I hope this isn't out of place but I thought I could offer something that might help clarify.

I think that when Patrik says that you shouldn't take it personally if your question gets closed he really does mean it. I know it's hard not to react that way, since there's that huge bold lettering "Question closed as off topic": it makes you feel like you've done something very bad. But lots and lots of very active paleohackers have had posts closed or even deleted in the past and they're still going at it. (No comment on whether or not this has happened to me, ha ha ...) Agreed, it doesn't always make sense why one thread is closed and not another, but the site has to be kept clean, after all, and there will inevitably be some gray area.

I think it's best viewed this way: OK, that was a bump in the road -- now it's time to keep on paleohackin'.

begin persnickety sarcasm

Well, I'm really upset because my question about eating 17 quarts of coconut oil daily to make sure my output conforms to the paleo standard was deleted. I mean really! I just wanted to make sure that I was eating the RIGHT BRAND and getting the PALEO APPROVED (TM pending) output.

end persnickety sarcasm

Thanks to all the moderators who keep this from turning into a midden of drivel.

Is paleodietlifestyle connected to the brand of socks I wear? To my bad relationship with my cousin from Alabama?

What.ev.er. I didn't delete that post, but fully support the mod who did. This site shouldn't be allowed to slip into complete parody and the histronics of internet drama kings.

I realize that people are passionate but it’s too easy to point the unwarranted virtual finger. I don't know who started this site or all the details about the moderating. It is clearly not monetized so I believe the moderators do this for free? The administrators are spending time on something that has directly benefitted me...at no cost to me. Being rude or irreverent on this site likens to me going to somebody’s house for dinner, proceeding to get belligerent--then expect to be invited to stay for dessert. Yes so some posts get deleted for content or whatever. If you want to have a site where you can do whatever you want then I would advise to start your own...that is the simple solution. I also appreciate that the site stays pretty clean in case I would like to refer somebody like my Mom to it.

I think that it can be pretty anal at times. There's always http://reddit.com/r/paleo for a freer exchange of views. Reddit is to the www what usenet used to be to the internet.

No, I wouldn't say that it censors people or ideas.

I know there are some mighty eyes watching us from above, but in general they are not intrusive. However, I have to say that there have been a couple of instances in which a question was closed without any good reson, in my opinion.

Glad that Ignacio is back, I would have missed his questions.

It's only censorship when the government does it.

Regarding the moderating in general, it might be viewed more favorably if comments were added to the OP stating something to the effect of "please edit this post to be less political, vague, argumentative, more apropos etc." and then edit/close their post if they do not comply rather than altering without warning.

Yes, we do censor people and "ideas." If your "ideas" involve harassing other users or narcissistic histrionics, we do not tolerate that. Hint: if your answer to a question is "CONFORM OR GET BANNED. BY ALL INTENTION, DO NOT BE YOURSELF OR BE HONEST. YOU HAVE NO FREEDOM OF SPEECH HERE." Well, that's what I call a self-fulfilling prophecy. There are tons of unpopular ideas expressed here by some of our valued community members, so it's not about unpopular opinions, but about whether or not your behavior is anti-social.

I stopped my activities here when a question I asked was removed without notice or comment by Patrik. The question I had asked was about our Congressman and their vote to let Pizza be listed as a vegetable in school lunches. It was getting responses right away and then it was taken down. Two days later it was being talked about in the mainstream media.

Now I'm starting to visit PlaeoPlan's new forums. I wonder how long this response will remain in this thread?

Dear Patrik you said, while addressing my question-thread on censorship, environmental disasters and paleo-view that "you write something stupid or off-topic or hateful or I-simply-don't-like-it -- it might get deleted." I am sure my question was not stupid, there is nothing hateful on being worried about the environment (in particular with enormous disasters going on lately) and not even off-topic, unless there is a rather narrow definition of what paleo hacks is about, like being very restrictive about just talking on diet, etc. Should I conclude that questions like that one get closed down just because you or some other hackers "do not like it"? I am not arguing about your legal right to do it, it is just that, if that is the prevailing attitude, I would have much less incentives to participate at paleohacks.

What that means is that if you write something stupid or off-topic or hateful or I-simply-don't-like-it -- it might get deleted. End of story.

I'm okay with that. But why did my 'Did your penis grow' post get deleted while I was being completely serious. I even got a decent scientific answer. And even if it was wishful thinking, the post didn't harm anybody in any possible way. Deleting such a question is like censoring a book because you don't like the title.

I don't HAVE to go here to get paleo answers. Heck, if I want I can make my own website and moderate it myself. On the other hand, I like the design, only two of my questions got deleted, and there's a lot of great people here, so I don't see why I would leave.

But please - tell people when you delete a question.

I'm fine with having the questions moderated. It is indeed necessary to keep the quality high. Just sometimes I'm surprised when a question just disappears. I guess this is a deletion. But doesn't it make more sense to only close those to also give others a chance to see why that question was closed? Maybe lower the number of votes to close a question to 2 or 3 and give a good reasoning why it was closed.

Then again, thanks to all Mods for their contribution to this great site ;-)

Yes, it is a rite of passage to have been censored / deleted by the mods on PH.

I proudly wear that badge. LOL.

Whoever runs the site has the right to do whatever they feel like doing. If they see a post or question they don't like then they will remove it. If a person feels wronged by having something removed a he/she can either cry about it (which will get them nowhere) or they can start their own blog. Another option would be to post elsewhere like Facebook, there are many online outlets for a person to express themselves.

What I find funny and ironic are people who get themselves censored, they are more than likely to do it themselves if they where in charge and would feel just as righteous.

"Pardon me sir, would you like some french cries with that wahburger?"