It is regrettable that Donald Clark's article presenting the negative findings of a meta study on NLP research has been pulled in its entirety. This is due I presume to the content of the discussion that took place following it's appearance. Would it be possible to upload the article again and simply turn off the comments box?
Whilst not wishing to see anyone libelled or otherwise on the forum, it did seem to me that the original piece was its self legitimate even if you didn't agree with it and this complete withdrawal is a step backwards for everyone on this forum, even for those who might be in complete opposition with the findings of the referenced article or the methodology behind it.
3 Responses
Godwin’s Law?
On a serious note I agree with Garry , except to say that any comment, even the heated ones (less expletives) are educational. By questioning and debating we move closer to the truth, even if truth is itself a changing law; if we all always agreed, life would be far less fulfilling.
On a less serious note I wonder if the article was pulled due to the "inevitable" invocation of "Godwin’s Law";..did someone fall back on the argument that the Nazis/Adolf Hitler agree(d) with one of the protagonists’ arguments, thus reducing the level debate to a point after which no further sensible comment was possible?
Merry Christmas everybody!
Rus Slater
Temporary removal of the article
Garry – thanks for bringing this up, perhaps we should have made a public announcement about this at the time but I was hoping to get it all sorted quicker than this.
The article and comments have been temporarily taken down due to an accusation of libel that we take very seriously and have to investigate. It is our policy when discussions take this direction that we must make the content non-live to allow us time to properly assess the thread, its comments and contact everyone involved. To my memory, this is the first time we have had to apply this policy on TrainingZone!
It is important to us that all members are given the right to have their say on a subject, which is why we will not be republishing the article with the comments turned off, this is simply not the TrainingZone way, and rest assured that I am working hard to get the original thread reinstated at the earliest possible opportunity.
We welcome debate here, and would never want to stifle it, and do not consider the application of our policy as a ‘step back’ – it is our legal and moral obligation to protect our members individually and the overall health of the community.
Only under the very worst of circumstances would we permanently remove a thread: we cherish the time members spend here contributing to discussions, and as such a permanent removal of content is our absolute last resort.
Now reinstated
This article has now been reinstated.
Thank you for your patience.