Posted by Mark H. on May 16, 2000, at 20:41:28
In reply to Re: Self-Delete Would Be A Nice Feature, posted by bob on May 16, 2000, at 18:02:34
> However, [deletion] wreaks havoc on the nature of the threads.I respectfully disagree. For example, I had just finished writing a response to Scott about when not to post, and while I was forthcoming in what I wrote, I struggled with whether to hit the "submit" button. Today, my post seems superfluous, unhelpful. It's served its purpose, which was to respond to a friend and get something off my chest. But leaving it up seems mean-spirited to me today. So I would choose to delete it if I could.
No sooner had I finished that post than someone was whining about Dr. Bob. My therapist says "Get a grip!" to someone at least once or twice in each weekly group. It's his way of saying, "Stop whining, you're jerking us around, you know better, and it's disingenuous." Fine. But to another poster -- a severely depressed poster -- it seemed that I had gone on the attack. Nevermind that I encouraged the person who was whining and leaving to stay; it scared or offended someone whose opinion I value. There again, I would like to be able to delete that post as a show of respect, if nothing else.
The self-delete feature is a good way to take something back, or to say something that needs to be said at the moment, without it being engraved in the archives. It's a way to erase one's mistakes.
What I would delete of my own writing would only strengthen the thread. Much of what I do involves paring other people's words down to help them achieve greater impact. It's the same idea.
We're all bobs. ;0)
Love,
Mark
poster:Mark H.
thread:33612
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000508/msgs/33713.html