Coleman
@Coleman@lemmy.world
- Submitted 1 day ago to games@lemmy.world | 2 comments
- Comment on Lemmy needs real deletion, not just soft‑delete/hiding 1 week 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.
- Comment on Lemmy needs real deletion, not just soft‑delete/hiding 1 week ago:
I’m trying to understand the current behavior as clearly as possible, which is why I asked for clarification. The replies from others in the thread have helped fill in the gaps about how deletion works across different servers.
My goal isn’t to argue about federation limits — it’s to understand whether the user‑side deletion experience can be improved, even if perfect deletion across all nodes isn’t possible. That’s the part I’m trying to explore here.
- Comment on Lemmy needs real deletion, not just soft‑delete/hiding 1 week ago:
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.
- Comment on Lemmy needs real deletion, not just soft‑delete/hiding 1 week ago:
The solution: A three‑layer deletion model This is the only model that satisfies both Lemmy’s architecture and user expectations.
Layer 1 — Local hard deletion (guaranteed) When a user deletes a post/comment:
the content is wiped from their home server
the object can remain as a placeholder to preserve thread structure
media files are fully removed
This part is already possible.
Layer 2 — Federated delete signal (best‑effort) When deletion happens, the home server sends a message:
“This content is deleted — purge your copy.”
Servers that respect federation will:
delete their cached copy
update the thread
remove the content from search
Servers that don’t care will ignore it — but that’s already true today.
This is the missing piece Lemmy needs to implement.
Layer 3 — User‑initiated purge request (optional escalation) Admins already have a purge tool that:
deletes content locally
sends a federated purge request
is accepted by most servers
Expose this to users in a controlled way:
rate‑limited
confirmation required
optional admin approval
This gives users real deletion power without enabling abuse.
- Comment on Lemmy needs real deletion, not just soft‑delete/hiding 1 week ago:
You’re right that no federated system can force every server to delete something. But meaningful deletion doesn’t require 100% enforcement.
Lemmy already has admin‑level purge tools that send federated delete requests, and most servers respect them. A user‑level version of that, or a proper “deleted” ActivityPub signal, would give people far more control than the current soft‑delete model.
Even if a few rogue servers ignore it, the majority of the fediverse would still clear the content, which is a huge improvement over “deleted by creator” placeholders.
Federation doesn’t have to mean no deletion — it just means deletion has to be cooperative instead of enforced.
- Comment on Lemmy needs real deletion, not just soft‑delete/hiding 1 week ago:
Thanks for the detailed explanation — this helps clarify a lot. I understand that federation makes guaranteed deletion impossible, but knowing that admins can purge content and send out a federated delete request is exactly the kind of mechanism I was hoping existed.
From a user perspective, having some version of that available — even if it can’t guarantee 100% deletion everywhere — would still be meaningful. A user‑initiated delete request that other servers can respect would give people more control over their own content without undermining federation.
Editing before deleting is a good workaround, but it still feels like something that could eventually be built into the platform in a more direct way. I appreciate the insight; it’s good to know this isn’t a dead end technically.
- Comment on Lemmy needs real deletion, not just soft‑delete/hiding 1 week ago:
That makes a lot of sense, and it’s exactly the kind of mechanism I was hoping existed or could be added. Even if deletion can’t be instant across every server, having a federated “this content is deleted” response would give users real control instead of just hiding posts locally.
A system like the one you describe — where a delete request clears caches on other servers — would solve most of the privacy and user‑control concerns people have. It wouldn’t need to be perfect to be meaningful.
I appreciate the explanation. It’s good to know that this isn’t impossible, just something that needs coordination and implementation across the Fediverse.
- Comment on Lemmy needs real deletion, not just soft‑delete/hiding 1 week ago:
Thanks for the explanation — that actually helps me understand the situation a lot better. I get that federation makes things more complicated, especially when content is already spread across multiple servers.
From a user perspective though, it still feels important to have a way to fully delete posts, or at least send a federated delete request that other instances can respect. Even if it can’t guarantee 100% removal everywhere, having a proper deletion mechanism would give users more control over their own content.
I’m glad to hear it’s not technically impossible. Hopefully it’s something that can be explored in the future, even if it takes coordination across the Fediverse.
- Submitted 1 week ago to support@lemmy.world | 15 comments
