Disappearing Topics

[D_Hailsham]

I received an email saying that someone had posted a reply to a topic (I was not the topic originator). When I tried to find the topic, it was no longer listed.

The topic was getting out of hand with a lot of abuse, from all sides, being thrown around. So I can appreciate it that a mod felt it necessary to delete the topic. However, that could confuse contributors.

Would it not be better to leave the topic listed but with all posts deleted and a single post explaining why the topic had been deleted (naming the culprits?)? The topic should be closed to prevent any further posts.

 

[Agile]

I agree David.

Although with the proviso that it should be completely deleted after say 10 days to prevent the forum becoming full of ancient but empty threads.

Leaving the abusive posters shown might also help to discourage them.

 

[D_Hailsham]

Yes, 10 days would probably be enough.

As for naming and shaming, I have thought more about this and realise that the mods and site owner would have to be very careful, otherwise they might find themselves in hot water, legally speaking, with claims against them by the person named. Consulting a lawyer would be essential to make sure the site's rules etc were watertight.

Thought: Have the site's rules changed since I joined nearly nine years ago? If so, why haven't I been notified and asked to accept the changes e.g. by continuing to use the site?

 

[Agile]

Site rules allow posts to be partially or wholly deleted. So no problem there.

They also ban abusive postings. There are a lot of them and rarely deleted.