The Vulnerability Thread

[Balder]

Several people have asked me about the removal of the Vulnerability thread.  I did not delete it; I had assumed Tom had deleted it before he left the forum (both Tom and Mascha have withdrawn their membership from IPS).  But, from talking to several people here, now I have concerns that Tom also may not have deleted the thread.  I have written to Tom about this, and will post an update here once I have heard back about this. 

As the cultivator of this forum, I am quite concerned about security if it turns out Tom didn't delete it.  I had assumed that, as a thread starter, Tom would be able to delete it if he wanted to.  He had not yet been made a moderator or administrator at this new version of IPS, so he did not have any more "power" than any other member here.  But I believe thread starters have the ability to delete their own threads, under Ning rules.  (I just looked at a thread I started on a different forum on Monday, and I do appear to have the ability to delete it).

In any event, I hope we will get to the bottom of this soon.  I am posting this publicly here because I've been contacted by three people (Lol, Dave, and Patrick) concerning the removal of that thread, expressing concerns about what this means both about the "moderation" and/or the security of this Ning forum.  Understandably, since a number of individuals contributed content to that thread, people are concerned about what happened.  I am as well.

As cultivator and moderator of this forum, I want to assure members that I would not delete a thread under most circumstances, and certainly not without first notifying you that I was planning to do so.

If you have any concerns or want to express any thoughts about the removal of that thread, or the exchanges that took place in that thread before it was deleted, please post them here.

Best wishes,

Balder

[Lol]

Thanks for this clarification, B.

I'm wondering if the thread isn't yet retrievable? Perhaps it still exists somewhere in Ningland (no, not in England : ) ) and if so, can be retrieved if the forum cultivator/administrator makes the appropriate request to the powers that be.

All best, Lol

[Balder]

Hi, Lol,

I just started a discussion on the Ning Creators forum, asking for clarification on this issue. I'll add in a question about possibly retrieving the thread.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Bruce

[Balder]

Hi, All,

I just learned from Mascha (and also from someone at Ning Creators) that when members leave a group, they are asked if they want to delete their material from the group or not. Apparently Tom forgot to uncheck that box, so his thread was deleted unintentionally.

Mascha informs me that she does have a copy of most of the thread (minus Dave's long post, unfortunately), in case anyone would like to view it or have it restored.

Best wishes,

B.

[Edward theurj Berge]

Yes yes, especially the snippy, snide parts.

[Christophe]

It's unfortunate that this thread has been removed. It's not that I think this was the most brilliant thread ever written, but I DO think that we can learn from mistakes and always try to improve the situation the next time we encounter it.

Deleting things that you have written on the web, even unintentionally, to me has a quality of self-denial that I personally dislike. This way of undoing the unpreferable past is known to be exercised by mentally ill people, and most of the time it does not contribute to healthy growth. To create a catch-phrase, I'd say that being dialectical is not the same thing as being a schizo. The former differs from the latter that the dialectic stands to his personal truth and expression even if it is unfavorable to maintain it publicly. Poor me, as somebody said before.

cheers,

[Balder]

In this case, Chris, I do think the deletion was unintentional, and both Tom and Mascha have offered to get me a copy of the thread so I can repost it, if any of you would like.

It is an unusual feature for a website to erase all of your content (and take others' posts with it) when you leave a forum. It's certainly not something I would have expected, so I give Tom the benefit of the doubt here. But it's also not something I like very much. I am going to look into whether or not we can set up Ning forums so that that is not an option.

Best wishes,

B.

[Lol]

Hi Bruce,

I'm glad this has process has taken place, and as the thread was deleted unintentionally I would request that it is intentionally restored as a way of maintaining the integrity (wholeness) of the forum.

All best wishes,

Lol

[Hertzschuch]

Thanks Bruce for keeping us informed. I kind of understand now what happened.

I also think that if it could be reintagrated it would be nice.

Blessings,

P(icard)

[Balder]

Hey, all, I now have a copy of the thread that Tom just sent me. I'll repost it soon, as soon as I have the time.

[Christophe]

One last thought on the "women are superior humans" argument. This is like saying "my left foot is far superior to my right foot. From now on, I shall only use my left foot to go forward" and on they hop. Enough said.

This whole 'gender war' thing kept me from seeing the other point in Tom's post: Vulnerability as an evolutionary product.

It is obviously correct that a rock has less interior depth than a crocodile, and even less than an ape etc.
But from here to concluding that human pain and suffering is a glorious achievement of evolution is a bit far-fetched. Being Vulnerable, Yes. Being naively masochistic, No. There is no need to assume Pain and Suffering is something we need to feel more in our lives. Instead we should see Suffering as something that needs to be lessened for all humanity, and not seen as a given that we must put up with, or even accept as a Divine Gift. If Suffering is what God has in mind for us and our future, then I say let's silence this bleeeeeep once and for all. O wait, did not somebody kill him already? O yeah, it was us. Well then.

[Christophe]

"If Suffering is what God has in mind for us and our future, then I say let's silence this bleeeeeep once and for all. O wait, did not somebody kill him already? O yeah, it was us. Well then.

This last thought is a Nietzschean, of course.

In other words, there is absolutely no glory in being humiliated and put down. It just sucks, that's all. To be proud of one's self-inflicted injuries is just a perverted form of narcissism. It does nothing but deepening the curse. Definitely NOT part of the solution.

Amen.