# What happened to this thread? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 16, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-this-thread/521521 "2009-12-16T20:07:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-this-thread/521521/1 "2009-12-16T20:07:40Z")
What was with this thread?! It has me as the first poster, but when I posted I swear there were two other posts before mine that were pretty much gobbldygook, thus my post. I notice it’s closed now. I kind of look like an idiot there. (I know, no big stretch). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-this-thread/521521/2 "2009-12-16T20:16:35Z")
Probably was a spammer or a sock and TPTB vanished the posts. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-this-thread/521521/3 "2009-12-16T20:16:49Z")
My guess is that spam posts were removed. It probably went like this. A Moderator noticed spam and deleted the posts but neglected to check the box that says to remove all threads started by the spammer. Thus, only the spammer’s posts were removed but your post remained in the thread. A different Mod happened along and saw the thread as it is now without knowing the history and locked it thinking that you were the OP and started something too silly for the forum. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-this-thread/521521/4 "2009-12-16T20:18:08Z")
Spammer gibberish meant to get past filters (I don’t think TSDMB has any such filters, but TPTB can clarify that). You saw stuff like “The floppy dinosaur wafted cheerily through the bus,” right? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-this-thread/521521/5 "2009-12-16T20:55:31Z")
'Twas me. I did indeed ban the OP and disappear the posts – then my browser crashed and by the time I was up and running again I forgot I was in the middle of tidying things up on him. (All his other posts were midthread, from which they could disappear without leaving a hole in the space/time continuum – this was his only OP.) Sorry about that – will go do now. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-this-thread/521521/6 "2009-12-16T21:04:17Z")
Actually, it _did_ make it look like I created kind of a profound OP, in a non-existential Learyesque kind of way. Thanks for the explanation. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-this-thread/521521/7 "2009-12-16T21:06:28Z")
Yeah, I was having some serious flashbacks to my misspent youth as well. 😉