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Ask HN: Will HN allow account and comment deletions?

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Re: Ask HN: Will HN allow account and comment deletions?

#71

Post by mattmanser »

x0x0 wrote: post #11
zaroth wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read the whole thing and all I came away with is that basically no one has a fucking clue if it applies, if it does apply technically does it even matter, and if it does matter how it’s supposed to work without fucking up the site. Yay GDPR!

Most of the deletion requirement for a user could probably be satisfied by removing the username from the posts. And not just for display, but in the db. If the data can't be recalled for a user, then (by my reading) that clears the GDPR requirement.

Comments have personally identifiable information in too, it really doesn't sound like it's enough.

Re: Ask HN: Will HN allow account and comment deletions?

#72

Post by jellevdv »

matte_black wrote: post #34

Honestly, this should never be allowed. It’s archaeology-hostile. It pisses me off to no end when I am searching for information on reddit and come across people replying to deleted posts by some paranoid user who wishes comments were more ephemeral like Snapchat. This is what the next dark age of mankind will be like, people from the future looking for historical information and finding nothing but deleted or decaye…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Will HN allow account and comment deletions?

#73

Post by matte_black »

jellevdv wrote: post #72
matte_black wrote: post #34

Honestly, this should never be allowed. It’s archaeology-hostile. It pisses me off to no end when I am searching for information on reddit and come across people replying to deleted posts by some paranoid user who wishes comments were more ephemeral like Snapchat. This is what the next dark age of mankind will be like, people from the future looking for historical information and finding nothing but deleted or decaye…

[deleted]

Good point.

Re: Ask HN: Will HN allow account and comment deletions?

#76

Post by matte_black »

throwaway4719 wrote: post #69
DoreenMichele wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, this should never be allowed. I wouldn't go that far, though I am generally sympathetic to your overarching argument. I wouldn't go that far in part because I'm a woman and women seem to attract stalkers a lot more than men. I was a homemaker for a long time and had a very private life. Trying to figure out how to interact effectively in the public sphere has been a struggle for me. Part of that is me. Part…

> I think gutting the value of a forum so that people can remove all their content at will on a whim can readily go bad places. Thankfully, there's a really easy solution that HN today will not consider/is not taking seriously enough: Just change the goddamn displayed username for each comment to " " or whatever. 1) this kind of (seemingly; it's all a black box in reality though) naval-gazing-based decision making is…

GDPR is one of the reasons I’m hoping for the collapse of the EU.

If a US company has no physical presence in Europe I see no reason why they should comply with their bullshit.

And under a Trump administration... good luck.

Re: Ask HN: Will HN allow account and comment deletions?

#77

Post by softawre »

matte_black wrote: post #47
corin_ wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not allow people to remove just the connection to their account but not the content itself? We all make mistakes and say things we later regret, sure the content forms part of a bigger picture which should be preserved but shouldn’t we be allowed to tidy up our publicly available historic opinions if they don’t match who we are now? I’m pretty careful in what I post on social media or on websites, but I’ve defini…

No one is forced to create a connection between their real identity to their account. I don't know why people insist on doing it and then later wanting to undo it. In fact, if you don't want your anonymous account tied to you anymore in any way, sell it off to someone else. I bought this account for $500.

Why did you buy that account for 500$?

And are you saying that the previous owner of the account is the one who didn't want it tied to him anymore, so he sold it to you (and you are therefore providing an anonymizing service to him?).

Re: Ask HN: Will HN allow account and comment deletions?

#80

Post by drewmol »

et-al wrote: post #42
drewmol wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If you are trying to be anonymous you really should try harder, it took me less than a minute to get your home address. It may be insightful for others if you divulge your methods.

If a person has a personal domain registered, a whois search may offer up information (which may or may not be accurate). Most registrars will now hide your info for an additional fee.

>which may or may not be accurate

Thx, it's the < 60 second validation method I was fishing for. Turns out it's just AI

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