Deleting your own topics and posts

[Chuck]

OK....as you guys know, we turned off the ability for members that allowed you to delete your own content.   We did this because two or three members deleted their build logs by accident.  They were not recoverable.   However,   by turning off this feature,  it also disabled a members ability to delete the last post they made if they made it in error.    Whether on their topic or someone elses.  These two features are not separate in the software.   

 

So to be clear,   either you can delete both topics and the last post you made or nothing at all.  I understand how this can be a pain in the butt.   If you post something and want to delete it, you cant right now.  You can only edit your last post and remove the content.  Leaving a blank post.   Then you would have to contact a moderator or staff member to have us delete it.  Or we would have many posts that are blank or that you write..."removed content".   This is not ideal and quite sloppy

 

Why am I repeating all of this here?   We may have a solution.   We have mitigated this somewhat.  We have created up a feature currently only available to mods and admin.   When we delete a whole topic, it doesnt actually get deleted any longer.   It will be moved to a new "trash can" topic hidden from view.  Only a moderator or and admin can delete topics that end up in this trash can.    Until we do delete it forever it can always be moved back to the forum it came from.  I guess you can call it a restore feature.

 

BUT...this feature only applies to complete topics.   NOT individual posts.   So when a post (like one you had second thoughts about making on a topic is deleted)   it will be gone forever.  This also applies to us mods and admin.  When we delete an individual post....its gone forever.

 

SO.....what I am saying is.....we can now turn the feature back on that will allow you delete your own topics that you started and posts you have made.  But remember....individual posts are gone forever.   Only complete topics are sent to this "recoverable trash can"   

 

Should I turn this feature on for members?????

 

 

Pros.

You wont have to worry about deleting a complete topic or your build log and it will be gone forever......

you wont have to bombard the staff with requests to delete topics or individual posts....which judging from past activity happens very often.  

When you dont tell us to remove a post you  made in error we will have useless posts emptied by each member hanging out on the site.  This prevents that.

 

Cons.....if you do mistakenly delete one of your topics,  you must recognize soon that you did delete it by accident and tell a staff member to restore it.....we wont leave topics in this trash can forever.  We will empty it from time to time.   So you cant ask us 2 months later to restore a topic.

 

Once again......posts are gone forever....but a staff member will be able to restore your accidentally deleted topic.

 

Do you guys feel comfortable with this.  If so I can turn it back on for a trial run.   And I will post some screen shots of where you can go on a post to delete it vs.  deleting a full topic.   But I fear even with instructions some of you will mistakenly delete something.....

 

and once again....posts are gone for good.  BUt a complete topic you delete will now be restorable.  this is something we set up as a direct fix after several members mistakenly deleting their build logs with no easy way to recover them.  Now they will be recoverable.

[Nirvana]

Chuck,

 

Why not do a trial?

 

Otherwise, this is what I did in a previous input I couldn't delete.

 

fljldsjfa nkfdsfj nkkf

Sorry for the reply, please disregard the sentence above.

[Thistle17]

I think you should turn it on. I am aware that servers can get clogged with "junk" because someone has decided not to finish the projec as I did. I abandoned my Unicorn thread because I lost heart in a kit that was not accurate and its vintage was 1980's. Simply it was not a good place to re-enter the hobby. I found I could only delete some posts of mine but others who commented I could not. (Pre S/W upgrade).

 

Why not turn it on for a trial period and get feedback?

 

Joe

[Chuck]

Will do......and give me a moment to do some screen shots and show everyone what is what.

 

Remember......delete a topic and we can save it if you let us know soon.    Delete any individual post and its gone forever.

 

Back in a few minutes with some screen shots.

 

Chuck

[Jack12477]

Chuck is there any way with this new feature to force a "Confirm Delete" pop-up if the member accidentally (or on purpose) deletes a topic. It would ONLY have to apply to topic deletes not post deletes.? If the member had to "press Delete" twice, it might stop some of the accidental deletes.  Once the "Confirm Delete" is pressed then it's bye-bye topic and it goes into this new trash can you described.

[Chuck]

Yes indeed......trust me we now understand..........

 

 

OK....to delete a post you made (NOT A TOPIC).  click the options dropdown on the lower right of your post.  You will see delete......it will NOT be gone forever.  It goes to a holding bin for one month and then it goes away forever.  It will ask you if you are really really sure......

 

 

Most important...when you want to delete a WHOLE TOPIC you started.  See the four buttons above each topic .....at the top of your topic, these control your whole topic and NOT just a post.   You can ignore a topic etc.   But if you select Moderation Actions, you will see "delete, be very careful".   This will delete your entire topic, including anyone elses posts that were made in it.   You will see a pop up that ask you if you are really really sure about this....

 

If even after all of that,  you deleted it by mistake, the topic can be restored within a short period of time if you contact an admin.   Be sure to tell them the name of the topic and what forum area it was originally in so they can put it back there. But after one month if you dont contact us it will be gone forever.

 

[Nirvana]

Great Chuck,

Wish there were an Like extra much feature.

Works for me!

 

Did a try before posting this reply.

[ca.shipwright]

OKKKKKKKKKKKKK,

Let's see how this works.

 

But really could use the preview. This is where I found most of my errors.

 

Thanks for all that you do

 

Regards

[Chuck]

There is a preview.....In the editor as you are typing your post.......the very last icon.   The one that looks like a piece of paper with a magnifying glass.  In fact,  just hover over every icon in the editor bar to see what you can do.

 

Chuck

[mtaylor]

I guess the good thing is, that we can only delete topics we start ourselves otherwise mayhem could occur.  

 

Thanks for that delete button for posts.  Oh... cool.. I found the delete for PM's.   

[bhermann]

Chuck (and the other Administrators too)

 

Thanks for researching the possibilities on this subject and for presenting the options clearly.  I like the option to restore the delete function and appreciate the safety net put in place to protect us from destroying our logs inadvertently.  Hopefully the trial period will go well and this will be able to be maintained.

 

Bob

 

PS:  thanks for pointing out where the preview function moved to.  I never thought to look anywhere other than where the button used to be.  What can I say, it is hard to shake off old training

[pompey2]

Would it be practical for Admins, before emptying the trash bin, to scan and check there are no large topics that may well have been deleted in error?

Don't want to overload Admins but a member might not realise he deleted his topic before it's too late.

[James H]

If we empty every 2 months, then it's likely that a member will realise he deleted a topic in that time, unless he only did the day before we empty. 

 

Please remember that that there is a responsibility on members for their own actions too. We have given you the tools and we ask that you use them responsibly and really look at what buttons you're pressing. 

[Chuck]

Just giving this a bump, as a few folks have been deleting their topics in error recently.   New screen shots below.   We changed the  text for the buttons which will hopefully make this clearer.  It wasnt very clear to some that there were actually two buttons. Each has very different purposes.  One is for taking action (deleting)  your topic while the other was for taking action (deleting) your post within that topic.  The changes are.....

 

To delete an entire topic you started....

 

The button used to say "Moderation actions". and appeared on the top and bottom of every topic you started.  You will not see this on topics that other people started.  It probably wasnt the best wording choice.

 

The button now reads  "Topic Actions (user & Moderators)"   and if you select it, you can delete your entire topic.   You will only see this button on topics you started.  Moderators have many additional options (or actions they can perform) hence wording.  When you select this I believe you guys will only see one option which says "delete Content - Be careful"

 

If you select that you will see a warning message....Are you really sure...check what you are doing...blah blah blah.  If you say yes, the entire topic will be deleted.   If for some reason you do this in error,  you will now have 90 days to contact us to let us know, and we should be able to restore your topic.  After that it will be gone forever. So please be careful

 

 

To delete a post you made there is a different button.   It appears at the bottom of each post you made.....and you will NOT see this on posts that other members have made.  You will only see this on your posts.  see screen shot below.

 

Previously this button just said "options" with no indication that it was for topics or for posts inside a topic.   By renaming them consistently, we hope the difference between the two are much clearer.   Moderators and Admin will once again have many more "actions" they can take on a post and you will only see one I believe.  This time it says..."Delete Content - Be careful"  .  If you select this you will get one additional warning.  It says "Are you sure you want to delete this post".  If you select this.....your post will be deleted.   

 

I hope this makes it clearer and will help some members from accidentally deleting their build logs.