Perhaps not - I did say that while I didn’t know if the library I gave info for would know about the book in question, I said they could point the OP in the right direction - as you just did.
Do you think the library’s contact info should have been deleted?
I didn’t see the original version of the post, so I don’t know what it looked like. If the actual phone number/address/other contact information was posted, I don’t think it was necessarily inappropriate, since it’s publicly available, though it does strike me as a bit unusual.
If it were me, I probably would have posted a link to the contact page, instead.
To me, the problem is the false issue- the book wasnt banned- just because a book isnt available it doesn’t mean it is banned. So, why call some civil servant who has no idea what you are talking about? Just some general knowledge of how libraries work is all that was needed and the SDMBers provided that.
and the SDMBers provided that.
To no apparent effect.
No positively acknowledged effect, but they haven’t responded to the thread in nearly a week, so it’s possible they were comvinced and just meekly wandered away (rather than going full-on Emily Litella).
I just want to say that from the perspective of a mod, a potential call to action (to call this librarian and complain) is something that ought to be addressed quickly, and uncertainty is best resolved in favor of removing the potential issue. Because it’s hard to get the toothpaste back into the tube.
Was it necessary in this case? I wasn’t following that thread and I’m not going to comment. But was it right choose action over inaction if he wasn’t certain? Yes. And it’s not as if the poster with the question didn’t still have enough info to pursue that path if they wanted to.
“Complain” was never the poster’s suggestion, though.
I’m limiting my comments to the meta-question of moderation. And at least some posters seem to have thought that was the implied suggestion, even if it’s not what the post said.
You’re not just getting a toe across the line of thought crime, but jumping giddily over it. I prefer mods not to remove information that is not inappropriate just because other posters choose to interpret it inappropriately. If they do, then they should get the mod notes not the poster who has done everything right.
I have a question. As I’ve stated, my intent was to suggest that the OP ask a question with a factual answer about book availability - not that the OP should call and complain.
But setting that aside for a moment - is it a “call to action” when it is crystal clear that ONE person is being advised to make a call?
What if an OP posted that they’d been ripped off at a store, and another poster said, “you should call the Better Business Bureau, here is their contact info”? Is that a call to action?
I’ve always interpreted the term “call to action” as “trying to round up a lot of people to protest through a particular means.” So suggesting that a lot of people make phone calls, write letters, gather for a rally - THAT is a “call to action.”
But apparently, by the rules of SDMB, suggesting that one person make one call is considered a call to action?
I thought it was inappropriate to post the contact information for the Missouri state talking book and braille library in response to a question that had absolutely nothing to do with their services or collections.
The person named as the Missouri state librarian in the edited post is also no longer in that role, and does not seem to have any current affiliation with the talking book and braille library.
Come on, with a post complaining about censorship, on the left-leaning SDMB site where people are primed to complain about censorship, and it’s unfathomable that people might see it as encouragement to complain?
It’s not like some important information was removed - as pointed out, the info wasn’t even useful.
Seemed obvious to me.
The information I found indicated that she was reachable via the Wolfner Library. I thought that was a little odd, and said so in my post:
It’s fathomable, absolutely. But it’s incorrect. Also, even if I HAD been suggesting that the OP complain, suggesting one person make a phone call to ask a question is hardly a call to action, unless my definition of the term is incorrect. I await clarification on that.
I agree. IMO It is inappropriate to post any phone numbers on a public message board. Even if the numbers are also listed in a public directory. Seems like it’s providing access to unknowns who may toy or fuck with the information. Are there bots web crawlers or scrapers whatever detecting a valid phone number to make available to scammers etc?
@CairoCarol you recently shared that your phone number was often confused with number for the Apple Store in Honolulu. Would you want that number posted so unknowns can try to figure out YOUR phone number?
Sure I would - it’s not like people can’t find it anyway! In fact, I’d post the number right now, but obviously that’s against the rules.
But tell me it’s okay, and I’ll post it.
ETA: I think a link is okay? Mods, if it is not, please remove it. (I’ve reported the post.)
That, in a good faith effort, the posted information turned out to be wrong might be a reason for removing it, although I have seldom seen that happen in the past. People often post incorrect information while trying to help others. In fact, the whole thread seems to be based on a misspelling of a name. Should the thread be deleted for wasting everybody’s time? Should the OP be modnoted?
What happened here makes the correctness of the information irrelevant: it would have been removed regardless. The jumping of conclusions about something a poster didn’t say also happens here with fair regularity. If we got the mods involved in that they would have time for nothing else.
The government exists to be reached. If a governmental website posts a phone number then it is intended to be used by the public. Cite: my decade working for government.
Of course, someone wants to call social security, highway patrol or the dog catcher they’re going to look it up in a directory or at the institution/agency that houses it and call them with to discuss their business/issuez.
If I want to give a shout out to Krispy pizza in Brooklyn because pizza, I think it’s inappropriate to broadcast their phone number on a message board because it might fuck them up with prank calls. That’s my opinion. YMMV.
… the state public library system is like Krispy pizza, not like “social security, highway patrol or the dog catcher”?