There's probably not an easy way to increase the number of characters shown. That would be some hacking in the ubbthreads.php script. More likely a question for www.threadsdev.com if modifing your code doesn't bother you... it probably could be done.

As per "posts deleted by"
Well... you can't really.

In threads.... because there is also a "threaded mode" instead of just a "flat" mode (like Classic) you can't take a post out of the middle IF IT HAS REPLIES without "breaking" the thread. So if there a No Replies to the post...then it will delete without a trace. If it has replies it will have to leave a placeholder.
If you are deleting more than one post.. the trick is to start with the oldest...so that you are always deleting a post that doesn't have any replies to it. (If you click "threaded" at the top, it's a little easier to tell what posts have replies by the way it's indented).

Again, if you don't mind modifing your code... I wrote a modification for a client which allows you to delete without leaving a trace...I posted it at www.threadsdev.com. I think it's called "delete without traces". What it does, it reassignes replies made to the post you are deleting to another post. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="images/icons/wink.gif" />

Josh
www.joshuapettit.com
ThreadsDev.com Administrator | InfoPop Community Moderator
Register to see my How To/Site Help Library Forum at ThreadsDev.com.
My threads 'tweaking' abilities are for hire for upgrades, tweaks and modifications.