# Should we delete topics that end up not containing any useful information?

**URL:** <https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079>\
**Category:** Forum and website feedback\
**Created:** [June 5, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079 "2018-06-05T14:21:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![fedorov](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/fedorov/32/14_2.png) [@fedorov](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/fedorov)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/21 "2018-06-05T21:02:44Z")

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> [@cpinter](#):
>
> It would be much better if added all the likes together and showed the threads.

I agree, this indeed would be very useful. I wonder if there is a plugin for that!

A related, I guess, idea could be to add “solved” or “solution” tag, which could then be used to configure the search using the existing search interface.

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**Author:** ![fedorov](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/fedorov/32/14_2.png) [@fedorov](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/fedorov)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/22 "2018-06-06T15:53:13Z")

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About lumping the post likes together, I asked the question on the Discourse forum, but despite trying to clarify several times, I did not get an answer: [https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-q-a-plugin-for-sorting-posts-with-the-most-likes-at-the-top/8414/24](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-q-a-plugin-for-sorting-posts-with-the-most-likes-at-the-top/8414/24). I guess my responses to that thread could also be deleted as I don’t think I added any useful information! 😃 Feel free to post to that “topic” to clarify/follow up.

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**Author:** ![cpinter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/cpinter/32/7995_2.png) [@cpinter](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/cpinter)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/23 "2018-06-06T15:59:40Z")

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Thanks for trying! Their answers are frustrating at the least. In this sense I shouldn’t answer questions about “Segmentation Editor” because technically there is no such thing…

I’ll give it a go myself, hoping to get the terms right, and leave no possibility to intentionally misunderstand.

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**Author:** ![cpinter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/cpinter/32/7995_2.png) [@cpinter](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/cpinter)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/24 "2018-06-07T16:28:13Z")

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These guys there are killing me… Maybe it’s a competition about how many replies you can muster without actually answering.

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**Author:** ![fedorov](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/fedorov/32/14_2.png) [@fedorov](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/fedorov)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/25 "2018-06-07T16:43:02Z")

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I agree, that exchange was very un-helpful. I am not sure … Maybe this is our opportunity to feel “on the other side of the fence”. They have a community that has certain expectations (that we don’t know), and maybe the attitude is “this is so simple that if you cannot figure it out you don’t belong here”. No idea.

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**Author:** ![lassoan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/lassoan/32/13_2.png) [@lassoan](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/lassoan)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/26 "2018-06-07T16:51:13Z")

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Yes, it’s very interesting to experience what is it like to be a newbie. Discourse guys give correct answers and they answer quickly, but we still end up walking away with a bad impression because they are not friendly or empathetic.

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**Author:** ![cpinter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/cpinter/32/7995_2.png) [@cpinter](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/cpinter)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/27 "2018-06-07T17:17:17Z")

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Definitely an interesting experience, but if the same style inquiry had been on our discourse, then we would have split the discussion into a topic in the right place, and gave some actual answer. Maybe brief and maybe with follow-up questions, but not such dismissive replies for sure. I’ll keep trying for a bit though.

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**Author:** ![ihnorton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/ihnorton/32/9_2.png) [@ihnorton](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/ihnorton)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/28 "2018-06-07T18:04:47Z")

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@cpinter (from [here](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-q-a-plugin-for-sorting-posts-with-the-most-likes-at-the-top/8414/25)):

> In the search result page every topic appears maximum once, ordered by the total number of likes in that topic, including the original post and the replies, which is in case of topic A is N\*M. The link of the item in the search result page points to the original post in the topic (i.e. the whole topic).

Is this what you want?

- [3D Slicer Community](https://discourse.slicer.org/top?order=likes) (sorted by _total_ likes on all posts in topic)

See also:

- [3D Slicer Community](https://discourse.slicer.org/top?order=op_likes) (sorted by number of likes on first post)

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**Author:** ![cpinter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/cpinter/32/7995_2.png) [@cpinter](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/cpinter)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/29 "2018-06-07T18:09:01Z")

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> [@ihnorton](#):
>
> [3D Slicer Community](https://discourse.slicer.org/top?order=likes) (sorted by _total_ likes on all posts in topic)

Yes! If this is available for search, and we can make it the default, then problem solved.

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**Author:** ![lassoan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/lassoan/32/13_2.png) [@lassoan](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/lassoan)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/30 "2018-06-07T19:00:19Z")

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The ordering by number of likes ([https://discourse.slicer.org/top?order=likes](https://discourse.slicer.org/top?order=likes)) does not seem to show the most important topics. Maybe liking posts more consistently could improve the list, since ordering based on views gives a much better result: [https://discourse.slicer.org/top?order=views](https://discourse.slicer.org/top?order=views).

Still, the current starting page ([https://discourse.slicer.org/categories](https://discourse.slicer.org/categories)) looks much nicer to me.

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**Author:** ![Lorensen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/lorensen/32/31_2.png) [@Lorensen](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/Lorensen)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/31 "2018-06-07T19:06:23Z")

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Does google search the discourse site?

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**Author:** ![ihnorton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/ihnorton/32/9_2.png) [@ihnorton](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/ihnorton)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/32 "2018-06-07T19:25:10Z")

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> [@cpinter](#):
>
> If this is available for search, and we can make it the default, then problem solved.

Looks like they [specifically disabled](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/681334701dc76f710556990ad2aa45295ed1703d) the aggregate search mode for sort-by-likes a few years ago because: `likes are a pain to aggregate so skip` 🙂

> [@lassoan](#):
>
> ordering based on views gives a much better result: [https://discourse.slicer.org/top?order=views](https://discourse.slicer.org/top?order=views).

That does look good. (FWIW, the default [top](https://discourse.slicer.org/top) ordering weights by several factors including likes and views)

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**Author:** ![lassoan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/lassoan/32/13_2.png) [@lassoan](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/lassoan)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/33 "2018-06-10T02:33:10Z")

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> [@Lorensen](#):
>
> Does google search the discourse site?

Yes, google indexes this forum. About 70% of page views originates from google search, about 25% direct links (most probably clicks from email notifications), and the remaining few percent is from github, twitter, researchgate, etc. So, about 3x more people find posts through google search than following links in email notifications.

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**Author:** ![cpinter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/cpinter/32/7995_2.png) [@cpinter](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/cpinter)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/34 "2018-06-11T17:39:17Z")

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An update about the encounter with discourse support: instead of answering, they deleted or otherwise made unaccessible the whole topic: [https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-q-a-plugin-for-sorting-posts-with-the-most-likes-at-the-top/8414](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-q-a-plugin-for-sorting-posts-with-the-most-likes-at-the-top/8414)

I think it’s safe to say that it’s not just a case of being on the other side of the fence…

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**Author:** ![fedorov](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/fedorov/32/14_2.png) [@fedorov](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/fedorov)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/35 "2018-06-11T18:01:15Z")

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Incredible. Well, I say - that is definitely NOT the precedent we should follow!

Would never expect that kind of attitude from a co-founder of a platform that is intended to enable communication, mutual understanding and collaboration.

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**Author:** ![lassoan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/lassoan/32/13_2.png) [@lassoan](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/lassoan)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/36 "2018-06-11T18:05:23Z")

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I can’t believe it’s been actually deleted (if it is then I’m shocked). I’ve asked what happened, we’ll see if we get response: [https://meta.discourse.org/t/cannot-find-a-topic/89626](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cannot-find-a-topic/89626)

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**Author:** ![fedorov](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/fedorov/32/14_2.png) [@fedorov](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/fedorov)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/37 "2018-06-11T18:18:39Z")

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> [@fedorov](#):
>
> Would never expect that kind of attitude from a co-founder of a platform

I apologize for that statement - I should not jump to conclusions. In that topic we were in communication with the forum user that had a label “co-founder”, but I don’t have any evidence that user is responsible for the fact that the topic is no longer accessible.

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**Author:** ![muratmaga](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/muratmaga/32/83011_2.png) [@muratmaga](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/muratmaga)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 4:03am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/38 "2018-06-12T04:03:20Z")

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Well they deleted that ‘topic’ as well 🙂

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**Author:** ![lassoan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/lassoan/32/13_2.png) [@lassoan](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/lassoan)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/39 "2018-06-12T04:22:59Z")

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I received this response in email then apparently the topic got deleted:

> sam Sam Saffron co-founder June 12
> 
> > lassoan: I would recommend improving discourse to make polite deletion/clean-up of topics as effortless as a hard, immediate delete.
> 
> Technically nothing needs to change in Discourse. I undeleted said topic, closed it, added a message and scheduled it for deletion in 4 days. All of this is built in to Discourse.  
> Forcing “unconditional”, mega polite delete is overkill and can lead to loss aversion which is less than ideal.  
> This level of dancing is not usually required but I guess in this case we can be a little more prudent.

This answer condescending but makes sense. Discourse guy are also really nice because they provide Slicer forum hosting for free and they have developed a great tool that they offer to anyone for free. The only thing that does not make sense to me is that it seems that on their forum when they consider a discussion to be finished then they delete the entire topic. There is a good chance that other people have complained, too, but we know what happens to such topics.

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**Author:** ![ihnorton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/ihnorton/32/9_2.png) [@ihnorton](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/ihnorton)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 1:43pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/should-we-delete-topics-that-end-up-not-containing-any-useful-information/3079/40 "2018-06-12T13:43:16Z")

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Several of the main Discourse people also created StackOverflow, and it seems they have carried over a similar philosophy: strictly one issue per topic, delete/close early and often.

(they do have \>30,000 users on just that site, as compared to 1000 here, so I can understand a degree of expedient moderation. but it sure would be nice to have a brief explanation rather than the generic “page not found” when that happens!)

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