# Ruby hash syntax being displayed in emails sent to deleted users

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/ruby-hash-syntax-being-displayed-in-emails-sent-to-deleted-users/382411
**Category:** Bug
**Tags:** email, review-queue, fixed
**Created:** [September 12, 2025, 7:39am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/ruby-hash-syntax-being-displayed-in-emails-sent-to-deleted-users/382411 "2025-09-12T07:39:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Richie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/richie/32/115110_2.png) [@Richie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Richie)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2025, 7:39am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/ruby-hash-syntax-being-displayed-in-emails-sent-to-deleted-users/382411/1 "2025-09-12T07:39:51Z")

</div>

When a user is deleted by rejecting their first post, they are sent an email with the subject line of `Your account has been deleted`.

There is a bug in the body / content of the email, it appears to be displaying some kind of Ruby hash syntax in the middle section of the email:

> [@](#):
>
> Hello,
> 
> This is an automated message from SITE NAME to let you know that the user account associated with this email address has been deleted by a staff member.
> 
> {:off\_topic=\>“Your post was flagged as **off-topic** : the community feels it is not a good fit for the topic, as currently defined by the title and the first post.”, :inappropriate=\>“Your post was flagged as **inappropriate** : the community feels it is offensive, abusive, to be hateful conduct or a violation of our [community guidelines](https://meta.discourse.org/guidelines).”, :illegal=\>“Your post was flagged as **illegal** : the community thinks it might be breaking the law.”, :spam=\>“Your post was flagged as **spam** : the community feels it is an advertisement, something that is overly promotional in nature instead of being useful or relevant to the topic as expected.”, :notify\_moderators=\>“Your post was flagged **for moderator attention** : the community feels something about the post requires manual intervention by a staff member.”, :responder=\>{:off\_topic=\>“The post was flagged as **off-topic** : the community feels it is not a good fit for the topic, as currently defined by the title and the first post.”, :inappropriate=\>“The post was flagged as **inappropriate** : the community feels it is offensive, abusive, to be hateful conduct or a violation of our [community guidelines](https://meta.discourse.org/guidelines).”, :spam=\>“The post was flagged as **spam** : the community feels it is an advertisement, something that is overly promotional in nature instead of being useful or relevant to the topic as expected.”, :notify\_moderators=\>“The post was flagged **for moderator attention** : the community feels something about the post requires manual intervention by a staff member.”}}
> 
> Please review our community guidelines for details.

* * *

Here’s a screen shot of the email the user receives, showing the formatting:

 ![Screenshot 2025-09-12 at 08.41.38](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/4/e/a/4ea38c88154f66721b084d2b52dc8b0e64d038d8.png)

* * *

Steps to replicate:

1. Ensure Discourse requires the first post of every user to be approved
2. Create a new user
3. Create a new post with the new user
4. Using an admin account, reject the post with the “Delete user” option
5. New user is sent an email with the above content

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_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/ruby-hash-syntax-being-displayed-in-emails-sent-to-deleted-users/382411)._