So, finally here is my reply about the recent thread pulling.
There are clearly several issues here that need clarification, explanation or further investigation by me. With this in mind I am not going to attempt to deal with everything all in the one post, especially as I may not have formulated any new/revised policies yet. Having said this, many of the issues are interlinked so it’s not going to be easy to separate things out but I’ll try my best.
I should also say that I’m not going to get dragged into situations that have happened previously. I was not involved and it would be quite wrong to comment in any way without full possession of the facts. In any event, these things are gone and I see little point in exploring them any further. Having looked back through so many of these, I am left feeling that enough has been said on both sides.
So, I’ll deal with current situation and those that will almost certainly come up in the future, as is the nature of communities.
The best starting point is probably the very specific matter that has led to the latest series of posts, the removal of the Superfundfx thread.
The main question was why this thread was removed and I can fully understand why members may want an explanation, especially if it is something they have contributed to.
I think it is absolutely right that when action like this is taken, we should provide some background to help understanding. This is provided we are able to give this background and this depends on the situation.
If a thread is removed by T2W and it is entirely our choice, then to provide these explanations is relatively straightforward. We will have removed something for a reason and we should have no reason to avoid communicating this.
This does not mean we’ll enter into a debate about why, if the decision is made it will stand but this doesn’t mean you can’t say what you think. Nor does it mean you will be censured for what you say, provided it is within the relevant guidelines for posting. As I have said before, this is a moderation matter.
I will return to moderation at another time.
So, let’s return to the situation where it may not always be entirely our choice. I refer to the times where we are advised to remove something because of the legal implications.
This is an absolute minefield and I think you would be quite surprised at how much time and money is spent defending legally based attacks. I know I was.
Let me tell you how it works.
Whether generated as a result of a partner offer/advert or a direct series of postings by members, there will usually be a series of posts that somebody somewhere may take exception to.
On the one hand these could be innocent postings of fact with a few discussions to follow, at the other end of the spectrum it could be highly charged attacking of an individual or organisation based on either fact or speculation.
It does not really matter what the content is at this point, the important thing is that someone objects to it. This is usually on the basis that it is defamation or slander.
The first we hear is usually when we get an email laying out what the complainant expects us to do and a series of demands that will satisfy them. We have learned over the years and take a very robust approach to these demands and, like most people, we don’t respond well to threats.
This is why a lot of content that would be removed from many sites is left on T2W. But there are limits to what we can retain. These limits are quite simply defined by legal advice.
Let’s assume we have made our robust reply but the complainant is not satisfied and decides to continue with their action. The next stage (which is common in Law and certainly is not peculiar to our situation) is a search for compromise.
In any action of this nature this is exactly what the Judge would do before the door of the Court is reached. There will always be the expectation from the Judiciary that both parties have done this before the Courts get involved.
There is of course a financial reason as well. Legal action is expensive and it is very rare that there is an outright winner in cases of this nature.
So when things reach this stage we will always engage in the dialogue as we have to protect our business, our members and the individual posters. If this means that we have to take a particular action that may prove unpopular (like pulling a thread) then that’s what we will do.
We don’t have the time or money to take any of these cases as far as a Court hearing so we must always find this compromise even though it may not be exactly what we would like to do in the circumstances. This may not be what some of you want to hear but it’s the commercial reality.
This is not arbitrary. We will always fight and if the first or second rounds do not see a satisfactory result then we have to get our retained legal advisors involved. They will then tell us what to do and why. Then we do it.
They have made it abundantly clear that we should never discuss specific case and I can certainly understand why. So while I don’t like it from a transparency point of view, there will be times when the only explanation you will get is ‘legal reasons’. You will never be told the detail of those reasons because it is confidential to the parties.
This finally brings me back to the starting point of this post, the question about the Superfundfx thread and I imagine that you have probably guessed what is coming, it was removed for legal reasons.
Now, I very much doubt that this will stop the inappropriate speculation and the conspiracy theorists. However, I hope that members who are able to take a more balanced view will appreciate that I have told the story exactly as it is and the reasons for it.
As I said earlier, there is much I need to return to and I’ll take the opportunity to do this over the next few weeks especially as I have detailed discussions scheduled with both the legal and advertising people.
I’ll also do my best to reply to anything emanating from this post provided I am able to within the legal confines already explained and, of course, provided I know the answer.
Steve