Why are we not allowed to delete our own comments?

Question

Say a reckless person comments, and then realizes that he doesn't want anyone to see the comment, not even an editor. Why can't he delete his own comment then?

Comments

Iirc, I saw something on meta that says its so if you accidentally delete it, you can just show it again, and so editor+ can see flagged thingd

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I'm pretty sure anyone can hide their own comment. Dunno why you can't delete, but it's the same on other forums. On Nugget Bridge, for example, mods and admins can still see hidden posts.

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You could just edit a comment, there's no way to check a comment's edit history like you can with answers and questions.

Answer 1

• So that a user can't delete posts that may potentially result in consequences. If we want to ban that user, we need to have proof. If a person can delete their posts, we can't get proof any more.
• If a person wants to delete their posts because it's something they don't want editors or mods to see, we definitely want to know about it as it's likely breaking an important rule. For example, a deleting system can be exploited so that can person can make a hurtful or offensive post to a person, then delete it before anyone else sees it.
• If a person becomes malicious and decides to delete all their posts, we can reshow them so that we don't lose any content on the site.

Also, editor and mods seeing your hidden posts should not be of your concern, unless the post fits into one of the above categories. We won't judge you for anything, so long as it wasn't posted with malicious intent.

The only person who can delete posts is Pokemaster.