Why are FOR SALE threads deleted?

[RJ]

I have noticed recently that my completed FOR SALE threads appear to be deleted (or at least are no longer visible to me). Why is that?

Is there a reasont, or am I missing some "archive" setting so I can see them, once I edit them as SOLD? I had an occasion very recently on a concluded sale, to check back on the terms of the sale. I had to admit to the buyer, that the thread had dissippeared, and there was no way for me to answer his question.

I am not sure if this has been a recent decision or not, but could one of the Admin/Mod team say what this benefit of deleting completed threads is? By virtue of date sorting, they will fall down in the search history, but remain as an archive for future reference (as in my case.)

Thanks.

Rich

[CCT125US]

My understanding is that they time out and fall out of view. Admin can pull them back up if need be. At least Tom was able to do that for me.

[BehindBlueI's]

As far as "why", I can only say "because that's the way it's always been done" for certain but my understanding is to reduce clutter and to (probably marginally) reduce hosting costs.

They aren't actually gone-gone. If there's something you need I can still see it.

And I'm the guy doing it. I usually cull every 1-3 days.

[RJ]

As far as "why", I can only say "because that's the way it's always been done" for certain but my understanding is to reduce clutter and to (probably marginally) reduce hosting costs.

They aren't actually gone-gone. If there's something you need I can still see it.

And I'm the guy doing it. I usually cull every 1-3 days.

Thanks for taking the time, I appreciate it.

Not trying to be a smart ass, but clutter? A non-complete FOR SALE thread is in big green text. Completed threads have red text. I don’t really have any issues telling them apart. For sure we have many many non-completed FOR SALE threads that seem to go back a year or more?

Not sure about hosting costs on a text-based site the size of p-f? Maybe, I dunno. But if completed threads get manually archived to a non-public area in the Mod Forum, it’d seem like there’s no real savings? Would it be possible to make that archive public? Or is there a good reason not to? (I can’t think of one, but could be.)

But If I’m the only person worried about this, I’ll keep quiet, and work within the current system.

Thanks and I’ll let myself out.

[BehindBlueI's]

Thanks for taking the time, I appreciate it.

Not trying to be a smart ass, but clutter? A non-complete FOR SALE thread is in big green text. Completed threads have red text. I don’t really have any issues telling them apart. For sure we have many many non-completed FOR SALE threads that seem to go back a year or more?

Not sure about hosting costs on a text-based site the size of p-f? Maybe, I dunno. But if completed threads get manually archived to a non-public area in the Mod Forum, it’d seem like there’s no real savings? Would it be possible to make that archive public? Or is there a good reason not to? (I can’t think of one, but could be.)

But If I’m the only person worried about this, I’ll keep quiet, and work within the current system.

Thanks and I’ll let myself out.

I would suspect because public forums get trolled by automated search engines and increase traffic. I don't really know the hows and whys but talking with a buddy of mine who's a mod on a much more heavily trafficked site the classifieds are an inordinate amount of the expense. I've never looked into "why" or the finances because it's none of my business. I'm just the janitor. The archive isn't really an archive, more like the trash bin on your desktop. A holding bin for deleted things until they are restored or flushed permanently.

[Totem Polar]

But If I’m the only person worried about this, I’ll keep quiet, and work within the current system.


You’re not the only one. I have been thwarted nemerous times while going back to check on old threads as both buyer and seller. Drives me nuts, but I didn’t want to rock the boat—especially since the problem on my end is mostly due to me being an inveterate gear whore.
But, hey, since you’ve brought it up...
:)