Why do people delete their accounts?

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Just to be clear: I think that anyone should be able to leave whatever site or service they use, for whatever reason, and have it done quickly and efficiently, no strings attached. And that any and all that don't provide a clean exit are shady at best, downright assholic at worst.

That said, nuking your entire account didn't use to be normal, at least on the sites I used for the vast majority of my online experience (forums, fan sites, small, proto social media outlets...) and I remember reading an article saying that this function being added to the (then) latest update to a juggernaut like RetroJunk.com was what caused its eventual downfall, with people who had been there for years and through hundreds --if not thousands-- of messages deleting their entire existences after a moment of weakness, leaving the whole thing feeling like an empty shell.

As overdramatic as that sounds, it's probably accurate... And also something I keep seeing over and over whenever I'm late to the party somewhere and the dreaded "Deleted User/System/Guest/Cancelled" message greets me in pretty much every conversation, sometimes multiple times in a row, the real identify of whoever had left those messages only visible on leftover posts and mentions that had originally quoted them.

That got me thinking... And it all boils down to a single, burning question: "Why?".

Why would someone choose to delete their entire account instead of simply abandoning it? Why would they weld the door shut after spending months (or even years) carving out a name for themselves somewhere? I can understand it in a lot of cases, actually, but my experience seems to indicate that most people bail out of boredom or inactivity rather than because of having a deal-breaking scenario with whatever place they are trying to leave from.

What do y'all think?

 

[thumbsdown]

I only ever deleted accounts of mine on mainstream social media or stuff that replicates the worse of its features (mastodon, for instance). Other than that, I usually just export my data from platform to platform when the feature is available.

Edit: oh, I also purged my existence from a forum only once, but that's exceptional... I haven't really publicly contributed to many stuff there (not even 20 messages prolly) nor did I think I was losing too much by leaving, so I felt like it didn't really make any difference given the context. Unfortunately, I've heard from insiders that they're dying anyway.

 

[Netra]

The only time I deleted my account on a forum was because I realized I had given away too much personal information one day while talking to a user while I was drunk.

Personally I'm not interested in meeting someone I met online in person, I have no problems talking about some minor details like where I was born and raised or past experiences but I draw the line when it comes to talking about my current job or where I currently live.

 

[Morgan Katarn]

if I never plan to use a site anymore account deletion is a must becuse any private info should be deleted and I mean info such as mail and so on. If I lave the site you got no need for that info any more.
It´s called online safety for a reason.

 

[JellyjamLu]

I got close, real close. then i realized fook the rules I have green hair.

 

[JG5009]

Huh, i never thinked about the hundreds of deleted account messages I saw so often in a lot of sites that way, it really stings when one of them happen to be important and had good information on something.

But this is very necessary for privacy (which is very lacking on the net already) and it's just a good habit for online safety since one of those old accounts can get hacked and probably could be a door to other connected accounts and all that.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin TruxtonTatsujin]

Your posts remain here even after account deletion, so doing it to purge your information doesn't really hold up. I don't really understand why some people have deleted their account's here, all it does is ensures they can't come back. If that's their intention then fair enough.

 

[MrChester]

I think it comes from a place of shame and a want to lash out at something that they care about

It's not about "I am no longer interested in this website, and so I will move on effective immediately", if it was, they'd probably have already moved on and forgotten all about their account, with no interest in coming back to make it official.

Has someone ever hurt you by breaking up with you? Or have you ever broken up with someone in a single heated moment? I think it's kinda like that. You want them to know so desperately that you don't care so you force yourself to cast them aside

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Your posts remain here even after account deletion, so doing it to purge your information doesn't really hold up. I don't really understand why some people have deleted their account's here, all it does is ensures they can't come back. If that's their intention then fair enough.

Yeah, that's a good point... even the aforementioned RJ.com had (and still has) every single post made by a deleted account up and about, so it's not like they hid anything.

 

[cjl8336 cjl8336]

or they just made an account for repo access and found the "delete account" function afterwards

 

[bjork]

I think if people need to truly free themselves from a place for awhile because they can't resist the temptation, they see that as the way to do it. But other forums I've been at, you could request a ban until some date you specified, though I don't know if that's possible here. I've never done that, but I have deleted accounts on social media when I know I'm done on a platform for good.

The thing I don't understand is making alts. Unless it's some roleplay thing and you have a separate account for that, I guess I can see that. But like the 18 different Dany accounts here. Why? How is that fun?

 

[strawberry29]

yeah no..your properly right, i always seen these in reddit and here too, i guess people do delete their account for multiable reasons like embaressed, got caught, didn't like the site or just deleted their first account to make a new one for a fresh restart, i never deleted any accounts before but i guess i can agree with you on leaving the site without determinating your account.

i keep asking the same question and sometimes replying the thread deleted user published feels very useless since they can't or won't read it.

 

[thumbsdown]

I used to have alts on social media to keep an account for each language I speak (ancient times when mastodon didn't have a translation feature, for instance), but that's about that. Forums are already designed to work regardless of the language you speak.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I used to have alts on social media to keep an account for each language I speak (ancient times when mastodon didn't have a translation feature, for instance), but that's about that. Forums are already designed to work regardless of the language you speak.

You'd think so, but I remember being told some of the nastiest insults ever just because I didn't speak proper English when I was 15 or something.

That's one thing I'm glad has changed.

 

[thumbsdown]

You'd think so, but I remember being told some of the nastiest insults ever just because I didn't speak proper English when I was 15 or something.

I'm really sorry to hear ♡

 

[VampireLord1024VampireLord1024's icon]

Maybe they get bored of the site that they may be on?

 

[PacGuy]

Can't get rid of me now.

 

[Potapota]

People are just way too dramatic sometimes imho. Especially about internet things. Maybe the overall culture has changed to make it more acceptable? I dunno. I don't really get it either.

Well, people are also like literally physically way more attached to their online persona these days. You don't really "go online" anymore, online goes with you everywhere you go. Understandably you might start to take it a bit too serious if you've forgotten to touch grass for a while and live your social life online.

 

[Anim8rDude Anim8rDude]

I hear ya Waffles, sometimes I ask the same question. Like I mean like this definitely wasn't a thing for forums like even 10 years ago. I just simply abandon old accounts myself if I ever lose interest in a site but never once thought of purging my entire activity history. I just embrace everything I did, embarrassing moments included! Personally I think keeping your forum chats as part of a site's history is a good thing, idk.

One can of course deleted their own account whenever they want & sometimes the reason is understandable. But the posts & history lost during the process is kind of a shame.

 

[Zerpina]

I can't say I'm not guilty of nuking an account or two in my time, especially when it became an option to do so. As stated above, private information.. mostly though I always filled it in like I did here, with a location that's fake or off if I couldn't put my own in. Sometimes, you just want to be done with a place if it becomes a toxic cesspool of aggravation and hate. Or sometimes, you just want to start over.

Now, I can't speak for PMs or DMs, as I tend not to talk too much via them, and if I do, it's nothing I wouldn't post out in the open. I never give my name, location, etc., so I just wanted the account gone from the site. But I can understand it from the private message point of view, if you have embarrassing stuff, you may want it gone. Though, it's still on the recipient's end, so why?

Mostly, I think that person either wants to disappear from memory there or just start over.

 

[PacGuy]

Reminder to never use the same username twice for any online websites. Google search PacGuy and all you're going to find is the game from Astral Entertainment. But if I started being PacGuy everywhere than you can begin to pattern my behavior. Remember, there are crazy people on the internet who will figure out who you are like it's a hobby. Additionally, the more unique the name, the worse if you're using it across websites.

 

[JustLooking123]

We should be always careful about what we post in internet... as soon as we post it, we should consider it eternally leaked... no delete is going to revert it back to not being posted.

I personally always try to not tie my accounts to my real life as much as possible...
Instead, i create personas... where each persona has a fictional backstory and different personality and beliefs.
I can reuse them in any site, and they are consistent... yet none of them are real me.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Reminder to never use the same username twice for any online websites. Google search PacGuy and all you're going to find is the game from Astral Entertainment. But if I started being PacGuy everywhere than you can begin to pattern my behavior. Remember, there are crazy people on the internet who will figure out who you are like it's a hobby. Additionally, the more unique the name, the worse if you're using it across websites.

*Has 17 usernames* ;D!

 

[Elwiwi]

Is the way the weak hide

 

[PacGuy]

*Has 17 usernames* ;D!

Everyone on RGT is just Waffles in a different hat :P