Issue Request Thread Destroyed Due to Staff Intervention

[tsukasa]

I was contacted by a member of staff due to my RTs being non-compliant with a rule of BMR, which I agreed with and accepted. The staff member in question was also polite about it. I don't think this was at all malicious or intentional, but it does show that it was either done in a hurry or had lack of care put into the modification.

The issue is my RT was completely destroyed with duplicate entries, broken spoilers, and malformed code tags. If staff are going to modify code like this, they should at least use the proper code editor instead of the visual editor (which I am 99% sure they were using due to that thing always breaking code when I use it, in the same way mine was after this incident) and look at what has changed before they submit their edits.

I am very lucky to have backups of each version of my RTs in source code form on my local system which I could simply copy-paste back into my RTs when I discovered what had happened (with the fixed rule-breaking element). Other people certainly wouldn't have been as lucky as me, considering barely anyone takes proper backups of their stuff and they don't use Git like I do, they just use Microsoft Word or Google Docs; neither of which have this level of fine-grained recovery, so this is a polite recommendation to at least check what has been changed and not use the destructive visual editor when performing intervention.

 

[Virginia Greene]

For future reference, if you bring this kind of issue to the staff member personally they can reset your thread to the most recent edit previous to their own.

 

[Prose]

The onus is on the member to be in compliance to the rule. It is not on staff to use formatting methods to correct a rule violation. As VG stated, you can request the post be reverted to the posting prior to the edit, but you would need to correct the violation forthwith. Also, you could have taken this issue up with the staff member that made the adjustment, rather than creating a Q&S thread over the issue.

 

[tsukasa]

For future reference, if you bring this kind of issue to the staff member personally they can reset your thread to the most recent edit previous to their own.

I will just do it myself, since there is no guarantee that it will be restored to exactly how it was. At least, I can't trust it to be. The visual editor alone is extremely broken in XenForo, so anyone who touches a thread of mine which was written entirety by code editor will have it destroyed even without intent.

The onus is on the member to be in compliance to the rule.

This isn't relevant to whether the RT was in compliance or not. This is solely about staff clearly not checking what will occur with their edits. No one deserves to have 1000 lines of code they've painstakingly written over 3 years being scrapped because of a minor thing they missed. And with this site adding a new rule every week or month over the last few months, this is certainly going to become more common. No one is perfect; don't expect them to be.

Also, you could have taken this issue up with the staff member that made the adjustment, rather than creating a Q&S thread over the issue.

That's a common thing, too. Staff here really don't seem to like issues which affect the entire site being brought up in a public setting. It doesn't set a good precedence.

 

[Solo]

since there is no guarantee that it will be restored to exactly how it was

If we are approached with a request we complete it to the best of our ability. What we would do in this case is likely to copy-and-paste the pre-altered code back to you, so you could make the required edits and repost it yourself. If you would like this done, I am happy to do that for you.

Like VG and AVA have stated, staff have access to previous versions of threads, so content is never deleted permanently. If you need any of your old content sent to you, all you have to do is ask.

 

[Prose]

This isn't relevant to whether the RT was in compliance or not. This is solely about staff clearly not checking what will occur with their edits. No one deserves to have 1000 lines of code they've painstakingly written over 3 years being scrapped because of a minor thing they missed. And with this site adding a new rule every week or month over the last few months, this is certainly going to become more common. No one is perfect; don't expect them to be.

That's a common thing, too. Staff here really don't seem to like issues which affect the entire site being brought up in a public setting. It doesn't set a good precedence.

It is wholly relevant, as the entire issue is the result of it not being in compliance. A solution was also presented to resolve the issue, which you seemed to ignore. The old version of the post is still present and staff can access it unedited.

I was pointing out that this is a Question & Suggestion forum. You posted a complaint, which is not a question, though I suppose you would argue that you made a suggestion, but it is mostly a complaint with the final sentence being a request/suggestion. This type of issue can be promptly resolved by messaging a staff member directly. They're the ones with access to all older posts, which can be reverted to it's last unedited form.

 

[Kassia]

I actually really like this suggestion.

While yes, Tsukasa should have been in compliance. It is a shame his RT was destroyed in that manner and we are just now finding out that we can ask staff to restore the old thread.

It would be nice if staff ( some of whom have the ability to code, based on their RTs) could be mindful of the code the member has done. It doesn't take but a moment to see that Tsukasa has put extensive effort into their thread, as many of us have, and many who have had their threads edited may have not known this was an option and had to spend time editing it. People make mistakes, and with members come back after a hiatus they may not have had the time to edit their threads and bump it out of habit.

We do not often have a banner above the site unless there is something going on within a day or a few hours, so it puts a lot of members at risk of having nice threads edited and then having to go back through to find the break.

Additionally, It is inconsiderate to edit a thread, mess up the code, and then not send that member a message with the code again. It is an issue that could have been avoided.

I would add to this suggestion, Information on the rules about being able to restore the thread if this were the case( maybe even put a time frame on it like if the member does not edit the RT in x amount of times, staff will and if the code is broken they will send the last known edit in the system), and also a banner with any new changes to rules that lives on the top of the site for a few weeks to 1 month for new members coming back from hiatus.

 

[Solo]

I would add to this suggestion, Information on the rules about being able to restore the thread if this were the case( maybe even put a time frame on it like if the member does not edit the RT in x amount of times, staff will and if the code is broken they will send the last known edit in the system), and also a banner with any new changes to rules that lives on the top of the site for a few weeks to 1 month for new members coming back from hiatus.

IMO this is a bit much just to announce a function that staff has access to. We have a lot of functionality with the site, and we don't make members aware of all of what we can and can't do. We offer as much transparency as we can in situations like this, but some things regarding staff action are private. If a member has questions about the site, its function, staff action, or anything else regarding BMR they are welcome to PM any member of staff or make a thread asking their questions, whatever they're comfortable with.

Spoilers + tables have always been funky. If a member notices issues with their code after a staff edit they're always welcome to approach one of us; they can even respond to the message the staff member sent when the rule violation was initially corrected. This is the first time this has even happened in my history on staff, so it's not exactly a common thing that happens.

I'm not the one who handled this edit, but I'd go as far to venture that this was a mistake with the way the code works onsite, and can be easily fixed.

Again, Tsukasa, if you want your original code sent, feel free to let me or another member of staff know and it will be sent.

 

[CasualVelociraptor]

I think there’s one angle that I am analyzing neutrally in my final months at this emotionally exhausting place full of withdrawn friends and painful memories of being bullied (incidents which the staff, to their immense credit, have helped deal with professionally and done so very well) before I archive and delete all my threads and migrate entirely to Discord by December 2025, but after four and a half years it’s getting a little sad around here. Been nice. So long and thanks for all the fish.

From an operational perspective if staff policies are not updated on a regular basis to account for every possible circumstance, things like this can happen. Even basic functions appear to break a lot lately. And as a lot of people seem to be leaving due to the conflicts here, I have withdrawn my Patreon support in protest of the staff’s long tolerance of the sexualization of teenagers under 18. That is another reason I am leaving, with the main reason to delay until December 2025 is I am trying to finish a PM science fiction RP that could be published.

As pertains to the present gutting of a thread, I think XenForo just is kinda technically creaky and not very useful for much beyond basic text…but from the outside this was pretty careless. Hopefully this will be a good learning experience now that the community has hashed it out.

 

[tsukasa]

It is wholly relevant, as the entire issue is the result of it not being in compliance.

It's not relevant. It's clear you aren't reading a word I said. Editing someone's post doesn't only occur for rule breaking, and, even then, it shouldn't be happening when the only edit made is to remove/fix the offending code, not to destroy the entire thread.

Anyway, I received an apology from the staff member who did it. The entire reason I posted this issue here was so all staff and members could see the issue of the visual editor wrecking code. It happens on 2 XenForo forums I use, not only BMR.

 

[tsukasa]

From an operational perspective if staff policies are not updated on a regular basis to account for every possible circumstance, things like this can happen.

And you can see from my, and other members', responses, that they don't take kindly to any sort of disagreement. Hell, you can't even talk about any other site when sharing is what people should be doing. It's literally the definition of a walled-garden or cult. I know someone who explicitly told me they withdrew from here for that alone.

Even basic functions appear to break a lot lately.

I wouldn't blame BMR for this, I'd blame XenForo. It's one of the most broken pieces of software I've used. It uses broken, non-compliant HTML and its JS is very unstable.

I have withdrawn my Patreon support in protest of the staff’s long tolerance of the sexualization of teenagers under 18.

I did the same and have no intention of agreeing with such a draconian rule, even if I comply. The world is heading in the wrong direction; we need less censorship, not more. I do agree this place feels like a wasteland now. It was amazing when I first discovered this place; people could be left alone and it was up to them and their partners what happened and what was go-aheads and no-goes, but now it's just... depressing. The only reason I'm still here is because I have a habit of writing code which ends up in RTs on this site, and I bump them; that's literally it. There's no fun here, anymore.

 

[Solo]

Since the original question has been answered and the issue has been solved in this case, staff is now locking the thread.