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It has happened several times now that a question is deleted by its author a few minutes after I post an answer.

I suspect it's because the question is a homework question and the user wants to remove evidence of receiving help online. I feel discouraged from answering more questions whenever this happens for several reasons:

  • I lose access to my answer. Even after reaching 10K there is no way to find my deleted answers.
  • I unintentionally helped someone cheat at homework. I already ignore homework questions for the most part because of this.
  • No one else will benefit from my answer in the future.

Furthermore, this is more likely to happen when answering an old question, as it takes longer for someone to notice the answer and upvote it (which disables the author's ability to delete the question). So this discourages me from answering old questions.

Did anyone else notice this behavior? Can anything be done about it?

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    $\begingroup$ A question which has upvoted answers cannot be deleted by the OP. So a good countermeasure is for everyone to Vote early, vote often! $\endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila Mod
    Feb 20, 2013 at 20:16
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    $\begingroup$ While I can see that what you suspect could be the case, another, less devious explanation would be that a user solved it him-or herself in the meantime, is ambitious, and feels stupid having asked such question. However, in your cases I don't know...you might be right. In any case, this shouldn't discourage you. This world isn't perfect, and your well-intended actions should be judged based merely on your intent. $\endgroup$
    – gnometorule
    Feb 20, 2013 at 20:26
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    $\begingroup$ @gnometorule Could be, but I feel it's unlikely when the question is deleted within 10-20 minutes of receiving an answer. Either way, had I received an acknowledgement of some sort before deletion, I'd have happily moved on. $\endgroup$
    – Ayman Hourieh
    Feb 20, 2013 at 20:41
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    $\begingroup$ Older discussion: People who ask homework questions and then remove them $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Feb 20, 2013 at 21:12
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    $\begingroup$ Concerning your answers, Google sometimes helps with its cache. It's even possible to get the $\LaTeX$ back. See here: meta.math.stackexchange.com/q/8318/19341 $\endgroup$
    – draks ...
    Feb 20, 2013 at 22:10
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    $\begingroup$ I've done what gnometorule describes. After asking and getting an answer I realized the problem was trivial so I removed it. This probably isn't good practice though... $\endgroup$
    – Chris Brooks
    Feb 21, 2013 at 22:24
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    $\begingroup$ I have deleted questions for the same reason Jospeh describes. $\endgroup$
    – Potato
    Feb 23, 2013 at 0:01
  • $\begingroup$ As Joseph says some times one realizes the thing is trivial after receive an answer and then one wish to delete it. I think that we askers must avoid to ask trivial questions, it floods the site making difficult to find interesting posts. What I try to do now, if I suspect the question is trivial, I ask someone near me, if I don't know yet, try to ask on chat. Most times in this process you realize by your own if the question deserves to be posted. $\endgroup$
    – leo
    Feb 24, 2013 at 15:38
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    $\begingroup$ @leo et al: Elementary algebra may be trivial to someone who's mastered it, but it's still a necessary foundation for higher mathematics and non-trivial to many students. Triviality is relative. It seems better to let others judge whether the questions are trivial by means of voting and sorting through tags. $\endgroup$
    – Chrisuu
    Feb 26, 2013 at 7:04
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    $\begingroup$ This is why I immediately vote on the first answer on each question . $\endgroup$
    – Anonymous Computer
    Feb 28, 2014 at 1:50
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    $\begingroup$ @AsafKaragila Can a question with upvotes but no upvoted asnwer be deleted? (This is relevant because it would stop situations like this occurring, although it is clearly not an ideal solution). $\endgroup$
    – user1729
    Apr 3, 2014 at 8:51
  • $\begingroup$ @user1729: If I recall correctly, yes. $\endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila Mod
    Apr 3, 2014 at 12:39
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    $\begingroup$ "Furthermore, this is more likely to happen when answering an old question, as it takes longer for someone to notice the answer and upvote it" Answering a question bumps it to the top of the active list precisely so that people can notice and vote on it. $\endgroup$
    – David Richerby
    May 11, 2015 at 15:50
  • $\begingroup$ 😏 I delete my posts a lot because they're crap, I've never been able to delete one that has been answered already. $\endgroup$
    – Daniel Donnelly
    Mar 25, 2019 at 2:06
  • $\begingroup$ Re: Even after reaching 10K there is no way to find my deleted answers. Now it's possible (for 10k+ users): Is there any way to see my deleted questions or answers? $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Mar 25, 2019 at 18:01

2 Answers 2

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There is a certain correlation between that behaviour and cheating: they try to cover their act.

Please, if someone removes a question taking an answer with it, let the moderators know.

If you want to find your own deleted answers do the following.

  1. Go to your profile page.
  2. Select the tab answers
  3. Scroll to the bottom. You will find a link deleted recent answers. Click it.
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    $\begingroup$ Usually I can't even find the user after the question is deleted. How do I let the moderators know in this case? $\endgroup$
    – Ayman Hourieh
    Feb 20, 2013 at 19:55
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    $\begingroup$ We can find deleted questions, for example by looking for your answer (which we can see) If you see any of us in the chat room, tell us, or flag something and write an explanation. $\endgroup$
    – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
    Feb 20, 2013 at 20:08
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    $\begingroup$ OK, the two examples above are what I have right now. Is this enough to get moderator attention? :) $\endgroup$
    – Ayman Hourieh
    Feb 20, 2013 at 20:10
  • $\begingroup$ @AymanHourieh: It might take a certain reputation (10k? mod?) to see deleted posts in the question list. This makes it hard to report. If you have a link to your answer, that will display the deleted question and answer. $\endgroup$
    – robjohn Mod
    Feb 20, 2013 at 20:11
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    $\begingroup$ @AymanHourieh, it is much better not to start a whole meta thread for this, for various reasons. Use flags to contact moderators privately. $\endgroup$
    – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
    Feb 20, 2013 at 20:14
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    $\begingroup$ @MarianoSuárez-Alvarez OK. I'll use flags. Feel free to delete this question if you think it shouldn't be on meta. $\endgroup$
    – Ayman Hourieh
    Feb 20, 2013 at 20:16
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    $\begingroup$ @AymanHourieh I think this question, in some form or another, should remain on meta so that it can guide other answerers encountering the same situation. Having your post deleted along with the answer to which it was attached is both frustrating and puzzling to users, so having some advice already in place on meta is a good thing. // That said, maybe the links to particular questions can be removed. $\endgroup$
    – user53153
    Feb 20, 2013 at 20:41
  • $\begingroup$ @5pm Good point. Links gone now. $\endgroup$
    – Ayman Hourieh
    Feb 20, 2013 at 20:42
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    $\begingroup$ About the "Please, if someone removes a question taking an answer with it, let the moderators know", what is the best way of "letting the moderators know"? I can't flag a deleted question. Sorry for commenting in this old thread, but I didn't want to create a new meta post for this topic again. $\endgroup$
    – fonini
    Jan 3, 2015 at 22:10
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    $\begingroup$ @fonini You can flag another post of yours, and explain what the issue is (with a link to your deleted answer). Or you can post an undelete request in "Requests for Reopen / Undelete Votes"; it is not always necessary to get moderators involved to get a post undeleted. $\endgroup$
    – user147263
    Jan 3, 2015 at 22:23
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    $\begingroup$ It is perhaps worth adding that since this answer was posted a new chat room called Math Mods' Office was created, see also here. It is specifically for things which might require moderators' attention. So if for some reason somebody prefers using chat to flagging in similar situation, this seems to be the right room for this purpose. $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Apr 18, 2016 at 22:12
  • $\begingroup$ Since this post was made, there were some changes and now any user can find their recent answers, if they were deleted. 10k+ users can search for their deleted posts. See here $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Oct 17, 2016 at 8:11
  • $\begingroup$ I think that it might be useful to update this answer to add the responses to the first comment by Ayman Hourieh asking how to find links. Namely that mods can search for them and now also regular users can find their own answer - at least in some cases. $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Oct 17, 2016 at 8:12
  • $\begingroup$ @MartinSleziak Is my edit what you wanted to see? IIRC that page looks a bit different to a moderator. When serving I saw my deleted answers among the others, covered in pink, much like 10k+users see deleted posts elsewhere in the site. $\endgroup$
    – Jyrki Lahtonen
    Mar 23, 2019 at 12:28
  • $\begingroup$ @JyrkiLahtonen Thanks for the edit. I will also add a link to a more recent posts about finding deleted posts: Is there any way to see my deleted questions or answers? $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Mar 23, 2019 at 12:54
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Another reason is embarrassment when they realize how "stupid" they were after they received an answer. For example, look at this post Is this step mathematically allowed?

Although the asker did not delete her post, she does mention how embarrassed she felt after having some comments and an answer answer her question clearly and concisely.

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  • $\begingroup$ This happened to me, and it is hard to be embarassed online. This is one of it. If in case, is there an option to hide it? $\endgroup$
    – soupless
    Feb 27, 2021 at 8:22
  • $\begingroup$ @soupless I don't see any posts by you in the question you linked $\endgroup$
    – Some Guy
    Feb 27, 2021 at 18:59
  • $\begingroup$ The questions that I linked is my first account. I forgot the username of the account that I used, thus, I made a new account, but I do hope that I can get it again. $\endgroup$
    – soupless
    Feb 28, 2021 at 1:34
  • $\begingroup$ Deleting a question is basically hiding it, since you can always undelete it @soupless $\endgroup$
    – Some Guy
    Feb 28, 2021 at 1:39
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    $\begingroup$ However, high reputation users can see deleted stuff $\endgroup$
    – Some Guy
    Feb 28, 2021 at 1:39
  • $\begingroup$ What I mean is something like archiving, that everyone can see, but no one can comment, answer, upvote, and other things. $\endgroup$
    – soupless
    Feb 28, 2021 at 1:40
  • $\begingroup$ @soupless, right, since you can't access your account, you can't do anything $\endgroup$
    – Some Guy
    Feb 28, 2021 at 1:40

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