Deleting threads instead of locking them?
 

I've replied to two threads in the last week (on General Discussion, I think)--one started by DaveOrion and another by someone I didn't know, but who had some grand philosophical argument to make, and I found it interesting (I asked if he was a Marxist, in my reply)--neither were spam threads, as far as I could tell. Both threads have vanished without warning or explanation, and so have my posts on them.

I mean, I understand when the mods make executive decisions and all, but I thought that unless a thread was known to be spam, it would just be locked until the OP re-organized it better?... what's with the total deletion of a thread?

The thread wasn't deleted, the conversation had some points of discussion for the staff because of a couple complaints.

The marxist one was unfortunately tagged as spam, but also not deleted. I asked the OP to clarify since he's placed that very same post word for word on at least 10 different forums and never returned to discuss them. I am waiting for his reply.

We don't delete threads unless they are spam. If a thread seems to have disappeared it may be due to being moved to another forum, sometimes it is a forum you can't see like the staff forums.

Generally we do lock threads that the OP needs work.

Huh, weird. I guess they appear deleted to me, since most of us can't see the staff forums.

Interesting about the marxist spammer. I guess it didn't sound like spam to me, but apparently it was.

Thanks for the reply.

abaya, that's a good reminder for us. Those threads would look deleted to you, and we don't always remember that.

Yah - I posted in a birthday thread a few days ago, one with some lively interplay and pretty funny comments - the thread has since vanished. Never seen that happen before . . .

Sometimes people don't want their birthdays highlighted in a thread.