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Ask HN: Why can't I delete my HN account?

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Re: Ask HN: Why can't I delete my HN account?

#41

Post by spocklivelong »

kgwxd wrote: post #30
tjr wrote: post #2

Might be a good question for hn@ycombinator.com

4/20/2016 Me: I'd like to either change the username ([redacted]) on my account or delete my account completely. Can help me do that? HN: Account renaming is something we plan to implement but haven't yet. You're welcome to email back in the future and check if it's done yet. HN doesn't delete accounts. We do sometimes delete specific comments when users are worried about getting in trouble from them. Would that help…

2 years, and same reply. Doesn't look good to me.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I delete my HN account?

#42

Post by ausjke »

this really should be as easy as a database DELETE operation, why is it so difficult? guess the design for HN site is not "user-first".

recalling facebook etc was impossible to remove your account but now it seems feasible and quick, though not sure if facebook/etc indeed flushes the deleted-account cleanly.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I delete my HN account?

#43

Post by krapp »

ausjke wrote: post #42

this really should be as easy as a database DELETE operation, why is it so difficult? guess the design for HN site is not "user-first". recalling facebook etc was impossible to remove your account but now it seems feasible and quick, though not sure if facebook/etc indeed flushes the deleted-account cleanly.

Hacker News doesn't use a database - data is stored in Arc Lisp closures in flat files.

I'm not certain how it handles usernames, though (I've played around a bit with Anarki, but can't remember) but I suspect it would probably involve a lot of file parsing and editing, assuming each username is literally just copied into a field in each thread file.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I delete my HN account?

#44

Post by gkoberger »

ausjke wrote: post #42

this really should be as easy as a database DELETE operation, why is it so difficult? guess the design for HN site is not "user-first". recalling facebook etc was impossible to remove your account but now it seems feasible and quick, though not sure if facebook/etc indeed flushes the deleted-account cleanly.

Nothing is ever that easy.

Should there be a soft-delete in case they change their mind, or if it's malicious? Can YC alumni delete accounts, since the login is tied to applications? Should new users be prevented from signing up with an old username, to avoid "stealing" an identity? Are old posts from the person deleted? Old submissions? Either way, will it cause errors somewhere? Are child comments deleted? Are deleted accounts still available in the API (which is hosted by a third-party)? If not, will that break the application of someone using the API?

I'm not saying they should/shouldn't do it, however it's not as easy as a "database DELETE operation".

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I delete my HN account?

#45

Post by leesalminen »

megaman22 wrote: post #18
TomMarius wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm basing my anecdote mainly on discussions that happened before Cambridge Analytica - and were purely about GDPR and its impacts.

There's a very vocal subset that is supportive of GPDR. There's an often downvoted to hell subset that is skeptical.

This. As a founder of a small SaaS product that has never (nor plans to) sold or monetized user data GDPR has presented issues for us. Especially because EU represents As a human, yes I care about privacy and the right to be forgotten. As an entrepreneur, these barriers of entry piss me off.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I delete my HN account?

#46

Post by imron »

hoodoof wrote: post #26
nthnclrk wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are your thoughts on individuals being able to delete their account, with comments remaining attributed to a "[deleted]" username?

That doesn't give the users the ability to delete their comments, which under some circumstances they want to. Removing attribution to a username is not the same as deleting what was said.

> which under some circumstances they want to.

Right, and the flipside is that not being able to delete comments makes people think a bit more carefully before posting, which improves the quality of the comments and the site.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I delete my HN account?

#47

Post by tylermenezes »

pentabular wrote: post #17

The Billionaires vs. BrandonM http://zedshaw.com/2018/03/25/the-billionaires-vs-brandonm/

> Did you know YC startups have special privileges on Hacker News? Nobody knows what they are, but rumor has it they can delete stories they don’t like, delete comments, and have the ability to get their stories to the front.

Rumor is completely wrong. We don't even bypass the spam filter.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I delete my HN account?

#48

Post by hoodoof »

imron wrote: post #46
hoodoof wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't give the users the ability to delete their comments, which under some circumstances they want to. Removing attribution to a username is not the same as deleting what was said.

> which under some circumstances they want to. Right, and the flipside is that not being able to delete comments makes people think a bit more carefully before posting, which improves the quality of the comments and the site.

It could also be argued that comment quality could be improved by allowing people to delete comments at any time, not just for 2 hours after creation of that comment.

People should be allowed to look back on a discussion and say "hmmm.... seems an ill considered and negative comment, I'm going to delete it".

As it stands, an ill considered comment is set in stone after 2 hours.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I delete my HN account?

#49

Post by candiodari »

combatentropy wrote: post #20
hoodoof wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but times have changed and I think, depending on where you live in the world perhaps, that there is a growing expectation that you should be allowed to delete your digital tracks. There's a certain level of hubris to an attitude in which a given site that feels it's needs are more important than users. Saying you can't delete all your posts/account is the same as saying "you do not have the right to control your…

How is deleting your digital tracks possible? What about crawlers and archives? Getting them all to delete stuff at anyone's whim seems an undue burden to me. Who signed up for the account, typed out the post, and clicked Publish? What do you think about people in real life who will never forget something that you said or did, even after you no longer like it. I think it's just being an adult.

I believe the gpdr demands it be possible, at the cost of severe penalties if it’s not done.

As to how far they’ll go, they’ve threatened companies with billion dollar fines if they don’t delete references to crimes.

Being an adult, I believe, includes following the law.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I delete my HN account?

#50

Post by talaketu »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #27
hoodoof wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but times have changed and I think, depending on where you live in the world perhaps, that there is a growing expectation that you should be allowed to delete your digital tracks. There's a certain level of hubris to an attitude in which a given site that feels it's needs are more important than users. Saying you can't delete all your posts/account is the same as saying "you do not have the right to control your…

There's a certain level of hubris to an attitude in which a given site that feels it's needs are more important than users. There's even more hubris in expecting individual rights to outweigh the value of a community in every instance.

By "community" do you mean the website forum operated by Y Combinator Management LLC? That's some hubris.
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