Request to delete account - Page 4

Originally posted by: carisma2

With respect Vijay I just want to say,

This is not reddit or other social sites. The users here are demanding a service from this platform that they have invested in.

If I'm not wrong a legislation in 2020 stipulates a user can demand a complete wipe down of their account and the platform needs to comply.

I understand your stance, about disruption to the flaw of comments. However most of those are now locked in closed topics, yet still can pose a threat. They can still be viewed. It can still be misused especially when the user only is deleted and cannot come back under these circumstances if they are only just banned without deletion.

But more importantly, no one wants to give up their long standing accounts and the history they created or the memories and banter they shared unless they have a genuine reason for own safety.

The flaw of conversation does not hold enough relevance compared to their concern over privacy violation, death threats, blackmail.

When such things are reported, I'm sorry to say that neither you or your mods did anything significant to stop it. You are responsible for the actions getting out of hand, that people feel it best to leave. I empathise with them, I Also left due to incompetent administration in handling of WL's and tackling of sensitive issues. Your site has failed EVERYONE continuously.

Half the aggression members feel towards one another is also derived from unfair moderation, and your passiveness. When accusations flaw, a member recieves Wl's just for presenting the facts against those personal accussations, that was the biggest joke.

I understand not everyone is equipped with communication skills or emotional intelligence, things will heat up, and it's a space for people to learn and develop that, but only healthily if the site management was solid. Not where Moderator's who assume and presume things and make accussations.

I told you a number of times, where things are going wrong and you need to step up. Alas, you see the result yourself.

There is not enough content to use this platform much regardless, and many old members left as they felt violated here. Same thing still continues. It will be the same in the future.. a less demand for this platform and frustrated members Who want to leave. That's the combo you have now.

I'm not being funny but the days are not just numbered for members here but also for IF itself.

Please do not excuse flaw of conversation over people's concern for safety.

If you can't implement this fully, then work on individual cases where you know this has been a concern. People who have come to you expressing their concern with evidence.

You need to be responsible. IF is important to you, but should not come before the importance of individuals who contributed their time and effort to make this place thrive.

I'm sorry Vijay, but if you continue to be passive and not understand the grave concerns of members, then I fully encourage people to follow legal action until their requests are met. So far people have not been treated as humans but only as an ID and pieces of literature in comment boxes.

Goodluck to all.

Hi,

I want to assure you that we are committed to complying with data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU and other relevant legislation, which gives users the right to request the deletion of their personal data.

Here’s how we and other platforms manage compliance:

Compliance with Data Protection Laws:

• Personal Data Deletion: When a user requests account deletion, we delete the personal data associated with the account, such as email addresses and profile information. This is in line with GDPR requirements and other relevant legislation.
• Content Retention: Similar to platforms like Reddit and Stack Overflow, we retain user-contributed content (posts and comments) but anonymize it. For instance, on Reddit, deleted accounts show contributions as being made by "[deleted]," and on Stack Overflow, they appear as "userXXXXX." This helps preserve the integrity of discussions while protecting user privacy.

Examples from Other Platforms:

• Reddit: When users delete their accounts, their personal data is removed, but their posts and comments remain anonymized. This approach maintains the value of community discussions.
• Stack Overflow: Similar to Reddit, account deletion results in the anonymization of user contributions while ensuring the content remains available for community reference.
• Quora: Deactivated Quora accounts have their profiles removed, but questions and answers remain attributed to "Anonymous."

I am giving you examples of these sites cause they all are global sites and they all are in compliance with all the relevant laws of various countries including India.

Our Approach:

We are dedicated to ensuring our platform adheres to legal requirements while balancing user privacy with the need to maintain the usefulness of content.

We also understand the importance of user safety and privacy. Therefore, we are considering implementing a cooling-off period for account deactivation, after which accounts would be permanently deleted if not reactivated.

Your concerns about safety and privacy are paramount, and we are committed to improving our platform's handling of these issues. We take your feedback seriously and will continue to work towards enhancing our platform for all users.

If you have specific cases or further questions, please reach out to us directly, and we will prioritise addressing them.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Best regards,

Vijay

We recognize the challenges and the frustrations some members have faced. We are actively working on several initiatives to enhance the user experience and ensure the platform remains a valuable space for everyone. Here are some key areas we're focusing on:

• Enhanced Moderation Policies: We are continuously refining our moderation policies to ensure fairness and transparency. Our goal is to create a supportive and respectful environment where all members feel heard and valued.
• User Safety and Privacy: Ensuring the safety and privacy of our users is a top priority. We are implementing stricter measures to address any issues promptly and effectively, making sure our community feels secure.
• Content and Community Engagement: We are dedicated to providing engaging content and fostering a vibrant community. We are working on new features and activities to keep our members interested and active.
• Feedback Implementation: Your feedback is invaluable, and we are committed to listening to our members. We are setting up more structured ways to gather and act on user feedback to ensure we continuously improve.

We believe in the potential of India Forums and are committed to making it a place where members can share, learn, and grow together. Your input and the contributions of our community are crucial to this process.

Originally posted by: carisma2

I told you a number of times, where things are going wrong and you need to step up. Alas, you see the result yourself.

There is not enough content to use this platform much regardless, and many old members left as they felt violated here. Same thing still continues. It will be the same in the future.. a less demand for this platform and frustrated members Who want to leave. That's the combo you have now.

I'm not being funny but the days are not just numbered for members here but also for IF itself.

Every community, much like any living organism, goes through cycles of growth, change, and sometimes decline. Challenges and hardships are part of this journey, often serving as catalysts for renewal and transformation. India Forums has faced its share of difficulties, but it’s through these challenges that we find opportunities to evolve and better serve our members.

India Forums has thrived for years because of the passion, dedication, and contributions of its members. This spirit is what has sustained us and will continue to guide us forward.

I firmly believe in the resilience of our community. We may face hurdles, but our dedication to creating a vibrant, supportive, and engaging platform remains steadfast. The shared memories, experiences, and connections we have built together are the foundation upon which we can continue to grow.

Change is inevitable, and while we acknowledge the ultimate fate of all things, we also recognize the immense value in the journey itself. With the collective effort and positive energy of our community, we can turn challenges into stepping stones to a better future for India Forums.

Originally posted by: vijay

We recognize the challenges and the frustrations some members have faced. We are actively working on several initiatives to enhance the user experience and ensure the platform remains a valuable space for everyone. Here are some key areas we're focusing on:

• Enhanced Moderation Policies: We are continuously refining our moderation policies to ensure fairness and transparency. Our goal is to create a supportive and respectful environment where all members feel heard and valued.
• User Safety and Privacy: Ensuring the safety and privacy of our users is a top priority. We are implementing stricter measures to address any issues promptly and effectively, making sure our community feels secure.
• Content and Community Engagement: We are dedicated to providing engaging content and fostering a vibrant community. We are working on new features and activities to keep our members interested and active.
• Feedback Implementation: Your feedback is invaluable, and we are committed to listening to our members. We are setting up more structured ways to gather and act on user feedback to ensure we continuously improve.

We believe in the potential of India Forums and are committed to making it a place where members can share, learn, and grow together. Your input and the contributions of our community are crucial to this process.

Thank you. I have reached you directly by PM. If you may respond to that please.

Also to improve user experience, do you plan to place moderators who will treat you with respect? Who do not say I don't like you. Because currently you have such people in your team. I speak from personal experience.

Originally posted by: vijay

Every community, much like any living organism, goes through cycles of growth, change, and sometimes decline. Challenges and hardships are part of this journey, often serving as catalysts for renewal and transformation. India Forums has faced its share of difficulties, but it’s through these challenges that we find opportunities to evolve and better serve our members.

India Forums has thrived for years because of the passion, dedication, and contributions of its members. This spirit is what has sustained us and will continue to guide us forward.

I firmly believe in the resilience of our community. We may face hurdles, but our dedication to creating a vibrant, supportive, and engaging platform remains steadfast. The shared memories, experiences, and connections we have built together are the foundation upon which we can continue to grow.

Change is inevitable, and while we acknowledge the ultimate fate of all things, we also recognize the immense value in the journey itself. With the collective effort and positive energy of our community, we can turn challenges into stepping stones to a better future for India Forums.

I understand that. Unfortunately it has not been enough. When things do not go a certain way here, the frustrations turn into obsession and taken elsewhere.. into real life. The amnosities created here causes consequences outside of here.

Not every member and user can differentiate participation and challenges of the forum needs to be kept within the forum and doesn't belong in real life.

When threats are made, when items are being posted, when accussations are hurled, they are not being deleted for weeks or at all. If personal attacks are made, fake slandering occurs.. one cannot confront the perpetrators as per rules, but report and wait. Nothing then happens. When open threats are made with peoples ID's to violate privacy of other members, no action is taken.. and a 20% is not satisfactory.

Your implementation of getting to best standards should also allow yourselves to take strict action against members displaying defaming behaviours. Allow members who are being abused more ground to speak up.

One shoe never fit all, same way same rules do not apply in all situations and for all persons.

Bhatter sahab, I personally think it'd be better to ban political and religious discussions on IF.

In an ideal scenario, people should be able to debate in a healthy manner, but politics and religion often tend to bring out the worst in people, and if it becomes polarised (which inevitably ends up happening), you'll always have one group or the other complaining about how they're being treated unfairly.

What's worse is that politics will inevitably creep into other sections- A likes X party, B likes Y party, and because X party dislikes, say a film star, A automatically tends to dislike the star too, and a thread about the filmstar then becomes an extension of the original political war between A and B.

It's better if A and B never knew each other's political inclinations in the first place- the interactions in other threads (like the filmstar one) will be more civil.

Of course controversy brings traffic (and potentially more ad revenue), but I don't think it's worth destroying the peace of the forum and the relations between users for it. This was primarily a forum to discuss ITV and the entertainment industry, and it should probably stay that way.

Just my $0.02

Originally posted by: Chingaari

Kafi khalbali si machi hui hai yahan , lolz

Acchi baat hai, forum has become boring anyway so might as well enjoy this 🍿

Just make me mod , 80% of moderation problems would be solved

Originally posted by: vijay

We recognize the challenges and the frustrations some members have faced. We are actively working on several initiatives to enhance the user experience and ensure the platform remains a valuable space for everyone. Here are some key areas we're focusing on:

• Enhanced Moderation Policies: We are continuously refining our moderation policies to ensure fairness and transparency. Our goal is to create a supportive and respectful environment where all members feel heard and valued.

Something to consider in moderation policies is transparent and stringent criteria on what can be pinned as a global announcement.

Topics that take a one-sided stance should never be pinned as a global topic. The Real Genocides topic should never have been pinned. https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5355651

1) The topic contradicts the United Nations and the International Court of Justice in its definition of genocides

2) Is insensitive to innocent civilians who are suffering under a military attack

3) Has a lot of misinformation and a lot of Islamophobic sentiment

While the topic maker and others in support of the have the right to their viewpoint and engage in a COC-compliant discussion of the topic, it is the moderator's duty to remain neutral, apply the COC equitably to both sides and NEVER EVER give precedence to one side of the debate.

So - do you, Vijay, and your entire Dev Team stand behind and endorse the thread "The Real Genocides"

- If yes, then perhaps you can make your stance transparent and visible so that Muslims and Palestinian supporters may choose to deactivate their accounts and stop engaging in this forum that officially is against them

- If not, you need to take strict action against whichever moderator allowed their bias to overcome their neutrality and pinned the topic as a global announcement and make them issue an apology for their biased actions

Hoping to hear about your decision.

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

Something to consider in moderation policies is transparent and stringent criteria on what can be pinned as a global announcement.

Topics that take a one-sided stance should never be pinned as a global topic. The Real Genocides topic should never have been pinned.

1) The topic contradicts the United Nations and the International Court of Justice in its definition of genocides

2) Is insensitive to innocent civilians who are suffering under a military attack

3) Has a lot of misinformation and a lot of Islamophobic sentiment

While the topic maker and others in support of the have the right to their viewpoint and engage in a COC-compliant discussion of the topic, it is the moderator's duty to remain neutral, apply the COC equitably to both sides and NEVER EVER give precedence to one side of the debate.

So - do you, Vijay, and your entire Dev Team stand behind and endorse the thread "The Real Genocides"

- If yes, then perhaps you can make your stance transparent and visible so that Muslims and Palestinian supporters may choose to deactivate their accounts and stop engaging in this forum that officially is against them

- If not, you need to take strict action against whichever moderator allowed their bias to overcome their neutrality and pinned the topic as a global announcement and make them issue an apology for their biased actions

Hoping to hear about your decision.

As a silent reader, the genocide denial and callousness displayed towards victims of genocide in the global announcement thread was deeply disturbing to read. I feel compelled to login and give my two cents after seeing Return_To_Hades above put forth her thoughts succintly and eloquently.

I reported the post several times as I am sure others did. However, no action was taken to lock or delete the thread. I did in fact see two moderators like some of the posts on that thread.

That thread obviously has sown discord in the forum forcing many long term members to want to leave this forum, forever. I come to this forum to read engaging posts. If members who routinely generate engagement leave the forum then there is nothing left for readers like me.

Such callous denial of genocide seen in that pinned thread not only undermines the experiences and suffering of victims but also perpetuates a cycle of ignorance and intolerance. By mocking Palestinian genocide, the thread creator create mayhem in the forum as it rightfully offended many members.

The moderators who pinned that thread and turned a blind eye to hateful rhetoric in that thread for over 2 days must be held accountable because biased moderation undermines the principles of fairness and equity, leading to a loss of trust among forum members. It stifles free expression, contribute to the spread of misinformation, and creates echo chambers where only certain perspectives are allowed to flourish.

Vijay, addressing biased moderation requires transparent policies, diverse moderation teams, and robust oversight mechanisms to ensure that all content is evaluated impartially and consistently, fostering a more inclusive and fair digital environment.

I do hope you take this issue seriously.

Thank you.