If forum is accidentally deleted, can it be retrieved?

[whisker]

A friend of mine's forum is no more. It seems they may have accidentally deleted it. In a case like this, is it possible for the forum to be retrieved and reinstated. I have the url for that forum, but prefer it to be private. Many thanks for this board, wildmaven.

[timeman]

How did he "accidentally" delete a forum? You have to confirm stuff to actually delete a forum.

[whisker]

Mar 13, 2016 3:49:05 GMT -8 timeman said:

How did he "accidentally" delete a forum? You have to confirm stuff to actually delete a forum.

TBH, timeman, I don't know exactly how he did it. I'm probably using the term "accidentally" in a euphemistic sense. The person may have acted on some form of impulse and now regrets it. As I say, I really don't know. I have offered to help getting it back, if that's possible, and may be able to help get the necessary information to achieve that.

I know, when I started out first having my own forum, I deleted loads of stuff "accidentally". LOL!

[Lynx]

If the forum itself has been deleted by the forum owner, and too much time has not passed, they can register here on support with the same email they have for their admin account (so the reds can verify account ownership), post in the Support Board asking if it can be retrieved. If it can be, the reds can bring it back online. If it was taken down for a Section 25(a) ToS violation, they'll have to get with [e-mail] to see about a resolution. If too much time has passed, it may not be retrievable. What error do they get trying to go to their forum URL? If it states something to the effect of "It looks like the admin has removed this forum from ProBoards service", it's probably retrievable. If they get something to the effect of "This forum does not exist", it's probably not retrievable. Either way, they should create an account here and post in the Support Board.

Hope that helps!

I know you only asked about it being deleted, whisker, but I thought I'd add in the extra info for others that may read this thread.

[whisker]

Thanks Lynx. As usual you are most helpful. When I click on that url I get:

It looks like this forum doesn't exist any more. The forum admin has opted to remove it from the ProBoards service.

So it's not looking very good. I have passed on this info to the Admin involved. Hopefully everything will work out for the best.

[♥ ℒʊ√ ♥]

whisker , I've seen forums restored with that message.

But as Lynx posted, the forum creator will need to ask support to restore it. They'll have to register on support with the same email address used to create the forum, so the admins can verify that they are the owner/creator/admin.

Good luck!

[Lynx]

whisker,

I concur with ♥ ℒʊ√ ♥ - that message is the one I was talking about to where the forum can usually be retrieved. As stated, the owner will need to register here on support so they can be verified as the owner so it can be restored if possible - but only the reds can say if it's possible or not for sure).

[♥ ℒʊ√ ♥]

Lynx , I think it was a bit confusing, which is why I posted. I knew what you meant, but you posted ~

If they get something to the effect of "This forum does not exist", it's probably not retrievable.

Mar 13, 2016 9:31:54 GMT -8 Lynx said:

If the forum itself has been deleted by the forum owner, and too much time has not passed, they can register here on support with the same email they have for their admin account (so the reds can verify account ownership), post in the Support Board asking if it can be retrieved. If it can be, the reds can bring it back online. If it was taken down for a Section 25(a) ToS violation, they'll have to get with [e-mail] to see about a resolution. If too much time has passed, it may not be retrievable. What error do they get trying to go to their forum URL? If it states something to the effect of "It looks like the admin has removed this forum from ProBoards service", it's probably retrievable. If they get something to the effect of "This forum does not exist", it's probably not retrievable. Either way, they should create an account here and post in the Support Board.

Hope that helps!

I know you only asked about it being deleted, whisker , but I thought I'd add in the extra info for others that may read this thread.

[Lynx]

Yeah, ♥ ℒʊ√ ♥ - I couldn't remember the exact messages, so I was trying to go from memory. Perhaps I should have a few more cups of coffee before trying that again.

[♥ ℒʊ√ ♥]

No problem, Lynx . I can surely relate. 

But when you said that message would mean the forum wasn't retrievable, I knew you meant WAS and not wasn't.

[Lynx]

I actually meant wasn't for that, ♥ ℒʊ√ ♥ - I just couldn't remember the error message, so I think I accidentally "split" the one for was, and made the part that the forum wasn't found as wasn't. Basically, I had the wrong message for the "wasn't retrievable" - if that makes sense.

[♥ ℒʊ√ ♥]

Ah, it does. I gotcha now!

But again, we all do this. I'm just as guilty. And with this loss of an hour time change, I'm even more loopy today!

[whisker]

Thank you, Ladies! It's good to have this point discussed. I conveyed the info to the person concerned, but he has responded that he will have no forum for the moment. How long that will last, I don't know.

[wildmaven]

This is a technical question and therefore has been moved from Managing Your Forum to the Support Board.

[Craig]

whisker

If you start a new topic in this support board, you have the option to provide a forum url, along with the ability to make it private, meaning only staff will see the URL