Allowing Members To Delete Own Posts

[Castle Bleck 19,376]

Why not allow members to get rid of undesired posts?

Edited February 11, 2014 by Anti-Villain

[Legacy Dash 439]

I believe the forum has a philosophy of not ever deleting any content unless it is absolutely required...

 

But I do agree with this idea.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

probably so they can't do something and hide it from the mods. That's why there's an edit feature, to change what you didn't want.

 

I dunno, though; that's my best guess.

[NewCalamity 3,454]

Hello!

 

This question has been brought up in the past so often that it's merited its' very own FAQ entry!

 

 

No. Members cannot delete their own posts or topics, nor can they delete blogs or blog entries that they've made. The only content that users are able to delete on their own are status updates and status update comments.

These limitations are in place for several reasons... first and foremost, it is our experience that people most often seek to have threads removed when the reception to the thread is not what they would like to see. A good example of this is a person creating a thread to debate a particular topic of interest, only to realize that the opinion that he or she is arguing for is unpopular and difficult to defend.



Another common thing we've ran into is for people to seek to remove all of their content when deciding that they'd like to 'leave the site' for good. This is problematic for a couple reasons - first, it can carve massive chunks out of discussion threads, leaving behind a tremendous amount of collateral damage. Who wants to read a thread in which a great deal of the original content has been stripped out? Secondly, what happens if - like many others - their decision to make a hasty retreat from the forum was done on a whim and they end up returning?



If a user desires the removal of one of his or her posts and/or threads, they are encouraged to use the large red report button that is located beneath every post on the forum, or to PM a moderator, with reasoning as to why they want their topic or post removed, locked, etc. As long as there is a credible reason for the request the staff will often honor them, though threads that have spawned good discussions, and/or posts that are central to the discussion taking place within a thread are unlikely to be removed. The decision of whether or not to remove a given thread and/or post is up to the discretion of the moderator that handles the report.

 

Again, the reiterate, there's far too much possibility of members being able to erase their own histories as well as leave gaping holes in discussion threads, making them look shoddy and non-linear.

 

If you wish a post of yours to be deleted, report it and state your reason clearly, if it is deemed a legitimate enough reason to merit hiding, it will be hidden as soon as possible.

 

Thanks!