Deleted Threads
 

When moderators delete a thread (for whatever reason) it would be helpful to have some sort of "Trash" subforum with at least the name of the deleted topic and a reason for the deletion.

It can become confusing when a previously popular thread vanishes without a trace, which of course leads to people posting "What happened to X thread and why?" sort of thing.

Are you referring to a specific thread here?

Whenever the question does come up, which is rarely, the Mods are always happy to answer it. I'm not sure if we need a sub-forum for explanations. The deleting of large, popular threads is very, very rare, and when it does happen, it's usually for one of two reasons: either the thread focused on one woman who wanted the thread removed (either a request from her or her husband), or there were just way too many rule-breaking pictures to bother going through post by post, picture by picture to weed them all out.

Fango

Perhaps I was being a bit too broad. I meant deleted posts too.

I remember back in my Polar Bear Run thread a member posted pictures that someone claimed to have come from Coccozella and were subesequently deleted (which required me to post asking why). It then turned out they weren't copyrighted after all and were allowed to be posted again in thread a week later.

That's just one example off the top of my head. Posts (and occaisonally threads) get deleted fairly frequently without a transparent and easy way to verify what was deleted and why.

And that's exactly the problem with having an "explanation forum". On average, I delete about 15 or so posts a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less. And there are 12 other Mods. Having to start a new thread in a sub-forum for each and every deleted post would a) be too much work (a lot of deleted posts don't even have attachments and get deleted because the poster was rude or spamming, etc.) and b) make for one very cluttered and confusing section. I would much rather deal with someone's confusion over a deleted thread or post on a case by case basis. As I said, I have no problem answering questions about why a thread or post was removed.

Fango

Can I ask why we deleted the monica/monkey thread?

I will give you a hint: it was one of the two reasons I discussed in this post. And it's not the second one. ;)

Fango

Why not delete the pics/videos in the thread, leave it to where it can still be accessed and reply to the thread as to it why it is deleted? I may be uneducated on the subject but it seems that leaves it open and lets people see why it's gone.

The bottom line is the fact that when the moderators do delete a thread it is for a good reason. Common reasons include SPAM, breaking the forum rules (usually watermarks), rude posts or when a person contacts us and asks for something of theirs to be removed.

Personally, I don't want SPAM (even if it has been deleted) lingering on the forums.

If a post breaks our rules or somebody has asked for their material not to be posted here, I don't want our members to try to contact each other in order to trade any "questionable" material.

So if your thread/post ever gets removed, the first place to check would be the forum rules. If you don't think it broke any rules, feel free to contact a moderator.

Thanks,