Deletion requests FAQ

[Daniel0]

This post is primarily targeted at people who have posted asking for help as these seem to be the people who most frequently ask these questions.

 

All PMs/emails to staff members regarding deletion requests will henceforth be ignored as they are answered in this thread.

 

 

Q: Will you delete my post/topic?

No.

 

Q: Why won't you delete my post/topic?

Imagine if everybody requested their posts to be deleted. If everybody did this there would be no community left, which means you couldn't get the help you required. Secondly, at about 700 posts per day, we would be very busy deleting posts if that was the case.

 

Time is not really an issue, however. There are other reasons why we deny your deletion request.

 

You've come to this forum asking for free help. You don't pay anyone any money, neither PHP Freaks nor the volunteer who is spending his/her spare time on helping you. We think that when you are getting such an awesome service for free, it is only fair that the help you have received is publicly archived for anyone to use. We also think that is a reasonable and very small price to pay.

 

There is also another reason. As already mentioned, people have been helping you for free. By deleting your topic we are also deleting their work. That would be unfair.

 

Q: But I didn't even get sufficient help, so why can't you just delete it?

We are not interested in forming a committee with the purpose of finding out whether someone received adequate help or not each time someone asks.

 

Q: But what if my client finds it?

So what if your client finds out? If the topic reveals that you are incompetent at doing the work your client pays you to do, then you should not have taken the job in the first place. At least be adult enough to admit you have received help instead of relying on lies and deception.

 

Q: But what if my teacher finds it?

If your teacher finds it and you were supposed to do it yourself, it's your own fault for cheating.

 

Q: Aren't you guys human?

While the real identity of all staff members hasn't been verified, we are pretty certain that all our staff members belong to the homo sapiens species (except for CV..whatever (s)he/it is, it's not human...).

 

Really though, trying to shift the blame is pretty pointless. Before you registered, you agreed to our Terms of Service stating that you will grant us an irrevocable license to use content you post using our systems. For added convenience we added a big red notice on all post forms informing you that we will not delete the things you post.

 

You posted knowing these terms.

 

Q: But my post makes me look immature/foolish/stupid/unintelligent. Won't you delete it?

"Think before you speak" is a good rule to remember that applies both in real life and on the internet.

 

Q: Won't you make an exception just this time?

Sure! Like we'll make an exception for everybody else who asks... No.

 

Q: So what should I do?

If you're unwilling to accept that your topics here will be archived publicly, you should hire a consultant to help you in private.

 

This rule blows!

Maybe it does, but we did not force you to visit this web site.

 

Basically, think of your posts as emails. You cannot alter emails once they have been sent either. Nor can you take them back (delete them). Think of your post like a speech transmitted live on television. You cannot change what you say there either. Consider what you write before you hit the "post" button. Your post is probably not so important that it cannot wait one minute while you do that.