[PSA] Lemmy account deletion is a mess
-
Hello Mr. Internet,
do you think that the expected behaviour of the lemmy software would be that account deletions do not get federated whatsoever?
-
Is that supposed to be sarcasm?
-
Because i was bummed out on lemmy and i just did not want to have a presence here anymore. And honestly this topic feels like a reminder to delete my account again, haha. But i won't, so that maybe one, two other people may delete their accounts better than me.
-
Yes. I know it would be good practice to mark it, but that would just ruin it for myself. I hope clarifying on request is sufficient. Wish you a nice day.
-
Hmmh, not sure if I'm experiencing a Déjà vu, or if this is just because I've talked to some people who were complaining about some aspect of the platform and saying they're going to quit. Anyways, I wish that you're somehow going to find what you're looking for. Whether it's on this platform or somewhere else.
-
Asking out of genuine naivety, why do you do that?
-
I wonder if it might lead to some issues with European laws at some point
-
That's so weird, because comment deletions do get federated (mostly)
-
Once you’ve been doxxed you tend to put more effort into covering your tracks lol
-
My point is how could you ever count on deletion when the content is being federated?
Even if Lemmy devs made account deletion easy and cascade deletes your content, all it takes is one server run by an archivist and that content is never going away.
It seems inherently unfixable in a federated system, like trying to unsend an email.
-
Eh, I rather things be deleted from mainstream instance at least. Don't gotta be all or nothing to improve the current experience.
-
But deleting stuff is an easy way to limit the amount of potential viewers.
Most people aren't going to put in the effort. If OP's account deletion spreads across most of Lemmy, even just the larger instances, most people aren't going to see their older posts.
That seems to be what OP is after. More in line with hiding poorly written Doctor Who fan fiction than hiding from the government in the woods.
-
Wish you a nice day.
... was that sarcastic?
-
Its not like the alternative reddit is any better at least here someone could design a free app to do it, while reddit you gotta pay to access the api to delete all your posts/comments
-
I thought you were leaving the platform?
Good luck, in any case
-
Please, call me Steve.
Reality holds no responsibility to conform to anyone's expectations. However, my decades in the reality of the internet have shaped my expectations. I never expect anything on the internet to be truly deleted. Accounts are locked, but they and everything associated with them still exists. If you contact support, and sufficiently prove you're you, they can reinstate your account. In the rare cases they can't, they make it abundantly clear, and explain why they can't, in the deletion process.
Unless Lemmy specifically states all changes are guaranteed to be federated, I'd assume by default none will. I'll reiterate, reality has no responsibility to conform to my expectations. Deletions may in fact be federated sometimes.
But that's immaterial, since I don't post anything with the expectation I'll ever be able to delete it. An expectation built upon reality, not the reverse. An expectation I'm trying to impress on you.
-
Oh right, i think i was telling you that when you asked this in the world matrix chat, when I showed up there, talking about my problem deleting the account in December.
Interesting edit.
-
You're still missing the fundamental reality of the situation.
Stuff online generally doesn't get deleted. And almost never because you want it to. I think the EU passed a law about the "right to be forgotten". But the reality is, that's like fighting gravity. The effort and resources it takes to truly break orbit are far beyond most people's, and even most government's means. Same with truly deleting anything online.
-
If you want me to be gone, don't chat me up and don't look into this topic. Easy.
-
I hate it so much when people delete useful information.