I have a self-hosted Discourse. It is quite up to date (a few weeks since update). Per Enable setting to allow admins to permanently delete data, the feature is enabled.
I use the wrench to delete a topic as a moderator. I switch to my admin account and wait well over 5 minutes. I paste the URL of the deleted topic in the browser address and the deleted topic is loaded. I click the wrench and only see Un-Delete Topic and other options. I do not see a Permanently Delete option.
Oh. I had read that I could delete topics. Now I have discovered that clicking “…” on the deleted topic post then selecting the post’s wrench that a Permanently delete option is presented.
Addressing every post within a topic in this manner is going to be a lot of work when the intention is to efficiently permanently delete a lengthy topic or when it is necessary to permanently delete many topics. My Discourse site has physical size constraints. I have multiple backups (five) accumulating. Targeted housekeeping can make a difference to the total platform footprint.
i think maybe you need to be admin? it’s just the delete option but it’s permanent when the setting is enabled:
Thanks for your help, @Lilly .
That seemed like a very good point. Then I saw, as you point out, that once Delete is selected, the modal displayed indicates a permanent action. While this will help me to efficiently delete topics as a moderator, the action is inconsistent with the documentation of the Permanently Delete behaviour.
you an submit an update of the documentation if you want?
And just now, I hit that “Delete 2 topics” button using my regular, moderator account. Then I switched to my admin account and pasted the URL of one of the topics. I was surprised to see that Discourse loaded the topic. It isn’t a permanent delete at all.
there are 2 separate permanently delete steps
I understand that. The problem is that my moderator account is not presented with consistent information in the two modes I have used. When deleting a single topic in that topic’s view, I see “Delete”. When I use the Bulk Actions in the topic list, I get a “Delete” button (good) and then “Permanently Delete The Selected Topics. This action cannot be undone.” in the confirmation modal (bad). The moderator will trust that permanent deletion has occurred when it has not.
are you doing it with the admin account? i don’t think moderators can do the full permanent deletion
My previous post describes what is seen in my moderators account. See screenshot above. I agree with you that a moderator cannot permanently delete, but the modal incorrectly says otherwise.
