Give User an Option to self-delete their Account

I am really confused. You used a modification on your vb3.x site which allowed people to delete their own accounts, yet they are required by German law to send you an email (presumably) before they use that feature?

Sorry for my feeble memory.
Not presumably. But you have to offer both options. Which option they use is up to them.
 
I don't like this idea, all for a button to request account closure and deletion of personal info from database, then e-mail verification and finally an admin option to follow through on the request.

Out of interest, regarding German law, if a user requests all their personal information be deleted from the database, does this mean any post where they may have provided personal details? Any post where other users may have quoted or posted personal details of that member? Changing the username of the closed account if it contains their real name? And what constitutes personal details? If member A was requesting deletion, and there was a post where member B said to Member C something like "Great to see you at Member A's party last week" would that have to be deleted? If so it would be a right nightmare.
 
I'd just not host my server in Germany :cool:

I have no intention of hosting forums there now, but I do host other stuff from Germany. Laws like this also have a habit of being picked up by the EU and then I would be screwed if it means absolutely any personal details in any part of the database. In the UK you have the right to see any info held about you, well that's quite simple on an internet forum, and the right to opt out from your data being used in certain ways, but no right to have your data deleted.
 
the importance of user-privacy and user-data will be a major focus on the internet in the near future, no matter which country you are.

I guess you have heard about the issues FaceBook was having with their disrespect and handling of privacy and user-data.......
 
Well yeah, there are exceptions; but generally it takes some work to find a person.
Really? I know your full name, wife's name, phone number, and street address. All of this was found with 5 minutes of web searching. I'm sure I could find much more if I took the time.

Really, I suggest everyone take this opportunity to search for themselves online. I think you will be surprised by what you find. :)
 
I'd just not host my server in Germany :cool:
Nice idea. But you should know that it doesn´t matter where the server is located at. If the responsible site owner is a resident of the FRG and subject to german law it´ll sound ugly: guilty as charged. The only reason to host off shore or in a foreign country is that they can´t shut down the server - or at least not immediatly.
 
I don't like this idea, all for a button to request account closure and deletion of personal info from database, then e-mail verification and finally an admin option to follow through on the request.
Guess you got it wrong. Fully automated, you don´t have to touch it.

Out of interest, regarding German law, if a user requests all their personal information be deleted from the database, does this mean any post where they may have provided personal details? Any post where other users may have quoted or posted personal details of that member? Changing the username of the closed account if it contains their real name? And what constitutes personal details? If member A was requesting deletion, and there was a post where member B said to Member C something like "Great to see you at Member A's party last week" would that have to be deleted? If so it would be a right nightmare.

First of all: personal data in first line is the name, adress, birthday and photo. In a trial in 2006 I had to recognize that even bundled informations can lead to a positive identification of the author, even when other personal data isn´t available. We ended up in a settlement deal cause the judge stated that the claimant - after weighting the facts - has a higher interest for deletion of his account AND postings. The claimant wrote things about his work and details of things happening there. After a couple of time he feared that he could be identified by all his postings and provided details and requested the delete of account and postings. Our TOS says that a user gives us the unlimited right to use his postings as long as the use is restricted to our site and for that reason a deletion of postings upon request isn´t possible. That TOS works for normal postings without patent pending ideas - and/or personal data or content a user could be compromised with. In this case the complainant job was endangered which gives him the right to urge for a deletion.

You see, it´s not that easy to answer your question cause it depends..
 
I have no intention of hosting forums there now, but I do host other stuff from Germany. Laws like this also have a habit of being picked up by the EU and then I would be screwed if it means absolutely any personal details in any part of the database.

That´s already on the way..a german initiative in the EU council, who wonders.
 
Nice idea. But you should know that it doesn´t matter where the server is located at. If the responsible site owner is a resident of the FRG and subject to german law it´ll sound ugly: guilty as charged. The only reason to host off shore or in a foreign country is that they can´t shut down the server - or at least not immediatly.

yeah, according law it does not matter where the server is located.
It is according to where the person who is operating the website is physically located.
 
What the heck you´re talking about, guys?! Sorry folks if I may sound a bit rude - but are you blind or not willing to read what has been written and requested: it´s not about the deletion of all posts a user made. It´s just about the account itself and the personal data nested within. The postings remain untouched. Can you copy that ?
What you are asking for can be accomplished by a user changing their own e-mail address to an inactive/bogus address. They will no longer get e-mail notifications of anything happening on the forum, and they simply stop visiting.

What you are asking for also does not comply with German law. At least the request to fully delete one's account (and posts and PMs) had some legal basis.

Why would someone want their account deleted but all their info left behind?

I will just add that if someone came to me and said they need some posts edited/removed or info removed because it endangered their job, safety, etc. and they were not a total dip****, I'd absolutely do it.
 
I'm pro auto account deletion as well as their PM inbox, however, I'm not pro their posts being deleted... these posts have been made according to forum rules, and at sign-up they agreed to basic forum rules which IMO should include that posts made, will belong to the forum from that point on, so forum mods/admins can do with them as they please (imho of course this depends on the forum EULA)
 
What you are asking for can be accomplished by a user changing their own e-mail address to an inactive/bogus address. They will no longer get e-mail notifications of anything happening on the forum, and they simply stop visiting.

Feldon, it´s not about receiving emails, ^^. By the way, you´re idea to change the email-adress to a non-existing one is somehow fatal. What do you think will happen when your forum/domain is repeatingly sending emails to non-existent recipients? The Mailservers remove your domain from the whitelist and will add you to the blacklist. Congratulations, a fabulous suggestion.

What you are asking for also does not comply with German law. At least the request to fully delete one's account (and posts and PMs) had some legal basis.
You´re going wrong again. As written in one of my last posts the german law gives the user the right over his account and full control what should happen with it. Vice-versa the german law treats postings in my forum like published letters to the editor or articles in the printed local newspaper. They can´t be deleted by nature. Only the circumstance that postings in forums can be edited long time after they have been published opens the door for a user to request the delete of personal informations in there. I don´t know who told you that, but - sorry - it´s not true. And I can´t imagine that the danish law is so different from the german.

Why would someone want their account deleted but all their info left behind?
Ask them. Everyone has a reason. And a good part wants to delete ALL their posts anyway - until Ihave to tell them to read the TOS again and that the postings can´t be deleted (unless there is personal data in it).

I will just add that if someone came to me and said they need some posts edited/removed or info removed because it endangered their job, safety, etc. and they were not a total dip****, I'd absolutely do it.
Fine. Do it manually and leave the activate button of this function untouched. Where is the problem ?
 
Really? I know your full name, wife's name, phone number, and street address. All of this was found with 5 minutes of web searching. I'm sure I could find much more if I took the time.
I did say in a previous post that it would NOT be hard to find me because my username is my business name. And I never said it was impossible to find people, just not as easy in general. I don't consider myself part of the "in general" class, due to my business name being out there.

That being said, CBI Web changed hands since its inception. You may have found my info, you may have found the previous owner's info. I'll never tell. ;)
 
Its not abused if they choose to delete their account.

Adding this is pointless; members who no longer wish to be part of the community can request an account deletion, or they can go inactive. In all cases I've seen a member claim to leave a community, they have always come back, or they just result to lurking, making the statement pointless.

Or worse come back and troll around trying to stir up trouble before you just outright ban them.
 
I wouldn't use the feature, but as you read through, its a requirement due to a German law.

Sorry but German law has no bearing on anything if the site is not in Germany. Having users be allowed to delete their own accounts is an absolute nightmare. SMF has this function built in but its left to the admin if they want to allow it. So possibly that is what you would need/mean instead of forcing the rest of the world to laws that do not pertain to us.
 
Sorry but German law has no bearing on anything if the site is not in Germany. Having users be allowed to delete their own accounts is an absolute nightmare. SMF has this function built in but its left to the admin if they want to allow it. So possibly that is what you would need/mean instead of forcing the rest of the world to laws that do not pertain to us.
Its also stated in the thread (Which you must have missed, as I don't think you read through), that there should be an on/off option.
 
Theres a large Germany population planning to adopt XenForo; catering to them would be in the best interests, and supplying a simple on/off function which provides an opt-out for everyone who it doesn't apply to (Or who doesn't want to use it), keeping everyone happy.

EDIT: Other countries have also started adopting similar practices, or showing interest in such. With the rise of privacy concerns, it'll probably be in the best interests to have this option in case such does come to pass. 
 
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