Is it polite to delete messages?

Question

I notice I have some messages on my "Profile Page".  Is it polite to delete some of these messages to keep my page uncluttered?  

Thanks,

Wanda J

Comments

Hi Wanda, nice to meet you :)

You should leave the messages.  There is no reason or need to delete them and they are useful for a variety of reasons.  There is even a warning message that suggest you do not delete them.

Have a super day!

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Hi, Wanda --

I'm one of the leaders on the Greeter Project, and it's our greeters who posted those welcome messages for you. I suspect you got to G2G from one of the links in the second message that Deborah posted for you. :-)

Initially, we like for you to leave those messages in place for a couple of reasons -- first, they let us know that you've been properly welcomed; second, they give you links to helpful information.

Because your account has now been confirmed, it's not really necessary for you to leave the first message, but the links in the second one might come in handy until you get settled here.

I'm glad to see that Dodie is helping you out. You'll be up to speed before you know it!!

Thanks for speaking up and asking for help. :-)

Julie

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I figure that on my profile page I can add and delete anything editable. I regularly remove comments left on my profile page.

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This is the WikiTree message presented when one clicks to delete a post from their profile page:

It says, "You have the power to delete Sandy's message, but this power should be used very conservatively.  Please do not delete unless it's spam, vandalism, or reveals private information."

This G2G post shows an answer provided by Team member and Leader Liaison  Abby Glan and selected as Best Answer by Team member Eowyn Langholf:

http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/226264/why-do-i-have-to-give-a-reason-im-following-a-tag

The specific topic is different, but the general topic is the same.  Within her answer she says, "...you and all Leaders, are examples to the greater community, so it's important that we show best practices when we use the tools available to us..." and "It's just important that we are paving the way for the what we want others to do as well, no matter how simple the explanation on something like this is."

:)

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Good think I'm no longer a Leader then. 

I just see no reason to keep comments on my own profile page that add no value to the page.  

Should we also keep all those "Smith-123 appears to be a duplicate of Smith-321..." messages after  the merge has been completed? Merges are tracked in the Changes tab. And because there's no parallel "Smith-321 was merged into Smith-123 on 9 March 2016," the original message leave the impression that the merge is still hanging out there. Clutter, misleading, and unnecessary.

 

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I'm not positive, but I think it is implied as part of the after merge clean-up that we can erase the posts that do not add to the profile.

Personal profiles and ancestor profiles are obviously two different issues, and any point made for one do not directly reflect on the other.

This person asked about the messages on her personal profile and I provided the WikiTree answer as I understand it.

Thank you for providing your interpretation too... that's what G2G is 4 :)

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People, you do not understand! The issue is:: why is it ok to delete another person's comments on your profile page?

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Marj, people *have* answered that question. The official answer is that it's not okay. Others of us have different opinions and I at least gave my answer to why / when it's okay. Others have said why they think it's not okay. What are you seeking that these responses are not addressing?

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thanks Jillaine. Sorry, it was past my bedtime (:>). I did not explain well and I should have been on the other question about the red warning message.

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Keith, thank you for all  your clear-headed replies on this thread. CAN WE CLOSE IT NOW?

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I realize this is a question from 2016 but I found these type messages to be a distraction so after a while I deleted them. My eye was drawn to them EVERY time I went to my page because to my brain they appeared to be "NEWS" no matter how many times I saw them. I finally decided to delete them for my own peace of mind.  No offense was or is intended to those who left a comment. Perhaps a middle ground would be to have a tab to collapse the comments so they don't take up so much white space. I want to be clear that I am referring only to my personal profile page.

Answer 1

You won't be hurting anyone's feelings, if that's what you mean. I'd say if you've read and responded to the messages, you don't need to keep them. On the other hand, they are kind of part of your communication feed and can serve as reminders of discussions you've had and show you how other WikiTreers have reached out to connect with you. Personally, I leave them alone. ~Sandi

Comments

I leave them as a record. I find them helpful.

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This is the WikiTree message presented when one clicks to delete a post from their profile page:

It says, "You have the power to delete Sandi's message, but this power should be used very conservatively.  Please do not delete unless it's spam, vandalism, or reveals private information."

This G2G post shows an answer provided by Team member and Leader Liaison  Abby Glan and selected as Best Answer by Team member Eowyn Langholf:

http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/226264/why-do-i-have-to-give-a-reason-im-following-a-tag

The specific topic is different, but the general topic is the same.  Within her answer she says, "...you and all Leaders, are examples to the greater community, so it's important that we show best practices when we use the tools available to us..." and "It's just important that we are paving the way for the what we want others to do as well, no matter how simple the explanation on something like this is."

:)