Disappearing posts - bug me

Elijha on 03/02/2014 - 23:29

So sometimes I will comment on a post and want to come back and see if there is feedback to questions etc .. but the post has gone. For example tonight I swear I added a comment to a free iphone game post on Gesundheit‎ (sp - thanks Google) a game I have played and thought it was great that it was free again .. so I left a comment. Seeing as I can't spell to save my life and I don't have itunes handy .. I figured I could share the link on OZB to a friend (copy-past via Steam = job done).. I dont see it on the home page, I can't see it in my comments listing … search for it and find a year old post .. where is the new one?

This happens semi occasionally and I'm left wondering did I imagine it? If there is something wrong with the post I can understand Mods removing it from the open feed.. but perhaps so others who have posted / negg'd or plus'd it before we should be able to find the dam thing and see what was wrong with it? Maybe lock further comments or pluses etc.. not sure.

If it's possible to find it .. maybe it's just too hard cos I've wasted 20min trying to prove my sanity.
Hence posting my frustration.

(Don't get me started on people who obliterate posts with 'Delete me delete me' subjects/ content)

Site Discussion

Comments

  • kingsville on 03/02/2014 - 23:34

    It is there - between Sonic and the IOS hidden picture game.

    If you login you can see the deal was unpublished at the request of the OP

  • Moderatorneil on 03/02/2014 - 23:56

    This is the link

    Generally we don't remove deals unless there is a good reason. In this case, the game was freemiuim with "in-app purchases that cost $" thus making it not a bargain.

    If you remember which store it is, you can go and see the store, e.g. iTunes store. Or just ping a mod and we'll tell you.

  • mskeggs on 04/02/2014 - 09:06
    +1

    I think another reason why posts need to disappear is to combat spam.
    If the spammy post was merely removed from the front page it would still give the spammers a boost, and we would see more and more of those undesirable posts.

    • Elijha on 04/02/2014 - 16:15

      Which is why I figure you can limit access to view to the post only to those who have voted / commented - and therefore logged in .. others have no reason to see them, and they won't be scraped by bots?.

      • Moderatorneil on 04/02/2014 - 22:41

        It's not always that simple unfortunately.

        In 2012 (Sorry don't have 2013 stats), we had 2,459 removed deals or roughly 11% of the total 21,049.

        Many of the times it is SPAM but there are other reasons such as Sockpuppeting/Astroturfing, Scams, Request by companies, duplicates etc.

        With the reasons above, we definitely don't want them accessible by anyone. I do see your point if there is no issue with the deal such as requested by OP which why we try and not remove deals without a good reason. Whether the reason given for the Gesundheit!™ HD post is justified is debatable.

      • mskeggs on 04/02/2014 - 23:09

        For the record, I am sympathetic to this view. I have also wasted time looking for posts I am sure I had seen.
        Another site I am on switches URLs to be example.com to preserve the posts but deny the SPAM/SEO magic to the real evil URL.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join