I don't like to see my and my supporters' posts disappear. I do not want to plagiarize from a source that no longer is accessible, but now not doing so in the future will be that much more difficult. I and everybody else who participated in that discussion deserves due credit. The disappearance of the discussion was damaging, rude, and disrespectful.

If possible, I would like to see the discussion returned to public view. It would help me and others advance.

I've seen Forums like this get too censorious. They end up with a few cranks remaining, and the heart of the forum dies

Apparently deleting removes all posts in the thread. The OP may warrant deletion; it doesn't follow that the replies do.

...

The thread itself could disappear in, say, 30 days. Or delete the thread, but maintain the posts in the respective writer's file. — tim wood

Unfortunately the forum software doesn't allow for anything like these suggestions.

Can't you move deleted threads to a separate category, say, "Deleted Threads" for a while? — tim wood

The problem with this is that regardless of category (unless the user specifies in their preferences), all discussions will appear on the main page. We'd rather not have low quality (and locked) discussions front and centre.

I understand the frustration in losing posts through no fault of your own (I also posted in that discussion), and I apologise for that, but given the limitations in functionality, it's a necessary trade-off to keep the place clean.

I concede the discussion may have been imperfect, but I feel I was getting somewhere new there. I am new to the website and I may not have been as familiar with the logistics and formatting customs of the website as I am now. Nevertheless, I feel I did a good enough job for the discussion to stay. Every member of this website is new at some time. Perhaps the administrators, moderators, and editors of this website should be more tolerant of other peoples' views, behaviors, and interests. I wrote with considerable effort and thought and now its all inaccessible. I am disheartened, disappointed, and discouraged.

What is a locked discussion? I don't know what that is. What do you mean by "the limitations in functionality"?

If a person doesn't want to read or participate in a discussion, he or she has the choice to not do so. Nobody was obligated to read or participate in the discussion.

I actually thought the discussion was going so well that I wouldn't have been afraid to cite portions of it in the future.

If the discussion is not returned to public view for public participation, I may be taking my interest in trivialism to another, more understanding, and more respectful online forum.

I'm glad it got deleted for the trolling it was, notwithstanding the patient efforts of sane posters.

We've been accused of driving members away for being overly tolerant as well as being overly intolerant. It's impossible for us to satisfy everyone, but we will continue to try to give reasonable explanations for mod actions and in cases where we think we've made a mistake, we'll reverse it. I don't believe this was such a case.

If the discussion is not returned to public view for public participation, I may be taking my interest in trivialism to another, more understanding, and more respectful online forum. — Paul E. Mokrzecki

It has been deleted and it will remain deleted, and if you post any similar evangelistic confusions, they will be deleted too, preferably before they get any responses.

It has been deleted and it will remain deleted, — jamalrob

I'm very glad of that, and there are no grounds for any complaint since, by hypothesis, it has also not been deleted and will remain undeleted. Unfortunately, though, there are also grounds for complaint.

A trivial point.

May I ask why it was deleted? I did not participate in it and I don't know what it was about but just out of interest so I know how to avoid same fate in the future! Please don't refer me to the forum guidelines (they are too general). I need to know about this particular thread. Thanks.

In this case, don't troll.

EDIT: errr... that was honest advice not accusing you of trolling.

Well that narrows it down! Cheers mate