The discussion revolves around the issue of topic bump dates remaining unchanged after spam posts are deleted, causing disruption in topic ordering. Graham2 highlights that while spam is automatically removed, the topic remains bumped, requiring moderators to manually reset the bump date—a process that can be time-consuming and easily overlooked. They propose automating the reset of the bump date when the last post in a topic is deleted, especially if it’s spam, to reduce moderator workload and improve user experience. codinghorror acknowledges the concern but emphasizes that ghost bumps serve as useful indicators of spam magnet topics, suggesting such behavior could be a feature rather than a bug. However, Graham2 counters that even established topics can be affected, and automation would minimize confusion. Moin notes that Discourse has recently changed this behavior, referencing a commit that likely addresses the issue.
It seems the busier our forum gets, the more spam that ensues. Everyday we are deleting spam posts, most of them are automatically detected by Discourse. Our community are protected from the content, however, topics are bumped, and remain bumped after the spam post is deleted.
And let’s face it, bumped posts are disruptive. Mods have tools to manually restore date data, though not automating post bump date seems like a lost opportunity.
Discourse have changed their perspectives as time goes by for some features, though have vehemently rejected this idea in the past. Is that still the case in 2021, or can this be considered as a feature?
If a plugin exists, please do link. I couldn’t find one. Would love to help our mods out!
Thanks @codinghorror, and I know you are biased on this topic based on past discussions
You seem to have missed (or are ok with) reviewing spam and resetting bump dates are two disconnected workflows. But they are both required to avoid community disruption if spam was the last post.
Spam, on Discourse, takes 3 clicks to remove (from notification menu to moderation action). Then a further 3-4 clicks to reset the bump date. Sure they are just clicks, but the bigger the forum the more you ask yourself, why not just do both at the same time if it was the last post of the topic.
It’s also easy to forget (mods are only human). As much as community likes to step in and report unusual topics that have been ghost bumped, it’d be nice if they didn’t have to or learn that it’s an artifact of spam moderation on Discourse.
To wrap-up; if spam was the last post then also reset the bump date on the same action. Mods will thank you, and there’ll be less confusion for anyone that uses Discourse for topic ordering (as it will only ever be in the order of genuine user activity by default).
I feel ghost bumps are useful, because they tell EVERYONE which topics are magnets for spam and thus should probably be closed. Pushing those topics up is indeed a feature, and staff should pay attention to those bumps. If it gets ghost bumped 2 or 3 times.. that means the topic should probably be closed.
I could see what you’re describing as a setting but it would default off. What do you think @sam?
I respect that spam magnets are a thing, though every forum topic is a candidate these days. Even this one, that has been open for a while - an accidental ghost bump would lead to community confusion depending how familiar you are with Discourse moderation.
Mods are going to do what they do best either way - they see the topic title when handling spam and can close the topic if they feel it would be a benefit.
By auto fixing bump date if the last post was spam will cut mod work in half, and lead to better category list experiences (there are a few) for the broader community.
Your workflow is solid (separate tasks); though I’m certain you too would appreciate less clicks / page loads if given the choice, especially against bots
