Security question...

So, don't know if this is the right place to ask, but thought I'd at least bring it up somewhere - in light of the Ashley Madison hack, does anyone on the staff here have any knowledge about how completely any past user info is/isn't retained/deleted upon request?

Nothing is deleted. Strike that. Very few things are deleted.

What type of data are you referring to (specifically)? PM me if you feel uncomfortable making that question openly).

There is always a footprint when it comes to the Internet. The authorities and IT professionals can always recover deleted information. Messages, photos, etc...it can all be retrieved with a court order.

Simon is correct. We delete nothing unless it violates a nuclear rule and unfortunately there have been a few sick individuals who have done this in the past. That stuff is deleted and they are banned.

As for everything else, it is never deleted.

Many guys have requested their accounts and reviews deleted due to the SGBJ events and we have had to inform them "No, ECCIE policy is nothing is deleted. You wrote it, you own it."

With the exception of "internal" forums (meaning forums such as the men's and ladies' only forums), any data posted on open forums are apt to be captured and archived by many search engines.

Many.

Google is one of the largest and most aggressive, but probably at least a dozen more that I know of.

So, removing "stuff" from the public access areas rarely affects what remains in the multiplying search data bases.

And, of course, if anyone with access to internal forums copies that data, well....

Given the salient activities of persistent hackers, those of us with higher levels of security needs must remember to avoid posting or sharing anything that would hurt or harm us or others lest that data be compromised.