Why Do People Remove Their Threads Which May Have Useful Information For Others?

I agree Rebecca! I frequently do searches and read very old posts for good info.

Perhaps the OP doesn't want to receive notifications of new posts any longer and doesn't know that notifications can be turned off. That way the thread could remain and the OP won't be bothered with notification emails.

Zoe, that is a thought. And they could post thanks, they have all the information they need. Maybe that would solve the problem of answers continuing.

Jill, I know! Sometimes it is difficult to find recent information on a certain subject. And even more frustrating when you know a question was just asked last week. And now you're wondering, "Where did that thread go?"

here is a recent thread same topic as yours:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/why-do-people-delete-their-own-non-controversial-posts

Hello Jazz. Thanks. I had not seen that other thread. My comment was specific to some questions that have been asked here on the England forum in the last 5 days. Good info from many people. Then the OP deleted those threads, 3 or 4 threads. So much good information, vanished.

Rebecca,

I also find it quite annoying when people remove threads that could have information useful for others. It sometimes takes me awhile to reply to some posts as I provide useful links to help answer the question. If the thread is deleted, it makes me wonder why I even bothered to reply.

I'm not sure who the OP is that you're referring to and not sure if I posted any replies to their questions? If I find that someone is deleting threads that I replied to, I won't bother replying to any more of their questions.

I don't like my hard work thrown away either.

I think it is often selfishness - I found what I wanted (or didn't want) and nobody else can have this.

Or they are embarrassed by not getting the validation they wanted and take it down so nobody can see how wrong they were.

Since I can't work out who Rebecca is speaking about I can't say which of the above or something different is going on.

My policy is if my answers are deleted by a poster (as opposed to a very occasional wrangle with the most excellent webmaster we have here) I never answer any further questions from them.

I have never started a post but I have gotten so much valuable information from reading the posts over the years. I have responded a few times and thought about deleting my response when I get a snarky comment from someone, so I would understand if an OP just got annoyed by snarky comments.

Not certain I’d call it selfish. If the person asked a specific question and got it answered, then there’s no reason to continue the thread. I’ve done it myself. More generic questions may be more pertinent to a lot of people, so I can understand leaving the thread on the forum. If I see information I like, I copy it when I see it. Then it doesn’t matter if the thread is taken down.

@ jaimeelsabio How can you be certain the information given in the thread won't be of use to someone else? I always do a search for info prior to asking a new question. Some of the regular posters on this forum put a lot of time and effort into their answers. It does seem selfish to me to delete your thread. What's the purpose of deleting it? I really don't understand. How can too much information be a bad thing?

I tend to agree with jaimeelsabio, It's a bit presumptuous to call someone selfish without knowing the reason why they deleted their post. And the fact is that it is their post and they have the right to delete it if they want to and we may never know why they made that decision.

I know it's frustrating to spend the time and effort to make a detailed, well researched response to a post and then have that post deleted; or to see some good information that you want to refer back to and find that the post has been deleted. I share the same frustration. But, unless the webmaster changes the rules and reserves the sole right to delete posts, we will have to deal with our frustration.

It is what it is.

One of mypet peeves!

“ If a person asked a specific question and got it answered, there is no reason to continue the thread.” OK, but why delete it? Just let it be. Deleting is an unnecessary affirmative step, which in many cases deprives others of useful information that the helpful people here have provided. I disagree with Nancy’s comment that it is “their (the OP’s) post”, so he or she should be able to do as they wish. The question is theirs, but the answers come from the community as a whole.

There have been times when I was so interested in a question I would spend 15-20 minutes researching and posting an answer. That answer was meant to be helpful to many, not just the OP. If the OP deletes the thread, my time has been totally wasted.

Perhaps an OP could initiate a "lock" action on a thread to preclude further answers, but the information in the thread would still be available to others? Webmaster?

I'll agree that it can frustrating to see posts disappear which have been generously responded to and which could be of value to other trip planners. While the search function may not be perfect, neither is it completely useless where researching similar questions is concerned.

What bothers me more sometimes is the poster who wipes inquiries/threads which contain critical details, and then posts new questions which omit those details. Referencing posting histories can turn up all sorts of information which should be considered when offering helpful advice? One which comes to mind was someone who had a question about an aggressive itinerary yet neglected to mention that they'd be traveling with very young children. That information was available in a prior thread, and bringing it to light altered advice responders unaware of that detail had provided to that point. If that prior thread had been deleted, that important detail would have been lost. Does that make sense?

I don't think a poster should be able to wipe out an entire thread, just his or her own posts. However, if the initial post/inquiry disappears, the rest would likely be pretty meaningless.

Perhaps the webmaster could consider altering the pop-up confirmation message that appears when you indicate that you want to delete a post. It could say something like "Posts are useful to many future travelers, and forum member spend a lot of time providing information they hope will be useful. Are you sure you want to delete this?"

I belong to a Facebook group that is a learning group and if you delete threads without permission you are shown the door.

I agree with Lola!

"There have been times when I was so interested in a question I would spend 15-20 minutes researching and posting an answer. That answer was meant to be helpful to many, not just the OP. If the OP deletes the thread, my time has been totally wasted."

The threads that have disappeared lately were what to do in Wales and the Lake District. Three of the threads had 12 to 15 great replies! People suggested lovely villages to stop and see. One of our regular posters who hikes a lot suggested trails in Wales and the Lake District that would be scenic. Someone else suggested a favorite pub in the Lake District! There were excellent suggestions. Some people had written 3 long paragraphs and given links.
After a day or two, these three threads were gone. About 45 good pieces of information, gone. People had put time and effort into these answers.

We should ask, politely, that people leave their threads up if they have lots of good information on them. Thanks very much.

I think (or I'm hoping) the problem stems in part from lack of awareness from the OP that they can turn OFF their notifications about new responses to their thread. Perhaps if the prospective alert "please consider before deleting as information may well be valuable to others " pop-up could also remind posters that they can turn off their notifications of incoming responses to the thread.

I've been kind of hoping the webmaster would chime in here. It would be nice to know if there are any plans in the works to make any changes to this feature. If not, we'll all just have to live with the possibility that some good answers will disappear into the ether; and hope that that possibility does not prevent the posters here from sharing their excellent experience and information.

Thanks to everyone who has posted here, for your thoughts and suggestions. All very good.