A Confession and an Apology

**ScotFree** · 10th September 12, 06:53 PM

Computers are great when they work. When they don't .....

**CDNSushi** · 10th September 12, 06:57 PM

Pursuant to this unfortunate mix-up, and subsequent inability to recover the thread, I did a bit of digging and managed to find that Google's spiders that regularly scan the XMTS site actually cached the entire thread while it was in the Cooling Off Corner.

While it cannot revive the thread, if anyone wanted to retrieve or see any of the postings from the thread before they are lost into the void of /dev/nul, here are the cached links. I don't know how long Google keeps site caches, so I'm afraid this information may not be useful for terribly long. But perhaps better than nothing. I provide this information in hopes that it may help somehow...

Again, on behalf of the XMTS staff, apologies for this flub-up.

**Madadh** · 11th September 12, 03:45 AM

Ern,
As a computer scientist let me give you a little professinal wisdom,

A good operator is forged thru the data he or she has lost. Welcome to the club. Just remember to really foul things up, it takes a computer.

**sailortats** · 11th September 12, 06:01 AM

Originally Posted by islandkilt

would I be too forward in commenting, perhaps it's just as well...

I agree with this 100%

**mookien** · 10th September 12, 07:23 PM

Mael,

As an unlicensed psychobabblist, I strongly suspect your inadvertent, errant, subconscious expunction was the lamentable result of a Freudian slip. Furthermore, the last post was in clear violation of Rule 5, so no harm done.

And who said you can't keep a good thread down?

John

**Chas** · 11th September 12, 02:58 AM

They say that there is no use crying over spilt milk, which Tilted Kilt doesn't sell anyway.

Saddle the unicorns Barnes, we'll take this stuff to town!

Regards

Chas

**Tobus** · 11th September 12, 05:43 AM

Originally Posted by mookien

Mael,

As an unlicensed psychobabblist, I strongly suspect your inadvertent, errant, subconscious expunction was the lamentable result of a Freudian slip. Furthermore, the last post was in clear violation of Rule 5, so no harm done.

And who said you can't keep a good thread down?

John

Actually, I'm pretty sure my post was the last one in the thread, and was posted right before it got mysteriously and suspiciously "poofed". It's a shame, because I had spent quite a bit of time in framing a response to the legal/historical part of the discussion and had ensured that I was within the bounds of Rule #5.

**mookien** · 11th September 12, 08:23 AM

Originally Posted by Tobus

Actually, I'm pretty sure my post was the last one in the thread, and was posted right before it got mysteriously and suspiciously "poofed". It's a shame, because I had spent quite a bit of time in framing a response to the legal/historical part of the discussion and had ensured that I was within the bounds of Rule #5.

You're no doubt correct. I recall the historical basis for your comments (and they were informative), but I suspect some would argue it was "politics" nonetheless, if for no other reason than references to "original intent" vs. "how I felt when I got up this morning" interpretations of the Constitution.

Besides, I was really trying to make Mael feel a bit better about his Freudian slip.

You might try posting it again, but under the present circumstances, only the Good Lord knows where.

**Tobus** · 11th September 12, 08:40 AM

They kinda-sorta resurrected the thread in the Miscellaneous forum, so I kinda-sorta reiterated the salient points therein, still trying to stick to the historical facts.

**Cygnus** · 11th September 12, 10:31 AM

No serious harm done - a forum thread is really not a hugely important, life-or-death sort of thing.

As has been said, everybody makes mistakes, and when I do it helps to be grateful that it wasn't something much worse.

And thanks for all you do, Ern; the fact that this is the only such incident that I can remember speaks volumes about the quality work you and the other moderators do!