How long should messages be kept

[EMG]

How long do you think I should keep old messages and threads?

[maskedwomyn]

This may not be the result you are hoping to hear, but i would hope that the messages in the actual discussion areas would be kept essentially forever. Perhaps a searchable archive could be created for those older than a year but many times there is wisdom in the older posts and it is worth checking that out either as a newbie or as a more experienced member who remembers having heard just the right answer before, somewhere.

the masked womyn

[sandy82]

My feeling is that posts/threads/forums should be saved for a time related to their seriousness, relevance, and utility. I can't judge the appropriate length of time without having some sense of the constraints. The more it costs to store large numbers of old files or the more difficult to retrieve them, the higher the retention thresholds should be.

Those posts of genuine lasting importance should be retained for a relatively long period. Perhaps some could be boiled down into a generalized overview or "tips for users." A simple paragraph or two could replace several dozen posts that sincerely say "I've been listening to this file for two days now. Why hasn't anything dramatic happened?"

On the other hand, many posts are humorous or have fleeting importance. Some threads, with no bearing on hypnosis or fetishes, have had no contributions for two months or so. Rather a long time, when the oldest posts date from early April. Why can't some of these be discarded?

In my opinion, this is an excellent site. It was never intended as a research facility. There are specialized websites out there, at which amateur and professional scholars post translations of illuminated manuscripts dating from the time of William the Conqueror. Those should be saved without an expiration date. We don't do that kind of research, and there's no reason why we should.

A quick way to cut down on the number of retained files? First, someone with more background in the field than I have could pick out the files that he/she thinks have genuine lasting importance. Second, let any current user come forward and make a post identifying each personal file that he/she considers to be of genuine lasting importance--with the reasons why. I doubt that many will push and shove to do that. I tend to spend considerable time on many of my posts, but I can't recall a single one that has any lasting significance.

maskedwomyn, my natural tendency is the same as yours: save everything. The key phrase in your post is, in my view, "actual discussion areas." I know what you're aiming at, and I support your intention. But even in the actual discussion areas, you'll find dozens of posts that say, "Yeah, I agree!" or "That's what I think, too." Do we really need or want to archive those back-pats forever?

[maskedwomyn]

maskedwomyn, my natural tendency is the same as yours: save everything. The key phrase in your post is, in my view, "actual discussion areas." I know what you're aiming at, and I support your intention. But even in the actual discussion areas, you'll find dozens of posts that say, "Yeah, I agree!" or "That's what I think, too." Do we really need or want to archive those back-pats forever?

No, but in my experience, huge quantities of hard disk storage are easier to come by than knowledgeable human volunteers to shift through the discussion threads to pick and choose with more judgement.

the masked womyn

[drydreamer]

I was the only moderator on a very large adult forum called NTCweb which is now sadly gone. The administrators of that site archived all the discussion threads (including the boring ones) all the way back to the creation of the website. At the time of it's demise last December, NTC was about five or six years old, and all the archived discussions were still there, and were easily accessible by links that identified the time frame for each archive. If you have enough band width, you can do it. drydreamer