How do I delete my DaniWeb Account?

There is no option to delete an account because doing so, and removing postings associated with that deleted account, would create huge holes in the DaniWeb database - support threads would become meaningless. You can, however, unsubscribe to admin emails and posting notifications etc via the control panel, and then not log in anymore...

Yeah. Your details must be kept on file . We produce a lot of bulk emails so in case your ISP wants proof that we are not spammers, we must provide it.

Welcome to daniweb regardless......

You must have signed up for a reason!!

Why not tell us whats on your mind?

Hell, with only 2 posts, you've already joined the top 25% of posters on the board.
Only 8 more posts will get you into the top 2%!

There is no option to delete an account because doing so, and removing postings associated with that deleted account, would create huge holes in the DaniWeb database - support threads would become meaningless. You can, however, unsubscribe to admin emails and posting notifications etc via the control panel, and then not log in anymore...

I thought user deletion and post deletion were separate issues?
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95665

I know that if this was the Uk though, you would legally have to honour this request under the DPA, but i think the USA is different

It is a vBulletin feature to delete user accounts. However, because we are so large, we cannot do so for legal reasons placed upon us by our web hosting company and all of the major ISPs.

I know that if this was the Uk though, you would legally have to honour this request under the DPA, but i think the USA is different

Really? Here in the US it's the complete opposite - we aren't allowed to delete user info.

I know that if this was the Uk though, you would legally have to honour this request under the DPA, but i think the USA is different

What? I don't think so. I may be wrong but I can't be bothered to look it up.

What I do know is:

- The Data Protection Act is grossly misunderstood in the UK.

- You are obliged to provide what you have on record when requested by it's owner.

- You can be penalized for having inaccurate data / failing to provide it on request in a timely manner and not taking reasonable precautions to protect it.

- You can't give that data to any third party other than a government official with a legal warrent, or express permission of the owner.

maybe i am just confused....

I think you are :)

Another site im on (from the uk) someone the other day also wanted thier account deleted. (They only had 2 posts) -- It was deleted......

I dunno why people sign up on a site THEN WANT THIER ACCOUNT REMOVED?? (After they get what they need)

Seems kinds selfish and looks like they are only USING the site for thier needs then want stuff gone............

My experience of people asking for account deletions, in general rather than this specific case, is that someone joins up - asks a question - does not an answer they like - then throws a hissy fit demanding everything about them is removed. Either that, or almost as common, asks a question regarding homework or a problem they are having with a work project, gets an answer, then does not want anyone at college/work to know where they got the help from.

Wait a second - people ask for homework help on a forum? What's next - paying to have the work done?

Seriously, though, that's a very good possibility. Back in my day, there was no internet to do your homework for you. You had to do it yourself.

Wait a second - people ask for homework help on a forum? What's next - paying to have the work done?

Yes :D

I want to delete my account because I am leaving my job for another company and title and do not use the DaniWeb service. I want my account disabled so no one can log in and abuse this service. Since my company email will be redirected to a catch-all, anyone in the company can request a new password and log in. I can see then the only solution is to change my email address and falsify as much of my account as possible. What other option is there? I must have been forced to create an account while googling for an answer to a question. Absolutely I created this account so I could get information and had no intention of spending any more time under pressure to read unrelated posts and answer other people’s questions. I wish I could, but I can't. But DaniWeb does not require that I do. And if there are enough answers, and enough people have the time, then this website can grow and be successful. The community is about the 2% of the people that take the time and gain from it, not the 98% of passer-bys. The 2% is what makes DaniWeb successful, so let the 98% of the people disable their account, please.

Reading posts has never required anyone to create an account nor does creating an account require you to fill in your personal information.

You can go to your user-control-panel and disable all e-mail notifications. You have already deleted any personal info that may or may not have existed on your profile, so people won't find your profile anymore.

Deleting accounts is not an option here because we get a lot of people asking help with their homework. We try to help them and put a lot of effort in making a good reply which will help them and benefit any future visitors to the thread. When people are allowed to delete their profile, they will do so right after they've received the help they wanted and by doing so, they are removing a thread which could be useful to any future visitors to Daniweb.

I want to delete my account

As per the Acceptable Use Policy:

"To comply with federal anti-spam guidelines, DaniWeb stores the registration email address, current email address, all IP addresses used to register with and post, date of registration, and date last visited of all members as confirmation and proof of opt-in status. DaniWeb's policy is to permanently maintain all registration records."

If I cant delete my account? AT LEAST give me the option to stop those annoying 'daniweb misses you' emails! How do I do that?

In your user control panel, choose Edit Options and deselect the email options.
http://www.daniweb.com/forums/profile.php?do=editoptions

In your user control panel, choose Edit Options and deselect the email options.
http://www.daniweb.com/forums/profile.php?do=editoptions

I have the same problem and I don't agree with some of the answers given.

Please take the next sentences just as a constructive critique (sorry for my English)

1) Why I want to delete?

I want to delete my account because I've never used Daniweb, so it's useless for me.

... Note that I'm registered since 2009 and rarely (2 times) I came on Daniweb to find answers (sorry but it's the true)

2) Why it should be done?

Because you should honor the wish of your users if it is feasible (see next point)

3) Is it feasible to clean/remove an account?

Yes, don't tell me not, I'm an IT specialist and I know you can, it's a question to write the right piece of code in any language of this world.

You are not too big, there are bigger that do it without even asking why.
Some they don't delete, but they change/mask the username, password and clean what ever is possible to clean (Linked-in for example)...

Some they even do it by hand, I won't mention who, but you can google it (google as verb and not as search engine), they work students, or under payed guys in Asia (or east Europe) to do it...

So it's feasible and you should do it

Hope this will help...

It's not a question of whether it can be done or not, it has to do with law. I suggest you remove all the info you can from your profile, and then request your username to be changed.

1) Why I want to delete?

I want to delete my account because I've never used Daniweb, so it's useless for me.

... Note that I'm registered since 2009 and rarely (2 times) I came on Daniweb to find answers (sorry but it's the true)

What's wrong with simply abandoning your account? If we don't care about a dead account on our database, why should you care? ;) Just remove any personal information and call it a day, no loss, no foul.

2) Why it should be done?

Because you should honor the wish of your users if it is feasible (see next point)

We try to honor requests when they make sense and are possible. In many cases it doesn't make sense because it would create a precedent that complicates the interpretation of our rules. In the case of deleting an account, we simply cannot honor the request and still adhere to anti-spam laws.

3) Is it feasible to clean/remove an account?

Yes, don't tell me not, I'm an IT specialist and I know you can, it's a question to write the right piece of code in any language of this world.

Let's consider it then: We're legally obligated to retain records of all registrations as proof of opt-in because we send bulk emails. So there are two options to handle the deletion of an account:

1. Store separate registration information such that an account could be physically deleted.
2. Fake it by hiding "deleted" accounts.

In both cases we would need to alter large portions of the code base to handle deleted accounts as well as come up with a clean way of displaying threads and posts created by the deleted account.

You're correct that it's technically feasible. It's also technically a difficult problem when viewed in its entirety, and the costs of the feature don't justify the benefit of the feature. As an IT specialist you must be familiar with ROI, yes? Given that we have maybe two or three users huff and puff about deleting accounts before quitting per year, and that pretty much all of those users haven't contributed anything significant to the community before doing so, I'd question what implementing this non-trivial feature buys us.

Some they don't delete, but they change/mask the username, password and clean what ever is possible to clean (Linked-in for example)...

That's something we'll do. Maybe you should have asked before assuming we wouldn't. ;)

> Fake it by hiding "deleted" accounts.
This will most likely happen sometime in the semi-near future.

> Fake it by hiding "deleted" accounts.
This will most likely happen sometime in the semi-near future.

Thanks a lot for all the answers, I'm positively impressed.

I've answered to this thread, one day ago, in a way that was not as fair and polite as it should be, so thanks and sorry.

After what is happened/happening with SOPA I've started to clean my internet identity.
It's my way to protest (and just one of actions I'm taking).

On most of the community portals, it's hard to delete the account, and when you have tens of profiles to deal with, it becomes frustrating.

Beside the reasons, I'm still convinced that having a magical button that delete (virtually or really) your account, it's fair and important.

Privacy have to be a must, in the country were I was born we have laws that protect the privacy of people and not the contrary, so at any moment you can requet to be removed from any database (except the police DBs, of course).

... Finally, thanks for the answers anyway.. I'll clean my profile and change my email address, that is the main needs I have.

For what I can see (just now), Daniweb it's a nice "place" at the end :-)

If this is what it takes for you to be allowed to send bulk emails, you should stop. I feel like being forced. Not a good feeling.

I feel like being forced. Not a good feeling.

Forced into what, exactly? Pretty much the only "personal" information we keep that can't be explicitly changed in your profile is registration IP address. We just added a feature wherein members can even change their name without the help of an admin, so I fail to see how there's a problem with retaining accounts. If you're worried about personal information, just edit it all away: we don't store profile change history.

And if you're worried about your IP address identifying you, you should either be behind an anonymous proxy, or abstain from internet activity. ;)

Can anyone post a link to these "federal anti-spam guidelines"?

What about european law that requires to delete all user data upon request?
Here is the article I saw about it

What about european law that requires to delete all user data upon request?

What about them??? DaniWeb is hosted in USA, not europe.