# Saw a whole thread get deleted today. Didn't think threads would get deleted **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 31, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-a-whole-thread-get-deleted-today-didnt-think-threads-would-get-deleted/198736 "2003-08-31T02:16:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-a-whole-thread-get-deleted-today-didnt-think-threads-would-get-deleted/198736/1 "2003-08-31T02:16:56Z")
This morning, I noticed a thread in General Questions, “How do I become gay?” and opened it. Before I had a chance to start reading, I clicked another web site to look up some information, thinking I could use the Back button to get back to the Dope when I had the chance. I went away and did some other things. When I returned and went back to the thread, I got an error message that the SDMB could not find that page or something. I looked in all the other forums, but it was nowhere to be found. I used the Search function, but there was neither hide nor hair of this thread. Very odd. I have never seen a thread deleted before (except in the Great Thread Mass Extinction of February 1992, but that was a consequence of the whole board going down; it wasn’t like this at all). Did anyone else notice this thread during its brief existence, or was I hallucinating it? ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-a-whole-thread-get-deleted-today-didnt-think-threads-would-get-deleted/198736/2 "2003-08-31T02:39:07Z")
I’ve seen it twice so far in the past week or so. Threads involving spam-type links, both of them. I guess it’s easier to delete them than break the link and close the thread. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-a-whole-thread-get-deleted-today-didnt-think-threads-would-get-deleted/198736/3 "2003-08-31T03:04:02Z")
Not uncommon. You just happened to be there quickly. Most posters never realize this happens. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-a-whole-thread-get-deleted-today-didnt-think-threads-would-get-deleted/198736/4 "2003-08-31T03:15:42Z")
You’d be surprised at the Awesome Moderator Powers. There’s something called a “mass prune” that I’ve never had the guts to investigate, over on the Pizza Parlor (which runs on the same software) where I’m a Mod. The idea scares me! :eek: You can delete a whole thread, any given post in a thread except the OP (unfortunately, deleting it deletes the thread as a whole), merge two threads into one (with sometimes-peculiar results), move threads with or without redirect tags left behind, move entire forums (not particularly valuable here, but useful where there are cascading groups of forums on other boards)… If it can be done, vBB equips Moderators and Admins. with the powers to do it. (BTW, something fascinating – it’s quite possible to give a single user or a group of users permissions to post in only one or selected forums. I don’t offhand have a clue why anybody might want to do that on any board I frequent, but it’s an interesting gimmick. It’s also possible to create a forum that nobody – _Admins. included_ – has access to. Again why you might want one is beyond me, but vBB appears to be amazingly flexible! ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-a-whole-thread-get-deleted-today-didnt-think-threads-would-get-deleted/198736/5 "2003-08-31T03:25:14Z")
Interesting, isn’t it? Has anyone heard from **Zenster** lately? Seriously, I wonder why he’s stopped posting… ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-a-whole-thread-get-deleted-today-didnt-think-threads-would-get-deleted/198736/6 "2003-08-31T03:44:00Z")
The thread in question was started by a returning troll, so one of the mods removed it. Usually, when you see a thread disappear like that, it’s because a troll started it. ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-a-whole-thread-get-deleted-today-didnt-think-threads-would-get-deleted/198736/7 "2003-08-31T03:51:38Z")
Good ol’ Zenster. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-a-whole-thread-get-deleted-today-didnt-think-threads-would-get-deleted/198736/8 "2003-08-31T04:03:17Z")
Just curious, post counts don’t mean much to me, but if you had posted to a deleted link, does your post count go down by however many posts you made pre-deletion? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-a-whole-thread-get-deleted-today-didnt-think-threads-would-get-deleted/198736/9 "2003-08-31T04:57:05Z")
I’ll close this thread since the question has been answered.