Someone posted a comment on the bulletin board of a profile I manage. Should I delete it?

Question

The answer:  Unless the comment is spam, vandalism or reveals private information please don't.

Comments

Does this also include "why these two profiles should be merged" comments after the merge has happened?

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After the merge is complete, I delete those messages, Sharon.

And I would also answer this question differently than Eowyn (uh-oh...)

It depends... ;-)

It depends what value the message has for the profile.  

And... If that information can be incorporated into the profile appropriately, do so, cite the person who posted the message as the source, and then delete the post.

Right, Eowyn?

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Somewhere in the WikiTree Help I found a statement that said Bulletin Board Comments from others should not be deleted, even on profiles you manage. Can someone find that for me?

Currently I think a message is generated that states a comment by you has been deleted. It is gone forever, right? So, I get that message, do not know what was removed and wonder if it was the result of time-consuming research....

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I, too, disagree with Eowyn's blanket answer to her own question!

Seriously, though, and as Sharon indicates regarding the merge comments, some public comments are only meant to be temporary.

Also, as Jillaine indicates, public comments related to new information are also often meant to be temporary.

As a profile manager, if you are not sure if the public comment should be deleted, then you should leave it until you have consulted with its poster. Otherwise, a profile manager should feel free to delete any comment he/she feels is no longer needed or relevant.

That's my opinion of a profile manager's duty regarding public comments.

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You guys are always welcome to go through the Developing New Rules steps to change the policy.

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I'm Not referring to comments about Merges which once done are history unneeded.

I don't know what.kind of comments I am referring to---because, on my G2G report, I see only that a comment I made on another member's page was deleted, the content is gone.

I'm fine with the present policy. (Was just asking where to find it stated in the "rules" so I could quote it to repeat deletors.)

.

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You didn't give us the link to the current policy, Eowyn.

And you didn't make clear in your question/answer that you were enlightening your fellow WikiTreers on existing policy.

You must be thorough if you expect to educate this rowdy lot!

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I apologize for a faulty post from 3 years ago.

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Touché, Eowyn!!

I wasn't here then, so please forgive me.

Answer 1

Personally, I delete comments to my own profile after I've thanked the commenter & I don't need to do any followup. On profiles I manage, I ALWAYS delete the comment proposing a merge after the merge is completed. If any pertinent information was included in the comment, I incorporate it into the biography. I also usually delete comments that I've made (mostly in connection with a merge) once the comments are no longer needed or relevant.

Because comments CAN be deleted (and once deleted, they're totally gone), I believe any comment worth leaving posted is worth incorporating into the biography, where it will forever be findable through the Changes tab. Once it's incorporated into the biography, it doesn't need to be left, so I delete it when the profile is one that I'm the only manager for.

I don't delete all comments. I leave discussions about the profile's data (e.g., spelling/styling of name, date and location debates, etc.), although ideally such discussions would have taken place in G2G, which is better designed for them. I also don't delete a comment  that's needed to make sense of another comment. And I tread very lightly on deleting my comments from high interest profiles and from profiles with multiple managers - especially since I know at least one manager who feels strongly that ALL comments should ALWAYS stay on the profile because it shows the level of collaboration.

Cheers, Liz

Answer 2

I agree with Liz Shifflett and also delete bulletin board messages from me after they are no longer pertinent.  I disagree with the statement:  "Unless the comment is spam, vandalism or reveals private information please don't." which may be the verbage that pops up when you go to delete the message.

The system generates a bulletin whenever a merge is proposed and sets it on the "correct" profile.  The bulletin does not get cleaned up with the merge process, and after multiple merges into the correct profile leaves a trail of bulletins that require review, needlessly.  

Just like real bulletin boards, old stuff needs to be cleared off so that important stuff will be read, in my opinion.