploring other parts of these boards and learning a lot. But honestly there are forums that I deliberately don't post in because I don't belong there. I'd be very unhappy to see a post I created in one of those forums. But the constant moving of threads make me feel very alienated and inhibits me from posting in the forum I am comfortable in let alone branching out and exploring other forums.

Plus I've been on several gifted forums where the only questions you ever see are "is my child gifted", "should we get our child tested" and "how do I make the school accommodate". These are all very good questions and ones I see frequently on the forum on MDC as well and I think they do belong in that space and should be met with respectful though out answers. But they are not the only three question any parent has about the unique needs of there gifted child. Even topics that aren't exactly relevant to the child's giftedness keep the boards active and interesting which keeps me coming back and keeps me posting. If we move every single post but the original three I'll be honest and say I'd probably start visiting this board about as often as I do the others I've been on and that's anywhere from once a month to never.

Sometimes I just get a better response to something when I post where people know me. For example when my son was going to do testing to qualify for the full time gifted program at his school I posted both in the gifted forum and in the nutrition forum asking what I should feed him for breakfast to help him focus and do well on the test. I got tons of feedback in the gifted forum as everyone there knew how nerve racking and important these tests were. I only got a few responses in the nutrition forum. Plus I got a dose of moral support for the process of getting the testing done even though the question wasn't specifically concerning the tests.

Finally I post where I feel safe. I would unlikely post many of my questions to other parts of the board. While MDC is a welcoming and friendly place. I've just seen to much negativity and criticism in real life and on other boards when a parent talks about their gifted child to be comfortable posting much about my child outside of the sphere of gifted parents. And honestly being gifted infiltrates every part of who my son is. Eventually in any discussion about him it becomes clear he's different. For example something as simple as being able to read has a profound effect one every single thing you do with a gifted toddler. But when his reading ability comes up I don't want to defend him or my parenting simply because he could read at 3. I choose not to open myself up for discussions about him or my parenting on other forums. I feel that that is a choice that should be respected.

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by EXOLAX

I specifically asked for clarification on the guidelines in one forum because of this issue. Honestly I am now reluctant to post even in the limited specialized forums I visit for fear of a post being moved. There are times when I may want only the opinions, advice, etc. from a certain viewpoint and feel posts being moved changes that specialized dynamic. I have seen in the past few weeks more posts being moved and in response posters putting in disclaimers at the start of their message. I feel that the purpose of having so many specialized forums is defeated.

This (bolding mine). Yes, we have so many different forums because posters asked for them, but we have them so that we can choose the most appropriate place to post. Parenting the Gifted Child is an excellent example of a forum that self-regulates very well-- I have never seen a thread begun there by a regular poster that didn't (in my opinion) truly belong. The DDC threads are about building a community among a random population, and moving threads out of them contributes to alienation from the group every time. I've had threads moved out of DDC in the past and it was beyond irritating.

I also have a real issue with moderators choosing seemingly random and unrelated places to put threads, or closing them entirely if they can't find an appropriate box for them. I think that at the very least it would be respectful to ask the OP why a thread was started in any given forum if there's some question in the mod's mind. That will also allow moderators to avoid being publicly wrong, and lead to less irritated and/or inadvertent "questioning of moderator decisions". If I had been asked why I put a thread about taking a book from a young child in Parenting the Gifted Child rather than Learning at Home and Beyond or The Childhood Years or Books and Media I could have answered the question (more than sufficiently) and the thread could have been left alone, rather than being moved and causing half a dozen regular posters to ask, "Why was this thread moved? It's very relevant to the forum to which it was posted."

[georgia]

Thanks for the input! We'll go through and take it into consideration Closing this thread to new posts.