Request to delete posts

[Corzhens]

I had read in another forum an issue about a poster who demanded his posts in the forum to be deleted. Obviously, he was at odds with the forum owner. But the owner did not do anything until the poster hired a lawyer. Eventually, all the posts were deleted. And since the sore guy was the most prolific poster, the removal left a void in the forum.

If that happens to your forum, would you resist or would you just agree to delete the posts?

 

[Mozzie]

On mine, not usually, as you said, it leaves a hole in the board, what exactly getting a lawyer can do to make you delete them is beyond me if they are not like graphics or anything like that, but i suppose different laws for different countries

 

[Page]

So he spent an good amount to get an lawyer to remove all of his posts and made the website/forum become dead or should say empty. why spent time being active then did that

 

[simonweb]

With GDPR you don't really have an option, you must delete the user's content if he/she requests it. Or (and this is a grey-zone!) keep it but remove the author's identifying details making the content anonymous.

 

[Jason76]

This is a pretty scary situation. It must have been a real popular forum and the user wanted to rid himself of a dirt trail, maybe to keep his employment record clean (Employers now search online for a candidate's background.).

 

[Azareal]

To put it simply, if someone requests that their data is deleted, you have to delete it. It's really that simple, and you can only hope that the majority of your posters will remain reasonable.

Some sites have a button for this sort of stuff for the user to press, but you probably want to make them come to the admin with the request, otherwise someone might hit the button in a fit of rage.

 

[Ash]

I think a good option that some forum software (I believe MyBB does this) has is that it deletes the user but it keeps the posts. That way there is no indication who that user was and I doubt they can complain any further about it.

 

[Azareal]

I think a good option that some forum software (I believe MyBB does this) has is that it deletes the user but it keeps the posts. That way there is no indication who that user was and I doubt they can complain any further about it.

But Ash, if I explicitly name you, then people will know who you are, like so.
Also, it's not that hard to unmask a particular user, even if you've removed the username.

 

[Gus]

I’d delete the posts as requested. Refusing just makes an admin look like a desperate person who’s overly focused on the numbers (as if they mean anything).

I’ve been on a few forums where the forum’s total post count and each individual member’s post counts we’re hidden. It didn’t seem to matter to anyone either.

 

[Corzhens]

It seems like most of the forum owners here would relent to the request to delete the posts. That's the reason why I posted this issue because it can be a lesson to us. Why refuse to delete? My take on the issue is to just give in to the request so there is no conflict. But maybe the forum owner had seen the void that will result if he deleted the posts of the guy so he resisted.

 

[Azareal]

It's not like it's just a matter of stats or it makes the admin look bad, content vanishing can have a negative SEO impact, as well... You have less content and Google has to chase lots of 404s.

But ultimately. It's the law.

 

[IntoxNitram]

The lawyer seems like a threat rather than something serious, seems not worth it to me. I would anon the account but keep the posts.

 

[Gus]

I would anon the account but keep the posts.

That doesn’t fix the issue. You still have to take their content down.