Hmm, shouldn't it be possible to remove users without removing their posts? Would make more sense to me.
Also, data protection laws in Europe and the UK state (AFAIK) that I must remove user details from my database if the user requests it. That means, if I operate a forum in Europe or the UK and the user wants me to remove everything I have on him (including his posts), I am obliged to comply.
Just some food for thought :-)
How do you suggest we delete a user without deleting their posts? The two pieces of information are intrinsically linked. We can delete all information about the user (their name, personal info) and replace it with garbage, but we cant banish the user from existance.
As for the data protection stuff, I'm curious how all that shit works on the internet. The DPA also says that if information is to be transmitted out the country of origin it has to be given adequate protection and whatnot. I wonder how that translates...
AFAIK the data removal is only for the data connecting them to a real person. So unless all your users are sending you copies of their passports and addresses, you really don't have to think about things like that at all.
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Deleting them would involve deleting everything they ever posted, making lots of old threads make no sense.
If you want to get their username back, just change it to something else.
As for the data protection stuff, I'm curious how all that shit works on the internet. The DPA also says that if information is to be transmitted out the country of origin it has to be given adequate protection and whatnot. I wonder how that translates...