# O.K., I have GOT to know what happened here (Thread Zombied with the purpose of locking it) **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 24, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209 "2013-05-24T12:18:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/1 "2013-05-24T12:18:37Z")
[Anyone besides me see something really weird happening here?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=656008) _From what I can see . . ._ **dick2000** , who has made all of two posts ever, started that Thread in June 2012. The Thread got _no replies_ and then TODAY **TubaDiva** posts to the Thread, reviving the nearly year dead zombie, _just to lock it_ for the reason that **dick2000** had already asked the question in another Thread. The other Thread where **dick2000** asked the question was [a 2004 Thread by **Mr. Blue Sky**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=236446) which **dick2000** zombiefied in June 2012 to ask his question. **dick2000** then started his own new Thread (an exact copy&paste) 4 minutes later. Again, those two posts- nearly a year ago- are the only two posts **dick2000** has ever made here. To me, it doesn’t even look like any offense was intended. I looks like he asked the question in the similar topic Thread then realized he had posted to an 8 year old Thread and considered that to be a mistake and so started a new Thread (in his mind probably “instead of” rather than “in addition to”). But even disregarding my speculation that **dick2000** had just made an innocent mistake, _how did **TubaDiva** come to simulataneously Zombiefy it and lock it just now- nearly a year later_??? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/2 "2013-05-24T12:44:26Z")
I agree that this is a pretty weird situation, from what we can see. I wonder if the thread was first resurrected by a sock whose post has been disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/3 "2013-05-24T13:00:52Z")
1. Original thread was started in 2004. 2. dick2000 joined the board in 2012, added to thread, which garnered a little more traffic and even though a “zombie” was not closed. Just because somebody adds a posting to an old thread does not automatically mean that thread is closed or that the new poster is a bad person or a spammer, though that does sometimes happen. I was giving this guy the benefit of the doubt. 3. dick2000 [del]came back today [/del] came back in 2012, whereupon last night I missed the date and thought it was new. That double posting was there all along and we all missed it. 4. I closed the single incident of the post, left the one with traffic in place, and went off to sleep with the satisfaction of having completed my rounds for the night. Now see, that’s what comes of reading the board in the middle of the middle of the night. The 2012 thread probably was revisited by someone who was a spammer; when that spammer was removed the lone posting was left for me to trip over. This is a Paul Harvey moment. “Now you know … the rest of the story.” ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/4 "2013-05-24T13:58:17Z")
I ahh… think you lifted that from the plot for “Back to the Future part II,” dude. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/5 "2013-05-24T13:58:40Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > The 2012 thread probably was revisited by someone who was a spammer; when that spammer was removed the lone posting was left for me to trip over. Aha, got it. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/6 "2013-05-24T19:45:13Z")
This scenario happens here with some regularity: [ol][li] Long-dormant thread gets discovered and resurrected by a spammer (or sometimes, a troll).[/li][li] Sometimes, others will make additional posts to thread before mods intervene.[/li][li] A mod deletes the offending post, perhaps also banning spammer or troll.[/li][li] The other new posts, already there, are now out of context. Confusion ensues.[/li][li] Mod may close thread, sometimes adding a mod note post, sometimes not. More confusion ensues.[/ol][/li]May I suggest the following protocol for the mods: When you find a post that should be deleted under these circumstances, do this instead: Rather than delete the offending post, edit the post to delete all its content, and put some brief message like “Spam post deleted” or “Zombie raised by spammer, deleted” in its place. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/7 "2013-05-24T20:04:16Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > May I suggest the following protocol for the mods: When you find a post that should be deleted under these circumstances, do this instead: Rather than delete the offending post, edit the post to delete all its content, and put some brief message like “Spam post deleted” or “Zombie raised by spammer, deleted” in its place. This is actually what happens almost all the time. Usually when a spam post is deleted, a blank post with a “Reason for deleting: spam” is left in its place. I usually delete “spam reported” posts as well, so that the zombie will sink back out of sight. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/8 "2013-05-25T14:31:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > This is actually what happens almost all the time. Usually when a spam post is deleted, a blank post with a “Reason for deleting: spam” is left in its place. I usually delete “spam reported” posts as well, so that the zombie will sink back out of sight. If you delete the only new post(s), does it drop back to the last remaining post, or just stay where it was? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/9 "2013-05-25T18:11:39Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > If you delete the only new post(s), does it drop back to the last remaining post, or just stay where it was? It drops back to the date of the last non-deleted post, which is why I usually delete both the spam and spam report posts. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/10 "2013-05-26T22:21:45Z")
> [@Colibri (Post #7 above)](#): > > This is actually what happens almost all the time. **Usually when a spam post is deleted, a blank post with a “Reason for deleting: spam” is left in its place.** I usually delete “spam reported” posts as well, so that the zombie will sink back out of sight. > [@Colibri (Post #9 above)](#): > > It drops back to the date of the last non-deleted post, which is why **I usually delete both the spam** and spam report posts. Now I Я confused. The above remarks seem contradictory. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/11 "2013-05-26T22:47:52Z")
This is a deleted post. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/12 "2013-05-26T22:52:15Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Now I Я confused. The above remarks seem contradictory. The posts are “soft deleted,” which I demonstrated above. They remain in their positions in the thread. They are blank, but with the names of the posters who made them, a notation of who deleted them, and (usually) the reason for deleting. But a soft deleted post doesn’t “register” as a post for the purpose of bumping a thread. The software considers the “most recent post” in the thread to be the last non-deleted post. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/13 "2013-05-26T22:59:29Z")
Unfortunately, **Colibri** , you have been misled by your awesome Mod powers. WE see the “soft deleted” posts, but those who are not Mods or Admins see nothing except the post before it and after it. Note that the posts are renumbered with the “soft deleted” post having no number so that Senegoid has post #10 while your visible post is #11. (Try it. Log out and look at this thread; there will be no posts between 10 and 11.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/14 "2013-05-26T23:05:15Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Unfortunately, **Colibri** , you have been misled by your awesome Mod powers. :smack: It’s like Superman forgetting what things look like without X-ray vision, I guess.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/15 "2013-05-27T01:43:16Z")
Between post 10 and 11, I see this: > [@](#): > > Colibri > This message has been deleted by Colibri. Reason: To demonstrate what a soft deleted post looks like ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/16 "2013-05-27T01:58:19Z")
So, it is staff and paying members who see soft deletes? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/17 "2013-05-27T02:07:42Z")
I see nothing! NOTHING! ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/18 "2013-05-27T02:07:43Z")
I’m a paying member, Charter, etc etc. I see no soft delete between # 10 and # 11. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/19 "2013-05-27T03:00:13Z")
I see nothing between #10 and #11. Apparently, [\*\*Chronos \*\*used to be a mod.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15071718&postcount=44) Maybe he has some super vision left over? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209/20 "2013-05-27T03:03:30Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > So, it is staff and paying members who see soft deletes? **Chronos** was a mod once, was he not? If so, is he still mod enabled? ETA: Ninaja’ed by **Digital is the new Analog**. BTW, I discovered this only because there’s a poll over on GB asking votes for the “worst Durp mod of all time, past or present”, and **Chronos** is listed among them. ETA-2: And didn’t I see some historical note somewhere, to the effect that **Chronos** was once a very bad boy poster, under a different name, who got hisself bamminated? And then came contritely crawling back, groveling to be re-instated? And then he even got to be a mod? Just like St. Augustine! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-k-i-have-got-to-know-what-happened-here-thread-zombied-with-the-purpose-of-locking-it/659209.md?page=2)