MathOverflow

11:26 AM

I don't think this is 100% correct: users with 10k+ rep can see deleted answers, but not deleted questions nor comments. Deleted questions and comments are very well hidden from the general public of users, and the possibility for independent review is intentionally very limited. The only place where deleted questions can be seen is the recently deleted tab, where they can be seen for a maximum of 30 days. — Federico Poloni 15 mins ago

@FedericoPoloni Any 10k+ MO user can see any deleted answer and any deleted question - provided they have a link. Since you're 10k+ here, you can easily check this.

For example, have a look at the questions/answers listed here: data.stackexchange.com/mathoverflow/query/1175000/… data.stackexchange.com/mathoverflow/query/845045/…

You can find some other similar queries here: Are there some tools to follow deletions on this site? (Do not forget to switch the site from Math.SE to MO, if you decide to try some of them.)

Maybe I misunderstood what you're trying to say in your comment.

I'd agree that it might be (at least in some cases) difficult to find links to a deleted post. But once you have a link to a deleted post, as a 10k+ user you can view that post. (If this does not work on MO, it is a bug.)

Maybe I should have mentioned that the queries linked above can be used for meta, too: data.stackexchange.com/meta.mathoverflow/query/1175000/… data.stackexchange.com/meta.mathoverflow/query/845045/…

Federico Poloni

11:53 AM

@MartinSleziak Yes, I confirm I can see deleted questions older than 1 month, if I know the exact link. This does not change my main point, though, which is that deleted questions are very difficult to discover: you have to know exactly where to look, and it's not something that you see on a normally frequented page.

Martin Sleziak

Yes, I agree that they are difficult to find. I have responded mainly because your comment said that you cannot see deleted posts. And also because your comment said that there is in some way a difference between questions and answers - where I do not see a substantial difference in this regard.

Martin Sleziak

12:09 PM

BTW I think that the fact that deletions/undeletions are often discussed on Math.SE but seldom on MO revels that over there more users want to help with curating the site. (Of course, MO is a smaller site with a smaller pool of users with sufficient privileges - so to some extent this is a natural situation.)

Martin Sleziak

12:47 PM

@FedericoPoloni You probably know this, but for benefit of others I will remind that 10k+ users can see all their deleted posts (and search among them) using the search modifier deteleted:1.

But this shows only your own deleted posts. (AFAIK, the mods can search also among all deleted posts.)

4

A: Can I somewhere see my own deleted questions?

In fact, you can see any of your posts provided you have a link. So basically the question is - is it possible to find link to my deleted question if I did not save the link somewhere? There are two standard ways provided by MathOverflow/Stack Exchange interface. At the bottom of the question ...

Also on Mathematics Meta: Is there any way to see my deleted questions or answers?

I left also a comment under Todd Trimble's post - to make this chat more visible, in case somebody else would like to join in.

Some discussion on visibility of deleted posts (basically a follow-up to the first comment by Federico Poloni) can be found in chat. — Martin Sleziak 39 mins ago

Federico Poloni

1:21 PM

@MartinSleziak I disagre; I do see a substantial difference between deleted questions and answers. As a 10k user, deleted answers are shown to me on the same page as regular answers, and I have zero-click or one-click access to them just by scrolling down. Deleted questions are hidden 3-4 clicks away from my normal browsing patterns (and, in case this isn't clear, 3-4 clicks is a lot by UI metrics).

Martin Sleziak

@FedericoPoloni Do you mean your own deleted questions/answer or deleted questions/answers by others?

Also could you clarify what you mean by "deleted answers are shown to me on the same page as regular answer"? Do you perhaps mean deleted answer in case when the question is not deleted?

Unless I mixed something up, there are around 20k deleted answers on MO, 5k of them are answers to deleted questions: data.stackexchange.com/mathoverflow/query/1354791/…

It is 322k vs. 134k on Math.SE: data.stackexchange.com/math/query/1354791/…

Federico Poloni

1:54 PM

@MartinSleziak Deleted answers are shown to me on the same page as non-deleted answers to the same question, just with a pink background. This statement is true no matter if the question has been deleted or not, if I am not mistaken.

Martin Sleziak

Yes, still there is a bit of difference - if the question is deleted, it is more difficult to find the link.

When you said that you see deleted answer on the same page as regular answers, I though at first that you're talking about your user profile. That's what confused me.

Of course, if the question is deleted, all answers are deleted together with the question.

Federico Poloni

Oh, I see; this didn't occur to me. I hope things are clear now. :)

Martin Sleziak

Yes, if I browse questions if I am a 10k+ user on some site, I see both answer which were deleted and answers which were not deleted. It's different for users below 10k.

If a user has a link then they can see the post if they are 10k+ user or if they are the poster.

Federico Poloni

Anyhow, yes, technically I can see deleted questions, if I go on the right page, at the right time, or if I type the correct magic formula into SEDE. Or if I edit my session cookie and guess Todd Trimble's 75-digit session cookie. That still does not mean they have the visibility they deserve, in my opinion. (And, while we are debating questions, let me note that deleted comments are 100% invisible to non-mods.)

Martin Sleziak

Well, I suppose the OP has the link in the situation described in the post from which we came: Once a thread is deleted, is it really too late to bring it back?

And if they post the link into the reopen request thread, then the 10k+ users would also see it.

We can only work within the limitation of Stack Exchange software - and sometimes request some changes.

It's difficult to say what would be the visibility they deserve for deleted questions.

Of course, this is less relevant on MathOverflow than on Mathematics - since the latter has more users more interested in taking care of the site.

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