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<languages />
{{PD Help Page}}
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Normal and sysop users cannot '''permanently delete a wiki page''', but sysops can delete a page such that it could still be restored.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This is a deliberate design feature, and is an important part of why wikis work.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Every kind of editing operation can be reverted by any other user, and that includes resurrecting deleted content.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It doesn't cause significant wasted space; and with nothing but a 'Delete' template, the page is effectively deleted anyway.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">'''Deleting a page''' is, on the other hand, a straightforward operation for anyone with [[Special:MyLanguage/Help:Sysops and permissions|sysop permissions]]: it allows to semi-permanently remove a page from the wiki, until a sysop undeletes (restores) it with the same ease.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Typically, sysops might look for pages with a 'Delete' template, and do a proper delete on these pages, after a period of time.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If for some reason you need a page to be deleted more quickly than that, you will need to contact a sysop to request this.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
[[Special:MyLanguage/Help:RevisionDelete|Revision deletion]] offers a more granular feature of deletion for edits with particular problems.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
== Before deleting ==
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Sysops should also be aware of the general advice given on [[#When not to delete a page|When not to delete a page]]: in particular, there are many situations where a deletion is too drastic. For example, a redirect is often more appropriate.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Before deleting you could perform various checks:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* Use the <code>{{int|whatlinkshere}}</code> tool.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This gives an indication as to how important a page is, and what subjects it relates to.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Perhaps the page is still linked to prominently from many places.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">All incoming links will become red links if you proceed with the deletion.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Ideally all incoming links should be changed/removed, if there is genuinely no need for this page to exist.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You could do this work prior to deleting, or ask others in the wiki community to do it.</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* Check the page history and the associated talk page.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Who was proposing the deletion?</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Does anyone disagree?</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Has it been properly discussed?</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Did people have adequate time to raise objections?</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Did somebody vandalize a page, which then led to a deletion proposal?</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The care taken over these things might depend on the size of the wiki community, and how clear-cut the case for deletion is.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Remember that only sysop users can undo a delete action, so to a normal user the information appears to be lost forever.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
== Use the 'delete' action ==
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Sysops should see a <code>{{int|Skin-action-delete}}</code> tab or action menu option at the top of every page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">To find the action menu, look for a down arrow or triangle next to the <code>{{int|skin-view-history}}</code> tab.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If you mouse over the triangle you should see "delete", "move", "protect" and "watch".</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Click the delete action to delete the page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">When using browsers which support keyboard shortcuts, you can also use {{Key press|Ctrl|Alt|D}}.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You will be asked to confirm, and to supply a "Reason for deletion".</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This is a short textual description of why the page is being deleted.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can also delete the associated talk page along with the subject page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Your action will appear on the recent changes display, and in the deletion log ([[Special:Log]]).</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Remember that only administrators can delete uploaded files.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
== Undeleting ==
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Pages can be completely undeleted, all revisions and page contents are stored.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">To undelete a page you must navigate to the exact page name of the page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can find this in the deletion log ([[Special:Log]]) if you don't remember it.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You should then see a link to <code>{{int|thisisdeleted|{{int|restorelink|n}}}}</code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Tick the box next to the revision you wish to restore.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==Configuring deletion reasons==
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
The list of reasons in the dropdown box is maintained at [[MediaWiki:Deletereason-dropdown]].
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">For deletion of Files:</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The list of reasons in the dropdown box is maintained at [[MediaWiki:Filedelete-reason-dropdown]].</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
== When not to delete a page ==
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Typically you would delete a page if the contents are entirely inappropriate and do not match the purposes of the Wiki.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In other situations, you would take a less extreme course of action, for example:</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* The page should have a different title.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">See {{ll|Help:Moving a page}}.</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* The contents should have been placed on a different page -- Add the contents to the other page, and then supply a redirect.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">See {{ll|Help:Redirects}}.</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* The contents are already on a different page -- Delete the duplicate content and leave a redirect.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">That way, the page title, which made sense to somebody, will helpfully redirect to the information.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">See {{ll|Help:Redirects}}.</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* The page is out-of-date -- Re-word sentences to be in the past tense, to make the page a historical record.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Alternatively, label the information as out-of-date, with a warning notice.</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Don't delete redirects|m:Don't delete redirects]].
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">An actual delete is generally necessary only if the ''title'' of the page is inappropriate.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In other situations, a merge and redirect is more appropriate.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
=== Proposing changes ===
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Deciding on appropriate content/page titles can be a difficult aspect of Wiki organization, and one which can often provoke debates.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If the merge or deletion you have in mind is one which might cause upset, you should propose the change first.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Do this by leaving a note to give your reasons on the [[Special:MyLanguage/Help:Talk pages|talk page]].</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You might also establish a system for labeling the page with a delete/merge proposal template, to make everybody aware of your intentions.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
=== Unlinking a page ===
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>{{int|whatlinkshere}}</code> toolbox feature (bottom of left sidebar) will tell you which other Wiki pages link to the current page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Always use this feature to check before proceeding with deleting.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">These related pages will need to be edited for their links to reflect the change.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
== Code stewardship ==
</div>
{{Component|mediawiki-page-deletion}}

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
== See also ==
</div>
* {{ll|Manual:Page deletion}} – <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">documentation for MediaWiki developers</span>
* {{ll|Manual:Administrators#Deletion|2=<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Manual:Administrators#Deletion</span>}}
* {{ll|Help:RevisionDelete}} – <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">optional feature that must be enabled, see {{ll|Manual:RevisionDelete}}.</span>

[[Category:Help{{#translation:}}|Sysop deleting and undeleting]]