If a post is deleted, then the posts below it all get renumbered. I know this to be a true fact. I run a forum that uses this very same software.
I don't remember the exact words that GeoHorn used, but it was something concerning the mentality of the people that had responded to the post. That and all the other posts after that up till mine were deleted. I don't know if they were soft-deleted, or permanently deleted. Soft deletes can be reversed, permanent ones are permanently deleted.
I also remember some posts pointing out who and what causes inflation using youtube videos. Am I thinking about another thread? I don't think so, but I might be wrong. I have had Covid for the last week, and a lot of the time I am tired and don't remember things as clearly as I would like. I am now on the downhill side of Covid and starting to feel a lot better.