Completely disagree. Not archiving/recording everything for eternity has be the de facto modus operandi of the human race since time immemorial.

Reddit had the privilege of hosting user comments, and they squandered the trust they built. Social networks live and die by the good will of their users, creators/users taking back what they made is the consequence of acting in a way that users don't like. Deleting all my comments out of every conversation I had on reddit and destroying all the value is the point, I don't want Reddit to have that value.

> Deleting all my comments out of every conversation I had on reddit and destroying all the value is the point, I don't want Reddit to have that value.

So, "if I can't have it, no one can"? That's something parents typically try to teach toddlers _not_ to do.

In this scenario, "no one can" is the uncaring corporation who has chosen a path to ruin any good will with the community.

The content people have created for free on reddit is literally the only form of leverage they have aside from actually going to the site.

Sure some lost soul could use that tidbit of info, but they'll only have Reddit to blame.

Yes, "no one can" means "the uncaring corporation", but it ALSO means "everyone else in the entire world".

> Sure some lost soul could use that tidbit of info, but they'll only have Reddit to blame.

No, reddit isn't making anyone delete all their content. The person deleting all their content is to blame. They could just walk away, but instead, they're purposefully making reddit worse for everyone.

> but instead, they're purposefully making reddit worse for everyone.

Yes, specifically because of Reddit's actions. Specifically because Reddit made decisions that made them no longer want to contribute to the site's success and (incidentally) also because Reddit offers no way at all for people to opt-out of furthering the company's commercial interests and no way at all for people to refuse to reinforce the network effect keeping the site afloat without also damaging the community.

You are right about that. Sucks doesn't it?

You seem to be making a good case for just living with bad corporate decisions for somehow that being a greater, or worthy good.

That is legit, but I see a large percentage of users do not agree.

They get to do that.

You can prevent doxing yourself by deleting an account.

If someone becomes suspicious that they know an account holder, watching recent posts can lead to doxing. Deleting can be a safety mechanism.

Indeed. This is fine by me and it's great that you can do this in this kind of case. But what's being discussed is people deleting all their posts because they're upset at reddit for their recent policy changes, and that's what I think is not a good thing.

It’s my content. I can do whatever I want with it. I can delete it. I can change it. I can leave it be. It’s not nasty or thoughtless. It’s mine. Who is anyone else to tell me whether I want to take my own content down?

It messes up the threads. Sure, I don't mind. Like, it doesn't make you a bad person. But I would prefer it not being possible at bulk in forums. Maybe, 10 deletes per year if you accidentally write some PI or something.

I like how HN allows deletes for some time. At multiple occasions I have deleted some comment that was flame or stupid after 10s and saved others the trouble of reading it.

It's yours until it becomes a part of conversation, at which point it's no longer just yours.

Just like when you contribute a brick to build a house only to yank it out later on because "it's yours". Yeah, you can do it, but it's a selfish move disrespectful of other contributors.