Please pass this message on to anyone who is interested:
Occasionally we get an email from people who want to delete / anonymize their account here and leave the site.
That is fine, we have no problem with that - but the issue is that a very large percent of people change their minds after a while and cancel that request or just join again later. Because of this - and because of our desire for people to continue to get the support of friends and contacts here, we ask that you make two separate requests at least two weeks apart (sort of a “cooling off” period). If you think about it and two or more weeks after your first request you really want to fully anonymize your account - then send me a second email stating why you want to leave (we always want to make this site better, so we appreciate the feedback on how we can improve the site) - and tell me its your second request.
I will then anonymize your account - which deletes all the email addresses associated with the account and changes the user name to something like anon98er9783 (some random number after it).
The software is not setup to delete all your past posts, and because there are many good tips and suggestions that people provide in posts and conversations here we want keep a conversation so that it is understandable by people who read these posts months after they are made. If you have revealed personal information in posts, we can delete a small number of posts or edit out any personal information (city, etc. you might be from, if you care about that).
I hope this makes the process clear.
Thanks.
Instead of anonymizing, some users prefer to be suspended or silenced temporarily. A suspended account cannot log in for a set amount of time. A silenced user can still log in, like posts, and reply to PMs, but cannot make their own posts. Let us know if yoy would prefer one of these options instead, and how long you would like the suspension/silencing to last.