When I try to delete my message I got this:
You’ve performed this action too many times.Please wait 13 hours before trying again.
I have first noticed it yesterday, but that time the delay was a few minutes. Now it becames 13 hours! Really? 
Honesty speaking, it is not so often when I hide my messages, may be 2-3 times a week. I am not considering this as a crime...
This is a message of the question:
This topic for some reason came up from the archive and is shown in "Recent". When I was answering, I didn't notice that the last answer was more than 4 months ago.
Error screenshot:
Hi @b707. The forum software limits the number of posts you can delete within a 24 hour window. The duration mentioned in the message is dependent on the time since the first deletion you performed within that rolling window. So it is expected that the duration will be different each time you encounter the message.
The reason why we want to put limits on post deletions is because reckless post deletion can have a very harmful effect by removing the context that gave meaning to the posts made by the other participants in the forum topic
We frequently have a problem of "thread vandalism", where a user deletes all their posts after they get a solution (perhaps because they don't want to get caught cheating on their school work?). This type of indiscriminate post deletion cause loss of the ongoing value of the topic as a reference for others with similar questions. The type of user who vandalizes threads in this way is unlikely to be dedicated enough to come back the next day to continue their campaign of destruction. So limiting post deletions is an effective mitigation measure for thread vandalism.
However, responsible users may also delete posts for benign reasons and we definitely want to allow that.
So the configuration of the post deletion limiter system is a balancing act. If we make it too strict then we hinder the responsible users, but if we make it more lenient then we also allow irresponsible users to do more harm. Yours is only the second report of the system hindering responsible post deletions (and the other one was was from a time when the setting was even more strict). So I feel that the current configuration strikes a reasonable balance.
I apologize for taking the liberty of restoring the original text of your edited message... but this text struck me too much to pass by.
Users allowed to delete as much as two messages a day? Is this a joke?
I think it would be more honest to simply remove this option altogether and announce to everyone that messages cannot be deleted.
No problem. That was from the text of the response I made to the sole previous report of someone being hindered in responsible deletions by the restriction:
The Internet went out at my house while I was writing the post and the forum's post composer went into a glitched state while I was writing my post (using a copy of the previous post as a starting point). For some reason, when I hit the "reply" button, it posted a previous draft of the post instead of the finished text. The forum did warn me that there was a problem but when the post was apparently published, I figured all was well. I only noticed later that the finished text was not published.
Since there wasn't any significant informational differences between the two posts (the new one was only better worded and didn't include the unnecessary mention of a change to the setting made months ago), I just edited in the intended content after I noticed what had happened.
No.
Do you truly believe that would be an improvement?
If having such a restriction is such a problem, then why is it that we have only received two complaints about it?
No
It was a sarcasm..
A "one fits all" limit isn't something I would call "balanced".
For heavy users a limit of something like 1%o of his total posts seems more reasonable to me.
I possibly delete one post per week (or maybe month). So I'm curious why others have a need to delete multiple posts per day?
@pert ,
Does the forum configuration allow for different limits for different trust levels? Also does it allow discrimination between public and private messages?
I suggest:
TL0 Cannot delete
TL1 Whatever the current limit is
TL2 and above no limit
Private messages
No limit
What do you think?
I have the impression I can't delete PMs at all. But that would be a nice feature too.
I review old posts - sometimes I find answers which are not appropriate in 2025 any more and I need to delete them. I use my GDPR right to get forgotten.
@b707 ,
I am not clear if by 'messages' you mean public replies or private messages, please clarify.
That is butchering topics and I don't find the reason appropriate. But that is my opinion.
You will be missed but in that case I think that you should leave the forum and request to be become anonymous. Again, my opinion.
It seems that you misunderstand what data is protected by GPDR. It is not the text you posted here. When you signed up here, you granted the irrevocable right to use your posts to Arduino.cc. Personal data is your name, your email address etc. Ask for deleting your account. All personal data will be deleted and your posts will remain visible anonymised.
It's against the forum rules and usually leads to a suspension.
Which is backed up by the above comment.
Generally mods only delete stuff that is rude, abusive or spam, and sometimes that which is pointless.
@noiasca please can you make clear what you are doing? If not here then in a PM to me.
Unfortunately it does not have that capability.
I mean public ones.
I mention the message of the question in the reply #2 in this thread and describe the reason, why i want delete it.
This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
I click the trash can button and it says, "You're doing this too often, please wait 1 minute." Even though I definitely haven't deleted any messages since yesterday. I wait a minute, try again, and get the error, "You're doing this too often, please try again in an hour."
What's going on? Am I the only one blocked from deleting messages, or is this a general forum bug?
