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Is it possible to delete your account and automatically remove all your posts, or when you remove your account do your questions/answers remain on the site?

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    Don't quit over flash sucking. It sucks for everyone no matter where you post on the internet! May 29, 2013 at 23:10
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    Don't commit Internet seppuku! If things get too stressful, just give yourself a personal timeout from the site, relax, and come back in a week with a fresh perspective. Plus, other folks could benefit from your questions and answers even if you do decide to leave. Do you really need to go nuclear? May 29, 2013 at 23:17
  • That's a good point that future readers can benefit from existing answers on my questions, which other users have put time and effort into adding. But if I remove my account, will my posts be attributed to me or to some "user12345678"? I use my real name on here and it makes me slightly uncomfortable that community members and mods can edit posts that are attributed to me as author. I intend to continue to participate on stackoverflow.com, if that changes any technical details..
    – wim
    May 29, 2013 at 23:30
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    Wim, rather than just getting up and leaving, do you care to explain some of your issues and see if they can be resolved? I'm personally not aware of any edit wars, though we have had and will always have drama. Ubuntuforums is vastly different from this site, of course, and we are not for everyone, but if you don't understand how the site works, that is what would lead to the conclusion you've reached.
    – RolandiXor
    May 29, 2013 at 23:48
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    "it makes me slightly uncomfortable that community members and mods can edit posts that are attributed to me as author." This is an essential part of how SE works - as someone who participates on SO, You need to know this - its an essential part of how the site works. I've had a few edits that seriously improved my answer in the past, so really, this works both ways May 29, 2013 at 23:49
  • At any rate, this is related: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/5999/…
    – user98085
    May 30, 2013 at 0:21
  • @RolandiXor OK, I can elaborate in chat.
    – wim
    May 30, 2013 at 4:39
  • @JourneymanGeek I agree, the vast majority of edits on my posts are really helpful and useful, usually it's some better way to do something that I didn't know about or some detail I forgot. The occasional annoying user is the exception to the rule here.
    – wim
    May 30, 2013 at 4:43
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    Drama, drama, drama... Over edits??? Why is this necessary? Also, you are a member for more than a year, you know how to search around the site I assume, search on meta for remove account? May 30, 2013 at 7:26
  • <tease>BTW, if anyone wants to edit the answer bellow and improve it / fix formatting and wording, maybe add a link or two to the duplicates about this subject, feel free to do so. Wont be upset about it...</tease> May 30, 2013 at 7:39
  • @BrunoPereira yes, but I couldn't find an authoritative source on what happens to your existing posts after removing account. I've found one now. p.s. edit button is greyed out on meta
    – wim
    May 30, 2013 at 7:47

2 Answers 2

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Your question is blossoming into five or six separate questions. I will attempt to run over most of them quickly:

  • You can delete your account but your posts stay.

  • Your posts will be attributed to deleted version of your user. This may keep your name, it may be attributed a user1234566 account. Probably the second (I think it's only cross-site question migrations that used to throw the name over).

  • Editing is an essential part to maintaining a system like this. People go missing and abandon things. This way everybody can maintain everything and that's not going to change.

  • Edited posts have a revision history that anybody can see. They're not putting words in your mouth, they're putting words in your post and people can see evidence of that.

  • Getting upset with a system and wanting to leave is not a phenomenon unique to us, or even the Internet. You see it in most mammal communities and it has been an essential part of genetic and societal development for hundreds of thousands of years.

    That said, we want a happy community here and we try help that end by being completely open from the offset. If the community and the moderators fail you, there are also people at Stack Exchange you can talk to... But none of that will ever stop people becoming disenfranchised. We could dip into this well but you've already said you've little interest in the psychology of things.

  • If you have a specific grievance, we want to know about it. This is particularly relevant to me because I was the person who dealt with one of your questions yesterday.

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    Also, "Content you've posted on the site is owned by you but licensed to Stack Exchange, and you therefore cannot request that it be deleted with your account." (Per meta.stackexchange.com/questions/5999/… ).
    – belacqua
    Jun 5, 2013 at 17:37
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You can ask Stack Exchange to erase your account following the methods posted on all the previously asked question in meta about the same subject.

No, the posts that you created with your account are property of the Ask Ubuntu and the Stack Exchange network, even if you ask them to be deleted or removed when your account is, they will not and you cannot do it just because you want to. Their content is part of the site when you create them and will not be removed when your account is.


This all question is a dupe of many others around the site, the reasons are always the same... Drama, user feels that he is not appreciated or targeted by evil cat like creatures and wants to leave and remove his account and destroy his/her contributions.

From what I understand this is over edits? Really? Look, take some time for yourself, go for a walk and enjoy the sun, come back when you want to (or not, no one forces anyone to be around, ever). There are many more things to worry about in life; edits on a website that allows and stimulates them is not one of the things that would make me wake up in the middle of the night.

If after you walk you still feel upset about anything then just ask the Stack Exchange community to remove your account, it's fine, but your posts stay.

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  • If it is a dupe of many on the site and the reason is always the same, drama, etc then that suggests to me there is a real problem with the system because it is something that is happening regularly. It shouldn't happen at all. But I assure you I am not losing sleep over this :)
    – wim
    May 30, 2013 at 7:59
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    Hum, I did not say that there were many people asking to get erased, only the reasons are most of the times similar (loss of rep because of misuse of accounts, upset because of edits over one reason or another - edits are part of the site! -, upset because someone down-voted or whatnot of of the user's posts, and so on...), a small difference there that invalidates your argument that something is actually wrong. May 30, 2013 at 8:13
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    Look, we value all contributions to the site, edits are part of it, unless we have a consensus that there was abuse or invalid edits target at you there is not much we will do, if you feel you want your account removed then that is a pity, but life goes on. Let us know what you really want to do, my advice for some time out and come back again later with a calmer head still is the best one I can give you. May 30, 2013 at 8:13
  • @maggotbrain I removed you comment cause it broke my comments, sorry for that. May 30, 2013 at 8:14
  • Thanks Bruno. But I am not asking for a psychologist here, I just wanted to know what happens to by posts when I remove account. They remain but become anonymous, and I'm happy with that. Cheers
    – wim
    May 30, 2013 at 8:19
  • @wim I'll be quiet then (where Is should have never left), cheers and take care. May 30, 2013 at 8:20

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