Independents

patrick_y
[PuristSPro Moderator]
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Generally, we don't censor posts unless they violate our Terms.

We only remove a member's post if it violates our rules as stated in our Terms of Conduct. Otherwise, all the members' posts are generally available, even going back many years! For instance, I recently removed another member's post because almost the entirety of the post was a link to an external website and that there was commercial activity mentioned directly in the body of the text. So generally, we don't remove anything at all. I have never seen nor heard in my 12 years of being a moderator, that we removed a post because a brand specifically asked us to. At least I haven't done so. I've never even been approached by a brand about a post they wanted removed. So I don't think that brands are trying to influence WPS that way.
We also do remove posts of complainers. There are a lot of people who are upset with a specific brand - they spent a lot of money, the watch broke, and the brand isn't willing to fix it for free, and they feel entitled to a free repair. And they want to hurt that brand by badmouthing it on the web. So they make an account here and their first post is "Brand X is awful!" And the poster never comes back because that poster doesn't have a true intention to be a participant on the site. He just wants to shout his bad experience. We do remove those posts as we find it is unfair and not credible. However, if a regular poster who has been around for a credible amount of time who is normally not a "frequent complainer" wants to share a post about how he thinks a brand can improve, I would have no problem him posting his lackluster experience. I think other moderators would agree with me.
Overall, censorship is rare on WPS. We definitely avoid posts that are politically charged. We generally have agreed that we're not going to promote watches that are politically affiliated. When the Ukraine/Russia conflict started, the moderator team shortly after agreed that we would try to avoid taking sides. One post was already made before we made our decision - about watch straps that were in the Ukraine colors, but no more subsequent posts, since. Even I've been the subject of censorship once, I once wrote a post about alligator cruelty (alligator straps on watches related) and it was deemed too close to being politically charged, and I was asked to let the thread die down; I hadn't seen it that way, so I was a little sad. But later, I realized that from a certain angle it was a very political issue and that it could create more harm than good for the site, so I was glad that we didn't perpetuate that thread.
And sometimes our members just don't play nice. We've had little fights in certain forums. You can tell some of the responses start getting heated. We do sometimes close those threads, or lock them, or remove them, or a combination.
I hope that answers your question. Perhaps the post you saw removed fell under one of these reasons mentioned above? I've never heard of a brand asking anyone to remove a specific post. I don't think I've ever been approached by a brand like that. Can't say it's impossible. And I can't say my memory is perfect. And I can't say I know every post that gets removed or edited. But generally, I trust our moderator team wouldn't remove a post without a good reason. But true posts, even if they're not favorable, especially if they're written by a credible member (not a chronic complainer) generally shouldn't be censored if the complaint is written objectively. I once complained about a travel tour company called Tauck (avoid traveling with them) in a slightly emotional post that was 100% true, but it was slightly emotional and too long. Another moderator wrote to me suggesting it might not be appropriate. The other moderator locked the thread or removed it or asked me to remove it (I don't remember exactly); I read it again, and I realized, while it was accurate and true, it wasn't written in an objective format that was appropriate for dinner party conversation.
Hope this answers your question. We do try our best. We're probably not perfect. But we do try to be fair and consistent.