Why are people closing/deleting their accounts?

thebullkf

Hi Folks,

I assume this is the correct place for this?
I've noticed that quite a few people have requested that their accounts be closed, seasoned poaters some of them as well
Is this a regular thing (and i just never noticed it before) or a recent phenomenon?

thanks

looksee

I suppose people leave Boards all the time for various reasons. If however someone has taken offence about something there is no point just not posting, no-one will know they have taken offence. So they ask for their account to be closed. It really is not necessary, all they have to do is stop posting.

In the days before Boards became reasonably civilized, and before I realised that AH wasn't the place to post if you wanted a sensible conversation, I took umbrage and stopped posting for about a couple of years. Then I came back and have enjoyed posting since. In fact I spend a bit too much time on here, maybe I should get my account closed and do something useful instead...

thebullkf

:Dgood point there alright.


I just noticed it lately.. thought it was weird tbh:o

Dudess

It's probably because in quite recent times a couple of well known, long-term members closed their accounts, so there is now awareness that this can be done. It appears to be a pretty new venture. I'd imagine too a reason for doing it is not liking being well known and wanting to start afresh and under the radar.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

MitchKoobski

The door slamming "I WANT EVERY DETAIL REMOVED OR I WILL CONTACT MY SOLICITOR" ones are my favourite.

phasers

I don't understand why people feel the need to draw attention to themselves when they decide to quit.

If you're leaving, either log out and don't log back in, or PM an admin/user you trust and get them to scramble your password for you.

There does seem to be a bit of a surge lately OP, I agree.

My name is URL

I'd say the option to have your account closed formally is responsible for the perceived rise in the number of people leaving.

Wolfe Tone

Sometimes after thousands and thousands of posts, arguments and ad hominems the final straw arrives, breaks that camels back and...

OutlawPete

I think it's a good thing that users can close their accounts, they are after all: their accounts. I think it shows users a level of respect that Boards.ie are willing to do that for them. The whole 'scramble your password' stuff I don't get as fellow Boardsies will have no idea that you have done that and so will continue to send PMs, maybe leave some messages on your profile or just basically spend time thinking that you're coming back. Closing your account puts paid to all that and the finality of it means your friends can finally grieve your absence and just let go .. move on without you, get on with their Boardsie life.

Leaving your account sitting there un-closed is just teasing them, toying with their emotions. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing and make it clear that it's over. That you are not coming back. There will be no more late night PMs, chit chatting about other Boardsies, being there for them when a thread full of bullies turn on them. Just be cruel to be kind. Make it clear that you're not going to return by CLOSING that account on your wait out. If nothing else it will prevent users sitting naked in the corner of a bedsit, rocking back and forth with a cheap bottle of Lidl wine, as they F5 your profile for hours at a time, praying to God that just once more, your little green light will flash back on.

Zaph

phasers wrote: »

If you're leaving, either log out and don't log back in, or PM an admin/user you trust and get them to scramble your password for you.

Tbh, you can do this yourself if you want to do so. Just close your eyes and bash away at the keyboard. Personally I'd never scramble someone's password and I doubt any other admins would either. We shouldn't have access to anyone's password under any circumstances. If you want to close your account e-mail hello@boards.ie and it will be done properly.

RoundyMooney

I resent that, Pete.

There's nothing at all wrong with Lidl wine, like.

thebullkf

@mitch

@ everyone else- I genuinely thought it was a bit strange, i mean we all have our rants/raves/gisagreements but its still prob. one of, if not the, most hospitable,and varied forums around.

What else is there that compares

Has the demographic changed in yer opinions?....i feel a younger poster is the norm now..or am i just gettin older :P

FlutterinBantam

RoundyMooney wrote: »

I resent that, Pete.

There's nothing at all wrong with Lidl wine, like.

Fcuking beer is ok as well, 6 buidéals of Perlenbacher for €4.29...spl offer... €6.29 normal can't be too shabby now.


4.9% too.

Can get a poster banned quickish,I've discovered:P

Rubik.

Zaph wrote: »

Tbh, you can do this yourself if you want to do so. Just close your eyes and bash away at the keyboard.

But don't you have to confirm the new password that you just created with your eyes closed. How do you do that then?

4zn76tysfajdxp

Rubik. wrote: »

But don't you have to confirm the new password that you just created with your eyes closed. How do you do that then?

Ctrl+A and ctrl+C the new password before ctrl-Ving it in the confirm password box.

Wolfe Tone

Would just be easier to get banned tbh

Rubik.

Bentlee Cuddly Six-shooter wrote: »

Ctrl+A and ctrl+C the new password before ctrl-Ving it in the confirm password box.

I thought you would have had to type it in, I didn't realise you could just copy and paste it.

Tallon

How exactly does boards.ie close an account anyway?

Spear

Tallon wrote: »

How exactly does boards.ie close an account anyway?

The account is disabled, and marked as account closed in the tagline. All posts remain behind.

Overheal

"Deleting my toon on World of Boardcraft" ?

CDfm

Some people do it to expand their horizons and use other services.

I know one guy who closed his account because airsoft was his interest and boards just seemed out of touch for him in his speciality interest and closed his account in the way people close unused bank accounts -just being tidy.

A few mods I know just stopped posting and AFAIK are still listed as mods did so for points of principle but wanted to keep/maintain their friendships.

I imagine people dont close their accounts cos its easier to turn up to beers etc and those who do close them do so for personal reasons rather than rage.

PDN

If you've just had an argument with someone then it tends to be more satisying to slam the door when you flounce out rather than closing it quietly or leaving it open.

Beruthiel

thebullkf wrote: »

I've noticed that quite a few people have requested that their accounts be closed, seasoned poaters some of them as well
Is this a regular thing

People have been leaving Boards since I joined.
Some of them huge names that you would never even have heard of as they were before your time.
It's nothing new. People move on.
Also, for the few that highlight their exit, the majority do it quietly.

biko

Beruthiel wrote: »

People have been leaving Boards since I joined.

Hmmmmm.

But aye, people come and go, just the way of forums. They might be fun for a few years but then real life or other forums takes over.

Wibbs

CDfm wrote: »

A few mods I know just stopped posting and AFAIK are still listed as mods did so for points of principle but wanted to keep/maintain their friendships.

If that's true IMHO they shouldn't be listed as mods or more to the point have mod permissions and facilities anymore. That's not on.

Beruthiel

biko wrote: »

Hmmmmm.

I don't like what you are implying there young man.
Nothing has ever been proven categorically!

CDfm wrote:

A few mods I know just stopped posting and AFAIK are still listed as mods did so for points of principle but wanted to keep/maintain their friendships.

If you have information you think should be acted on, please PM it to me.
They will be removed as Mods and replacements will be sought.

CDfm

Beruthiel wrote: »

If you have information you think should be acted on, please PM it to me.
They will be removed as Mods and replacements will be sought.

If I thought anyone was doing anything dodgy I would.:)

Sergeant

I've often seen posts over in the Prison forum where former posters are told they cannot have their posting history deleted. But I was reading an old feedback thread where a formerly prolific poster/moderator was quoted but her posts were nowhere to be seen.

Does this situation vary depending on the seniority of the poster who requests it?

Wolfe Tone

Sergeant wrote: »

I've often seen posts over in the Prison forum where former posters are told they cannot have their posting history deleted. But I was reading an old feedback thread where a formerly prolific poster/moderator was quoted but her posts were nowhere to be seen.

Does this situation vary depending on the seniority of the poster who requests it?

Link?

Sergeant

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

Link?

I eat my words. The user changed their name, then closed their account. The posts weren't deleted.

John Mason

Sergeant wrote: »

I eat my words. The user changed their name, then closed their account. The posts weren't deleted.

see i dont understand that either, we all know the new name of that poster

i mean if you are going to leave then leave, why set up a new account?

AckwelFoley

I expect to leave boards.ie at some point this year, for personal reasons - nothing fantastic

I would like to do something for SSF though..

Lets say..members donate and if a target is reached snyper and his ip fcuks off for good.

Target 20 quid.

Money raised to get rid of snyper = Irelands National debt

Zaph

irishbird wrote: »

see i dont understand that either, we all know the new name of that poster

i mean if you are going to leave then leave, why set up a new account?

People often have their reasons for doing things that appear to be illogical to everyone else. This is one of those occasions.

Dudess

irishbird wrote: »

i mean if you are going to leave then leave, why set up a new account?

Not wanting to leave, wanting to be less well known.

snyper wrote: »

I expect to leave boards.ie at some point this year, for personal reasons - nothing fantastic

Ah feck it, don't... :-/

Even if it's just a case of posting very occasionally...

Silverfish

snyper wrote: »

I expect to leave boards.ie at some point this year, for personal reasons - nothing fantastic

I would like to do something for SSF though..

Lets say..members donate and if a target is reached snyper and his ip fcuks off for good.

Target 20 quid.

Money raised to get rid of snyper = Irelands National debt

I believe this will possibly have the opposite effect to what you imagine.

gbee

MitchKoobski wrote: »

The door slamming "I WANT EVERY DETAIL REMOVED OR I WILL CONTACT MY SOLICITOR" ones are my favourite.

You better believe it.

ozt9vdujny3srf

I'd imagine this has been discussed before, and I have on a number of times thought of creating a new thread to discuss it, but here seems to suit:

First of all, good to see Boards.ie are allowing you to close your account. However, one thing that bothers me is the fact that Boards are unwilling to remove your posts as well. This strikes me as Boards having their cake and eating it. I own my words, but its up to boards whether they continue to be published on the web or not. Why is this the case?

Dudess

But then there'd be past threads with the closed account person's posts missing, people quoting someone who no longer exists, etc.

gbee

Dudess wrote: »

But then there'd be past threads with the closed account person's posts missing, people quoting someone who no longer exists, etc.

My counter to that argument is time related.

I will say something at a time in relation to circumstances that effect me at the time of posting. These circumstance3s can change, views can change and maybe I now work for an organisation that I criticised in the past and so on and so forth.

I think, with the exception of technical discussions, all posts should be deleted every 12 months, and the the Google search bots disabled too.

Search functions now are so powerful it's frightening. I work as a social photographer, already many young children want to know about where their photo is going, "in case it ends up being used to blackmail them then they are older"

What one types into the internet remains for ever, somewhere.

hardCopy

gbee wrote: »

What one types into the internet remains for ever, somewhere.

Exactly, we all know that and have to accept it.

There are lots of old funny and interesting threads still on boards, it would be a shame to lose them because some of the posters have left or become inactive.

In years to come there may also be academic value in understanding trends and fads of the time.

RoundyMooney

gbee wrote: »

My counter to that argument is time related.

I will say something at a time in relation to circumstances that effect me at the time of posting. These circumstance3s can change, views can change and maybe I now work for an organisation that I criticised in the past and so on and so forth.

I think, with the exception of technical discussions, all posts should be deleted every 12 months, and the the Google search bots disabled too.

Search functions now are so powerful it's frightening. I work as a social photographer, already many young children want to know about where their photo is going, "in case it ends up being used to blackmail them then they are older"

What one types into the internet remains for ever, somewhere.

I don't agree with that at all, and I've been known to post things in the past that I later thought better of, or jumped the gun on.

But they're out there, and that's it, it would be easier to ask to have them purged, and some vB forums even have an unlimited edit time allowing people to do just that.

But I think boards has it right with the 48 hour window, and deletions/edits by request after that.

There are cases where people for personal/privacy, or more sinister reasons, may wish to have certain things taken down, and that's fair enough, but why wipe the slate clean, for good, bad, mundane, or otherwise, just because?

The Left Hand Of God

RoundyMooney wrote: »

I don't agree with that at all, and I've been known to post things in the past that I later thought better of, or jumped the gun on.

But they're out there, and that's it, it would be easier to ask to have them purged, and some vB forums even have an unlimited edit time allowing people to do just that.

But I think boards has it right with the 48 hour window, and deletions/edits by request after that.

There are cases where people for personal/privacy, or more sinister reasons, may wish to have certain things taken down, and that's fair enough, but why wipe the slate clean, for good, bad, mundane, or otherwise, just because?

The more legal issue is the stance that a poster is "responsible and the owner of their posts" versus boards.ie saying they own it and won't delete it.

Very grey area.


If boards.ie says that posters posts are not thier responsibility but they don't allow posters rights on their posts... grey...

Hank Scorpio

I want to close my boards account

admin " ok, np just email help@boards.ie "

silence/shock

i WANT to close my boards account

admin " you've been told what to do, this thread is now locked "

enter nearest thread/forum

me " hi guys im closing boards account "

them " why? " "please dont " " dont be silly "

" phew someonecares, lets start a rebellion "

my point isssssssssssssss

if you want to close your account pm some admin and do it, otherwise your seeking attention. they are millions upon millions of unique and indiviual users on the internet, you're no different

k thx bai

ozt9vdujny3srf

Pearl Melted Cloak wrote: »

However, one thing that bothers me is the fact that Boards are unwilling to remove your posts as well. This strikes me as Boards having their cake and eating it. I own my words, but its up to boards whether they continue to be published on the web or not. Why is this the case?

Would be cool if an admin could address this.

Darragh

Pearl Melted Cloak wrote: »

I'd imagine this has been discussed before, and I have on a number of times thought of creating a new thread to discuss it, but here seems to suit:

First of all, good to see Boards.ie are allowing you to close your account. However, one thing that bothers me is the fact that Boards are unwilling to remove your posts as well. This strikes me as Boards having their cake and eating it. I own my words, but its up to boards whether they continue to be published on the web or not. Why is this the case?

There's a few answers to this one, so bear with me.

Firstly, we're a platform / site that allows you to discuss matters with other people. By signing up to the site to be able to discuss these matters, you are giving us permission to show what you've written so that the discussion can happen. If you don't want us to show your opinion on the discussion, then you shouldn't put it on the site.

Secondly, people are responsible for what they write. Personally and legally responsible. If you've put something on the internet - on Boards.ie, twitter, Facebook, blogs or by email, you better be sure that you're willing to stand by that or defend it or accept that you've written it. Even if your opinion on a matter changes, you still have presed the keys to put the words on the screen and you're responsible for your actions. No one forces you to write on the site, if you get me.

So accepting both of those things, to address your issues:

Boards.ie doesn't delete ALL posts on request because if we did there'd be no site. You put them up on our site.

When you did, even though you're taking responsibility, you're also making Boards.ie responsible for your posts. So if you put something defamatory up (please don't!) and we're told about it and don't remove it, then we're at fault and are open to legal action. That's the trade off.

The other one is that, of course, because we let people put up posts at all, discussions can happen - discussions that people can participate in and enjoy - or get throughly annoyed by. Either way, all good.

Finally, we do remove *some* posts on request. Not only do we give each member 48 hours to edit their posts, but if you've put up something that's causing you or someone else trouble, we will consider it on a case by case basis - the better your reason for deletion, the more likely we are to do it.

However, if you've been stupid on our site and a big discussion has emerged from that, should we really delete that thread just because you realise that you made a mistake? I don't think so. People need to realise that when they choose to put something online, they better be prepared for consequences, if there are any.

Does that help?

Darragh

Darragh

gbee wrote: »

My counter to that argument is time related.

I will say something at a time in relation to circumstances that effect me at the time of posting. These circumstance3s can change, views can change and maybe I now work for an organisation that I criticised in the past and so on and so forth.

I think, with the exception of technical discussions, all posts should be deleted every 12 months, and the the Google search bots disabled too.

Search functions now are so powerful it's frightening. I work as a social photographer, already many young children want to know about where their photo is going, "in case it ends up being used to blackmail them then they are older"

What one types into the internet remains for ever, somewhere.

There's an easy answer to that one. Don't post anything you're not prepared to stand by if you're asked about it. Simple as that.

gbee

Darragh wrote: »

There's an easy answer to that one. Don't post anything you're not prepared to stand by if you're asked about it. Simple as that.

No it's not as simple as that and I'd distrust anyone who says so, they are either naive, genuinely innocent or conniving.

I say bring in own names verifiable via birth cert, driving licence, passport etc, no anonymous postings and no selective quoting either.

You simply cannot expect a 16 year old say, to be accountable for their views, actions or stupid web postings when they are 26 years of age and looking to enter politics for example.

Mud racking it's called, it's bad enough if your offence gets in the paper and some hack remembers reading it and digs it out of the archives, now, everything about everybody is just a click away and forum hosts, like this one do have a responsibility in this matter.

It's certainly not simple, not by a long chalk.

Darragh

Yet it comes directly down to not putting anything online that you're not prepared to stand over.

who the fug

So asking for your account to be closed is not code for assisted suicide

Bottle_of_Smoke

Something I've seen on other sites when a poster gets banned is their profile gets deleted but posts stay.

Basically their name is changed to "guest" and the post looks like its been posted by an annoymous poster.

Obviously their name is still there in quotes in other posts but would be a step in the right direction imo