Deleted posts

[Bouleversee]

At least twice I have submitted posts (yesterday on the Diageo thread started by TJH) which have not been there when I have gone back to the board. Do you advise posters if someone reports a post and you delete it. I haven't received any such notification so if you do, I wonder what happened to my posts. I haven't always been advised when there has been a response to a post of mine, even when I am sure I ticked the box. Perhaps some of my emails are failing to arrive.

[PinkDalek]

I've no idea on the first part of your post but I'm sure someone will be along shortly. That having been said, I've had a quick look at viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2802&p=26489&hilit=Diageo#p26292 and there is no sign of moderator action. Did you see your reply appearing or did you by any chance use the Save draft facility?

However, re

... I haven't always been advised when there has been a response to a post of mine, even when I am sure I ticked the box. Perhaps some of my emails are failing to arrive.

This is a Test response to see if you are receiving emails.

[Clariman]

The board software doesn't have a way to automatically advise a user when their post has been deleted. The moderator has to read the Notification from the person who reported the post, then view then view the post itself, make a decision, then delete the post. To then inform the person that their post has been deleted has to be done manually as a private message. Sometimes I find that I delete the post and then can't remember who posted it in the first place. If I am in a hurry I don't always notify them. Similarly I don't always notify the reporting person that I have taken action.

In an ideal world, I would like to do all these things but often I quickly handle a problem report then get on with what I was doing elsewhere.

BTW 'twas not me who deleted your posts (assuming that someone did).

C

[staffordian]

At least twice I have submitted posts (yesterday on the Diageo thread started by TJH) which have not been there when I have gone back to the board. Do you advise posters if someone reports a post and you delete it. I haven't received any such notification so if you do, I wonder what happened to my posts. I haven't always been advised when there has been a response to a post of mine, even when I am sure I ticked the box. Perhaps some of my emails are failing to arrive.

I've noticed once or twice that when I think I've hit the submit button the post I've written hasn't posted, so I am now careful to check that the screen changes after I hit it.

I have it in the back of my mind that if another poster submits a post to the thread, your post doesn't immediately go, and there us an option to see if the new post renders yours obsolete, but I'm not certain of this point.

Staffordian

Edit. I think my last point might be correct as I hit submit but instead got a view of Clariman's post, which got in ahead of mine but was not there when I started my reply

[Clariman]

At least twice I have submitted posts (yesterday on the Diageo thread started by TJH) which have not been there when I have gone back to the board. Do you advise posters if someone reports a post and you delete it. I haven't received any such notification so if you do, I wonder what happened to my posts. I haven't always been advised when there has been a response to a post of mine, even when I am sure I ticked the box. Perhaps some of my emails are failing to arrive.

I have just checked the moderator logs. None of your posts have been deleted in the last 3 days. Maybe they didn't actually get posted in the first place as Staffordian suggested.

[Alaric]

I have it in the back of my mind that if another poster submits a post to the thread, your post doesn't immediately go, and there us an option to see if the new post renders yours obsolete, but I'm not certain of this point.

To the best of my knowledge it's a standard feature of phpbb software. There's a "post anyway" button or similar.

[Bouleversee]

I can't be 100% certain but I thought I had actually seen my posts at the end of the relevant threads but there was nothing controversial in them so perhaps just some technical glitch. I must confess I do sometimes take a long time to finish a post if I get interrupted and indeed on the last occasion another post had crept in while I was composing it but I didn't see the question about modifying mine in view of this, although that did happen on another occasion. Anyway, if anyone thinks I was rude not to respond to their replies to me, please put it down to this problem. I seem to remember replies to Bree and Gengulphus disappearing and I couldn't face doing them all again.

[melonfool]

I think Staffordian has it.

That has happened to me, most frustrating it is. But it happens when someone else posts while you are composing your post, then when you hit 'submit' it helpfully *doesn't* submit but says 'oh look, someone else posted, do you want to change your reply?' and shows you those replies above what is now your draft.

I don't always really notice it so then go and do something else and when I go back to that board my post has not appeared.

I am learning to pay more attention!

Equally though, Clariman is right, as mods there are quite a few separate steps to dealing with reports, and I admit I don't always remember whose post I have deleted to go back and advise them. Though, as he says you don't have any deleted posts I'd go with Staffordian's theory.

Mel

[PinkDalek]

... I seem to remember replies to Bree and Gengulphus disappearing and I couldn't face doing them all again.

It might be an idea to use the "Save draft" box before you attempt to "Submit". If it doesn't get submitted then, hopefully, it should still be in the Draft folder.

[mc2fool]

Idle curiosity question: are deleted post here actually permanently deleted, or are they still there and just hidden, as they were on TMF?

[PinkDalek]

Idle curiosity question: are deleted post here actually permanently deleted, or are they still there and just hidden, as they were on TMF?

I think they end up somewhere like here mcp.php?i=queue&mode=deleted_topics&t=2704 and may well be visible to those authorised.

Found by clicking on the symbol to the right of "Most ridiculous lie ever?" "This topic has been deleted." over at Beerpig's viewforum.php?f=29 (which I think was originally to be moved but was in fact deleted).

[Gengulphus]

I can't be 100% certain but I thought I had actually seen my posts at the end of the relevant threads but there was nothing controversial in them so perhaps just some technical glitch. I must confess I do sometimes take a long time to finish a post if I get interrupted and indeed on the last occasion another post had crept in while I was composing it but I didn't see the question about modifying mine in view of this, although that did happen on another occasion.

What generally happens for me when I preview a post and other posts have got in while I was writing it is that the message saying I might want to review the extra posts and the extra posts themselves appear at the top of the preview page, above the preview, but the "#preview" at the end of the link causes the preview to be positioned at the top of my screen. So I can scroll upwards to see the message and extra posts, but it's not all that obvious that they're there - I've got to remember to look, or to be paying attention to the screen while it loads - there's often a short period when the page has been loaded and displayed, but displayed from its top rather than the "#preview" position.

Submitting a post probably behaves similarly, but I do have the habit of doing a final quick preview before submitting to check everything looks OK. As a result, I don't leave much opportunity for other posts to slip in before submission and after the final preview, and while it's probably happened, I haven't ever noticed it happen.

Gengulphus

[Lootman]

Submitting a post probably behaves similarly, but I do have the habit of doing a final quick preview before submitting to check everything looks OK. As a result, I don't leave much opportunity for other posts to slip in before submission and after the final preview, and while it's probably happened, I haven't ever noticed it happen.

I don't think I have ever submitted a post without previewing it at least once. But I have never noticed the preview function showing a new post made since I started writing my post. That's only happened with me when I actually hit "submit".

So I thought the relevant time is that between me hitting "Reply" and hitting "Submit", and not between the last time I hit "Preview" and hitting "Submit". And the former can be a much longer period - perhaps 10 minutes rather than 10 seconds, or longer if I get distracted.

What is really frustrating is seeing that that recent new post is one closing the topic, because then all the effort invested is a waste, as happened to me a few days ago. It's tempting to submit quickly and then edit in situ for the few minutes that is possible, as I am doing here.

More generally I haven't noticed my posts being removed, although I don't usually bother to look for my old posts anyway. Nor have I noticed many posts of others vanishing. It just doesn't seem to be the same problem as at TMF, either because moderation here is lighter or because we've all somehow become more mature and well behaved.

Can the software not be set up to send an email when a post is removed? Even an automated message with no reason would be better than nothing. That would clear up the confusion here about posts being removed, or not.

[melonfool]

More generally I haven't noticed my posts being removed, although I don't usually bother to look for my old posts anyway. Nor have I noticed many posts of others vanishing. It just doesn't seem to be the same problem as at TMF, either because moderation here is lighter or because we've all somehow become more mature and well behaved.

Can the software not be set up to send an email when a post is removed? Even an automated message with no reason would be better than nothing. That would clear up the confusion here about posts being removed, or not.

There could be loads of other reasons fewer posts are removed - for a start there are fewer posters and fewer posts.

I agree an automated email would be good.

In answer to the previous question - we mods can see deleted posts, yes. It is actually pretty confusing being a mod because you can see deleted posts and threads, and moved threads in their original places etc. And I'm never sure what a non-mod user can see! I always assumed people could still see posts of their own they had deleted themselves but after a chat with someone off-board it appears not, it's just me cos I am a mod (and only on the boards I mod).

Mel

[robbelg]

In answer to the previous question - we mods can see deleted posts, yes. It is actually pretty confusing being a mod because you can see deleted posts and threads, and moved threads in their original places etc. And I'm never sure what a non-mod user can see! I always assumed people could still see posts of their own they had deleted themselves but after a chat with someone off-board it appears not, it's just me cos I am a mod (and only on the boards I mod).

Mel

I will repeat a suggestion I made some time ago that mods should have a private account and a mod account this would avoid that problem and also make it clear to everyone which hat you are wearing when you post

[melonfool]

In answer to the previous question - we mods can see deleted posts, yes. It is actually pretty confusing being a mod because you can see deleted posts and threads, and moved threads in their original places etc. And I'm never sure what a non-mod user can see! I always assumed people could still see posts of their own they had deleted themselves but after a chat with someone off-board it appears not, it's just me cos I am a mod (and only on the boards I mod).

Mel

I will repeat a suggestion I made some time ago that mods should have a private account and a mod account this would avoid that problem and also make it clear to everyone which hat you are wearing when you post

I don't think that would make it any less confusing - more so, in fact. I don't really want two accounts to log into.

Also, we tell you which hat we are using by using the

Moderator Message:
mod comment box

.

Mel

[Clariman]

Idle curiosity question: are deleted post here actually permanently deleted, or are they still there and just hidden, as they were on TMF?

There is a Soft Delete and a Hard Delete options. Soft deleted posts can be reinstated but not Hard deleted ones. Mods have the power to soft delete and those posts can be viewed by Admin and other Mods. I think Admin (Stooz and I) are the only ones who can hard delete.

[Lootman]

There could be loads of other reasons fewer posts are removed - for a start there are fewer posters and fewer posts. I agree an automated email would be good.

The number of posts I can read in any given day is limited to the time I devote to being here. So I don't read any fewer posts at TLF than I did at TMF, even if overall there are far fewer posts here. And of that number of posts that I read, I notice fewer being removed here than at TMF.

Now, that might be because the software is more functional here enabling, say, off=topic posts to be moved rather than deleted. It might be because there is more flexibility here - I notice that sometimes an errant post is merely appended with a moderator message rather than removed. It might be because moderation here is more relaxed and liberal. And it may be because we are all older, wiser and more mellow. Or all of the above.

It might be interesting if someone with access furnished some statistics on the excision ratio.

[dspp]

Like Mel one account works well for me as a Mod.

Some boards/areas get more boundary-pushing traffic than others. In those areas I can well understand that some Mods in a hurry just 'do' stuff and don't have time for nice little follow up emails. I have the reverse problem - the boards I look after normally get such well behaved posters that don't get much experience with all the pretty shiny mod tools and so I am a clumsy Modder. (that's a thank you for being well behaved in those areas by the way).

When I have sent personal emails re relocations /deletions / etc I have sometimes got back odd responses. That causes me to be thoughtful about doing anything privately and err towards doing it all publicly.

Like Mel I too can find it awkward to understand what a normal user sees on their display sometimes.

The board software is out-of-the-box phpBB and as Clariman says it won't do auto-email to users if moved/deleted.

I suspect that the deleted post issues noted below are a result of various combinations of :
1) The 'new post whilst composing response issue',
2) Gremlins in the works - I have lost a couple of posts myself when on flaky connections,
3) Genuine modding.

Getting stats is likely to be a lot of work for stooz but it is an interesting point. I'll ask him idc.

regards, dspp

[melonfool]

Getting stats is likely to be a lot of work for stooz but it is an interesting point. I'll ask him idc.

regards, dspp

They are not really meaningful though, after such a sort time. And, also, the point was seemingly being made that less is removed than was from TMF, so the stats would be useless without the comparison, which we will never get (and most of us wouldn't be interested in anyway).

I say do the stats on the anniversary.

Mel