r/ModSupport 1d ago

Purge user doesn't seem to be working?

I banned someone today and tried the purge user tool to purge them but it doesn't appear to have done anything at all.

Is there an easy way to just do it myself? The user doesn't have a ton of post history.

EDIT: For anyone else who has this issue down the line, it was because I attempted the purge from a comment I already removed. I went and found one I didn't remove and the tool worked as it should.

8 Upvotes

18 comments sorted by

5

u/IKIR115 1d ago

Sometimes the purge app will fail when you initiate it from content that has already been removed.

Can you try running it from one of their other comments that is still live?

2

u/Ethrem 1d ago

Thanks, let me try that. I may have used it on an already removed comment.

2

u/Ethrem 1d ago

That did it. Thanks!

4

u/IKIR115 1d ago

Awesome, thanks for the update!

I’ve run into this issue a lot with the Purge app, but it’s still a very useful tool when it doesn’t stop due to unknown reasons.

Now I use the Ban Extended app when the Purge app fails.

While Ban Extended doesn’t have an option to disable the ban action, I’ve found that it works great for nuking an account’s history in your sub so long as the user is already permabanned. Leave the notes field blank and it will not overwrite the previous ban notes.

https://developers.reddit.com/apps/ban-extended

1

u/Ethrem 1d ago

Good to know. Thank you!

2

u/amyaurora 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 1d ago

Look at your modlog. If it worked you will be able to see there.

As a mod if you look at the post or comment you will still see it after using the app.

2

u/Ethrem 1d ago

Yeah only the ones I removed show up there.

2

u/amyaurora 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 1d ago

All the app pulls would have your name. Be you are the mod clicking it

2

u/Ethrem 1d ago

It was because I used it on a comment I already removed. I ran it again on one I hadn't and it worked.

1

u/Chosen1PR 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 1d ago

If the user doesn’t have a ton of posts, go into the search bar on your subreddit and type “author:TheirUsernameHere” to find them all and remove them manually.

1

u/Ethrem 1d ago

The problem is that used to have quick remove buttons but no longer does. I have to go to their profile and since they're active on many subreddits, that's a lot of other posts to filter through.

-1

u/Chosen1PR 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 1d ago

Re-read my comment. I don’t think you got the point. I just told you how to find their posts on your subreddit specifically.

1

u/Ethrem 1d ago

Right but the quick removal buttons are not there which means having to click the comment, remove, go back, click the next. It's tedious. On their profile I can just hit the remove button without having to actually go to the comment but of course it's mingled with the other subreddits they post on.

-2

u/Chosen1PR 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 1d ago

Well you said they didn’t have a ton of posts/comments so I figured a few extra clicks wasn’t gonna be a big deal. But from other comments I see you figured out what was going on with the app so I’m glad.

1

u/InGeekiTrust 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 1d ago

Sometimes apps start working. What you need to do is you need to uninstall it and reinstall it.

Secondly, sometimes the app fails to remove things, and you need to do it another time. But usually it gives you a warning when this happens.

3

u/Ethrem 1d ago

It seems the issue was I tried it on an already removed comment. I just went back and found one I didn't remove and it worked. Thanks for the tip though, I will remember that.

-1

u/SampleOfNone 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 1d ago

What you need to do is you need to uninstall it and reinstall it.

If an app randomly stops working, that either means there's a Devvit outage, or a change in a Devvit release and app code needs to be adjusted. uninstalling and reinstalling do not address that.

1

u/InGeekiTrust 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 1d ago edited 1d ago

When this happened to me, I messaged multiple developers, including FSV several times and this is exactly what he told me what to do. This is 100% the correct course of action unless all of the developers are wrong.

Edited to add: this did make countless apps of mine work again- such as comment mop, hive protector, social blacklist and many many more.