this post was submitted on 13 Apr 2025
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Serious Question - Is the ActivityPub deletion problem a fatal flaw? (slrpnk.net)
submitted 2 days ago by RideAgainstTheLizard@slrpnk.net to c/fediverse@lemmy.ml
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I've been using federated social media for a while now and I recently considered setting up an instance for my local community as a sort of Facebook alternative. However, as I thought about it, I wondered if ActivityPub's deletion problem (i.e. if a user deletes their content on their server it doesn't guarantee the content being deleted on other servers) is a fatal flaw. I worry that it would be difficult to secure buy-in from people if they were made aware of this issue, which they have the right to. It does make me wonder if the ATProtocol will be the better protocol if and when it becomes open source.

I'm curious as to other drivers users' thoughts. While it is an issue that we may be happy to live with given the numerous other benefits ActivityPub provides, is it a flaw that will ultimately prevent wide scale adoption?

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[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 22 points 2 days ago (2 children)

If you think you might change your mind about sharing information, don't put it in the Internet in the first place. Even if deletions always federated, it can be kept in dozens of other ways.

[–] bilb@lem.monster 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, my attitude towards this is that if I post something, I voluntarily lose control of it. Post accordingly.

[–] phil_dissonance@lemm.ee 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

It's easily said, but there can be some serious ramifications to this. What if the thing that was ok to post about some years ago now becomes outlawed and the state uses posts from the past to identify now illegal behavior (e.g. LGBT issues, political opposition/opinions generally, consumption of some previously legal substance like cannabis, ...)

The state might already have a copy of all your posts anyways to use that, but many states don't.

[–] CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It’s cute that you think they don’t have a copy of everything the instant you post it.

They literally have black box rooms inspecting all traffic in all the major internet POPs in the US.

[–] phil_dissonance@lemm.ee 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Well I don't live in the US

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 3 points 2 days ago

Doesn't matter, they're collecting it anyway.

[–] CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You do understand how networking works, yes? They are getting EVERYTHING that goes through a U.S. POP.

[–] RideAgainstTheLizard@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You're rude

[–] CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago

Yeah, they've got that recorded, too.

[–] BagOfHeavyStones@lemm.ee 1 points 2 days ago

New username periodically?

[–] RideAgainstTheLizard@slrpnk.net 4 points 2 days ago

I think it's fair to say that we can all end up regretting some of the stuff we've put online months or years after the fact.

For example, it means ActivityPub is definitely not an appealing place for young people to have their first cringe moments online.

The risk of being cancelled is higher, and I think everyone has the right to regret their past self and try to clean it up if they want to.