[musicalsthatmatter]

Dear WOS.

Why have you continued to take down any comments on the 'Never Forget' transfer?

It is clear that some people who are involved in the production have decided to express their feelings and opinions on your website. This should be seen as a compliment to WOS and not have become reason to silence them. Just blank out any words or lines that you consider legally problematic - if you really think you need too.

If you took down every opinion or comment made about a musical or performer which people found upsetting there would be nothing left to discuss.

You have said on the page that 'Nothing has been deleted, that's not our policy, it has just been made temporarily invisible while we ponder the various claims and counterclaims being made'. What did you need to ponder and what was the outcome? Are you going to write about this as a news article? It certainly should be reported as it's causing a big theatre fuss.

You then said 'This is currently a emotional and sensitive topic - and is temporarily off limits for a period of 48 hours'. I ask if it is not dangerous for a leading theatre website to express such personal opinions on one particular productions woes.

I'm not trying to start any argument or 'have a go'. I just really believe in free speech and impartial judgment.

[Weez]

Not that I claim to know any of the ins and outs, but this is a privately-owned website offered as a privilege and not a right. When you sign up as a member, you agree to abide by the WOS guidelines. So... in the nicest possible way, free speech doesn't mean **** here. It doesn't mean anything on any discussion forum, technically, although some aren't as closely moderated as others.

And when they say "sensitive", I believe they might be referring to legal issues. In the interests of not getting sued for libel, it's perfectly natural for mods to want to keep certain posts less visible. The law is full of terribly tricksy lines that are far too easy to inadvertantly cross, circumstances will not always be taken into account by legal eagles (it's easy to pass something off as reported speech, for example, but how can you guarantee someone is definitely reporting it and not just saying it outright? Even if you can prove they got it from someone else, they can still get in trouble for repeating it), and it's FAR easier and safer to stay WELL away from ANY possible lines that can be crossed.

If you feel that the WOS guidelines are OMG FAR TOO RESTRICTIVE, you're welcome to not remain. But the moderators aren't just hacking things about willynilly; they have guidelines of their own they need to abide by, or we could ultimately one day find ourselves without a WOS. And that would be sad.

[Viceroy]

Dear WOS.

Why have you continued to take down any comments on the 'Never Forget' transfer?

All three recent threads are still up and open, as far as I am aware no comment has been removed in its entirety, and very little in the way of amendments have been made.

It is clear that some people who are involved in the production have decided to express their feelings and opinions on your website. This should be seen as a compliment to WOS and not have become reason to silence them. Just blank out any words or lines that you consider legally problematic - if you really think you need too.

If you took down every opinion or comment made about a musical or performer which people found upsetting there would be nothing left to discuss.

You have said on the page that 'Nothing has been deleted, that's not our policy, it has just been made temporarily invisible while we ponder the various claims and counterclaims being made'. What did you need to ponder and what was the outcome? Are you going to write about this as a news article? It certainly should be reported as it's causing a big theatre fuss.

Ultimately it is up to WoS administration to decide what is permissible - this particular incident arose on a Friday afternoon and WoS admin work office hours. The VOLUNTEER moderators are geographically dispersed and not equipped to deal with potential matters of litigation, therefore we have to err on the cautious side. You seem to be a new poster here - take a look at some of the threads - there are many who believe we are too lenient in allowing "upsetting" comments. It is a fine line we tread, one where it is impossible to satisfy every level of sensibility.

You then said 'This is currently a emotional and sensitive topic - and is temporarily off limits for a period of 48 hours'. I ask if it is not dangerous for a leading theatre website to express such personal opinions on one particular productions woes.

I'm not trying to start any argument or 'have a go'. I just really believe in free speech and impartial judgment.

The original thread was temporarily taken down by WoS admin, a new thread was started on the Saturday morning which almost immediately started to follow down the path of the disputed matters. I therefore suspended it and requested the brief moratorium until WoS admin could assess, on the following Monday, the potential damage that could be caused to the site. After representations had been made the closed thread was reopened and the thread that had been taken down was restored by Wednesday.

Are you seriously questioning the veracity of describing the situation as "emotional and sensitive"? How is this a personal opinion which is "dangerous"?

This a site free to use for everyone, however WoS is not in a position to embark on expensive legal action because of the claims (which the moderators are not always in a position to verify) being made by a few people who are obviously angry. I do not think your allegation of the denial of free speech is justified in any way. Web forums have always been a medium for people to post malicious and untrue claims in the mistaken belief that they are "invisible". In truth almost every post can ultimately be traced to the author, although in many cases this would be too expensive and slow to be viable. In a case that ended up in court however it would be appropriate. The moderators are here to protect the site from such damaging actions