Pythagoras: A very easy solution I like it.

One easy way to create that system is:
Keep the current system as it is with an extra option available to choose from. That is to see the posts removed. As an option. So when a moderator deletes a post, the post would not actually been deleted but only stay hidden from people that haven't enabled that option. Others that have it enabled, can see every post and these that have been "deleted/hidden".

Fencer: And no Fencer you are wrong. This is a very important subject. You might be right about people complaining, but there's no reason to believe that just because this is so that a better way to do it can't be devised and put in place. Just look at what we have now and tell me you think it's perfect. Yeah, uh-huh. Maybe it's because you think it's not important, and that's exactly how this mess happened. Sweeping it under the carpet will work for awhlie. You're a game player, not a conversationalist. Your actions lead me to believe that this discussion board stuff is just a sideline. The thing is, it has become one of the defining features of your site. You really should devote more energy to making it better for more people and getting rid of the potential for abuse and pettiness of the moderators. They are some good moderators on this site. Unfortunately they only have a few boards and can't be everywhere. And then there's trouble makers, which as alanback pointed out will always find a way to get around whatever rules are put in place. Deal with them as it comes up. The rest of us can take of ourselves.

Pythagoras' simple solution will work for me very well. Let me decide what to view. I'm an adult, I don't need some nanny telling me what to read. And give me the abilty to hide individual posts. How about numbering the posts so I can see that some have been deleted when there's a gap in the sequence? This system now just has them vanish into thin air and the moderators can get away with anything. The moderators need policing too. You can't let them set up little dictatorships and run roughshod over the rest of us.