I had a moment of panic before I found out what this message means from other questions here on meta. Why does clicking on "User was removed" take me to my profile? I wasn't the one who was removed, it was someone else.
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1Per the answers to More descriptive "User was removed" explanation and Add "what's this?" links to "user was removed" and "serial upvoting" in reputation history, this message was originally changed back in 2014 to say "User was removed (learn more)".– V2Blast StaffModCommented May 24, 2023 at 17:37
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1However, per this 2018 comment on the former, that message changed at some point...– V2Blast StaffModCommented May 24, 2023 at 17:37
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4I believe this is the default behavior of inbox items that affect reputation. If there's no associated post, it would link to the reputation tab where you can see all changes.– Shadow WizardCommented May 24, 2023 at 17:42
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2@V2Blast The link in your first comment is related to the copy in the reputation history page. The achievement dropdown uses a different copy, which doesn't contain the link. In a similar vein, the history page says "Voting corrected (learn more)" while the dropdown says "Serial voting was reversed".– Sonic the Anonymous HedgehogCommented May 24, 2023 at 18:12
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@SonictheAnonymousHedgehog: Ah, thanks for clarifying.– V2Blast StaffModCommented May 24, 2023 at 18:12
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1 Answer
When any user is removed, their votes are invalidated and their posts no longer show their icon as an active member but rather a gray square showing their user number, as their account has been deleted along with their user page, meaning you cannot view their account either. When their votes are invalidated, that includes upvotes, sometimes to your own posts, which would mean the reputation you earned from them is now null and void. This information can be found here.
Your achievements tab shows all achievements and changes in your reputation, and it also accompanies the reason for your reputation's increase or decrease. Sometimes, that shows that post that earned you the reputation, but in this case, it was the removal of another user that caused the reputation they upvoted to give you to be non-existent anymore. Therefore, your account is still safe now, but your reputation has gone down. The reason is the removal of that user. Had their account still existed, you would not get any reputation change.
Now, why does it link to your profile? Because it is your reputation change. It's linked not because of the removal but the reputation.
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1That's not exactly the question. The answer is not wrong, but the actual question is "why does it link to my profile". Commented May 26, 2023 at 14:04
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2@ShadowTheSpringWizard It's linked to his profile because its his reputation change.– HudsonCommented May 26, 2023 at 14:09
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@Hudson - then it should not say "User was Removed". It should say "Your rep decreased because we removed a user" or something like that Commented May 26, 2023 at 19:45
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@StingyJack Well, as I said, it is really the reason being displayed, which is why the tab also displays question rep as only the question title instead of "Your rep increased because of an upvote on a question." I guess it assumes you put it into the phrase "Your rep [change rep number] because of [reason displayed].– HudsonCommented May 26, 2023 at 19:50
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When I click on any of the other entries in the same list it takes me to the question, answer, or comment that its referring to. "User was Removed" doesnt take me to that user. Commented May 27, 2023 at 20:57
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@StingyJack You see, if the user was removed, they wouldn't have an account or a user page, so theoretically you cannot visit a non-existent page. Just like I said in the answer, the user is now gray and only listed with their user number instead of their set name on any of their posts, which means you cannot click on their icon in any of their posts. As such, they have no user page since that user no longer exists.– HudsonCommented May 27, 2023 at 23:03
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@Hudson I'm not sure why you think I dont understand the mechanics of this. The choice that was made regarding how to present this scenario to users is being questioned here. Unless you were part of that decision, I dont think there is anything you can add that would not just be a repeat of something you already said or that would not be speculative. Commented Jun 4, 2023 at 18:12