# Some questions about "removed" threads **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 6, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-removed-threads/267915 "2004-10-06T20:41:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-removed-threads/267915/1 "2004-10-06T20:41:05Z")
Very recently a thread listed some private emails and prompted the newest sticky in MPSIMS. It was apparently “removed,” which I guess is different from locked because I can’t find it anywhere. So some questions: 1. Was the thread “removed” as in gone forever and totally inaccessible to Charter Members? 2. Is there a special criterion for a thread to be removed rather than just locked? 3. Will post counts still count the posts that were made in removed threads? 4. If the thread wasn’t removed, why can’t I find it? I tried looking in my post history (its gone) and tried searching for it (no sign of it). This question is a bit of a throwaway since I strongly suspect it was removed. 5. Why not edit out the emails given and just lock the thread, rather than remove it entirely? Honest curiosity, not trying to stir up trouble. I made the same mistake a while ago and the thread was simply locked, not removed entirely, so I was wondering why the different response. Thanks for any info. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-removed-threads/267915/2 "2004-10-06T21:02:23Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > 1. Was the thread “removed” as in gone forever and totally inaccessible to Charter Members? There are super secret forums which are accessible only to Admins and Mods. The thread in question may have been moved to one of them. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-removed-threads/267915/3 "2004-10-06T21:04:53Z")
I’m pretty sure the thread in question was removed. 1. Sometimes, removing offending posts from a thread renders the thread into nonsense, and it just makes more sense to delete the entire thread. I’ve also noticed that threads where the OP is a post that calls for deletion, the whole thread usually gets deleted as well, because there’s no point in the thread if the OP has to be removed. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-removed-threads/267915/4 "2004-10-06T21:56:11Z")
Sometimes it’s more expedient to remove a thread rather than try to edit it. This is especially true if there’s a lot of bad behavior going on in the thread. Rather than pick out the good from the bad, it all goes away. We also routinely remove threads from posters found to be trolling. This includes multilevel marketing and other kinds of spam as well as occasions when we find people who make posts for other reasons of their own that have little meaningful content. When the poster is removed from the board, we also remove threads and posts when feasible. Hope this 'splains it all for you. your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-removed-threads/267915/5 "2004-10-06T21:59:26Z")
What about post counts? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-removed-threads/267915/6 "2004-10-07T02:41:09Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > What about post counts? Since the posts are usually moved to the great mysterious forums that we Teeming Millions cannot read, I imagine they are still in the system and still included in our post counts. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-removed-threads/267915/7 "2004-10-07T15:21:20Z")
Thanks everybody for the info. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-removed-threads/267915/8 "2004-10-08T00:17:57Z")
Of course, it goes without saying this all goes on your permanent record. your humble TubaDiva ---
**Author:** ![King\_Eumenes\_II\_of\_Pergamum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@King\_Eumenes\_II\_of\_Pergamum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Eumenes_II_of_Pergamum)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-removed-threads/267915/9 "2004-10-08T15:15:51Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > What about post counts? What **Telemark** said is true, but he didn’t answer for the other case. Yes, when a thread is deleted your count goes down. At one time there was a purge of lots of Test threads on this forum and people complained that their counts went down (usually if they were just a few from a Magic Number and were planning a post count party). ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-removed-threads/267915/10 "2004-10-08T18:35:05Z")
Ah, Illumination. 🙂 P.S. **TubaDiva** , this is going on your permanent record, too! 😛