That makes sense — I understand why placeholders exist to keep threads readable and avoid breaking the structure of conversations. I’m not asking for replies to disappear or for threads to collapse.

What I’m trying to explore is whether the user‑side deletion experience can be improved while still keeping that structure intact. Even if perfect deletion across all servers isn’t possible, having clearer control over what remains visible on the home instance would go a long way.

I appreciate the explanation; it helps put the current behavior in context.

I’m trying to understand the current behavior as clearly as possible, which is why I asked for clarification. The replies from others in the thread have helped fill in the gaps about how deletion works across different servers.

My goal isn’t to argue about federation limits — it’s to understand whether the user‑side deletion experience can be improved, even if perfect deletion across all nodes isn’t possible. That’s the part I’m trying to explore here.

Thanks for the clarification — that helps me understand the current behavior much better. I didn’t realize Lemmy already sends a proper ActivityPub delete signal, and it makes sense that different servers handle it differently.

From a user perspective, the part that still feels incomplete is that deleted posts and comments remain visible as “deleted by creator,” even when the content itself is gone. I understand why the object can’t be purged instantly for moderation reasons, but it does create the impression that deletion isn’t really happening.

What I’m hoping for is a more user‑friendly deletion experience — something that preserves moderation needs and federation realities, but still gives users a clearer sense of control over their own content. Even if perfect deletion across all servers isn’t possible, improving the local UX would go a long way.

I appreciate you taking the time to explain the technical side.

The solution: A three‑layer deletion model This is the only model that satisfies both Lemmy’s architecture and user expectations.

Layer 1 — Local hard deletion (guaranteed) When a user deletes a post/comment:

the content is wiped from their home server

the object can remain as a placeholder to preserve thread structure

media files are fully removed

This part is already possible.

Layer 2 — Federated delete signal (best‑effort) When deletion happens, the home server sends a message:

“This content is deleted — purge your copy.”

Servers that respect federation will:

delete their cached copy

update the thread

remove the content from search

Servers that don’t care will ignore it — but that’s already true today.

This is the missing piece Lemmy needs to implement.

Layer 3 — User‑initiated purge request (optional escalation) Admins already have a purge tool that:

deletes content locally

sends a federated purge request

is accepted by most servers

Expose this to users in a controlled way:

rate‑limited

confirmation required

optional admin approval

This gives users real deletion power without enabling abuse.

You’re right that no federated system can force every server to delete something. But meaningful deletion doesn’t require 100% enforcement.

Lemmy already has admin‑level purge tools that send federated delete requests, and most servers respect them. A user‑level version of that, or a proper “deleted” ActivityPub signal, would give people far more control than the current soft‑delete model.

Even if a few rogue servers ignore it, the majority of the fediverse would still clear the content, which is a huge improvement over “deleted by creator” placeholders.

Federation doesn’t have to mean no deletion — it just means deletion has to be cooperative instead of enforced.

Thanks for the detailed explanation — this helps clarify a lot. I understand that federation makes guaranteed deletion impossible, but knowing that admins can purge content and send out a federated delete request is exactly the kind of mechanism I was hoping existed.

From a user perspective, having some version of that available — even if it can’t guarantee 100% deletion everywhere — would still be meaningful. A user‑initiated delete request that other servers can respect would give people more control over their own content without undermining federation.

Editing before deleting is a good workaround, but it still feels like something that could eventually be built into the platform in a more direct way. I appreciate the insight; it’s good to know this isn’t a dead end technically.

That makes a lot of sense, and it’s exactly the kind of mechanism I was hoping existed or could be added. Even if deletion can’t be instant across every server, having a federated “this content is deleted” response would give users real control instead of just hiding posts locally.

A system like the one you describe — where a delete request clears caches on other servers — would solve most of the privacy and user‑control concerns people have. It wouldn’t need to be perfect to be meaningful.

I appreciate the explanation. It’s good to know that this isn’t impossible, just something that needs coordination and implementation across the Fediverse.

Thanks for the explanation — that actually helps me understand the situation a lot better. I get that federation makes things more complicated, especially when content is already spread across multiple servers.

From a user perspective though, it still feels important to have a way to fully delete posts, or at least send a federated delete request that other instances can respect. Even if it can’t guarantee 100% removal everywhere, having a proper deletion mechanism would give users more control over their own content.

I’m glad to hear it’s not technically impossible. Hopefully it’s something that can be explored in the future, even if it takes coordination across the Fediverse.

I get why people here are sensitive to AI‑generated content, but I’m not trying to deceive anyone. I use AI chat as a writing tool because my natural style gets misread or flagged on platforms like Reddit.

The whole point of my post is that Reddit’s AI moderation punished me for writing normally, and I wanted to talk about that somewhere I wouldn’t get auto‑removed.

I’m not here to flood anything or pretend to be anti‑AI. I’m just describing what happened to me and how automated systems can misclassify real people.

WRONG! It's MC (Microsoft Copilot) It's helped me, unlike Reddit, honestly Reddit's AI is slop beyond slop, use AI on Reddit post removed, use my own words post removed banned and muted, that's why I feel more comfortable using AI chat.

Seriously? Ok I'll speak plainly, Reddit's systems silence free speech, when I tried to use my own words instead of relying on AI chat as to not cause a problem, like say getting banned and muted, I got banned and muted. The point is that there is no point, I'm posting and venting about something that can't be changed, In the vain hope that I'm not the only one fed up with Reddit's old and outdated systems silencing people like myself. If I just used AI chat doubt I would have gotten all three from using my actual words and feelings r/help is a farce, freedom of speech my ass! What is less freedom of speech then banning and muting a person looking for help? Fuck Reddit.

I know, I immediately went to AI chat (Microsoft Copilot) for help in how to remove it, I just want people to realize how old and outdated Reddit's AI systems are, I mean the rare moment where I actually used my words on that site and not default to AI chat I get banned and muted. Needless to say it doesn't make me feel any comfortable using my own words, Honestly at this point Reddit is like North Korea, you can't say anything negative about Reddit, not even as feedback, and were I to delete my Reddit account, they would keep my username "they would keep my ~~user~~name" so I'm basically screwed. Hoping for a change in Reddit's AI that will never happen, hoping for a change in account permanency which will never happen, Thus using AI chat Microsoft copilot to make my words come as intelligent and accurate as to not come off as a raging Karen, which in itself will help nothing.