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\$\begingroup\$

I was just browsing the Many Memes of Meta when the question was edited in to add, next to the PPCG entry:

and recently deleted

Not believing this, I clicked on the link, only to find out that it had.

Why?

Why was the post deleted? While it wasn't the best fit for a Meta question, it was locked and doing no harm to the community. So why did someone delete it?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Yeah, same thing happened to me. Who did this, and why? And can the moderators please bring it back? \$\endgroup\$
    – Gryphon
    Commented Jun 20, 2017 at 23:59
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    \$\begingroup\$ I would also like to take the time to point out that this incident just worsens our reputation in the StackExchange community. I strongly disagree. Especially since the vast majority of SE users will have no clue that it was deleted, or that it ever existed. \$\endgroup\$
    – DJMcMayhem
    Commented Jun 20, 2017 at 23:59
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    \$\begingroup\$ It might be worth noting that the post in question was incredibly outdated (most of the memes in it haven't been current for years and/or were never current; even if not for the lock, it seems unlikely that old now-irrelevant answers would be deleted). The question/answer format originally created for Stack Overflow (which all the sitewide metas conform to, even if PPCG doesn't) is incredibly bad at handling information that changes over time, and we should probably be applauding the moderators for actually doing something about it, rather than getting angry at them. \$\endgroup\$
    – user62131
    Commented Jun 21, 2017 at 1:42
  • \$\begingroup\$ I edited that in. Am I famous? :P \$\endgroup\$
    – NoOneIsHere
    Commented Jun 21, 2017 at 18:41
  • \$\begingroup\$ @cairdcoinheringaahing "and recently deleted" \$\endgroup\$
    – NoOneIsHere
    Commented Jun 21, 2017 at 19:07
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    \$\begingroup\$ This is the revision being referred to by OP. \$\endgroup\$
    – Erik the Outgolfer
    Commented Jun 22, 2017 at 9:42

1 Answer 1

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\$\begingroup\$

For those who can't see deleted posts: I deleted the memes question. However, I didn't act unilaterally; this decision was made by the moderation team.

While it wasn't the best fit for a Meta question, it was locked and doing no harm to the community.

Unfortunately, we disagree with the second half of that sentence.

The question was initially locked by us because we felt it did more harm than good. While it was intended as a go-to place to figure out what on Earth the TNB/PPCG regulars were talking about when someone mentioned yingluck or whatever, it mostly served to keep memes that should have been retired a long time ago on life support. We initially locked the question to prevent the addition of new memes, but that does nothing to help retiring the old ones.

Someone rightfully pointed out that it was more of a FAQ on how to be irritating than a historically significant question, so we decided to delete it. While we may have lost an interesting read, this will hopefully aid in naturally and gradually phasing out some memes that overstayed their welcome.

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  • 11
    \$\begingroup\$ Going through the memes, I feel like many of them are harmless (such as verbose Java). Would a better solution be to keep it locked, but delete the posts that are particularly problematic? (Assuming you want to judge that). That said, still a +1 from me. \$\endgroup\$
    – Nathan Merrill
    Commented Jun 21, 2017 at 3:12
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    \$\begingroup\$ @NathanMerrill: The fact that Java is more verbose than most other languages is fairly obvious, so explaining it in a Meta post most people won't find doesn't seem to be a huge benefit. In general, the problem here is that either the meme makes no sense out of context, in which case we should probably just let it die, or it does make sense in context, in which case it doesn't need explaining. You don't need a meta post to tell people things like what happens if you cross out a 44. \$\endgroup\$
    – user62131
    Commented Jun 22, 2017 at 6:17
  • \$\begingroup\$ Ahem the question is actually still locked as historically significant...not sure if that goes together with deleted...;) \$\endgroup\$
    – Erik the Outgolfer
    Commented Jun 22, 2017 at 9:43
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ @EriktheOutgolfer If it were unlocked, it could be undeleted via vote. Best to keep it locked. \$\endgroup\$
    – Dennis Mod
    Commented Jun 22, 2017 at 12:36
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Dennis Then at least choose another reason...doesn't really make sense to delete a historically significant post...especially if it's not historically significant at all. \$\endgroup\$
    – Erik the Outgolfer
    Commented Jun 22, 2017 at 12:43
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    \$\begingroup\$ @EriktheOutgolfer Lock reasons don't just vary by name, they have different effects. \$\endgroup\$
    – Dennis Mod
    Commented Jun 22, 2017 at 12:50
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    \$\begingroup\$ @ais523 Funny you picked that example. I actually had no idea about the Crossed-out 44 until that page, and I did find it humorous. \$\endgroup\$
    – Nathan Merrill
    Commented Jun 22, 2017 at 13:29
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    \$\begingroup\$ @NathanMerrill I considered it humorous two years ago. Personally, it just annoys me at this point. \$\endgroup\$
    – Dennis Mod
    Commented Jun 22, 2017 at 13:32
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Dennis oh, I wasn't using that as an argument to keep it around. I rarely hear about crossed-out 44 anymore, so I agree that that particular meme has outlived its life. \$\endgroup\$
    – Nathan Merrill
    Commented Jun 22, 2017 at 13:33
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    \$\begingroup\$ Doesn't this create a few dead links for everyone who referenced the crossed out 44 meme in their post? :/ \$\endgroup\$
    – Conor O'Brien
    Commented Jun 23, 2017 at 23:40
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    \$\begingroup\$ Can we get a new list of memes then? \$\endgroup\$
    – Christopher King
    Commented Jun 24, 2017 at 0:23
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    \$\begingroup\$ @PyRulez We initially locked the question to prevent the addition of new memes- I doubt they'll want a new post if that's the initial reason for locking it. \$\endgroup\$
    – TheLethalCoder
    Commented Jul 4, 2017 at 9:34
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    \$\begingroup\$ @PyRulez, here: []. If we refrain from using memes which are not in this list, we will have a less cliquey community. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter Taylor
    Commented Jul 4, 2017 at 10:16

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