Honestly, if an OP is deleted it should literally be deleted/hidden.
Back where I used to work on our forums, if the original post [thread start post] was deleted, the entire thread was deleted/hidden. If a comment was deleted, it would also be deleted/hidden.
Reason I’m using deleted/hidden here is because to users the post doesn’t exist anymore. To staff, they can still view deleted comments/posts. Comments on threads and deleted OPs get put into a small “spoiler” comment
“Deleted post. Deleted by: [user]. Reason: [Reason or no reason at all, can be left blank]. Click to view.”
Specific staff also had an option to “perma delete” things if need be.
Reasons:
- Looks better not seeing a bunch of “deleted posts” that aren’t actually deleted/hidden. Less clutter on a users end. I mean… cmon
[This would also still count as thread bumping since staff can see it still/thread would likely still get bumped] - If the OP is deleted, why can people still view it? OP clearly wanted it gone, but being able to still react and comment on it is silly. Can also lead to derailing of the original topic anyways since no one can see the OP
- No clue if you have a test section/staff section, but it could be useful for staff wanting to test posts before posting. Users can also test posts this way too