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I left some time ago, and I'm very glad I did. I left because the staff behaved in a disingenuous manner. I found when leaving, as mentioned in the article, t

I left some time ago, and I'm very glad I did. I left because the staff behaved in a disingenuous manner. I found when leaving, as mentioned in the article, that you are not allowed to delete accepted posts, so you can't delete your content, should you come to think SO objectionable and wish your content not to be there. I can't see now why anyone would spend time posting answers there.

zerocrates 2y ago
I don't love them getting into bed with AI, but also don't think it's unreasonable for them to not allow angry users to blank out their prior submissions. The whole deal was that you basically donated your posts and CC-licensed them. I wouldn't begrudge Wikipedia from similarly dealing with upset editors who went around blanking the articles they contributed to or reverting all their changes.
- Retric 2y ago
  Wikipedia editors aren’t the sole source of their pages. I am fine with people leaving and deleting their posts because they may feel the information will become outdated without being maintained. SO unfortunately is actively hostile to correcting outdated information. Which is somewhat understandable as recognizing how little long term value answers provide undermines their moat. The site has basically become worthless for JavaScript due to such rot which helps explain why they are trying to cash out on the AI side of things.
  - arp242 2y ago
    Many answers have been edited, commented on, and reviewed by others. So it's also not exactly a one-person show either. Outdated info is a problem, but not so easy to solve; I have answers from Ruby on Rails 4 era that are still perfectly valid today. Others may not be. Also remember that people sometimes stay on old versions for a long time. I don't know what the best solution is, but destroying information is not it.
    - Retric 2y ago
      Few answers get any sort of editing or updating over time. If you’re worried about deleting information the obvious solution is to automatically hide the text when the poster says it’s outdated. At which point there’s little wrong with letting someone flag all their posts as likely outdated upon leaving. But this is where the business of SO comes into conflict with providing useful information on SO.
alex_lav 2y ago
fwiw HN does not delete your content when you get rid of your account.
- whartung 2y ago
  I’m sure this is related to the fact that the editing window closes here after a short time. I’ve been on other forums where disgruntled users have come through and destroyed old posts, which resulted not just in the loss of the messages but also harms the thread that built upon the now vanished post. So they, too, have a short editing window policy instituted.
  - alex_lav 2y ago
    Yes I'm sure companies can think up a whole array of excuses as to why they won't delete your data :)
firecall 2y ago
You cant delete your posts on here either! Which I dont like :-) I'm with you, I think you should be able to delete your own posts and erase your internet history. I dont think that everything we ever write on the internet should be stored forever because of some misguided intention to preserve conversations for future generations :)

zerocrates 2y ago

I don't love them getting into bed with AI, but also don't think it's unreasonable for them to not allow angry users to blank out their prior submissions. The whole deal was that you basically donated your posts and CC-licensed them. I wouldn't begrudge Wikipedia from similarly dealing with upset editors who went around blanking the articles they contributed to or reverting all their changes.

Retric 2y ago
Wikipedia editors aren’t the sole source of their pages. I am fine with people leaving and deleting their posts because they may feel the information will become outdated without being maintained. SO unfortunately is actively hostile to correcting outdated information. Which is somewhat understandable as recognizing how little long term value answers provide undermines their moat. The site has basically become worthless for JavaScript due to such rot which helps explain why they are trying to cash out on the AI side of things.
- arp242 2y ago
  Many answers have been edited, commented on, and reviewed by others. So it's also not exactly a one-person show either. Outdated info is a problem, but not so easy to solve; I have answers from Ruby on Rails 4 era that are still perfectly valid today. Others may not be. Also remember that people sometimes stay on old versions for a long time. I don't know what the best solution is, but destroying information is not it.
  - Retric 2y ago
    Few answers get any sort of editing or updating over time. If you’re worried about deleting information the obvious solution is to automatically hide the text when the poster says it’s outdated. At which point there’s little wrong with letting someone flag all their posts as likely outdated upon leaving. But this is where the business of SO comes into conflict with providing useful information on SO.

alex_lav 2y ago

fwiw HN does not delete your content when you get rid of your account.

whartung 2y ago
I’m sure this is related to the fact that the editing window closes here after a short time. I’ve been on other forums where disgruntled users have come through and destroyed old posts, which resulted not just in the loss of the messages but also harms the thread that built upon the now vanished post. So they, too, have a short editing window policy instituted.
- alex_lav 2y ago
  Yes I'm sure companies can think up a whole array of excuses as to why they won't delete your data :)

firecall 2y ago

You cant delete your posts on here either! Which I dont like :-) I'm with you, I think you should be able to delete your own posts and erase your internet history. I dont think that everything we ever write on the internet should be stored forever because of some misguided intention to preserve conversations for future generations :)