Bill Haddow wrote:...and not too onerous on the hard pressed mods.
I'm afraid it would be.
It takes enough effort as it is for the mods to monitor and manage the forums.
Much of that effort (helping with forgotten logins, dealing with ever-increasing cunning by spammers, dealing with reported posts...) is not publicly seen, but it goes on.
Every mod has a day job; every mod is a volunteer.
If you do get a PM or an explanation of some decision, that's because the particular mod has
chosen to do it and it is usually in the spirit of helpfulness (not always seen that way). But sorry - you can't expect it every time.
When an entire thread has been deleted (as opposed to being locked), given what has historically caused that to happen, then in those instances I think the average poster will usually be able to work out why after a moments' thought.