# What the hell happened? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 15, 2002, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872 "2002-12-15T08:53:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/1 "2002-12-15T08:53:16Z")
The other day there was a thread in GQ,m something along the lines of “the grossest thing you ever saw” or something like that. It was obviously in the wrong forum, but I still responded with a link to my thread about the time I saw a guy eat horse shit at the State fair. I’ve been looking for that thread all day and can’t find it. I’ve lokked in every forum as well as using the search feature. It’s as if it disappeared from the boards. Did it? ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/2 "2002-12-15T09:10:43Z")
I saw the same thing you did. I looked in my browser’s history and found the page. I think it’s been moved to the mods-only forum. Here’s the link. See for yourself: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=150289](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=150289) ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/3 "2002-12-15T09:18:07Z")
There’s a mods only forum? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/4 "2002-12-15T09:22:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Asylum \* > \*\*There’s a mods only forum? \*\* Apparently so, as I was not allowed into the link. WTH? What’s going on here? ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/5 "2002-12-15T10:07:30Z")
Ooops. Sorry, I thought everyone knew. Well, if it was supposed to be a secret, I guess you can see something similar happening to this thread too real soon. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/6 "2002-12-15T13:35:37Z")
Rather than deleting objectionable threads, I imagine the Moderators move them to a private forum invisible to ordinary users. Rather than simply deleting offensive threads, moving them allows Moderators to retain the discussions – for their own salacious pleasure, I’d imagine 😉 – while preventing further views or responses from us mere mortals. Hence the strange error message. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/7 "2002-12-15T13:41:51Z")
Gawd, what a mish-mash of words. Please ignore that second “rather than…”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/8 "2002-12-15T15:57:28Z")
If I may… This question cropped up (a few times, actually) not too terribly long ago, about some other thread(s) now lost in the mists. It is much less strain on the server to move a thread than to delete it. There is a “mods and up only” forum, where objectionable material can be put in deep storage, and either forgotten, or deleted at some other, off peak, time. Someplace to hide it, quick, for threads that are either especially incendiary, or legally objectionable, and easier to find when it’s time to give that puppy the old heave-ho. (I’m paraphrasing madly here, but those are the basics of it, I think.) [sub]If I’m terribly misremembering all this, some higher power will be along to whisk **me** off to the forum of no escape, I’m afraid. In which case, forget everything I just said, and run for it![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/9 "2002-12-15T16:15:31Z")
Sometimes threads are moved by request of the OP. I believe at least one of mine was moved when I asked it to be removed from view, but I have no way of knowing if it still exists. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/10 "2002-12-15T20:02:22Z")
The person who posted that thread is not welcome to be a member of this community. Ergo, his thread went bye-bye. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/11 "2002-12-16T04:00:42Z")
That thread isn’t here. That thread was never here. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/12 "2002-12-16T06:54:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manhattan \* > \*\*The person who posted that thread is not welcome to be a member of this community. Ergo, his thread went bye-bye. \*\* Now I know! Thank you! 😃 Eh, just out of morbid curiosity, may I ask why they aren’t welcome here? ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/13 "2002-12-16T07:22:29Z")
They asked too many questions. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-happened/142872/14 "2002-12-16T18:27:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pkbites \* > may I ask why they aren’t welcome here? [From the FAQ - guidelines for posting](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=2665645#post2665645)