To be frustrated with how often threads are “taken down at OP’s request” these days?

[BerryTwister]

I’ve been on MN for over 20 years, and it used to be very rare for threads to be taken down, unless MN felt they’d broken rules eg bullying, troll hunting, or mentioning Gina Ford!

These days it seems to happen all the time. OP starts a thread, lots of people take time out of their day to post well-thought-out replies, trying to be helpful and give good advice, then suddenly the thread is taken down, because OP has requested it.

I know OPs don’t owe us anything, and MN isn’t here for our amusement, and we can’t expect people to showcase their lives for our entertainment….BUT am I the only one who finds it frustrating when threads disappear? It puts me off posting to be honest. What’s the point in sharing knowledge if the OP is just going to ask for the whole lot to be deleted? And why ask for advice and opinions if you’re going to ask for it to be wiped? Why not just hide the thread if you don’t want to read it?

I know there have been times when people have been spotted in real life, and sometimes that’s resulted in risk to the OP, and of course those threads need to be deleted. But the frequency with which it happens these days suggests that more often than not, OPs post in haste then change their minds, after multiple people have spent time and effort giving advice.

People sometimes post on the spur of the moment when they are feeling emotional, and then later regret making their issues public and want the post deleted.

I find it a bit aggravating, especially if I have commented, but I understand why it happens.

I don't think it's new. There's been threads exactly like this for years.

Same as the 'MN is getting so nasty' and people claim it never used to be but again, there are threads discussing it going back years.

Yes I agree, and I’m probably being unreasonable, but it is frustrating isn’t it.

Yes, MN was definitely petty nasty at times 20 years ago.

I think the amount of detail that people want can be overwhelming.

I was called some pretty awful things (fraudulent , liar, abusive) under a different name but the posts were taken down. The thread remains. I wish it didn't but I understand it could be useful to others as it was about adult children living at home.