Allow users to request deletion/anonymization with a button

Users can delete themselves if they haven't been around too long, but after that, they have to contact a moderator or admin.

But I think all users should have a "Delete My Account" button that, at the very least, just sends an automated message to mods saying "User X requested deletion, click here to anonymize or delete their account."

As I wrote in the other thread about self-anonymizing:

Users self-deleting/anonymizing?

The kind of person who wants to be deleted is usually having very strong feelings about it, and it seems like the lack of a “Delete My Account” button aggravates those feelings.

When a user is so upset that they want to delete their account, and then find that they can’t, they tend to feel trapped in a cage. When they do get around to “simply contact a moderator,” they’re upset and angry.

These users typically demand that their account be deleted. They make threats, legal and otherwise. They are not at all open to a nuanced conversation about deletion vs. anonymization.

I just got another one of these this week, and I really don’t want to deal with another one.

Furthermore, if the user's not allowed to send private messages, they have to email us; it's a hassle to confirm that they are who they say they are.

This should just be a button.



Discuss this on our forum.