They’re permanent

nostr operates the same way the web does in general. You can ask a relay to delete content but there’s no guarantee it will or that it hasn’t already been relayed to other relays.

On the internet there is no delete button

I know on other platforms you can delete a post, but you can never know for sure if the servers of that platforms company actually deleted anything. You also can’t even really be sure they aren’t sharing it to some other people (although it may certainly seem like it).

One thing we all had to get used to on #nostr

Can’t delete notes on nostr

It's like toothpaste out of the tube. No getting it back in.

Because you aren't posting to a single, centralized, server, deleting anything that has already gone out to multiple relays is a very finicky thing to accomplish. Hence, you can request it, but it's not likely to be done by every relay that now hosts your note.

Centralized services have lulled us into thinking we can delete things whenever we like, but the reality is, once you put something out on the web, there's no taking it back, even if it appears you can delete it.

Nope once it's sent its out there yes you can request but not every relay will comply. So somewhere it will always be there.