I just deleted 12 years of content. Feels weird

m_talon@beehaw.org to Chat@beehaw.org – 222 points –

I nuked my Reddit accounts today. Deleted all comments and posts, then the accounts themselves. The tool I used showed each comment as it was deleted, and it was bittersweet.

I watched old gaming and movie discussions I barely remember appear and then get flagged as deleted. Communities I once participated in and then moved on as the years past flashed by. I remembered how I felt back then, and then watched them scroll on into oblivion.

Now I feel...I guess it's grief. Sadness for that part that's gone. Sadness that it'll never be there again. Like footprints on a beach wiped away by the tide. It's like it never happened. There is no trace.

And I feel anger. Mad that it came to this. Mad that I let a corporation have so much of my time and thoughts. Mad that they made it clear my life was nothing but a product to them.

It's over now. Time for a new chapter.

Anyone else have strong feelings about losing a part of the past like this?

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went through and deleted everything I could on my profile. I don't feel bad about it I killed all my other social media accounts years ago. Life is easier that way for sure.

unfortunately I cant seem to actually delete the account itself though. that button just results in "Something went wrong while deleting your account. Come back later and try again." How convenient that must be for their sales data.

if anyone knows how to get around that please share

figured it out. got to go through the old.reddit.com to do this apparently.

Good to know, thank you!

I'll be doing this for my Reddit account before the 30th rolls around and these deletion bots stop working.