'read deleted'

So, is "read" in the imperative mode, commanding the reader? Maybe it is past tense, pronounced to rhyme with "red" or "bed" or "dead" and so on. If the former, is one being commanded to read something deleted, or something with that title? If the latter, it implies: "I read [past tense] your message and have subsequently deleted it from my in box." Some may substitute "consequently" for "subsequently," replacing causality for chronology.  Does such causality smart? No, it evokes a chuckle, as in, "Whoa! That's it? Gone? Erased?" Even so, I may be erroneous. The perpetrator of "read deleted" may be super-efficient and reserving the right to reply. But I doubt it. And why should it matter to you?