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I flagged a question earlier this evening by user3551983 for undoing edits to math formatting, as well as two other poorly formatted posts. The user then deleted all three of his threads. I saw an identical question (not the one I flagged, but one of user3551983's questions) pop up by user259278, still unformatted. So I formatted it and answered the question. The OP (user259278) then deleted the question. I'm pretty sure this is a duplicate account.

My concerns are two-fold. First, since I took the time to answer the question, I feel my efforts were wasted since the thread is gone and can't be used as a resource. Second, it seems a tad unethical to me to register multiple accounts to ask the same question, but not to adhere to the rules of the site (i.e., math formatting so we can read the question) to get better help. The second is definitely more a moderative issue, but I was wondering if there was a way to get the post in question undeleted. Unfortunately, I don't have any such link to provide.

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    $\begingroup$ Related. Flag it for the moderators, and use the text-box to explain that you've already answered the question. The community consensus seems to be in strong agreement that it's unethical or undesirable for such deletions to occur. $\endgroup$
    – user61527
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 5:44
  • $\begingroup$ I've flagged one of user3551983's (now deleted) questions, but unfortunately don't have a link to user259278's question to flag. I run private browsing, so I can't look them up in my history. Is there a nice way for me to flag a user or find a deleted question? $\endgroup$
    – ml0105
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 5:47
  • $\begingroup$ To clarify, both user3551983 deleted all his questions. Then user259278 popped up, posted, got help, and deleted his question. $\endgroup$
    – ml0105
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 5:49
  • $\begingroup$ @T.Bongers: This situation is a bit tricky, since under some circumstances (which I'm not 100% clear on), flags may be cleared upon deletion of a post. $\endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila Mod
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 5:59
  • $\begingroup$ I don't think flags are auto-cleared. My original flag on user3551983's thread is still active. Funny enough, a new (low quality) thread from user259278 popped up. I flagged it, so hopefully that will help a moderator look into it. $\endgroup$
    – ml0105
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:00
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    $\begingroup$ The original questions (for 10k users): one deleted, two deleted and rollback war deleted. I don't have links for the re-posts, though. $\endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila Mod
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:01
  • $\begingroup$ Can you look up deleted threads by users? There is one such thread here: math.stackexchange.com/questions/762643/… The other question (the one I answered and am asking about) was about independent sets, if that helps. $\endgroup$
    – ml0105
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:04
  • $\begingroup$ I can't look up other people's self-deleted threads. That's for the moderators. You can look up your browser history and find links, though. $\endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila Mod
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:05
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    $\begingroup$ I don't see what's up for discussion here. The moderators are looking into the flags, but it does take time to investigate and decide on a course of action. Additionally, there really isn't anything regular members can do. All in all, I don't see any reason why this meta-thread should exist at all. $\endgroup$
    – user642796 Mod
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:25
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    $\begingroup$ @AsafKaragila, sometimes I favorite a post if I think it will be self deleted. Is a favorite by an under-10K user of any use in a deleted post being found? $\endgroup$
    – Will Jagy
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:28
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    $\begingroup$ @Will: I think so. I'm not sure if a user can see his own deleted-favorites, but I'm pretty sure that a 10k users can see other people's deleted-favorites. $\endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila Mod
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:30
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    $\begingroup$ @Will: I can see them. $\endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila Mod
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:38
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    $\begingroup$ @Will: I don't see any deleted favorites on my profile (yet). So I suppose it's settled then. $\endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila Mod
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:43
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    $\begingroup$ Arthur Fischer- I apologize for the inappropriate meta thread. As I was unable to raise a flag on a deleted thread, my inquiry was more to raise such a flag. $\endgroup$
    – ml0105
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:45
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    $\begingroup$ @ml0105, you do not have any favorites chosen. Evidently, if you do that and the post is deleted, 10K users will be able to see the link in your favorite list and go to the post. Could be handy sometime. $\endgroup$
    – Will Jagy
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:48

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