Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ

Good discussions can arise from bad takes, and the idea of "failure" can often be an impediment — especially in a forum where users' yay or nay to a post literally decide its currency and ranking.

Assuming that the poster in this case deleted their post out of "shame" for a "failed idea", however, is a bit of an overreach without access to their thoughts and motivations. And trying to pass principles about what "we" should or shouldn't do on that basis is equally flimsy.

I do agree that deleting a post with several replies can be damaging to a discussion — emphasis on the potential, not the actual value of any given Lemmy conversation — but becoming the target for criticism or even ridicule for an ill-considered post isn't exactly pleasant either. And after a few decades online, I'm not faulting anybody for deleting one post or another, even though I probably don't understand the reasoning for doing so.

In the end, everybody is on here for different reasons, and all of them are valid. It would be nice to make a noble agreement about what "should" and "shouldn't" be done when you get massively downvoted, but if people want to curate their pseudonymous online presence to appear less daft than their worst — let 'em.