Ok, thanks for all the replies. I now have an explanation!
Given that we login to TLF for free, I don't think that I should expect any more (I've had stated in the past, how useful Mel and I find this place!!)
However, if any changes are ever to be made to the way that posts are laid out, may I make a suggestion?
Currently posts are titled as follows:
#193290 Post by melonfool » January 13th, 2019, 7:25 pm
....
and
#193307 Post by tjh290633 » January 13th, 2019, 9:43 pm
....
where I assume #193290 and #193307 are sequence numbers to a table outside of this thread. And they are hyperlinks to the matching URL for that post.
I wondered how easy (I'm sure this is how some other forums are implemented) it would be to make the sequence number unique only to the thread, and then using the example above, the reader of the thread would see:
#4 Post by melonfool » January 13th, 2019, 7:25 pm
....
and
#6 Post by tjh290633 » January 13th, 2019, 9:43 pm
....
then it is more obvious that a hypothetical earlier orphaned notification, is due to post #5 being deleted.
It's just an idea........and I don't expect that people run off and implement it! Merely that it indicates a little more clearly that a post was removed.
Another possibility, of course, is that when a user/mod hard deletes a post, a "Deleted" notification is flagged into the Notification queue of any users who were notified by the original "Reply/Quote".
I'm sorry if all the above seems rather pedantic, I am a bit of a perfectionist given half the chance!!. But I just wondered if there was an easy (and automatic) way to reconcile the post's disappearance in a manner most helpful to subscribers.
thanks Matt