Archives "purge"?

[cabbageweevil]

I've been away from eHell for a couple of days; coming back to the board, it appears (at least, per my computer equipment) that compared to a couple of days ago -- on "Community", in all sections, the "archives" of past posts have undergone major reductions. On "Life in General", for example, the tally of accessible past pages, formerly in four figures, has diminished to three hundred and forty-something.

Could I ask -- is this a thing which has been done as official policy by the board?  I can be very oblivious to Internet happenings generally; the plan for this to happen as from this weekend could well have been announced for weeks past on eHell -- with my totally missing it. Or I wonder whether this might be a glitch peculiar to my own computer, and in fact the board's archives are just as they were long before this weekend?

[Outdoor Girl]

I'm not sure which thread it was in but the Dame mentioned that she was going to delete old, unactive threads in hopes of helping getting rid of the morning slowdowns.

[cabbageweevil]

Thanks. As said, I can be highly oblivious to announcements that such things are going to happen.

I feel a bit sad, because I greatly enjoyed going back into the -- until lately -- voluminous archives, and exploring threads from way back. But of course "those who run the show, call the shots".  An "upside", is that the new set-up will prevent me from much time-wasting !  And the "Etiquette Hell Classics" sub-forum still preserves some of the best items from half a decade and more, ago.

[cabbageweevil]

I hope that it is OK procedure to revive this thread which I started, to raise an associated issue.

I find that -- not only has much former archive material seemingly been "deep-sixed" as of a few weeks ago; but I am unable to access a good deal of what, per indications shown on-screen, is still supposedly "there" and accessible.  I am finding that in various sub-forums, pages up to page number *** are shown as still accessible: in fact, though, from half-way through the number sequence, clicking on the number does not deliver the page-full of thread titles / contents, from which one can select threads which one wishes to read.  For instance, "Family and Children" is ostensibly still available up to page 169; in fact, though, after page 85 I am unable to get the above page-full -- so cannot access the material.

I confess to being probably one of the world's most computer-clueless computer owners; and, as touched on in my OP, my own computer seems prone to assorted idiosyncracies -- many of which I could probably remedy if I were more au fait with these matters.  Am wondering if anyone can shed any light for me, on this situation which I'm encountering -- and indeed, whether it has happened to anybody else?  I love roaming around in threads from the past, and it is frustrating to me to have the opportunity to do so, at present severely curtailed.

[blue2000]

I am able to view all the pages in most topics, including 169 pages in Family And Children, but not pages in Life In General, so perhaps it is a temporary glitch left over from the maintenance? Sometimes we can't see threads that are being worked on or moderated for some reason, but then later they pop back up again.

[cabbageweevil]

blue2000 -- thanks.  Your experience seemingly differs from mine.  I've done a quick survey, and found that for me, working on my own computer in my home, the following sub-forums "cut out half-way through", as described in my post of Sep. 3rd : Family and Children, Life In General, All In a Day's Work, Time For a Coffee Break, Entertainment and News, and the "crafting" sub-forum (forget its precise name). Others seemingly do not -- they're accessible throughout.

There appears to be a tendency by which sub-forums with a large number of pages, cut out half-way through for me; and those with a relatively small number of pages, don't. This is not universal, though: Entertainment and Hospitality, with many pages, seems accessible throughout; the "crafting" sub-forum, with only 21 pages, cuts out half-way through.

Computers are strange -- particularly for people like me, for whom the whole thing is mostly Harry Potter and bewildering magic. Further research by me into this issue, would seem to involve going to a public-use computer and seeing what happens there; and / or calling in relatives / friends more computer-savvy than I am, and asking for their opinion and advice on how I might get at what I at present can't get at.  Frustratingly, all the sub-forums which I like most and frequent most, are among those where cutting out half-way through, is happening...

[blue2000]

Today I can see the last page of just about everything - but for most it is only the last page. Not any other pages at all. I'm still betting my money on 'glitch'.

You could try a library computer. Perhaps if the glitch depends on the computer/time of day/Harry Potter spell, it will work for you.

[cabbageweevil]

I've seen the "last page available; but no previous pages till halfway" thing. (Availability, though, for pages in the lower half of the number sequence.)  "Weird, and getting weirder".  I feel more and more like poor old Neville in HP...