How to disable editing and deleting posts?

[rocky988]

I've looked around the admin control panel, this forum, google it, but can't find how to disable both editing and deleting posts on our forum. Is this not possible at all? I'd like to disable both under a certain subboard if possible, if not then the whole forum.

Under Categories & Boards it is only possible to limit creation of threads and replies, but not editing and deleting of posts. 

I've found a plugin but it only offers this after a certain amount of time, with a minimum of 5 minutes (plugin: Disable editing after a set time), which isn't useful for us.

Any help is much appreciated.

[bigballofyarn]

Using the plugin is your best bet. Members have the legal right to edit and remove their data from a forum. We also can't prevent a member from deleting their forum account.

[Kami]

To add: you do have a choice, after a fashion. If you decide to forbid members from deleting their posts, you must let them edit; conversely if you forbid members from editing, then you must let them delete.

It's important to note that plugins will NOT protect posts 100%. They are created using javascript, primarily, so anyone who uses the forum on the mobile version, or anyone who has javascript disabled, will be able to very easily bypass this "protection".

It may be helpful to know why you feel you need to bar members from these functions, as we may be able to provide more feasible alternatives that don't contradict the TOS.

[rocky988]

Thank you both for replies. Much appreciated! I was unaware allowing users to delete data from the forum was an issue, we run a fantasy league on proboards and for certain aspects of the game it would be helpful to have it locked. But yeah it's understandable that it's not possible. Thanks!

[Kami]

Sept 16, 2023 4:26:57 GMT -8 rocky988 said:

Thank you both for replies. Much appreciated! I was unaware allowing users to delete data from the forum was an issue, we run a fantasy league on proboards and for certain aspects of the game it would be helpful to have it locked. But yeah it's understandable that it's not possible. Thanks!

Just a real quick heads up: locking a thread will prevent people from editing or deleting their posts. Does that help at all? You could always set a deadline to reply to a thread, then lock it after that point to prevent any on the sly changes.

Beyond that: honestly, for stuff like this, I always feel it's better to levelset expectations with your players about the rules of the game and allow them to participate with the assumption on your end that they will follow the rules and leave moderation as a manual method.

Manual moderation here is a far more effective tool than automation: you can set up some expectations of how the game is played + consequences for any issues of folks changing their answers or drafts or team comps or whatever it may be. If a player makes a mistake you can send them a PM clarifying the expectations; if they repeatedly attempt to circumvent game rules by editing their posts after a deadline, or deleting and remaking them, or whatever is disallowed, those players aren't really the kinds of folks that will be beneficial to your forum community or the game in the long run.

In my experience, attempting to prevent members from rule-breaking beyond the honour system leads to more frustrations than manual moderation; systems are imperfect, most coding can be bypassed, and folks determined to do things their way aren't going to care if moderation is manual or "built in" and will continue being disruptive.

Hope that helps? Best of luck!