"deleted" posts in old threads that are not quite deleted anymore

[MrShorty]

Every once in a while I browse through the "online users" link to see what others are looking at. Almost always there are "guests" browsing old threads. Sometimes I am intrigued so I pull up the old thread to read along. Occasionally I find posts (usually highlighted in pink/red) that appear to be spam and were deleted. However, they don't appear to have been truly "deleted", but are still hidden there in the archived data, and show up. Final post of this thread from 2012, for example, is an obvious spam post: https://mormonhub.com/forums/topic/42689-adam-and-eve-co-existed-with-dinosours/?page=3

 

I expect that it is also simply because the new software does not recognize the old software's "deleted/hidden" flag. I also expect that it would be a mammoth undertaking for the admins to go through the entire database of posts and threads to update those things. I think my intention is just to draw the admin's attention to the possibility that old spam is still there and may show up, just in case there is a straightforward way to get the new software to recognize the old flags. I seem to recall a few posts from legitimate users that looked like someone had tried to delete/hide the post, but it appears visible, so maybe it is also a warning (not unlike other warnings that involve stuff on the internet) that once something is posted to the internet, it may never truly disappear.

[estradling75]

Another possibility is that some setting did not import right granting users more rights then they should have.

The thread you linked to appears normal to me...  But as a mod I can see hidden posts.  (That is a mod power).  I would have never clued in that someone else can see it just by looking at the thread.  So thanks for bringing that to our attention.

I am going to ping @rpframe  because he is the man to dig in and figure out what is wrong

[MrShorty]

49 minutes ago, estradling75 said:

Another possibility is that some setting did not import right granting users more rights then they should have.

Perhaps it is Grumpy Bear staring at me with an angry look, but I read this with a certain emphasis on "should" that I cannot figure out how to put into typed text. Suffice it to say that I was about to cower into a corner fearing some kind of retribution for having spoken up.

Hopefully it is a simple toggle on the admins end.

[pam]

I think that all happened not long ago when we were trying to free up some space on the data base.  Unfortunately even newer threads were being locked that shouldn't have been.  So when Paul stopped that process and the threads were reinstated, it didn't keep the hidden posts hidden.