TGSAion Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 I want to be able to delete a post, but keep it in-line of the original thread and view it when needed. Un-approving posts works somewhat, but long threads get very messy with lots of unapproved posts scattered through them. In vbulletin, when you soft-delete a post, it gets "minimized" inside the thread. If you have permissions to view soft-deleted posts, you can click a link to cause some sort of ajax call to happen and the post expands out to show the entire thing. Otherwise, it is left to be a very small in-line 3 row area of a post that shows the poster, the post deleter, the time of the post, and some other bits of information. It takes almost no space, except to show those with appropriate permissions that a soft-deleted post is present. I've used a "trashcan" functionality in the past with other forum software, but it doesn't preserve the structure of a post like soft-deleting does. I don't want users to be able to hard-delete stuff. A soft-delete permission lets them get rid of posts but also lets me see what they removed. I also have the permissions set so that they don't see soft-deleted posts. This keeps threads with soft-deleted posts in them even cleaner for my users. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iozay Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 A soft delete function would be great in my opinion :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optrexnz Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 I requested this when I first moved from vb. The point of the trashcan was lost on me as there was little function to enable a suitable restore if needed. The feedback I got from the IPB members was mixed. What I do now is I use approve/unapprove for mods (they dont have delete anymore) Members never have ability to deltete, I leave that to mod requests. Having used it and more importantly got used to it, this is a soft delete in my books and it does actually give you the function of a soft delete. As admin I then review the unapproved post and delete to the trashcan if needed. Later I thin clear out the trash, once I am sure the post is no longer needed. It works really well tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick² Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 This is one of the things that vB has done very well while IPB has stuck with the trashcan that just barely gets the job done. I think being able to delete a post with a reason, and have some sort of marker left in its place for regular members so that they know there's a bit left out of the discussion, if it was on-topic, or so that the member who posted it knows that it was deleted would be great. Obviously, admins and moderators with the rights to do so would be able to view the post as well - this could be shown just like any posts below your current reputation threshold. It should also decrease their post count as well when it's deleted, and increase their post count if it's restored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Bandit Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 [quote name='Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kambiz Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 +1 :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat Barrie Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 [quote name='Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geek Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 vB also has approve/unapprove as well as soft deleting. They are really 2 different features. Unapproving is only a workaround, soft delete is a much superior option. I would hope they would either implement a soft delete or at least be able to attach some meta data to items in the trashcan that would allow quick and easy reference to the original post/thread and allow easy quick and easy restore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacob Haug Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I second this feature! It's one of my favorite parts about vB! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
media Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Bandit Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 vB also has approve/unapprove as well as soft deleting. They are really 2 different features. Unapproving is only a workaround, soft delete is a much superior option. I would hope they would either implement a soft delete or at least be able to attach some meta data to items in the trashcan that would allow quick and easy reference to the original post/thread and allow easy quick and easy restore. Exactly soft delete allows a post to say in place and easily be put back . It avoids so much headache, when you need to undelete something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Moiraine Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I would love for there to be a soft delete function in IPB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfarber Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 We were talking about this yesterday - can you guys clarify what a "soft delete" function would do exactly, that isn't accomplished by simply unapproving a post? :unsure: I gather it would be styled slightly differently, but that's about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geek Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Soft deleting allows the deleter to write a note as to the reason for the deletion. A small header is then left in the place of the deleted post or thread for those that have permission to see deletion notices. The header shows who wrote the post, who deleted and why. Clicking a button fetches the post via ajax where it can quickly be reviewed and then permanently deleted or restored. Much faster and easier to manage than the trash can forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGSAion Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 We were talking about this yesterday - can you guys clarify what a "soft delete" function would do exactly, that isn't accomplished by simply unapproving a post? :unsure: I gather it would be styled slightly differently, but that's about it? Essentially yes. From a board's post listing index, you would have an icon beside a thread's title, indicating that there are "inline" deletions present. This is the only indicator. This is separate from the "70 queued topic(s), 0 queued post(s)" or whatever you have under a board name on the forum homepage. Once you click on a thread and scroll through the posts, when you get to a soft deleted post there is a very slim indicator: It simply shows the poser name, user that deleted, a quick note on why it was deleted, and a link to manage the post further (undelete, hard delete, update note).When soft deleting a post by default it deletes any attachments, but there is an option to keep attachments. You can soft delete multiple posts using the checkbox beside each post, and apply a global "reason for deletion" note that gets applied to all soft deleted posts at the time of deletion. The soft delete is a separate permission from hard delete. So you can allow non-moderator/admin members to soft delete only. There is an option in usergroups to allow users to see the deletion notice (attached image above) but not click on any links, they just see the reason for deletion. Basically, what is desired is something that lets me preserve the original structure of a thread, while keeping the unwanted parts out of sight unless needed for review. Users appreciate the ability to remove a post entirely (instead of leaving an edited "sorry, found the answer", "nm", "found it, ty" clogging up a multi-page discussion) The moderators appreciate the ability to eliminate inappropriate content, while leaving it intact for others on the team to review instead of trying to make sense of vague moderator notes. This way you can see the damage "as it was" before the soft delete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfir Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I'll also be happy if you could choose by permission who can soft delete, and who can hard delete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 We were talking about this yesterday - can you guys clarify what a "soft delete" function would do exactly, that isn't accomplished by simply unapproving a post? :unsure: I gather it would be styled slightly differently, but that's about it? One way to describe it (from what I'm understanding) is that it's a virtual deletion. The post is marked as being deleted but only in a way that it's hidden from public view BUT is not flagged by approval/unapproval. Or in other terms, an unapproved post that is compressed in size (display size) so that you know something is there but you can read past it. Approve/unapprove - those with access can see the post without any additional actions necessary Soft delete - those with access have to click on something to view the post that has been 'deleted' Hard delete - post is sent to trash can One thing that I've wanted is to be able to undelete something from the trashcan and have it restore the post(s) where they were originally located, even within another thread. A simple way to accomplish this might be to adjust the approve/unapprove flagging system as such: Approved: Viewable to all Unapproved: Viewable by staff (pre-expanded) Hidden: Viewable by staff (collapsed but can be expanded) <-- a 'soft delete' Being able to force-require a reason (with some member groups being able to by-pass the requirement) for a deletion would be nice. So "root" admins could delete something without typing a reason, while moderators would be required to give one. As I mentioned, an undelete feature would be nice, where it would be special to the trashcan area. Only in there can a topic (that is specially marked) be undeleted. Would also be nice if there was a function to be able to view the topic with the deleted posts temporarily restored, so that you can view the topic as it was before undeleting something, instead of restoring the posts and then realizing why the posts were deleted and then deleting them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collin1000 Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Soft Delete provides a way for the post to remain "in existence" but still allow the original poster to delete the post on their own. Mods can still see the post, but members just see a reason for its removal. Currently with IPB, if a member deletion their own post (and no "trash can" is setup) the post is just gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Petrelli Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Vbulletin also keeps an edit history for posts, forum staff can view the original content of edited posts in order to review them for anything incriminating, and restore the original content if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geek Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Soft Delete provides a way for the post to remain "in existence" but still allow the original poster to delete the post on their own. Mods can still see the post, but members just see a reason for its removal. Currently with IPB, if a member deletion their own post (and no "trash can" is setup) the post is just gone. Although you can set deletion notices to be seen by regular members, I think most only have it set up so only moderators see the deletion notices. The rest don't even know its there :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collin1000 Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Although you can set deletion notices to be seen by regular members, I think most only have it set up so only moderators see the deletion notices. The rest don't even know its there :) But the member still has to be allowed to "hard delete" their post. A copy is not kept for moderators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geek Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Hey Collin, not sure if that is a question or a point you are making :D I can only speak from experience from my site and several others I have helped on. I have only ever seen the system used as: Only admin (and sometimes) moderators can hard delete all others can only soft delete Only admins and moderators can view delete notices and restore soft deletes So the way we have it set a user can delete their post and even their thread, however it is only a soft delete. However for all intents and purposes it is a hard delete to them as they can't see it or the notice. I think the following settings in each usergroup would cut it: - Can (not/soft/hard/either) delete own posts - Can (not/soft/hard/either) delete others posts - Can (not/soft/hard/either) delete own threads - Can (not/soft/hard/either) delete others threads - Can view soft delete notices FWIW, when a post/thread is soft deleted, its simply marked as such. If the user has permissions to view, the thread/post is included with the result set otherwise it isn't. While processing the result set for view, vB just uses a different template for that row though it could easily be done with conditionals too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCWT Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 I want t his feature too. Vb's moderating abilities is way better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optrexnz Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Vbulletin also keeps an edit history for posts, forum staff can view the original content of edited posts in order to review them for anything incriminating, and restore the original content if needed. thats the key for me - suitable tracking to put stuff back in the correct place, without having to cross reference logs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Immortal Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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