Why is there no DELETE facility?

[Anonymous]

With recent "right to be forgotten" developments, why do we not have a proper delete option to remove messages which in the fulness of time we may, for example, come to see as pointless, misleading or just plain confusing? 

Also, if it is not already available somewhere, could the community guidelines make clear the timescale within which a posted message may be edited?

Thanks.

Gerry  

[Anonymous]

Hi

If you mean delete a post then you can ask a Moderator or Site Admin to do this for you via PM or hitting the inappropriate button.

I believe your not permitted to delete a post yourself as this could unbalance a thread it's been placed in.

You do have a time frame to edit your post in the same few minutes to edit or simply remove all the text and say something like " deleted by me" and then ask for it to be deleted or the wording edited if you feel something is not right.

[jonsie]

It's simply to keep continuity in the thread. Otherwise someone may reply and deleting your post will confuse others reading the thread.

[Anonymous]

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@jonsie wrote:

It's simply to keep continuity in the thread. Otherwise someone may reply and deleting your post will confuse others reading the thread.

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Keping continuity in a thread - now there's a great idea @jonsie  But that would mean I would have to leave as I am probably the worst offender as regards veering off topic at a rate of knots!!! 

Anyway, you and BoB make good points and I am happy to leave it there. Thanks both.

Gerry

[Toby]

Hi guys,

Some of you may remember my explanation on this earlier in the year. We do not allow deletions so that we can retrieve content if there has been any wrong-doing, abusive or illegal activity. If members could delete their posts, we would have a very hard time collating any content we need to make an appropriate decision when/if someone feels that they have been a victim of inappropriate behaviour. So while jonsie's description is not wrong, the main reason is to ensure we can keep track of anything that could be harmful to members of the community.

I hope that makes sense

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that comprehensive explanation @Toby. Think I will have to ask my legal advisor to vet my posts in future - you cannot be too careful. :0))
Gerry
(Give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet wiser.)

[Toby]

Haha, I'm almost tempted to allow you to post uninhibted Gerry, but could the servers handle it?

[Anonymous]

@Toby Good point! I'd better give them a break for a few days.
Gerry

[Cleoriff]

I have often been a bit frustrated about being unable to delete posts for a very different reason...

Sometimes whilst plodding away slowly on my laptop keyboard, offering (my) limited help and guidance..

I get to the end...post the post...only to find that about 5 whiz kids have beaten me to it

As I never want to be seen to post pointlessly, I often wish I could just go back and delete it.