[Start Gripe]
So often I've seen this.

Somebody posts a question/request for something, then (probably) realises that they knew the answer all along (or found it out quickly), so deletes their new thread.

But, of course, it still stays there in the Forum (just marked deleted).

Some of these deleted threads look like they might have interesting questions that I might either be able to answer (and so help any others that might come up with wht-ever-it-was), or OTOH, I might learn something new myself.

Even more frustrating is when the original topic gets deleted after one or two other members have replied....and you don't know what they were answering!

[/Gripe]

Cheers,
Diolma

(Frustrated yet again, a condition I'm getting so used to it's almost normal..)

Message edited on: 11/01/2005 16:28

Diolma, I can understand that. That is a good point that when it is deleted that it could have been a question that could have helped others. Maybe other members haven't thought of it that way. Good that you have brought this up though. Ryuslilangel Poser Moderator

Ditto the gripe. I've been guilty of doing that in the past; finally learned that it's more helpful to post something like: "Never mind, found the answer", and then specify the answer. There are [almost] no truly unique questions in this realm, and every solution will help someone sooner or later.

Ockham raises a good point of basic netiquitte. If you get the answer to a question elsewhere (e.g. in e-mail or private message) share the solution or answer with others in the same thread that the subject was raised in. Many more people read these threads than post to them. Archived answers will potentially be helpful to future readers as well.

"There are [almost] no
truly unique questions in this realm, and
every solution will help someone sooner
or later."

Totally agree. But usually the original questions disappear into the long and distant past, so they keep re-ocurring from newbies. And who can help the newbies? Ans: the oldies:-)

Sorry, ockham - just realised that that looks like a criticism of your post, wasn't meant that way...

I just feel that leaving the original question around can help people. Even if it does make the forum database a bit bigger.

Or maybe the mods could step in a bit more and point pple to the relevant thread?
OK, I know. It's a lot of work and effort.. So probably they can't (not in the real world). Maybe some (posters, not mods) will get the message:-))

Cheers,
Diolma
Edited to add: or maybe some mods:-)) Well if wishes were horses, we'd all have P7, which had a REAL "Make Art" button...:-))

Message edited on: 11/01/2005 17:49

I don't do it often, but I have done it a few times. I'm sorry :( I can't speak for others, but I can tell you the reasons I have deleted new posts: 1. Wanting to add something to it but being unable to edit it. So I delete it and post a new one. 2. Fights with the send button resulting in multiple posts being made, so I delete all by one. 3. As you stated, finding the answer soon after and prior to someone replying. The reason I delete these is because sometimes I feel like a nuisance and that I'm imposing on people. I only post my questions if I absolutely can't figure it out myself. Sometimes after a long time of looking without success I post only to find what I was seeking right afterward. A few times I've deleted the content of my post and put "found the answer". I do see what you mean about sometimes the question being asked could be of value to others, even if it's no longer of value to the person who posted it.

With the amount of info available in the forums here it's a real pity rosity can't use the same system as other similar sites & "sticky" the really important threads so everyone can find them.

I have often thought that the entire forum would benefit from some further organization - mostly the very simple options that free software like phpBB has automatically... Bumping threads with new posts, icons to see if anything's been added, sub-categories like Troubleshooting, Rants, WIP/Merchant Resource, Freebie Announcements, whatever. Also, if there was ONE link for each thread, not half a page of the same subject line repeated, for every popular thread. Just little things that might help the site be more navigable. The Poser forum is one of the biggest, from what I've seen, and it's a great jumbled mess because its too big for its own code. I realize that the mediators probably have no control over such things, but, heck, I'd even be willing to help organize old posts into appropriate categories, to make them more useful to research (or start a repository for frequently asked questions?) sometimes doing a 'search' on the forum is less than helpful. Anyway, just my 2 cents.