dee this has been an ongoing problem since the full takeover and Emily from houzz has answered with kind of a party line. If a thread is flagged or a post within a thread is flagged for any reason, it's pulled until the moderators get to look at it it and decide the fate. There are also words that the Houzz filters pick up and automatically remove - I don't know if those are reviewed and possibly returned or just sent to Never Never Land for good. Which is one reason I am surprised the long thread here on the missing SW is still here. Every single other thread (and there were multiples on Building, Kitchens, HT and probably others) have all been pulled. This little forum really does fly under the radar which is one reason I cringe when someone cross posts and includes us. It's only a matter of time.....

Dee, I am having problems posting a new thread. I just posted a post about posting it and it never appeared.

Yesterday, I posted a testing post and it did appear.

I posted one in cooking just to see what would happen and it did.

I tried three times to post a thread about Elizabeth Warren, which I put in the title. But, the content is really not political.

Glad to know I am not the only one.

I know there are words that automatically get a post sent into purgatory until the moderators can look at it. I don't think there is anyone watching the threads on the weekends so the post may sit until Monday before someone can look at it.

It could also be one of the many Houzz glitches.

It’s a bit hard to sort out, especially as I have never seen an “official” explanation.

There are apparently filters that automatically send some new threads to the moderators. I don’t know what the key words are. Those threads are returned by the moderators if they don’t violate the rules, but often they appear on the second page or below because they show back up based on when they were originally posted. So unless you go looking, you won’t see them.

Anyone can mark a thread from review which causes it to disapear fro the forum and a moderator decides whether or not to return it It is possible someone marked a thread accidentally.

Also, some of the time there seems to be some kind of glitch where threads just randomly disappear.

Those are my best guesses based on observation and what I have seen others post.

Sometimes I wonder if somebody came in and posted an inappropriate comment, which was then flagged and which caused the removal for review.

And I also wonder if some people click that little icon w/o realizing what it is - or by accident. I could see that happening easily on a phone screen.

I think this topic should also be posted in the 'Using Houzz' forum.

So interesting, I just came across this on the veg. Gardening forum:

October 7, 2018 at 3:35PM

daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

I'm curious. This thread completely disappeared for 24 hours, and then popped back up. Does anyone know how that happens?

Like Save October 8, 2018 at 2:21PM

digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. Arkansas HZ8 Sun-35)

Just a guess based on past experience. When cross-posted on multiple forums but those forums are on separate servers (as they are here) then an issue with one forum's server affects all the posts.

Dave

Hi there,

Threads can disappear for any number of reasons. Most often, if a thread disappears after it has been posted and received comments, that means it was flagged for review by a member of the community. When that happens, it goes into moderation and is reviewed by our team. From there, it can either be returned or removed permanently. Threads may also be removed if they violate our terms - are vulgar, profane, target other users, or are otherwise not in keeping with the spirit of an open and helpful community. If you are ever looking for a thread you participated in, please feel free to reach out to help.houzz.com and our support team can always take a look for you. Thanks!

Thank you, Emily H. I don’t see anywhere to request a review of my thread. I can’t imagine why someone would flag it. The posters showed respect, it was in no way political or profane.

Emily H, The thread in question here by the OP, I commented on. THERE WAS NO WAY THAT IT SHOULD OF BEEN FLAGGED. There was nothing wrong with it.

The flagging mechanism is available to all members of the community and occasionally it is used for content that by all counts is fine. When that happens, it returns. We are also always working to adjust how the system works to help mitigate issues with content being flagged unnecessarily.

I have never flagged a comment. My principle is just SOB. So, if this suggestion is already in place, just ignore it. I suggest a flagger must identify from a list what is offensive, and identify what in the thread falls in that category. No one should be able to flag an item indiscriminately. I seldom post, and this particular thread was one in which I was feeling hurt about a situation and looking for input from a group of people whose judgment I trust. I feel cheated.

There are also some very odd glitches happening here, it would seem. A few weeks ago I posted a thread in HD Conversations about redecorating my bedroom, and as many others noted, it disappeared. I could search for it and still find a link that took me to the thread (wherever it was currently "lodged" in the cosmos), but the thread no longer appeared anywhere in the Conversations forum. I appealed to Houzz moderators for help, was told that my thread was still there - one of the mods even emailed the link to me - but, just as I had already discovered, the link would take me to the thread, but it was no longer a part of the forum.

Twilight zone stuff.

3,2,1... Just as I predicted above, the thread on SW is now gone. Welcome to the new order.

I guess it's much more interesting to ban users, than to do ongoing boring stuff like providing technical support and creating normal, working interface

I can't even use that damn technical support page-it doesn't work

Messages don't work properly. Notifications don't. Threads disappear and reappear. Sometimes posts show they've been edited, sometimes they don't.

Curiousier and curiousier..(c)

but one doesn't really want to wander anymore

Hi again,

As a rule, threads discussing other members are not allowed on Houzz, so if they are flagged or seen by our team, they are removed. Any administrative actions taken on an account are between that account holder and Houzz and private - just as you might want for any issues you might have with your own account or with the community, should that ever come up. We don't comment on other user's status or whatever the cause may or may not be for that status. There is usually a great deal more to any story than what might be visible publicly on these discussion threads.

If you have issues with your own account or with site functionality or features, the best avenue is to contact our support team at help.houzz.com. We may not see it, if you are reporting an issue on a discussion thread.

Emily I answered in another thread and I think I'll copy paste it here since might be more fitting to this thread.

Here's what I wrote:

" Regarding threads that have been removed - we don't allow threads discussing other members, so if those are flagged or otherwise found by our team, they are removed. "

-may I suggest creating subforum, or sticky thread, or something, with a very clear list of rules?

if one wants to diminish speculations etc-there are several ways to go about that. but it appears Houzz's way of managing this issue now doesn't work, or creates opposite effect-nothing diminishes, it just grows and grows.

I'd suggest:

-list of rules

that make common sense

rules that don't make sense usually don't work. Unless it's very cruel dictatorship. But then it's not a very good scenario either. Turns to be chaos, at some point.

-maybe a topic where admins say "such and such was banned, the time of ban is X and will expire on date such and such". You don't have to explain fully your reasoning-if you have a set of very clear rules, users will figure it out. And they'll know such and such is alive for example. I'm serious btw. Can be a comforting knowledge.

-transparency helps. But is not always wise. So, ok, another way-channel whatever curiosity/displeasure/questions/speculations community has, in such a way it benefits everybody. In the long run.

There is a thread? ok..participate..say what you have to say..if goes into really bad direction-put a virtual lock on it.

When you just delete and delete-new folks open new and new threads

So did you get your result? No. You achieved the opposite.

If you (I mean not you personally, I hope you understand) want a different result-you need to do things in a different way.

I understad it's a huge community and actually it's two communites merged together and it takes time

But it's important stuff to figure out.

Many threads here that start like something else turn into actively discussing other members. Too actively if you ask me. Human behavour(c) Nothing new.

I think it's about discussing Houzz's decisions rather than discussing other members, or else half of these forums would be gone..correct me if I'm wrong

In any case. You have moderation rules? Make them known.

also, why it's only you taking fire for this enormous site and it errors, glitches, etc?

are you the only moderator?

If yes-site of this size can't be successfully managed by one person who's really talking to people.

There's ratio..like in any organization, you know

one doesn't have to make it inflated like in some doctors' offices

but it's too huge of a community. To have only one live real person talk to us.

PS again thank you for your help with moving my thread here

Emily, I tried that when something wasn't working for me. I got a generic response back telling me to do all the things that I had already done. No one fixed the problem. (or contacted me back). I gave up and figured out the work around. The problem I sent in is still there and hasn't been fixed, by the way and it had nothing to do with flagging.

Emily, since this thread seems to have your attention, has it occurred to anyone in management that there would not be any threads discussing other members and decisions taken (or not taken), if Houzz were more upfront and transparent in sharing with the community how (or whether) the forums are moderated? I would also suggest that your flagging system is deficient, especially since one of the criteria is "I just don't like it". This virtually guarantees misbehavior, as does the ability of some posters in a particular forum marked by propaganda, disinformation, and hate speech to reappear magically in new guises after suspensions and bannings.

Invest in some more moderators, let forum members know what the rules are and what you are doing, make it much easier to contact Houzz for help (the support team at help.houzz.com is not as supportive or as helpful as you think it is), and don't just disappear threads. There is a great sense of unease right now in a community that long predates Houzz but unfortunately is now at Houzz's mercy.

I'm not looking for a reply in this thread since I understand that your role is limited and there is only so much at this point that Houzz is willing to say. I do hope, though, that my comments will at least be forwarded along to someone in some sort of decision-making capacity. Thank you.

Just as a point of information, threads where people were not being discussed have been deleted. The policy Emily enunciates sounds reasonable. I am not sure the execution has lived up to the stated goal, though it does make a good cudgel with which to enforce silence.

This virtually guarantees misbehavior, as does the ability of some posters in a particular forum marked by propaganda, disinformation, and hate speech to reappear magically in new guises after suspensions and bannings.

Some of us have complained about that till we're blue in the face.

Here's something on another website forum I've been following (and btw, someone here on GW suggested to me, thank you!) This, and two others about rules, are right at the top of the topics list.

The goal of ALZConnected is to provide a safe environment for anyone impacted by Alzheimer's or dementia to share their experiences and receive support.

To ensure the safety and health of this community, ALZConnected Moderators reserve the right to remove a post or thread that violates community guidelines. In some cases, a thread may be locked to prevent further discussion that is inappropriate or disruptive. When a post or thread is deleted, affected members are notified via email. In some instances, when a thread is locked or deleted entirely by the ALZConnected Moderator, a message will appear to notify all community members of the need to take action.

If you have a question about a policy or moderator action, please address it using the Contact Us form

CindyMac, we know, and thank you.

bp, thanks for that.

It would appear that the stated guidelines for an organization whose goal is to provide a safe environment for members to share their experiences and receive support are entirely different than the unstated and speculated guidelines for a corporation whose goal is profit.