Google Groups: They refuse to remove quoted text

very unfair

[walkman]

I had to research something for someone and found this out: suppose you said something you are not proud of a while back; you're screwed. Google allows you to remove your post, but they do not remove if someone quotes you or even blank the name out. It strikes me as very unfair.

Blocking details out--such a name--would not break the chain of the conversation at all if that is their concern. Very cavalier attitude from their part IMO. They will not do it, because their lawyers told them they don't have to. You're supposed to work it out with the original poster--assuming they're willing to and that out can find them...after many email address changes.
[groups.google.com...]

[Quadrille]

You are probably the first person ever to ask for Google to use censorship powers!

Try looking at it from the other person's point of view - if a rival says something that shows them up as, say, contemptuous of their customers and visitors, would you want Google to allow them to simply excise that quotation from your reply post saying they should be ashamed?

Though most of us have said things we'd probably prefer not to have, censorship is never the answer. And it's certainly not (IMHO) Google's job to decide if there's ever an exception to that.

Having said all that, the likelihood of an old posting causing real damage is pretty low.

It's actually very sensible, if someone says something outrageous, to quote them back - there's nothing worse than being in a discussion where the post you've replied to disappears. I remember the irritation in a forum where someone reedited their post to deliberately make my reply look stupid - after that, I ALWAYS quoted that individual's entire post every time - and said why.

[edited by: Quadrille at 12:49 pm (utc) on Mar. 25, 2007]