As the name says....1st timers coming in April

That's a little off putting for me. It's your site, you can obviously run it as you see fit. I'm a somewhat regular poster here, I like to think I contribute a little to this board (which is a community) regarding info for newbies. The comments were totally innocuous, there was no need to delete them. Someone asked about an airport code, I answered and said I was going there (I'm sure you've seen it by now) and asked a small question of my own that I've had trouble finding an answer to. It really bothers me that I can't even do that here, merely because it mentions another island. I'm not promoting another island, it was a passing conversation. I don't like it one bit, and I feel like you should reconsider your stance on this issue.

TAH,

I am not sure why you would be a little off put, and we appreciate everyones contribution to the Board. But being Negril.com, the focus of the Negril Message Board is Negril and Jamaica not other destinations. This guideline has been in existence since the Board was started in 1997. An unsuccessful attempt to allow more general postings was tried years ago, but that quickly deteriorated into people advertising cars they wanted to sell, posting sunsets taken in California and other such unrelated postings.

In the FAQ section under Guidelines you will see that #1 reads as follows:

1) Since this is the Negril Message Board, we would like the topics to try and reflect Negril and Jamaica tourism. This is meant to be a rather common sense guideline.

Although we appreciate all the visitors to the Board, if we allow people to post discussions about Cancun, where to dine in San Francisco, pictures of sunsets in New Jersey or their car for sale in Denver, the Negril Message Board would quickly lose its focus.

This guideline is just that, a guide to help you determine if a post is proper for the Board. There are of course exceptions either way.

Since the Negril Message Board readers, known as Boardies, come together as a large family on here, as always we allow posts wishing others well during their times of need. The power of these good vibes can make a difference in people's lives and are encouraged.

Also, we love to hear about Boardies gatherings around the world, so keep those fun posts coming!

In addition, major news events (Michael Jackson's death) or international situations (the tsunami at Christmas) do warrant discussion. This does not mean every event is eligible to be discussed, but that the extraordinary ones are welcome as people do need to express themselves at times.

A little communication goes a long way to help people understand why their post was altered or deleted. This is the only board that I participate in where nothing is communicated when changes are made. Whether a generic notice like TA uses, or a MOD taking a moment to state why a post was altered. My guess is the transparency would eliminate the "off putting" feeling from those impacted.

Just a suggestion.

Booger,

That is already being done. We take a much more personal, detailed approach than the generic canned response.

Each of our staff moderators uses their own discretion in removing the posts based on the guidelines as they have been explained to them. The moderator called me today after removing the 7 posts and we discussed the issue. When the deletions are as obvious as the ones the moderator told me about or when name calling or foul language is used, there really is no need for an explanation as the deletion or altering is self explanatory.

When an explanation is required, for example when an illegal drivers contact information is posted, I am sure many of you remember seeing the "(driver contact info removed as driver is not a legal taxi)" that I post in place of the info. When the situation is more private, I generally PM the person so they know directly why the action was taken and we can discuss the matter further.

Here are just a few of examples of a little communication to help people understand why their post was altered or deleted.

http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...ved#post142830

http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...ved#post163099

http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...ved#post156080