Preventing opening posts from being deleted?

[andywestken]

Should opening posts be blocked from deletion?

While I think it's OK to edit/delete replies, I'm wondering whether openong posts should be neither delete-able nor edit-able.

Removing the opening post from a thread effectively kills it, so after encountering a number of opening-post excisions recently, I am coming to think that they should be irrevocable. If you do muck you post up, you can always reply to it.

And, as a side effect, it might make people a bit more careful with their opening messages!

Andy

[andywestken]

I meant "whether opening posts" and "you do muck your post"... ;-)

[firedraco]

It might be. At the very least, it'll prevent topics where someone wanders in and goes "wtf are you replying to?" Also, it might be interesting to let people see older versions of posts (i.e. those that have been edited).

[BHX]

Bare in mind that some of the threads with no original post was most likely removed by an administrator (as was the case in almost all of Spoon Licker's multiple accounts).

[REVISION]
Also, I've had some of my topics just suddenly disappear so I had to retype them. This may be an issue with the boards as well.

[cire]

I haven't had any actually disappear after I posted them, but I have had the page behave inexplicably as if I'd hit the browser back button when I was typing and lost things that way.

edit: And, on topic, I think being able to delete/edit original posts is fine.

[shacktar]

I'm all for auto-locking opening posts. If the opening post isn't to be locked right away, it could be locked as soon as the first reply is received. This rule could also help weed out some of the users asking for homework advice.

[BHX]

This rule could also help weed out some of the users asking for homework advice.

So you want to discriminate against those seeking advice on homework? I'd think the normal posts of "we won't do your homework for you" works fine. Though seeking advice isn't looking for someone to do your homework for you. Seeking advice in your homework is nor different than those seeking advice on what projects to do for building their skills. As I said, seeking advice on homework is not the same as asking someone to do the homework.

[shacktar]

Where's that edit button? I worded it poorly, i.e. "advice". In my mind I meant the users that post questions relating to their homework, only to later delete their OP and possibly their other posts in their thread out of fear their professor/teacher will catch them asking for help online. I've seen that happen quite a few times. That's the kind of behaviour that could be reduced with this rule. Of course the problem there is the professors and not necessarily the students.

Asking for homework advice, as in posting questions relating to homework, but not the entire homework question outright, is perfectly fine.

[cire]

I don't see any reason to impose the rule for a very small minority of paranoid people. Most questions asked that get deleted are remedial in nature and, let's face it, people who need answers to questions like that don't use the search function in the forums, so preserving yet-another-post on the subject doesn't seem terribly compelling.

[MrHutch]

Am I right in thinking that users that have less than a certain number of posts will have their post automatically deleted if they're reported?

Could explain some of the posts going AWOL.

[BHX]

I think there is a time limit to being able to delete the thread/posts. For example, my post a minute ago no longer has a delete button to it. As for iHutch105's question, I think it is set so they have to be reported a lot to get it deleted because your method makes it unfair and major troll bait. If that was true someone like Spoon licker could just come in and report the first post of every new member causing no one to come here anymore.