Deletion of multiple users posts without consent

NBAiii

I predominantly post in the more technical forums where many posters with a wealth of knowledge share their information for free. I had one such thread that I would go back to for guidance. However it had disappeared. Being curious and remembering the original poster of the thread I did some digging and it appears every thread started by that particular user, up to a certain date, has been deleted.

The user has not been banned, the account is still active and posting today and they have started multiple threads since the mass deletion which I estimate happened in January 2025. The account has been here since 2008 and they were an enthusiastic thread starter. I estimate that about 8000 posts of the users have been deleted and perhaps 900 threads that they started. Everyone that replied to those threads has had their content deleted, without warning. At a conservative average of ten replies per thread it could be another 9000 posts gone. It is probably many more. I don't believe that there was anything malicious in the threads, as I say I saw most in the more technical forums.

If what I'm saying is correct why was this user facilitated in having multiple threads deleted? There is a process to have accounts anonymised that could have been used. Even when Boards did allow deletion of posts a few years ago, other posters posts were not affected. This sets a dangerous precedent, there are multiple threads spanning years with vast amounts of technical detail in them across multiple forums. Are these now at risk if an OP decides to have their threads deleted?

I don't want to name the poster in question publicly but I can pass on the name to admins by PM if requested.

Spear

That could happen if someone (mod level upwards) accidentally used the delete content option on their account. PM me the name and I'll check the change log and see.

Spear

Well, that was long, slow and painful to go through the changelog, and I've found nothing to explain it.

I can see a few posts edited by the user, but that kind of mass deletion should be painfully obvious.

@Boards.ie: Mike or any admins, would you be able to see anything more?

NBAiii

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123301205#Comment_123301205

Thanks for the effort, Spear.

I'm going to tag in a few users that I would recognise from the various forums that may also have had posts deleted.

@The Cush @swoofer @10-10-20 @L1011 @banie01 @jimf @Wearb @John.G @Lenar3556

This is not an exhaustive list, just people that would spring to mind from various forums that I frequent. If anyone can think of other users from the Satellite, Terrestrial, DIY, Plumbing or Electrical forums that may have been affected by this, feel free to tag them in. Most probably would not have realised that some of their posts were removed.

I expect that there were multiple other users in forums that I don't use that have also suffered but I can't help there.

L1011

I've not noticed, or requested, any deletion but I oddly can't see my own created threads any more other than two. I would reply more than post new threads but I've definitely created more than two in 23 years.

10-10-20

For me, My Posts under my avatar lists 191 threads. That's about right for me I reckon.

How many do you see at the same location @L1011?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123301966#Comment_123301966

3.5k but I was a mod for a long time and every reported post on the old format created a thread. So can't trust that at all - I've definitely not created 3.5k normal threads.

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123301792#Comment_123301792

I can see discussions on your profile. Sometimes comments and discussions disappear from mine and then reappear.

I'm using Brave on Android, but issues seem to vary between desktop/mobile and even different browsers at different times.

There was a change in the report post function that was rolled back and that might have triggered something else.

smuggler.ie

@L1011 profile

https://www.boards.ie/profile/discussions/L1011

@NBAiii profile

I can see lists for other users
Sound like permissions issue #???

Spear

This doesn't look to be search index related. Some direct links to past threads suggest they're deleted too.

smuggler.ie

some work in the background or …
if i keep clicking"more discussions" they appear 1-2 at the time
@L1011

smuggler.ie

or can go to page directly
https://www.boards.ie/profile/discussions/L1011?page=p50 - full page listed
but
https://www.boards.ie/profile/discussions/L1011?page=p25 - "you do not have access"

28064212

How do you know the discussions have been deleted? If you're using the on-site search, or the user's profile page (which uses the same backend as search for finding posts), then that doesn't really tell you anything. The on-site search is, to put it mildly, unreliable. Large sections of the site regularly become completely invisible to it.

If you have direct links to old posts that are now showing as deleted, that's a different story, but if they're just not showing up in search/on profiles, that's "just" another bug

NBAiii

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123302303#Comment_123302303

I'm aware of the search limitations! You can see from smuggler's post above that one of my (two) started threads were about missing search results. As Spear said though, I don't believe that is the issue here.

I have multiple direct links to threads that were started by this user, all return "The page you were looking for could not be found.". The users post count has also dramatically reduced, it was over 8500 posts, now it is below 900. It just remains to see if it was a deliberate deletion or another bug as you said. If it was deliberate a lot of other users content got binned unfairly in my view.

Big Bag of Chips

Unfortunately, and I have done it occasionally in error, "delete all content" is quite easy to do. Restoring all content is an ordeal!

I ban a lot of spammers. And in the steps of banning I tick the "delete all content" tick box. This action has become muscle memory and I have (on two other occasions) deleted all content of posters in error. As far as I'm aware both posters had all their content restored.

As Spear says, the log isn't great to check, the search function isn't great!

But if all content was deleted for a particular poster it was either in error, or at the request of the poster. We're not in the habit of just wiping a poster's history "without consent" as you say.

10-10-20

Without specifics here on what's missing, we're stuck.

To categorise this better we'll need more specifics as right now the only indication is a misleading number. How do find another user who's missing posts and can we then use an archive, such as the waybackmachine, to help?

NBAiii

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123302493#Comment_123302493

All their content was not removed, the account was opened in 2008 and there are 500 posts still visible ranging from 2008 up to December 2024, which is around when the deletion happened. Obviously there are more after that date, this is just to show that all content was not removed. It is correct to say that the vast majority of the users posts were removed.

I'll PM the user involved to see if they can shed any light on the matter. I'll post back if they respond.

NBAiii

The user has replied to me stating that they were contacted by an admin apologising for the accidental deletion of their posts. It seems to be a case of what Spear and BBoC were talking about. Hopefully efforts can be made to restore the users posts.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123301792#Comment_123301792

Wonder if it's just the search option playing up ?

The comments on some of our profiles was only going back 3 or 4 months as discussed on the Bugs thread a while back .

edit. I see there has been some resolution on it by op

Spear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123304313#Comment_123304313

I could have restored them if they were visible in the changelog, but other than small legit edits by the user in question, I couldn't find what should be a massive number of entries. That's what I expected would happen if someone had accidentally used the 'delete content' option. But since there's none, I'm left to wonder if this was some kind of automation/scripted screw up more so, a wrong or typo'd user ID, copy paste error or the like.

NBAiii

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123302506#Comment_123302506

I had a look at the wayback machine and about one out of 40 threads that I tried was available on it. If Boards can't restore them from their own side they are not coming back.

NBAiii

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123304431#Comment_123304431

I've no idea how the back end Vanilla system operates so I can only go on what I am being told.