# Posts count and highest post number
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/posts-count-and-highest-post-number/160278
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [August 9, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/posts-count-and-highest-post-number/160278 "2020-08-09T18:12:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@faheem](https://meta.discourse.org/u/faheem)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/posts-count-and-highest-post-number/160278/1 "2020-08-09T18:12:07Z")
I had a small question about the `posts_count` and `highest_post_number` metadata for a topic. These aren’t always the same. For example, the topic
> **[Aditya Birla Capital - A complete Financial Inclusion](https://forum.valuepickr.com/t/aditya-birla-capital-a-complete-financial-inclusion/17973)**
>
> Overview It comes from a highly reputed business franchisee with stake of about 72%. V well diversified Product offerings, virtually offers all the financial products under the sun Poised to capture the immense growth potential available due to...
has
```
posts_count = 98
highest_post_number = 105
```
Is this because some posts have been deleted or hidden? That seems like the most likely possibility. Though 7 deleted or hidden posts in a thread of 105 posts seems like quite a high number.
For example the URL corresponding to post 55, i.e. ending with `/55`, namely
> **[Aditya Birla Capital - A complete Financial Inclusion](https://forum.valuepickr.com/t/aditya-birla-capital-a-complete-financial-inclusion/17973/55)**
>
> Agree on valuation but not on peanuts … There is nothing like peanut or cover … Cost of Capital for everyone remains same. I am sure people who invested in the business would have their own logic and rationale and so do premji. NBFC due to...
shows post 54. This seems to be the first point in the thread where there is a discrepancy. So it’s possible that the preceding post was deleted or hidden.
If I’m off base, please let me know.
---
### Author:  [@osioke](https://meta.discourse.org/u/osioke)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2020, 11:37am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/posts-count-and-highest-post-number/160278/2 "2020-08-10T11:37:07Z")
> [@faheem](#):
>
> Is this because some posts have been deleted or hidden?
This is most likely the case, as an admin you should be able to see the number of deleted posts in a topic.
---
### Author:  [@faheem](https://meta.discourse.org/u/faheem)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2020, 12:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/posts-count-and-highest-post-number/160278/3 "2020-08-10T12:03:15Z")
Hi @osioke,
> [@osioke](#):
>
> This is most likely the case, as an admin you should be able to see the number of deleted posts in a topic.
Thank you for the reply. Just to be clear, I’m not an admin for that site ([forum.valuepickr.com](http://forum.valuepickr.com)).
Is there any other possible reason for those numbers to be non-consecutive?
---
### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2020, 12:11pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/posts-count-and-highest-post-number/160278/4 "2020-08-10T12:11:28Z")
> [@faheem](#):
>
> Is there any other possible reason
No, if post numbers are non-consecutive then there must be hidden or deleted posts.
---
### Author:  [@osioke](https://meta.discourse.org/u/osioke)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2020, 11:04am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/posts-count-and-highest-post-number/160278/5 "2020-08-11T11:04:43Z")