Moderators: Please delete the thread "Tender theft..."

[Jerry Woodward]

Mods

The thread "Tender Theft, what would you do?" describes a story about a tender theft in Two Harbors, Catalina. You rightly closed the thread after over 100 posts when it became clear that the original story was a fabrication. The problem is that one only discovers this after reading most of the thread. I wasted a half hour reading this useless thread. Many people who stop reading after post 70 or so woud come away thinking the post was true. I almost forwarded it to a friend who has a boat at Two Harbors.

Therefore, I recommend deleting the entire thread to prevent the myth from perpetuating and to save CF members the grief of reading a useless thread.

Thanks, and by the way, I think the Mods do a great job!
Jerry

[David_Old_Jersey]

I must confess that I have only just read the end of the thread - and did not realise it was closed.

To be honest I don't see whether it matters or not if the original story was a total fabrication, full of half truths / rumour or completely true - in any event wasn't so much about a specific location.

.....and to be blunt, I don't see that it is "clear that the original was a fabrication" - certainly someone who I have never met says that someone else I have never met made the story up. With the proof being that it was repeated elsewhere - and an (alledged) call made to the local harbour authorities, which even if it happened may or may not have provided a true account - whether from out right lying (to protect the reputation of the locale and / or those charged with providing some security) or simply that the person who was spoken to did not recognise the incident or was clueless (with Gubberment employees it happens!).

I am quite happy to suspend belief on the incident either way - as I do with most other things on the internet anyway, including CF! - but nonetheless the discussions and tales told around an "Incident" (real, imagined - or coloured by the writer's viewpoint) are of interest.

Although I will quibble with the thread being closed - not enough to care! (in any event had pretty much dribbled away by the end, and long before that moved into hang 'em and flog 'em territory ).......I certainly don't see it merits a thread deletion .

And for those that beleive everything they read on the internet, then all I can say is good luck with that approach .

[Jerry Woodward]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

To be honest I don't see whether it matters or not if the original story was a total fabrication, full of half truths / rumour or completely true - in any event wasn't so much about a specific location.

Well, I read CF for factual, usable information. It may not matter to you whether the posts you read are true or not, but it matters to me. It also mattered to to those posting in the thread, to the extent that they ultimately called the OPs story into question. You are right that they did not prove it was a fabrication, but it was enough for the mods to close the thread. And it was about a specific location. I will be sailing to Two Harbors next month, and was about to forward this story to my brother and the owner of the sailboat. I probably would have also repeated the story to others in conversation. This is how urban myths propagate, and I hate urban myths.

But perhaps you are right that deleting thread may be too extreme, and I am certainly not in favor of censorship. How about a moderators note at the beginning that this story has been called into question? That way people could read the thread if they like, but wouldn't have to read all the way to the end to find out, and would be less likely to repeat the story as true.

[Hud3]

Jerry,

Deleting a thread is considered a pretty extreme action by the mods, and is normally reserved for threads containing serious infractions of the CF Community Rules. Telling tall tales might not be the best practice, but it doesn't violate the rules, so I'm guessing it'll stay in view.


*note--I'm not an active moderator any longer, so this is just my personal opinion.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Jerry Woodward

Well, I read CF for factual, usable information. It may not matter to you whether the posts you read are true or not, but it matters to me. It also mattered to to those posting in the thread, to the extent that they ultimately called the OPs story into question. You are right that they did not prove it was a fabrication, but it was enough for the mods to close the thread. And it was about a specific location. I will be sailing to Two Harbors next month, and was about to forward this story to my brother and the owner of the sailboat. I probably would have also repeated the story to others in conversation. This is how urban myths propagate, and I hate urban myths.

But perhaps you are right that deleting thread may be too extreme, and I am certainly not in favor of censorship. How about a moderators note at the beginning that this story has been called into question? That way people could read the thread if they like, but wouldn't have to read all the way to the end to find out, and would be less likely to repeat the story as true.

I looked for the thread and couldn't find it. It sounds like a "he said, she said" thing. I don't think a thread should be squashed because one poster doesn't like urban myths. It's easy enough to identify urban myths.

I agree with the poster who said not everything on the internet will be true. That's a fact.

[sww914]

I couldn't see how posing the same story in two places made it false. I've written the same thing here and on our blog a couple times and it appearing in two places left it exactly as true or false as it was when it was posted only in one.

[captainKJ]

I agree with the poster who said not everything on the internet will be true. That's a fact.

R U telling me that the Monster of Montauk is not true????? I read it on the internet yesterday along with the 9 foot lizard man along with the underground tunnels that go around the earth

[jkleins]

I can't see what the deal is. The teller of the story asked a simple question if I remember correctly "What would you have done" or "Would you have done the same". I read it as a morality tale to get peoples reactions. I assumed it was a graduate student somewhere working on getting peoples reactions to morally questionable issues. It brought out good discussion and showed a side of CF that doesn't always show. I can't see why it being true or made up makes any difference to the question of how each of us would have handle the situation.

Jim

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by captainKJ

I agree with the poster who said not everything on the internet will be true. That's a fact.

R U telling me that the Monster of Montauk is not true????? I read it on the internet yesterday along with the 9 foot lizard man along with the underground tunnels that go around the earth

Oh the Monster of Montauk is true. Really! But it's in Minnesota. That's what has caused all the confusion!

[bobconnie]

These kind of threads just remind me to keep the dink locked up and secure no matter where Im at !! and thats the only reaction I ever have to one like the thread mentioned! Whats the big deal ???? just sayin relax a little and go sailin and don't sweat the small stuff !!

[captainKJ]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

Oh the Monster of Montauk is true. Really! But it's in Minnesota. That's what has caused all the confusion!

My mistake,,, My Ex-mother-In-Law lives in Minnesota,,,,thats what I was reading just had the wrong state

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

I must confess that I have only just read the end of the thread -

I am quite happy to suspend belief on the incident either way - as I do with most other things on the internet anyway, including CF! -


And for those that beleive everything they read on the internet, then all I can say is good luck with that approach .

Edited to the key points!

Sinner take back your discourteous crazy talk about the all powerful internet! Hey is this how you got quoted in that sailing magazine?

[atoll]

sounds like crying over spilt milk to me.......what ever happened to our two war heroes who liberated the dinghy

[Cheechako]

moderators: please establish a "fiction" category.... badly needed throughout the forum... :>)

[Jerry Woodward]

OK, OK, I admit, I posted prematurely, having read the whole thread only to find out it MAY be bogus. I guess the jury's still out on that one.

I HEREBY OFFICIALLY RETRACT THIS THREAD.

As Gilda Radner used to say "Never Mind"