I have never come close to accumulating 60 messages, yet my PM Inbox keeps getting emptied. Why is that? I don't want to bellyache, but this is now officially frustrating. I have lost some very precious information, not to mention the thread of PM conversation keeps getting cut off. Please help.

- Padraig

Padraig, this is from the FAQ section regarding time limits for PM's.

Yes, C of S, I read that. I'm talking about items that get deleted within a DAY of me receiving them. My Inbox is no longer retaining messages for more than a few hours, I'd estimate. And I have no idea if I'm missing other PMs as well. I've emailed Steve Brooks but haven't gotten a reply.

Thanks.

When you respond to a PM, it is taken out of the inbox and goes into the sent box. Have you checked there? When you get a response, it will return to the inbox.

The last two sent messages do appear in the sent box. I'm just wondering if the other member is PMing me without it actually reaching my Inbox. Now I'm also wondering if the system randomly empties members' Inboxes. Is that theoretically possible?

Thanks you.

- P

The Café system only deletes messages after 60 days. You said you didn't have any that were that old. If you reach 60 messages, which is a combination of all your boxes (20 inbox, 40 sent box for example) you won't receive any more PM's until you totally delete some messages. That includes the trash box.

The PM process is this.

Send a PM and it will appear in the sent box. When a response is received, it will leave the sent box and show in the in box. If you respond, it goes back to the sent box and so on and so on.

If you trash a message from any box, it will appear in the trash box. You must manually delete it from that box. You can also move a message to your saved box however, the 60 message/60 rule still applies.

I'll send you a PM and see if we can figure out what is happening.

I'm having a similar problem. Messages no more than a few weeks old disappear, while older messages remain. This is very frustrating.

-Phil in KC

Phil, did you respond to the "missing" posts? If you did, then they will not be in your inbox anylonger. Look in your sent box.

I have a similar problem, too, with PMs that are fairly new (i.e. a couple days to a couple weeks) disappearing. It seems that the PM system needs to be overhauled and made more user-friendly.

Also, for those of you griping about the repeated "Broadcast PMs" from Steve Brooks that advertise stuff or contain unwanted information, I have found a very simple, effective way to avoid them altogether -- don't even open them and read them! I've found this works wonders, saves me aggravation and time, and does not expose me to the unwanted information in the unwanted PM. Simply ignore it. Just because it was sent to me doesn't mean I have to open it and read it.

Every time I've checked someone's PMs for them - because I was told they were deleted - I've always found them in another box. Just because a PM isn't shown in a particular box doesn't mean it was deleted. Check your other boxes first. If you still can't find it, send me a PM with details of what the PM was about, and any text you might remember being in it. I'll find it.