# Private messages aren't imported from phpBB if conversation root doesn't exist

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-messages-arent-imported-from-phpbb-if-conversation-root-doesnt-exist/47122>\
**Category:** Bug\
**Created:** [July 11, 2016, 8:09pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-messages-arent-imported-from-phpbb-if-conversation-root-doesnt-exist/47122 "2016-07-11T20:09:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 1

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**Author:** ![palant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/palant/32/104531_2.png) [@palant](https://meta.discourse.org/u/palant)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 8:09pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-messages-arent-imported-from-phpbb-if-conversation-root-doesnt-exist/47122/1 "2016-07-11T20:09:13Z")

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When importing from phpBB, I get messages like the following:

> Parent post pm:1234 doesn’t exist. Skipping 1235

Since phpBB doesn’t treat conversations via private messages as a single unit, it’s quite common for people to have the most recent reply to a private message in their inbox but remove the original message (the one that was replied to). While having these “incomplete” conversations dropped isn’t a huge issue, it would be more consistent to import the messages as they are and consider the oldest message from a conversation as its root.

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