Mod rewrites an OP and tells us to respond to the re-write, not the OP?

[BigT]

@Skywatcher

It’s not like there’s no precedent for mods keeping threads on track by instructing what is not a proper reply.

Which is not what I claimed, so I don’t know why you are bringing it up. Should I now be able to get the mods to say that your interpretation of my post is wrong and you are not allowed to carry on along those lines?

The claim is that Tom decided what the OP meant and forced everyone else to agree. That type of moderation has never happened before. It would be one thing if he just said to stop attacking him. Instead, he decided what the OP really meant and declared from on high that this was the only possible interpretation allowed in the thread.

What Tom did was cut off any ability to argue with the OP about what he said. And that’s just never happened on this board.

[andros]

@BigT

What Tom did was cut off any ability to argue with the OP about what he said.

He did nothing of the sort. Apart from the fact that the OP was not engaged in the discussion at all, his errors had been thoroughly addressed by the time tom~ posted.
.

[Bryan_Ekers]

I denounce the tension with mirth on the sound of “cure”.

[DrDeth]

@andros

He did nothing of the sort. Apart from the fact that the OP was not engaged in the discussion at all, his errors had been thoroughly addressed by the time tom~ posted.
.

In that case, since the Op did a “seagull” Tom should have just closed the thread.

[jimbuff314]

I don’t see that. Despite the iffy thread title, Rune raised issues that were vigorously debated. Many times OPs abandon threads they start which carry on just fine without them. Your statement seems to presuppose that OPs somehow own the threads they start, which should then be razed to the ground like derelict houses when they don’t return. Not so.

[DrDeth]

@jimbuff314

I don’t see that. Despite the iffy thread title, Rune raised issues that were vigorously debated. Many times OPs abandon threads they start which carry on just fine without them. Your statement seems to presuppose that OPs somehow own the threads they start, which should then be razed to the ground like derelict houses when they don’t return. Not so.

Well, not always. But when a Mod needs to come in and rewrite the OP and tell everyone to stick to the new concept on pain of dire punishment, maybe it’s better just to start a new Op. Hell, Tom could have done that.

[FXMastermind]

@Boyo_Jim

And then tomndebb swoops in at post 19 and re-writes the OP’s question and tells us all to reply the the new version of the OP. I’ve never seen this before, and I don’t think it’s right.

Yeah, of course. But “right” is not the law of the land.

Do as you are instructed at all times, or else.

[jimbuff314]

@DrDeth

Well, not always. But when a Mod needs to come in and rewrite the OP and tell everyone to stick to the new concept on pain of dire punishment, maybe it’s better just to start a new Op. Hell, Tom could have done that.

(Emphasis added)

Maybe.
Maybe not.

Myself, I think it’s a judgement call.

[FXMastermind]

I often respond to the OP, before slogging through a thousand posts about it. A Mod instruction buried within a thread, that all must follow or face disaster, is an odious burden, and quite against common sense. If this is to be the law of the land, it should appear within the OP.

[jimbuff314]

Good point. God knows, I hate slogging through thousands of posts before responding to an OP as well.

[tomndebb]

If one cannot be bothered to read a thread, one should not bother to respond to it.

[andros]

@tomndebb

If one cannot be bothered to read a thread, one should not bother to respond to it.

QFT. I don’t really understand the point of directly addressing the OP if the conversation has moved into other territory or my points have already been discussed. Which will certainly have happened in any thread with more than a few dozen responses.

[cmyk]

Since when do moderators moderate the actual debate, rather than just moderating the rules?

[Jonathan_Chance]

I’ve done it once in a great while when I thought a poster was debating dishonestly or attempting to intentionally derail a thread.

[cmyk]

Dishonesty and hijacking are both valid things to moderate. But supplanting the OP with your own interpretation down-thread as a mod note? That’s weird.