OBSOLETE - How to delete your account from FOG?

[LagomWare]

Hi,
I can't seem to figure out how to delete my FOG account. Can someone help me? I can't find any options in my account settings, unless I am missing something.
Thanks!

 

[demographic]

Have you tried just going into settings to stop all notifications then stopping posting?

Getting your account deleted seems a tad needy to me, any particular reason?

 

[AlexThePalex]

I don't think you can do it yourself. Just ask one of the moderators and I'm sure they'll oblige you. [member=1674]Peter Halle[/member] [member=1619]SRSemenza[/member]

 

[peter halle]

I am conversing with the poster.

But to answer the question, Members can not delete their accounts.  A moderator or higher up must do it.  We rarely do it and when we do we usually do not delete the posts of the Member because if we did it there would be holes in conversations.

Peter

 

[threesixright]

I am conversing with the poster.

But to answer the question, Members can not delete their accounts.  A moderator or higher up must do it.  We rarely do it and when we do we usually do not delete the posts of the Member because if we did it there would be holes in conversations.

Peter

Just out of curiosity, is there anyway to disable a account? A fully understand that people would like to remove their account, yet as you say it would probably remove al posts. Isn’t there anyway to move their post to a ‘deleted user’ and do remove their record?

From a privacy point it is desirable to remove your account as email, username, password and some personal info (if you choose to store it). Mainly because in case of a breach this data is not on the street.

Sent from my X using Tapatalk

 

[Bob D.]

Another situation might be when someone passes away. What provisions are there for closing out an account, mostly for security reasons I'm thinking. Some might say well that person is no longer with us but I would say that creates some additional problems over a living person who might get caught up in a data breach.

For instance what if the deceased left instructions to close out any online accounts/memberships and delete any data from cloud storage. What steps would be needed to validate that is another issue.

Google has a provision where you can go in your settings and if you have no activity for x number of months. You will get a warning email as the date approaches and that someone you previously designated will get access to your account to manage/close it following the guidelines you have set.

That may be a little over the top for a venue such as this but I'm just pointing out that the option is offered elsewhere on the web so it is possible.

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

A lot depends on the software, the main reason that deleting accounts can be tricky, is as Peter mentioned, often when an account is deleted or closed, there's not always options, and that member will also have his/her posts removed too. So this can, and often does ruin many threads.
The same applies when a member putting photos into their post, if they delete the photos, the photos vanish from the threads, again ruining that thread. So, some forums host the photos themselves to stop this happening but, this becomes expensive for the forum owners, as it eats up bandwidth.

There is some forum software, that allows the deleting or banning of a member, and option boxes can be checked, that delete or save that users posts. I have admin'd forums in the past, some had this option some didn't. The ones that didn't meant going into the data base which is a bit of a chore. Some members want to leave without trace, including any posts or photos they made, this obviously can really mess things up, especially on an informative thread, where a lot of discussion and photos were used to explain. If one persons input, and possibly photos are gone, that thread will make very little sense.

A better way for everybody, is if the member concerned changes their email to one they don't use, remove any personal info from their profile, then ask a moderator to change their name, and then just stop posting.
This is very quick and easy to do.

 

[peter halle]

Another situation might be when someone passes away. What provisions are there for closing out an account, mostly for security reasons I'm thinking. Some might say well that person is no longer with us but I would say that creates some additional problems over a living person who might get caught up in a data breach.

For instance what if the deceased left instructions to close out any online accounts/memberships and delete any data from cloud storage. What steps would be needed to validate that is another issue.

Google has a provision where you can go in your settings and if you have no activity for x number of months. You will get a warning email as the date approaches and that someone you previously designated will get access to your account to manage/close it following the guidelines you have set.

That may be a little over the top for a venue such as this but I'm just pointing out that the option is offered elsewhere on the web so it is possible.

We have handled accounts of known deceased members in a manner that eliminates some of the risks while preserving their contributions to the forum.  If we don't know of a member's passing then it is impossible to take actions.  That fact that the vast majority of the members here participate under a fictitious name adds difficulty but also adds security.

Just my thoughts.

Peter

 

[MikeGE]

I realize I am new here, but I owned several discussion boards using vBulletin and XenForo, and faced this issue many times.  My policy was to never delete posts or threads, as it could break the continuity of the discussion. 

If a member insisted on disappearing, I changed the username to GuestXXX, with "XXX" being the next sequential number for a guest account.  I then removed the email address from the member's account and entered a long, and hopefully complex, jibberish password.  Without an email address in the member record, no one could use the "Forgot my password" utility to reset it and gain access to a guest account.  At the next database maintenance opportunity, I ran a MySQL command in the appropriate tables to change all instances of the member's original username to GuestXXX.  This only took a few seconds to complete and effectively removed all traces of the original username when the member was quoted by another member.  I usually performed database maintenance once a month, so any username changes happened then.

When a member had been confirmed to have passed away, the email address in the member record was removed, the password jibberized, and the signature was changed to "In Memoriam XXXX - YYYY", with XXXX being the year of birth and YYYY being the year of death.  The signature was a hotlink to the thread in the forum that announced the passing.

How does the FOG address the General Data Protection Regulation (GDRP) that applies to EU citizens?

 

[threesixright]

Im guessing this (FOG forum) is just a normal database.

Its very well possible to make a 'deleted user' and move all the post to that use - so all threads stay intact- and remove the OP. Those reading would just see 'deleted user' and then it also becomes clear what's going on (like don't expect a reply).

Im guessing by law your even required to remove all data on request.

 

[peter halle]

Boy this thread has gone down the rabbit hole.  If you are worried about internet security on a voluntary discussion board I would offer these as options in no particular order:

1.  Don't sign up and don't participate.  Visit as a non-member.  You can't ask questions, you can't talk privately with any other member, but you can learn.

2.  Don't use your real name.  Be anonymous and name yourself after your favorite teddy bear or your third cousin's first dog.  When you set up your profile check the box that disallows members from emailing you.

3.  When you set up your account you will need a valid email address.  After that you can change that to something that doesn't matter.

4.  Don't enter a birthdate or sex.  We don't care.  Some forums send Happy Birthday messages, but we don't.  We don't care if you are male or female or other.  We are all people who work with wood here. 

Does this site meet GDRU?  I have no idea.  I am a woodworker and volunteer and don't own the forum.  If all discussion boards like this must meet different regulations in different countries then I guess that the end of these platforms is near.  Much like having a contest in Quebec.  Regulations make it far too painful there to give something away, so nobody does.

Regarding removing all information posted by an individual, I would refer you you to the forum guidelines that you voluntarily agreed to when you became a member.

Peter

 

[peter halle]

The OP's account has been deleted.  The posts remain.

Peter Halle - Moderator

 

[threesixright]

Boy this thread has gone down the rabbit hole.  If you are worried about internet security on a voluntary discussion board I would offer these as options in no particular order:

Yeah, curious by nature  :-[

Hope you don't mind asking the questions. Personally I'm was just curious how this is handled. Other than that, I absolutely agree ons all your points.

Anyway, great its solved!
On a side note, I think you mean GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation]? (yes, its a b*tch  )

 

[peter halle]

Boy this thread has gone down the rabbit hole.  If you are worried about internet security on a voluntary discussion board I would offer these as options in no particular order:

Yeah, curious by nature  :-[

Hope you don't mind asking the questions. Personally I'm was just curious how this is handled. Other than that, I absolutely agree ons all your points.

Anyway, great its solved!
On a side note, I think you mean GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation]? (yes, its a b*tch  )

I am curious by nature also.  I certainly don’t mid questions and take no offense.

Peter

 

[mrboult]

I like seeing an old post from [member=25476]wow[/member] every now and again RIP

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

The OP's account has been deleted.  The posts remain.

Peter Halle - Moderator

Amen Peter