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Lemmy needs real deletion, not just soft‑delete/hiding (lemmy.world)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/support@lemmy.world
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Right now, deleting a post on Lemmy only hides it locally, but doesn’t fully remove it across the fediverse. I understand the technical reasons behind this, but from a user perspective it feels incomplete.

Platforms should give users the ability to fully delete their own content, or at least send a federated deletion request to other instances. This is important for privacy, safety, and user control.

Is full deletion planned, or is there a technical limitation preventing it? I’d like to understand what’s possible and whether this feature is on the roadmap.

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[–] [S] 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Thanks for the clarification — that helps me understand the current behavior much better. I didn’t realize Lemmy already sends a proper ActivityPub delete signal, and it makes sense that different servers handle it differently.

From a user perspective, the part that still feels incomplete is that deleted posts and comments remain visible as “deleted by creator,” even when the content itself is gone. I understand why the object can’t be purged instantly for moderation reasons, but it does create the impression that deletion isn’t really happening.

What I’m hoping for is a more user‑friendly deletion experience — something that preserves moderation needs and federation realities, but still gives users a clearer sense of control over their own content. Even if perfect deletion across all servers isn’t possible, improving the local UX would go a long way.

I appreciate you taking the time to explain the technical side.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Good on you for realizing you were wrong, I'll upvote that.

    However, as for the behavior it's standard forum functionality. People may respond to your comment, and then you delete it. You individually have the right to remove all discussion underneath, and future users need to understand there was something there.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 8 months ago

    That makes sense — I understand why placeholders exist to keep threads readable and avoid breaking the structure of conversations. I’m not asking for replies to disappear or for threads to collapse.

    What I’m trying to explore is whether the user‑side deletion experience can be improved while still keeping that structure intact. Even if perfect deletion across all servers isn’t possible, having clearer control over what remains visible on the home instance would go a long way.

    I appreciate the explanation; it helps put the current behavior in context.

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