Town Management - Missing Thread

[jbgood]

I was discussing some town management issues with a friend, and we came to the Westford Forum to look up some old posts. As we were checking things out, we noticed that one particular post seemed to be missing. The post had to do with the departure of Assistant Town Manager Andrew Sheehan and I think was it was started by Tony1941. It included an article that appeared in the Lowell Sun. I can't seem to find that post in the search, although I'm positive I saw it here just about two months ago. Does anyone know why that post/thread is not showing up in the Westford Forum search anymore? We're trying to figure out some timing on when things changed at town hall.

Thanks

JB

[Tony1941]

I can't seem to find that post in the search, although I'm positive I saw it here just about two months ago. Does anyone know why that post/thread is not showing up in the Westford Forum search anymore? We're trying to figure out some timing on when things changed at town hall.

Thanks

JB

Beats the hell out of me. The last Forum died when the Webmaster decided to bow down to the Westord League of Women Voters on my "Walking Eagle" post.

I was asked to join this forum by the webmaster, Robert Weir, who assured me that he was a strong supporter of freedom of Speech.

**************
Rob Weir (Preview of Westfordforum.com 21 Dec 2009)

As you’ve probably noticed, the Westford Web On-Line Forum has been down for almost a month now. An online forum for the community provides a much needed opportunities for social, political and professional networking. Also, as we get closer to town elections (which have been moved forward if you recall), and as the Rt 40 asphalt plant debate enters a critical stage, I feel that an important component of citizen activism has been taken away.


Although I will require a modicum of decency in the forums, excluding obscenity, profanity, threats of violence and copyright infringement, I will not bow to political pressure to remove material critical of our public servants or of their decisions. Nor will I ban users merely for expressing their opinions. I don’t care if you have “wrong” opinions. Just don’t do anything illegal or creepy. Since PHPBB has a “friends and foes” feature, if someone doesn’t want to hear you ever again, they can simply add you to their “foes” list and your posts are automatically hidden from them. But I’ll let each member make their own decision in this regard.
…….

In any case, before I publicize the site more broadly, I’d like to invite a few frequent posters from the Westford Web Online Forum to take a look at WestfordForum.com, sign up for an account, give the site a try, and give me any feedback on the design or functionality. In particular, I’d like to hear whether the mix of forums is right. Are there any I should add or subtract? I want to keep a local flavor, so there are no forums for karate or scrapbooking, since topics like that are better served on other sites.

***********



I have searched for that post because I cautioned individuals about the risk of working for a woman who is going thru the change of life. At least one reader took me to task for using the change of life connection.

I suggest that you contact the webmaster. Maybe he made an error when he was updating the site software which caused my post be deleted.

[jbgood]

When I first saw that the thread was missing, I thought it could be one of three things:

A) Tony1941 had a change of heart and requested the post be removed
B) someone from the town, either an employee, a town board member or a town committee member, influenced the forum admin to remove the thread
C) system failure during the upgrade

Based on the previous post, I think its safe to rule out "A", and maybe there is an answer "D" that is not obvious. Realistically, I suspect that the final answer will be either "B" or "C".

Sounds like its time for a note to the admin.

JB

[dweir]

I just looked at the cached version of this thread. You could do the same to get your timing information.

As for why it was removed, a couple guesses:

It contains a full article from the Lowell Sun which is a violation of copyright.

It also contains references that fall under the "vulgar" category. See FAQ.

[rcweir]

I can help you with the timeline. The post was from 3/3/2010. It include a Lowell Sun article of the same day titled "After just five months on the job, Sheehan resigns Westford position". You should be able to get that from their archives. The thread then degenerated into a series of personal attacks, of a sexist and offensive nature, that are not welcome on this Forum. Per the Conduct Guidelines that forum members approved themselves, I removed that post.

-Rob

[Tony1941]

When I first saw that the thread was missing, I thought it could be one of three things:

B) someone from the town, either an employee, a town board member or a town committee member, influenced the forum admin to remove the thread

Realistically, I suspect that the final answer will be "B"

Sounds like its time for a note to the admin.

JB

I modified your post for the sake of brevity.

Based on the RCweir's and Dweir's and

Westford Forum FAQ
When referring to material on other web sites, online newspapers, magazines, etc., it is generally acceptable to quote a small portion of it (what is termed "fair use") and then to link back to the original source. But quoting the entire article, or a substantial portion of it, may violate the copyright of the original author.


Don't use language that you would be embarrassed to have your children or grandchildren or employer hear you say. This includes profanity, racist or sexist language, ethnic slurs, and sexually explicit language. The web has a long memory and what you post in a moment of anger may come back to haunt you some day.

Suggesting any of the above categories of language via 'self-censoring' , e.g., saying "d*g" instead of "dog" is also forbidden.

My view ".. when complete credit is given for a noncommercial purpose , copyright is not infringed. The Sun shuts off the free access to its articles after 30 days so placing a link to the original article is at best a temporary post.

What is vulgar to you may be acceptable to others. Since the post was up for many months and the one case of "profane language" was something that is heard on CSI and certainly in the hills of Iraq and Afghanistan (In my case French Indochina and the Lower 9th Ward).
I was not offended when a young matron called the legality of my parents marriage to question when I used the word menopause.

The strange thing is that neither the Webmaster or his cohort contacted me and asked me or the young matron to correct the errors of our ways. But then POTUS Obama, JFK, Teddy and the webmaster share a common alma mater.

BTW= The great election on Forum rules was participated in by ~11 individuals. One individual told me that she voted twice.

I have heard rumors that the Weirs desire to engage with the Elite crowd who find anything that rocks the boat to be offensive which could be the real reason that the post was taken down.

[dweir]

LOL

I am a bit prudish!

Have a great day, Tony!

[rcweir]

But then POTUS Obama, JFK, Teddy and the webmaster share a common alma mater.

Don't forget also John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Franklin D. Roosevelt and George W. Bush.

But be not afraid -- I have no intention of running for higher office. But if I did, I think I'd be more like the elder Adams of Braintree.

-Rob

[jbgood]

Thanks for the information on the timeline. I took dweir's advice and found a cached copy. The thread is now saved on my PC for future reference.

After all of this discussion I've been able to determine that the thread was intentionally deleted by the admin for the reasons that he stated. I still have two open questions regarding this post, and I would appreciate an answer from the admin.

1) Why did it take so long to delete this thread? The personal attack and copyright violations have been with the thread for over a year.
2) Was the removal of the thread influenced by a town employee, town board member, or town committee member?

I think knowing the answer to the second question is very important, as it will set the tone for future political discussion on this forum.

I look forward to your answers.

JB

[rcweir]

1) Why did it take so long to delete this thread? The personal attack and copyright violations have been with the thread for over a year.

Although I do try to read everything here, I do miss things. If you find a post that you think is outside of Forum guidelines, regardless of age, then I welcome your help in identifying such problems. Every post on Westford Forum has a little icon in the lower left corner, a triangle with an exclamation point in it. This is the "report post" button. If you click that button, it will generate an email to me. I will then review and decide what should be done, if anything. And you can be sure that I will treat such reports confidentially.

2) Was the removal of the thread influenced by a town employee, town board member, or town committee member?

As above, if I received such a report, it would be treated confidentially. And all removal decisions are mine and mine alone.