We do not know what caused the post counts to crash.

It was apparently some type of glitch when a repair was run on a totally different area of the software. There are repair programs built into the software for specific problems. We had a problem with a member's signature area. When we ran a repair program for that, it reset post counts to state the number of posts you have that actually STILL EXIST on the board.
It should not have reset them. Actual existing post count is an option in the software. We have NOT used it, and it is an option we have stayed well away from.
If you recall, we went to the effort of moving the forum data a SECOND time in June, 2009 when we moved the board to restore post counts for the members.
So, we did not reset them here.

The reason many posts don't exist any more is because of pruning. Old threads were pruned from certain non data areas like The Lounge back when we were on Groupee because bandwidth and storage costs became so high. If we exceeded 250,000 posts, the cost went up at least $400 extra per month.

As the real data had grown over the years, it became necessary to trim the real stuff like gun, reloading, and ammo threads also. Trimming The Lounge, the ads, The Wish List, and New Member Intros simply would not keep us below that super expensive threshold of 250,000 posts. NO posts have been deleted since the last time I pruned- back in March, 2009, I believe, but it may have been April.

The Data forums will no longer be pruned- NOT EVER.

We moved within DAYS of it finally being possible to move. Had I known we would finally be able to move in June, I might have toughed it out and paid the bill, but I did not know when we could move till the very end of May, and the debt was rapidly growing month by month to a substantial level.

Those who post mainly in the non-data areas were hit the hardest, since those areas were always pruned the heaviest. If you are new, you probably lost little or none because we haven't pruned in months.

I am sorry it happened.
And, before the rumors or "implications" start, like I said, it was entirely an unintended consequence of another problem.
I don't have any trouble telling you when I delete something on purpose- check the record.

One good result of this is that we now back up the entire forum every 24 hours- at a cost of $50 per month.

AGAIN- NO Posts, NO threads, and NO material were deleted in this latest episode.

IF we prune in the future, it will ONLY be non-critical areas, NOT data areas.

__________________
Regards,
Lee Jarrett