1. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Banned

      Pre-mod is now removed. But this is how it works. It is very simple.

      You are not banned and never have been. But if you bandy childish digs at us we will put you on the naughty step - and monitor for a wee while.

      1. jake Silver badge

        @Drewc (was: Re: Banned)

        "we will put you on the naughty step - and monitor for a wee while."

        Out of curiosity, how long is "a wee while"? ;-)

      2. This post has been deleted by its author

  2. Vimes

    I mean no disrespect when I say this, but is a single mistake really enough to put somebody on what you refer to as 'the naughty step', especially for active members on a forum that seems to struggle to attract people outside of any article related thread? It's difficult to escape the impression that somebody on your end has developed a very thin skin.

    Incidentally I seem to recall 1980s_coder generally being a helpful poster in the past. I tried checking his posts to find some examples to include here, but barring one single post and the one that got rejected his(?) entire history seems to be empty. The page numbers for each page of comments are there but when you click on a number all you get is an empty page with the number highlighted. Is there a reason for that?

    1. Solmyr ibn Wali Barad

      His other 2295 posts are in state of "This post has been deleted by its author".

      Doubleplusungood.

    2. Marco Fontani

      Is there a reason for that?

      If I were to wager 2 pence, he's used the Splaffer to withdraw all his other posts.

      1. Vimes

        I don't see anything to tell me posts have been withdrawn by the author when I view his posts via his profile. All I see are the header and footer and nothing in between. If posts have been withdrawn then why isn't the standard withdrawn message shown for each such message?

        Would it not be best to at least show something to tell the user what's gone on and why nothing has been shown on the entire page? Even if he is responsible for this it still manages to give the impression that the site itself is broken.

        1. Solmyr ibn Wali Barad

          That's right, user history shows placeholders only for posts that are deleted by the moderator. Not for posts withdrawn by the user. If you find a forum page where he posted, you'll see that his posts are withdrawn.

          m.forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2016/03/27/1980s_coder_Forum_post_stuffing/

          1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

            Yep. Been on the thread about BSD this afternoon. Sveral posts 'withdrawn by author' that have been answered to or have been commented on. From the context they were posted by 1980s_coder.

            This is not good.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          It is very unusual for someone to withdraw all their comments. More usually people delete their accounts - and the comments are preserved under "anonymous coward" moniker. I recognise that this is looks broken but If all the comments are withdrawn and the account is preserved then what would the circumstances that a reader would come across an individual account history?

          1. Solmyr ibn Wali Barad

            I'd say that changes to the forum logic are not necessary. Ability to see that other user has withdrawn some posts does not have clear benefits to anyone.

            And this particular case seems to be an one-off anyway.

            1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

              Impressive demonstration of the Acme Splaffer's capabilities though.

              1. TeeCee Gold badge

                Either that or an impressive cockup in the latest Splaffer version......

                1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
                  Mushroom

                  Looks like the Splaffer has found a minor bug. This thread doesn't appear to be visible in the El Reg Matters section itself - but obviously is showing in the overall User topics list - as the last posts are to it.

                  I assumed this was because he'd deleted the original post, but nope. That's not it. So I've no idea why the secret squirrel-y ness of it all.

                  It's a shame when this happens. Although I'll admit I didn't really mourn the passing of all of Eaden's posts. And in this case it was the Splaffer what done it, and not the banhammer.

                  Of course it could have been an accident. After all, we know that the Splaffer was a product of the ACME company - and I've seen the online reviews from Mr Wile E Coyote - and they suggest that however promising the initial results, the buyer will always end up with the imprint of a frying pan in their face - or charred and smoking...

                  1. Marco Fontani

                    This thread doesn't appear to be visible in the El Reg Matters section itself

                    This is kind of an "unintended feature", in that if the original thread has been posted by a moderated user, the whole thread is then "moderated", and won't appear in the main index.

                    Suffice to say, it hasn't happened many times…

                    1. Vimes

                      in that if the original thread has been posted by a moderated user

                      That doesn't sound quite right.

                      It must have started out visible in the beginning otherwise nobody else would have been able to see it at all in the first place surely? This thread would have just consisted of his complaint and any responses from the staff? The thread was started during the time he was being moderated IIRC.

                      You did however appear to remove the moderation during the time of the conversation. Since something that was visible ended up hidden I can only assume that disabling the moderation for the user has actually ended up with the thread being incorrectly hidden, which to me sounds like a bug.

                      In any case why have anything that affects an entire thread? If a user is being moderated and their individual message passes moderation then does the overall thread even matter or deserve any attention?

                      Incidentally whilst we're on the subject of bugs the ads at the top of the page are still broken. This time it's for an HP 'Accelerating Health' (WTF does that even mean?) advert. Pretty much every single large advert has had this issue, so it doesn't look like it's anything to do with any one specific advert & any custom behaviour, rather it seems related to its size.

            2. Vimes

              Ability to see that other user has withdrawn some posts does not have clear benefits to anyone.

              Other than knowing that there isn't a problem with the site itself you mean?

          2. Vimes

            then what would the circumstances that a reader would come across an individual account history?

            When they delete most but not all their posts and I try and access their profile by clicking on their name in one of the few posts they've left viewable?

          3. Vimes

            More usually people delete their accounts - and the comments are preserved under "anonymous coward" moniker.

            Just out of curiosity is there no option to delete their accounts *and* their posts? (I've not got any intention of doing so, but it would be interesting to know)

      2. Solmyr ibn Wali Barad

        Yes, that's about the only plausible theory.

        Pity. He wrote lots of knowledgeable comments.

        But hey, there's an IT angle to this. It seems like ACME Splaffer did not evolve into the full AI after all. Otherwise it would have refused the request - with an ominously polite voice.

  3. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    Okay, what's going on here ???

  4. steve-b

    Who is going to spar with Jake now?

    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Any volunteers?

    2. jake Silver badge

      @steve-b

      "Who is going to spar with Jake now?"

      "Jake" never posts here anymore, so the question is moot.

  5. Known Hero
    Unhappy

    Common people, I'm going to need some closure here !!!

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