Do you delete old threads

On some other forums, any spam or useless thread that gets posted we usually just move it to the archive/trash can, which never gets emptied out. I don't like throwing away nothing.

That goes for my computer to, you should see all my old files back from year 2000 lol.

 

no point deleting....it doesnt serve any purpose IMHO like wayne said its not like storage space is an issue these days..

 

I move threads that are dated, but don't ever delete them.

 

I should clarify: The only exception to my above statement is spam. I don't keep spam threads/posts.

 

no, i never move it or archive it, in case it is bumped up again with a newbie who has a contribution. i delete spam though. and if you delete it, it affects your forums post count.

 

Necro this thread

I don't delete anything, SPAM, illegal posts, nothing. It all gets moved to the trash for storage. Trash is only accessible by staff. I do this for legal reasons. People start hitting my site over and over again I can download and send a copy of the files to the FBI to deal with. I'm pretty active in the "reporting illegal things to the cops" area lol. And me being a cop, I know I need to keep the threads to "preserve" evidence. I've had to testify once from a forum I ran. I got SPAM'd with someone that was running a prescription drug sale site out of the Netherlands (but was living int he US). I reported him, and my entire DB got subpoenaed. So I try to make it a habit to keep everything. I don't delete users either. Never know when they may decide to come back. I don't even prune banned accounts. Never know when they may try to come back.

 

Nooooooooooooo.

Old threads are often the ones most linked to, and most read, and often drive the most traffic from search engines to your forum.

That said, I understand some old threads that are dated need to be locked, and perhaps a reply when doing so saying 'feel free to start a new thread on this topic as the content contained within this one is outdated'. Though I'd never erase a thread.

We erase spam. And nothing else. I fight on a regular basis via legal teams to defend the right that a forum, which be definition means 'open discussion' should be just that. And poor remarks about a company, providing they're not defamatory, should stay right where they are, viewable to all who have a view on the subject.

If you erase all threads 12 months old. Your forum will never be older than 12 months. I like to think any topic can age, therefore searching old threads shows you how times have changed compared to current ones. And being able to do this gives your forum a real age and real stance within its newer competitors.

Never erase threads. Archive them, move them, close them, whatever. Just don't remove them.

 

Nope, I don't delete anything.

We do. We simply soft delete them and move them to a hidden forum. My staff have been instructed that absolutely -nothing- gets removed, even spam.

If a thread must be removed from view, we move it to a Trash forum. If it's spam, we soft delete then move to the Trash.

You never know when you might need it.

 

What, spam? You never need spam, surely!?

"I have 15,000,000 usd to transfer into your account right away, please sent me your bank details by replying to this thread"

You'd keep that too, right?

Why?

 

For the member info so you can refer back to it if there is another spammer.

 

We never delete - not even spam. Rule of thumb for us is
If it is "E" (like e-mail or electronically), it is "E"ternal. Never know when you might need some old thread or the IP address of a spammer. It takes up almost no room...

 

Every link you have indexed and now deleted will give you 404 errors. So I like to archive the posts that are no longer relevant, than delete them. Of course, years ago I'd have a different opinion, but I've learned my lesson.

 

I wouldn't delete them, since it reduces your forum's post count. I would lock them.

 

I always delete spam.

But, I never delete member content. If it's illegal content, I will edit it out instead. Well, unless it's a photo. Then I'd have to delete it if illegal.

One thing I find useful in IPB is the new archive system. We archive all old threads automatically. They are still accessible, but you cannot reply to them anymore. If someone wants to talk about the same topic, they will create a new thread to do so.