Problem with threads

[Matt]

Jun 23, 2016 16:35:43 GMT -8 Michael said:

Hi,

I can do the math out for you about the number of replies, I guarantee the amount in there now, is correct. To re-explain, the posts themselves didn't change, it was simply the count that did. It's possible (even likely) that there was some posts/threads that have been deleted (from your forum as a whole) that the count didn't update correctly. Brian performed a complete recount of your forum. The only thing that has changed is the number on the page, not the actual amount of content on the forum.


For the specific thread:
10 posts per a page (as per your forum settings)
248 posts in the database attributed to that thread
240/10 is 24 pages plus 8 posts on the next page for a grand total of 25 pages.

What the database says is wrong, I know what I saw before, and my above post should prove that to you, I never deleted 1500 posts on my forum, and the security log can prove that. If these posts cannot be restored. I've always been quite loyal to proboards but this is not acceptable. I hate to be rude but I know what I saw and I know that what you are saying is not correct.

[Michael]

Hi,

As I explained the count was off. Just because the count was off does not mean you are missing 1500 posts. We aren't able to determine where the count went off in the life of the forum. There was no server glitch that has happened in the last 24 hours that would affect forum data in any way. If you can direct me to a specific location where you know posts are missing for a fact, I can investigate further.

As it stands though the forum accurately reflects the data in our database for the forum.

[Matt]

See the ID of that post there was 26974! That means that there were almost 27,000 posts in existence on my forum at one point. Again, there clearly was a glitch tonight, why did my last few days posts disappear? Is it not possible that when restoring them there was an issue.


Post ID's count up by one each time a post was made, if there's a post with a Post ID of 26974 that means that many posts were in existence on my forum.

[T.C.]

Deleted posts still show in the post id count

[Matt]

see this as out most recent post

thechattingbox.proboards.com/post/26989/edit

has an ID of 26989

yes because of deleted posts the total count should be a little less than that. However I've only deleted about 100 posts in the history of my forum.

If my security log can prove I didn't delete 1300 posts, than why does the most recent post have a post ID that is that high? That proves my point right there that posts are missing. What explanation is there for that post ID of 26989?

[Michael]

Jun 23, 2016 16:42:47 GMT -8 Matt said:

See the ID of that post there was 26974! That means that there were almost 27,000 posts in existence on my forum at one point. Again, there clearly was a glitch tonight, why did my last few days posts disappear? Is it not possible that when restoring them there was an issue.


Post ID's count up by one each time a post was made, if there's a post with a Post ID of 26974 that means that many posts were in existence on my forum.

Hi,

The post ID count does go up every time a post is made, however that does not at all indicate the amount of posts on a forum. Again, the post ID does not represent the actual number of posts. Making a post does not mean the post ID will be exactly +1 from the previous one. In 90% of cases it will increment it by one but there are scenarios that increase the number by more than one. You have no way of verifying that figure at all (and neither do we). Users can delete their own posts, even if you've installed plugins or things designed to prevent it. 

Sometimes the thread ID cache can go off, sometimes the reported total of replies in a thread or board can be off. There is zero visible evidence that there is a problem on this forum that is causing posts to magically disappear from our database. We did not "restore" any posts. The posts were already there on the forum (and in the database) but not visible to you. 

[Matt]

Jun 23, 2016 16:51:00 GMT -8 T.C. said:

Deleted posts still show in the post id count

Yes but I only ever deleted about 100 posts ever. not 1300.

Nobody can seem to explain what happened to the 1300 gap in between those 2 numbers.

[Matt]

Jun 23, 2016 16:51:43 GMT -8 Michael said:

Jun 23, 2016 16:42:47 GMT -8 Matt said:

See the ID of that post there was 26974! That means that there were almost 27,000 posts in existence on my forum at one point. Again, there clearly was a glitch tonight, why did my last few days posts disappear? Is it not possible that when restoring them there was an issue.


Post ID's count up by one each time a post was made, if there's a post with a Post ID of 26974 that means that many posts were in existence on my forum.

Hi,

The post ID count does go up every time a post is made, however that does not at all indicate the amount of posts on a forum. Again, the post ID does not represent the actual number of posts. Making a post does not mean the post ID will be exactly +1 from the previous one. In 90% of cases it will increment it by one but there are scenarios that increase the number by more than one. You have no way of verifying that figure at all (and neither do we). Users can delete their own posts, even if you've installed plugins or things designed to prevent it. 

Sometimes the thread ID cache can go off, sometimes the reported total of replies in a thread or board can be off. There is zero visible evidence that there is a problem on this forum that is causing posts to magically disappear from our database. We did not "restore" any posts. The posts were already there on the forum (and in the database) but not visible to you. 

Just yesterday, the total posts was 26800 on the forum. the most recent post ID was about 26900.there was a 100 post gap in between those numbers. now there's a 1300 post gap.

Don't you guys save backups of forums in cases like this, can you look at the last backup and see that?


See how rarely threads and posts are deleted 

Attachments:

[Michael]

Jun 23, 2016 16:54:29 GMT -8 Matt said:

Jun 23, 2016 16:51:43 GMT -8 Michael said:

Hi,

The post ID count does go up every time a post is made, however that does not at all indicate the amount of posts on a forum. Again, the post ID does not represent the actual number of posts. Making a post does not mean the post ID will be exactly +1 from the previous one. In 90% of cases it will increment it by one but there are scenarios that increase the number by more than one. You have no way of verifying that figure at all (and neither do we). Users can delete their own posts, even if you've installed plugins or things designed to prevent it. 

Sometimes the thread ID cache can go off, sometimes the reported total of replies in a thread or board can be off. There is zero visible evidence that there is a problem on this forum that is causing posts to magically disappear from our database. We did not "restore" any posts. The posts were already there on the forum (and in the database) but not visible to you. 

Just yesterday, the total posts was 26800 on the forum. the most recent post ID was about 26900.there was a 100 post gap in between those numbers. now there's a 1300 post gap.

Don't you guys save backups of forums in cases like this, can you look at the last backup and see that?

Yes. But as I previously stated, this is not one of those cases. The total posts displayed was wrong. 


If you can point me in the direction of a location where there are posts missing that you know for a fact should be there, I can investigate further. 

[Matt]

I would like to apologize for my behavior in this thread.

I figured it out Michael ! and Brian ! All the posts by user vamaban1 have disappeared from site, all of his 1241 posts have suddenly disappeared without warning. Everyone elses posts are still there. Vamaban1 is still a member of my forum, and I never used the mass cleanup tool to delete his posts. There's nothing in the security log that says that.

So there is my proof that there are his posts missing.

See here is his profile thechattingbox.proboards.com/user/122
he should have 1241 posts yet none of his posts show anywhere on the forum. They are all gone. Something fishy is going on here. The only way that could have happened is if someone used the forum cleanup tool to mass delete his posts. I never did and the security log proves that neither me nor my staff did. So how could this have happened?

Even more interestingly is his posts have disappeared from the other forums that I know he is on. I've checked 2 other forums that I know this user is on and on both of them his posts have been removed. My security log doesn't show it so he could not have possibly removed all 1241 posts himself.

[Michael]

Hi,

Thank you for the information. I did not realize that member had an account on your forum (he had accounts on dozens of forums). This user was found to be impersonating PB Staff on several forums and has been removed from the service (along with all of his posts). I will take a further look to see if his removal was the reason the counts went off in the first place.

[T.C.]

Jun 24, 2016 8:44:01 GMT -8 Michael said:

Hi,

Thank you for the information. I did not realize that member had an account on your forum (he had accounts on dozens of forums). This user was found to be impersonating PB Staff on several forums and has been removed from the service (along with all of his posts). I will take a further look to see if his removal was the reason the counts went off in the first place.

It appears that that member is back.

thechattingbox.proboards.com/user/140

[Michael]

Jun 24, 2016 8:52:55 GMT -8 T.C. said:

Jun 24, 2016 8:44:01 GMT -8 Michael said:

Hi,

Thank you for the information. I did not realize that member had an account on your forum (he had accounts on dozens of forums). This user was found to be impersonating PB Staff on several forums and has been removed from the service (along with all of his posts). I will take a further look to see if his removal was the reason the counts went off in the first place.

It appears that that member is back.

thechattingbox.proboards.com/user/140

Thank you, I'll see that its taken care of. 

[Matt]

Hi everyone, again i'd like to apologize for my behaviour on this thread last night, thank you for letting me know what has happened. I appreciate you letting me know what has happened. Thank you and have a great day