Vanishing posts

It could be the OP didn't like the responses they were getting. I had that happen twice today. They were no loss, IMO. But it can be annoying when there is good info within the responses which could benefit other readers.

Latest one tonight probably had no useful information, so it’s ok.

There was another this week with responses that were getting kind of pointed and the OP may have felt responsible and didn’t want to feel like the cause. I can understand.

The only one i noticed vanishing was the Is Germany Safe? thread from yesterday. Were they controversial like that one?

I’ve deleted a couple of my posts because they were getting responses that struck me as weird and icky, but not quite to the point where I felt justified in complaining to the Webmaster.

Yes, I noticed that a post I had responded to a couple of days ago is now gone.
I think perhaps people sometimes don’t like the answers they receive, and decide that their post is not worth pursuing.
There could be many reasons.

The post about whether the forum should only be for RS Tour users is gone…..

The thread I started about Berlin got eaten by the spam filter. No idea why. I asked support and it was rescued and restored.

If the filter is being aggressive with me it could easily be aggressive with others. If someone just signed up they might have simply left when their post disappeared without asking about it.

Thanks everyone. Glad to know it wasn't just my imagination. Yes to the Safe Germany post, changing the forum to tour members only and the complaint about Viator from a tour operator. I won't editorialize about those, but I think we're in agreement, nothing lost. However there are informative posts within the threads and posters usually take time to write thoughtful answers.

During the past week two of my post just vanished as did another reply to the same thread. Reposted and all was well. The technical term for what's happening is "GOK" -- God Only Knows.

The technical term for what's happening is "GOK" -- God Only Knows.

That explains so many things - I wish I'd have learned the term long ago !!!
Great morning chuckle :-)

Unsure if I’m one of them, but I insta-deleted a recent Iceland Volcanoes thread for two reasons

1) I subsequently saw a reply to a recent Iceland post dealt with the same info
2) I thought my post I added more smoke than substance. I was inserting myself into a really serious situation. It was self-absorbed and wasn’t helpful so I quickly deleted it.

I later did see an email notification that someone had replied, but I never saw the post as it happened concurrently

I've found it annoying that a few times I've added a response along with other people and then the OP appears to have deleted the thread. I'm talking about perfectly innocuous topics, not something controversial. Part of what makes contributing to the forum enjoyable is seeing other people's perspective on a question you've answered. When the thread is deleted it feels a bit like Lucy yanking the football away.

There doesn't seem to be a sub-forum for discussing forum issues & suggestions that some other sites have, I guess this is the closest. If the webmaster reads this thread I'd like to suggest putting a time limit on thread & post deletions. Some other sites have a 15 or 30 minute window after posting to change your mind about a thread or reply

I honestly think it's something with the spam filter. I posted on Wanderbug's thread but when I tried to edit it, I got the floor shot of Rick. I couldn't understand why, so I sent Wanderbug a PM, and s/he told me about the spam filter, which I thought was weird, because s/he is not a first time poster.

Maybe start checking with either the OP or the Webmaster if that keeps happening so that they know about it.

I also hate to think that members here are deleting threads because of certain responses. If a response is strange enough to justify deletion, then it's strange enough to notify the Webmaster. Just hit the "report" button and enter a few words asking them to check it out. He wants to know; believe me.

But if you delete threads, not only are deleting the strange stuff, but also legitimate posts that people spent time on. I really hate this feature. In fact, this is the only forum I know of where someone can delete their post. You can't on most other forums. You can delete your account, but not threads or posts.

I have deleted 1 or 2 of my threads before when the responses were such that I felt it was the best choice available. There is always a risk when you start a thread or pose a question that someone will "hijack" the thread or post responses that seem a bit "off". It is the risk you take. Most of the time, I just flow with the thread. A few times, some of what was being posted was either so offensive or so far from the purpose of the thread and I took the only action I could.

“ The post about whether the forum should only be for RS Tour users is gone…..” because multi-thousand/daily posters jumped on it as though they - personally- were “the elephant in the room”/compulsive bloggers that social psychologists and psychiatrists have recently been studying in professional journals. Their collective Forum angst was troubling.

"I've found it annoying that a few times I've added a response along with other people and then the OP appears to have deleted the thread. I'm talking about perfectly innocuous topics, not something controversial."

I have thought for a long time that this is the work of trolls. They get a topic posted, especially one that is complicated, let forum members put lots of effort into helpful replies, then delete the whole thing.

Who knows how some people get their kicks.

"When the thread is deleted it feels a bit like Lucy yanking the football away."

Exactly my point. They want people to be frustrated; exactly what is voiced in this thread.

@Tom - So, did you remove your thread or did the webmaster?

And still I am slightly puzzled at what seems to be....disdain? Scorn? Contempt? for people who post a lot. Not sure what the point is and why anyone's posting habits are of concern to others. It's easy enough to skip over posters someone doesn't resonate with.

It's easy enough to skip over posters someone doesn't resonate with.

Exactly right, Pam

I'd like to be given the opportunity to decide for myself if I'll take the information as definitive. The contrasting views are often what pique my interest to do further research if it's of application to me or my travels. I want to weigh the information myself...and if necessary, take a post (or attitude) with a grain of salt. We don't need to get our panties in a wad about how much someone posts.

Be as controlled or windy as you want. I'll read it (or not).

periscope, i completely agree with you.

I've delete a some thread when the discourse gets too back and forth over some pedantic sub-point; nobody really wants to read that ..

I agree with Tom.

It also must be easier for moderators. Forum users end up deleting some problematic posts or threads, instead of asking moderators to figure it out, communicate with posters etc. I think the benefits of this outweigh the occasional loss of useful information.

There is clearly an issue with the spam filter- one of my information posts on UK train disruption has disappeared, and just now I found that even the link to this week's MNT is also producing a RS exhausted page- MNT I can pick up on You Tube- but just amusing that the problem is even affecting the MNT web page.

I agree with Gail. And I think one should be able to delete one's own post to a thread indefinitely. There's many times I've had second thoughts and took back an unhelpful post, a poor attempt at humor, or realized it was just an echo of someone else's post.

Perhaps people would be OK with a thread deletion if the OP was told why?

I have been consistent in my view that the ability for a thread initiator to be able to delete the whole thread unilaterally is about the worst feature of the way this forum operates technically compared with many others. But it is what it is.