The Problem
As a Roblox developer, it is currently impossible to control the assets within my inventory. The same goes for all the users on the platform as well. Though this issue has been brought up in the past in other forum posts with each sharing a different view on the matter at hand, I believe I have found a way to fit them all in a way in such a manner that will make most, if not all users on Roblox content with the issue. For those who don’t want to read all of this, as it will be lengthy, I have put a summary at the bottom. But for those who want all the detail, please read.
To look back a bit, let’s take a look at what started the issue. Though I was not active during the time of this change, upon doing some research I have found that this was likely in response to people’s accounts being hacked and having many of their assets removed from their inventory. The response, though it makes sense to some degree and does work, seems way too drastic an action for the situation and inconveniences many users in the process. So, let me propose an alternative that might fix the problem entirely.
The Solution
There are currently two types of assets on Roblox: Assets created by the Roblox staff and assets created and uploaded by the users themselves. It is important to differentiate these two types going forward as they will function differently in my proposal.
To start, let us look at the Roblox-made assets. These are probably the more valuable assets on the platform as some cannot be reobtained or they cost a lot of Robux so, if they were to be deleted by accident or by a hacker, that would definitely be an issue. I suggest a system be implemented that would allow one to remove one of these assets from their inventory, but rather than like before where it was permanently removed from the inventory, it is archived in a tab where it can be reobtained if so desired. This will allow those who want to remove assets from their inventory that they no longer find appealing but at the same time preventing hackers from permanently deleting it from a user’s inventory.
For user-created assets, there are generally two types found within one’s inventory: those that they themselves uploaded and those that they have obtained from another user. These two will also function differently as they are different to the user. The above system I proposed for the archival of items will also apply to these, but there is also a new system I would like to propose that has been suggested multiple times on the forum though never implemented onto the site like the others. This system will allow users to permanently delete assets that they themselves uploaded from the platform forever . As the user uploaded the asset to the website, I believe they should also have the power to remove it. Before removal though, the user would be prompted to enter a pin sent to their email to authenticate that they are the user and then they would also be asked why they are deleting the asset. For instance, say a user uploaded something that breaches the Roblox TOS without them knowing it did perhaps months or years ago but wants to avoid getting a ban (as some of my colleagues have already experienced). They would click to delete the asset, get sent an email with a few numbers for them to plug in, and then they are given a list of options as to why they are deleting the asset. In this case they would choose “It breaches our Terms of Service.” And after that, the asset is permanently removed from the site – no harm done to the user or Roblox itself. As for items obtained by other users, the system would work as it does already: the user is able to delete it from their inventory. Nothing changed there except the option to archive it.
Something that would also make life more convenient for users, especially developers on Roblox, would be to make it possible to archive/delete assets en masse. Perhaps put a checkbox in the corner at each of the thumbnails for each asset in the inventory so that users can group up a number of their assets and choose what to do with them.
Conclusion
If Roblox is able to address this issue, it would give users the control over their inventory they want and the security over it they need.
If there are any suggestions as to what could be changed or added to this, please reply below. Feedback would also be appreciated. I do believe this covers all grounds in question, but I could be missing something for all I know. Thank you! Let’s see if this can get implemented…
Too Long; Didn’t Read
Add an archive option to all assets. Make it possible to permanently delete a user-created asset through two-factor authentication and prompted reasoning. Make it possible to archive/delete assets en masse.