4 ms·

Ask HN: Is there an easy way to delete my HN account?

8 points by bsvalley 8y ago

Is there an easy way to delete my HN account and history?

ocdtrekkie 8y ago
If I were you, I'd tap that contact link on the bottom of the site and ask. There's no automated account deletion feature, at the very least, and HN doesn't allow you to delete your own posts/comments after a while.
mkempe 8y ago
Isn't this a required feature under the new EU laws?
- whb07 8y ago
  Oh god. This type of comment is becoming the patent troll/ADA troll/insert other types of baiters and trolls.
  - mkempe 8y ago
    My question is genuine. I have no idea why you would say something unpleasant like that.
    - whb07 8y ago
      Because I believe that humans should be responsible for their own behaviors. Meaning, if you choose to engage in XYZ behavior out of your own free will, why does a third party need to be involved? If you upload all your private life to a website don’t be surprised of the results. If you don’t agree with the site, then don’t participate. Same applies to any activity that a consenting adult can be part of. So why would a small American side project of PG that became popular should have to dedicate more O hours in adding features to comply with some over bearing EU legislation?
      - mkempe 8y ago
        Ok, I can see what you mean, and you didn't need to be hostile about it. My personal view is that no country should regulate the Internet -- beyond upholding freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of trade (caveat emptor), and punishing fraud. But I don't get to tell either the EU or the US or China what to do, so we somehow live with what these political entities force on us all. [added] Things the US did that caused trouble everywhere: DMCA; COPA (thankfully destroyed by the courts but websites still ask whether you're 13yo); as well as countless anti-encryption laws and sabotages.
    - moonbug 8y ago
      Welcome to Newsy
  - amingilani 8y ago
    No it isn't. It's a legitimate about a website's policies being in accordance with the law. You're probably mistaking it for GDPR powered requests by customers, which are also legitimate requests empowered by law. These requests are legit, and if anything, the answers to these should be automated by companies ASAP.
    - whb07 8y ago
      While I might like the idea of “enforced privacy”, I do know that I do not know very much. Of the few things I do know, Is that no bureaucrat can properly codify something in a quickly developing and changing system. I also believe that this power that are given to a bureaucracy, will only grow and come back with a vengeance with unintended consequences. Lastly, where do you draw the line? Why should EU laws apply to any non EU citizen and vice versa? Pick something like prostitution, which is largely illegal in the US but largely legal in the EU. Why should a EU citizen be charged for violating US laws while visiting a red light district in the EU? How about a simpler example. Let’s say a US/EU citizen writes a small rant on his blog about the Thai king. There are strict laws against criticizing the king, to include jail time. So should a non Thai citizen blogging from home be fined/punished for his behavior? Clearly the answer is no!
      - amingilani 8y ago
        IANAL and none of what I say constitutes as legal advice. That said, all laws are limited to the nation-state they're enacted in. You can walk into a brother in the EU, but not in the US unless you're in Nevada where state-law allows it. Most legislation in my country (Pakistan) define their scope in their text ("Whole of Pakistan", or "Whole of Punjab", etc.) depending on the body enacting the legislation. The GDPR is special, in that it expands the scope to online services that target EU residents. If your audience includes the EU, and you're not GDPR compliant, you'll likely get fined by the EU. How they enforce the fine is murky at the moment, and was left out as to be decided later, but I'd assume you'd have to pay the fine and any other fees if you ever started operating within the EU or running money through, or literally doing anything in the EU. This random stackexchange question[1] also says the EU hopes to have US cooperation to enforce the fines but IANAL and I'm not sure how that would work. [1]: https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/30509/how-are-gdpr-fines-actually-enforced-for-us-companies-with-no-physical-presence https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/30509/how-are-g...
patio11 8y ago
Email hn@ycombinator.com and ask them to do that for you.
- bsvalley 8y ago
  I sent out an email to hn@ycombinator.com asking to delete my account and history. Looks like it's still there :/

8 points by bsvalley 8y ago

Is there an easy way to delete my HN account and history?

If I were you, I'd tap that contact link on the bottom of the site and ask. There's no automated account deletion feature, at the very least, and HN doesn't allow you to delete your own posts/comments after a while.

mkempe 8y ago

Isn't this a required feature under the new EU laws?

whb07 8y ago
Oh god. This type of comment is becoming the patent troll/ADA troll/insert other types of baiters and trolls.
- mkempe 8y ago
  My question is genuine. I have no idea why you would say something unpleasant like that.
  - whb07 8y ago
    Because I believe that humans should be responsible for their own behaviors. Meaning, if you choose to engage in XYZ behavior out of your own free will, why does a third party need to be involved? If you upload all your private life to a website don’t be surprised of the results. If you don’t agree with the site, then don’t participate. Same applies to any activity that a consenting adult can be part of. So why would a small American side project of PG that became popular should have to dedicate more O hours in adding features to comply with some over bearing EU legislation?
    - mkempe 8y ago
      Ok, I can see what you mean, and you didn't need to be hostile about it. My personal view is that no country should regulate the Internet -- beyond upholding freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of trade (caveat emptor), and punishing fraud. But I don't get to tell either the EU or the US or China what to do, so we somehow live with what these political entities force on us all. [added] Things the US did that caused trouble everywhere: DMCA; COPA (thankfully destroyed by the courts but websites still ask whether you're 13yo); as well as countless anti-encryption laws and sabotages.
  - moonbug 8y ago
    Welcome to Newsy
- amingilani 8y ago
  No it isn't. It's a legitimate about a website's policies being in accordance with the law. You're probably mistaking it for GDPR powered requests by customers, which are also legitimate requests empowered by law. These requests are legit, and if anything, the answers to these should be automated by companies ASAP.
  - whb07 8y ago
    While I might like the idea of “enforced privacy”, I do know that I do not know very much. Of the few things I do know, Is that no bureaucrat can properly codify something in a quickly developing and changing system. I also believe that this power that are given to a bureaucracy, will only grow and come back with a vengeance with unintended consequences. Lastly, where do you draw the line? Why should EU laws apply to any non EU citizen and vice versa? Pick something like prostitution, which is largely illegal in the US but largely legal in the EU. Why should a EU citizen be charged for violating US laws while visiting a red light district in the EU? How about a simpler example. Let’s say a US/EU citizen writes a small rant on his blog about the Thai king. There are strict laws against criticizing the king, to include jail time. So should a non Thai citizen blogging from home be fined/punished for his behavior? Clearly the answer is no!
    - amingilani 8y ago
      IANAL and none of what I say constitutes as legal advice. That said, all laws are limited to the nation-state they're enacted in. You can walk into a brother in the EU, but not in the US unless you're in Nevada where state-law allows it. Most legislation in my country (Pakistan) define their scope in their text ("Whole of Pakistan", or "Whole of Punjab", etc.) depending on the body enacting the legislation. The GDPR is special, in that it expands the scope to online services that target EU residents. If your audience includes the EU, and you're not GDPR compliant, you'll likely get fined by the EU. How they enforce the fine is murky at the moment, and was left out as to be decided later, but I'd assume you'd have to pay the fine and any other fees if you ever started operating within the EU or running money through, or literally doing anything in the EU. This random stackexchange question[1] also says the EU hopes to have US cooperation to enforce the fines but IANAL and I'm not sure how that would work. [1]: https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/30509/how-are-gdpr-fines-actually-enforced-for-us-companies-with-no-physical-presence https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/30509/how-are-g...

patio11 8y ago

Email hn@ycombinator.com and ask them to do that for you.

bsvalley 8y ago
I sent out an email to hn@ycombinator.com asking to delete my account and history. Looks like it's still there :/