Private Driver Thread Deleted

I missed your thread Andrea, not that I would have had anything to add. I'm so sad it went off the rails - isn't that one of the things Webmaster Andrew mentioned with his recent thread discussing forum behavior?

I hope you got the answers you needed.

It was a good thread. I would never have considered a private driver for Heathrow to Canterbury had I not seen recent posts about it. We did the math and for 3 travelers it was comparable to train + tube fares. Add in jet lag and the wish to reduce stress, and it was a no brainer.

Pam, I wasn’t looking for anything specific, I was just curious. I didn’t anticipate the negative judgements some people exhibited. Unfortunately I couldn’t just delete those comments, so I deleted the whole thing.

I wondered if you had zapped it or if it had somehow offended our Webby.

Glad that you had the choice but exceedingly sad that sometimes one or two judgemental people can take a thread off the rails and turn it completely upside down. I think of it like hijacking. I don't like it on my own posts and not at all on others' posts. Webby has made numerous directives on behaviour. Shame some people ignore the instructions.

Why can't people just ignore a post they don't like? Seems more productive than causing confusion and consternation about why an entire thread was deleted.
Of course people are going to state their differing opinions--we've all got 'em.

valadelphia, I don’t have a problem with differing opinions. I just don’t like when people are condescending towards others and I felt the intent of my question was being skewed that way by some.

That's fair--I really don't have much of an opinion on deleting "conversational" threads like that one, but I am pretty frustrated with the content-based threads being deleted. Unfortunately, it is often the people that need the most help, but I am feeling less interested in replying, troubling for a volunteer website.
I often find it more enlightening when a thread has conflict, as you get varying sides to mull over.

Yes, it's too bad it went off the rails, Andrea. There wasn't anything wrong with your question that I could see.

I think people are sensitive about posts that appear to question other people's travel choices, such as going on a cruise or checking luggage or , as was done by the owner of this website, flying business class.

My question was strictly out of curiosity. How people want to travel and how much they are willing to spend is their own business. I was just puzzled by an increasing number of people asking about long distance private drivers. I had never considered doing that and wondered what the reasons were. The responses I received explained why and I now have a greater understanding into the various reasons people have.

I'm sorry I missed the thread. Friends have recently claimed that it costs about the same to use a private driver in some situations, depending on the number of people and how many tickets it would take by bus, train, and taxi to get somewhere. I would have loved to read about the different companies your readers had used. Sad that it got out of hand.

If you are hesitant to delete an entire thread, you could always just report the responses you find offensive and the webmaster will most likely delete them. That way you can keep the thread. Just a suggestion.

Nancy, thanks for mentioning that.

Elizabeth, the good news is that no one gAve any specific recommendations. You didn’t miss anything.

But be aware, sometimes, if you report too many he locks the thread. Can't say I blame him and sometimes better locked than deleted.