I am talking about this answer by SE staff member Juan M.
Obviously, many community members aren't happy about that answer (right now: 660 downvotes). But what caught my attention:
Specifically: the two delete votes that have been cast for that answer.
So, simply wondering, from a "formal" point of view: is deleting that answer within the rules/practices of MSE, or are these two votes merely another expression of disagreement?
While it's vastly unwelcomed by the community as indicated by its votes, I see no valid reason to delete it. It remains as an official response and thus should be kept.
Perhaps it's an appropriate occasion for a ♦ mod to delete-and-undelete it just to clear the pending delvotes.
No, this is an abuse of delete votes.
Some people seem to treat them as "super downvotes".
They are not.
These people forget that their "another expression of disagreement" is also an active attempt to remove/destroy the thing they disagree with, which is called bigotry.
Users who voted to delete the post need to understand that they're making the situation worse. We as a community need to know opinions of the company's employees and need to see how the community grades their posts just to make well informed decisions.
We have already lost a big part of history when two posts with more than 2000 downvotes each were deleted. Most users can no longer see what the employees said in them and how the community reacted. Let's not make it worse by deleting even more posts.
For what it's worth...in general I absolutely agree with Lightness that delete votes get over/abused on Meta for "I think this is wrong", and they shouldn't be.
As you can see now from the post's timeline, I cast one of those delete votes. When I did so, I thought it was important to give a reason, and "I disagree" wasn't it. I left this comment, which was later deleted:
Been thinking about this since it was posted...since this a) doesn't actually answer the question and b) pretty clearly is words being put into Juan's mouth, I'm voting to delete. Let whoever made this decision/wrote this come say it themselves.
One of the MSE mods deleted and then undeleted the answer, essentially vetoing its deletion.
I stand by my reasoning and my vote, but I'm also fine with the outcome. I didn't figure everyone would agree with me.
Down votes are for bad answers.
Delete votes are for answers that are actively detrimental to understanding. No matter how bad SE's corporate answers are, they are crucial to understanding the thought process of corporate leadership, especially as other avenues of communication have been cut off. As such, I'd say that while that answer deserves all of the down votes it can get, it should absolutely not be deleted.
If for no other reason, than in some bright future, here or otherwise, we want to be able to look back and point those answers and say:
"Never Again."
Current practice on meta is to have moderators delete everything left and right that might be seen negative. This is also the company's approved/demanded way of handling things.
It is not all too surprising if users start to follow that guidance and example.
There is no good reason to delete the post in question, but neither are there good reasons for the deletion of many of the thousands of comments that got purged in recent months. Radically lowering the standards for deletion makes people more willing to delete things.
