Automatically delete topics instead of "(topic deleted by author)"

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AI-generated summary

The discussion revolves around the behavior of deleted topics, which are currently marked as “(topic deleted by author)” instead of being automatically removed. henvo initiated the conversation, highlighting the issue, especially when topics are deleted shortly after posting with no replies. JammyDodger pointed out the Delete removed posts after admin setting, which controls the time window for deleted posts, defaulting to 24 hours. Olle11 and JammyDodger also clarified that deleted topics are visible to everyone, not just admins/mods. The conversation suggests experimenting with the setting to find a suitable approach for the community.

1

A user

  1. posts a topic,
  2. makes a mistake or changes their mind,
  3. delete the topic
  4. the topic stays in place, with the message “(topic deleted by author)”

There is little indication this topic has been removed until you view the content.

This doesn’t seem ideal, especially if there are no replies or the deletion happens within a few hours.

Is there a setting to change this behavior and simply remove the topic from the index when the user deletes it?

3

Interesting. I also think that it is only shown to admins/mods

4

There’s the Delete removed posts after admin setting which controls the time window/delay for how long they stick around. It’s default 24 hours, which does seem a little on the long side. Though I have seen quite a few people use the ‘delete because I made a mistake, edit, and then restore’ flow, so changing that setting to 0 and deleting immediately may be too far in the other direction.

But you can of course have an experiment and adjust to what suits your community best. :slight_smile:

These are actually visible to everyone, not just mods/admins. :+1: