For me it’s because I: replied to the wrong comment, wrote a response that was wrong because I didn’t fully read or understand the subject, or I decided that it wasn’t worth it.

sometimes I say something dumb then realize it's dumb.

I’ve done it because I’ve realized I misread something in the comment I replied to, making myself look stupid 🤷‍♂️

Only times I've done it it was because I accidentally replied to the wrong comment.

Sometimes mine spins and then posts twice. Sometimes i realize that I'm replying to the wrong comment. Sometimes the typos and autocowrongs are so bad that it's unintelligible. Sometimes the written words don't come across the way i intended. 🤷

Created by deletor

because it remains as a notification, while removing any reportable trace

This.

It's a chickenshit hit & run tactic for hate speech.

Used mainly by those who decry hate speech online.

Go Figger. .

Usually because I'm feeling strongly enough about something to comment, then I'm reminded that engaging the random public is akin to pissing into a fan, and that's not very pleasant

Sometimes my first reaction to shit-takes is anger. I usually don't want that to be my comment. I'm trying to stay empathetic and have a constructive discussion, because I do not want Lemmy to become like Reddit and I think empathy and arguing in good faith is what makes the difference.

So I'm usually only letting the anger out when my opposite is arguing in bad faith.

because i realize i don't want my inbox to be full of people mad at me.

Protip for lemmy devs: if there was a 'disable inbox replies' button I wouldn't do this.

Sometimes I accidentally reply to the wrong comment.

I usually only delete if I replied to the wrong comment or accidentally replied to the main post instead of a comment. There are some good reasons.

Also if I comment and then read down and I see I duplicated someone.

It’s unfortunately part of the the lemmy culture now. A lot of people instinctively react and post without thinking, which they later regret. We’ve lost a lot of critical thinking when it comes to the internet culture, so here we are.

I typically stick with what I say, for better or for worse. But I have deleted maybe two comments in the past; usually because I recognized how poorly I reacted and felt the person didn’t deserve my stupidity.

My top two reasons are realizing I posted somewhere I maybe shouldn’t and realizing I shared personal identifying information. A bit too late for the latter once it’s out there but you can’t win ‘em all 🤷🏼‍♀️

The other day someone posted an interesting boundary map of their farthest travels and I thought it was a fun idea, made my own and uploaded it and realized after posting that a Europe comm might not want Americans posting so I deleted it for example.

Sometimes I do it because I comment in the wrong post or wrong comment thread.

I don't usually delete my comments but mistakes happen. Even if I notice and delete them immediately, the trace of my comment lives there, because Fediverse. Basically you cannot put back in Genie once it's out of bottle.

I habitually delete about a month back to try and reduce the number of things that taken together could ID me. I’m not a particularly unique person but I’m sure with enough comments someone could get close.

Sometimes it's because I've said something stupid or that, in hindsight, comes off as stupid.

Usually it's because my comment has sparked an argument that I lose interest in continuing.

On piefed you can give a reason something is deleted. Nifty feature.

I did it because trump won a second term and made some pretty threatening comments about people doing/saying the things I said. so I got rid of them.

that said, I stopped for two reasons;

1. it's a pita and my comments are federated to other instances anyway
2. 

My dudes we can do the funniest thing ever

I do it when I respond to the wrong person. Or rarely when I think better of what I just said. Usually the second one happens before I post though.