Wikipedia talk:Courtesy vanishing

src: upload.wikimedia.org

Video Wikipedia talk:Courtesy vanishing

I don't get it too

I don't get it too, but maybe it's because I'm foreigner, and this formal wiki-language is unclear to me. So could anybody tell me how, the heck, do I remove my full name from Wikipedia (all languages) at all???7 -- --ol_b (talk) 18:32, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

Maps Wikipedia talk:Courtesy vanishing

I don't get it

Why would an RTV'er have to change his username if he's not going to use the new name? It just seems to make it unclear that RTV means actual "vanishing" and not "clean start." Auntie E. (talk) 23:17, 9 January 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps, but imagine your actual name was Aunt Entropy. If you felt like vanishing, you might not want your name to pop up whenever someone went looking for you 'round the internets. The idea, as the project page says, is to dissociate the account from the owner, and to keep the identify as he or she might prefer it. ~ Amory (u o t o c) 00:06, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

src: upload.wikimedia.org

Listings of a vanished user

I've been going through CAT:FFD, and finding several images where the original listing had been overwritten due to a bug in Twinkle. I've been relisting these, and linking back to the edit where Twinkle overwrote the nomination. If the original nomination (possibly from 2008) was made by a user who had since vanished, should I remove/change the sig in the relisting, in order to help keep the user "vanished"? (It will still be visible in the diff which I link to) ??? ????? Od Mishehu 09:41, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

src: upload.wikimedia.org

Proposal to require a waiting period

The right to vanish is a major step, and not one to be taken lightly. Editors take wikibreaks all the time, some with notice, some without. Some enforce the break through various means, with various ways of ending such a break.

The right to a fresh start is a bigger deal, but still involves an editor remaining with the project.

The right to vanish is intended to be permanent. Sorry for the soapbox, but I wanted the proper setup for my proposal - given the irreversible nature of the decision, I suggest that a request for a right to vanish should never be granted immediately. We should require a period of time to reflect. Depending on the circumstances, it may be a cooling off period, or it may just be some time away from the project.

I don't know what is a proper amount of time, but I'm thinking three months. I could e talked into a longer wait. What's the harm in letting an editor post the "retired" banner on their page, and waiting three months? Permitting an editor to make a lifetime decision at a time when either onwiki or offwiki stress may be high is not good for the project or the editor.

What do others think?--SPhilbrickT 17:46, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

• Strong Oppose to any waiting period I intend to always err on the side of protecting user's privacy, and thus I would be extremely opposed to any sort of waiting period, at all. We are not cognizant of people's personal lives and issues when we receive requests, and we have no idea if someone is being stalked, or is not in a good psychological frame of mind. If people want to leave immediately, and the involved bureaucrat's discretion (one of the reasons why RfB is so hard) approves, there should be no waiting period. People are responsible for their actions; it is not our place to act as "Big Brother", especially when it may cause psychological and emotional distress. -- Avi (talk) 18:01, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

Remark: RTV basically involves (a) changing the username and (b) deleting userpages. B is done routinely anyway via {{userreq}} (though in some cases RTV might provide willingness to delete where the usual process wouldn't). So it's mostly A we're talking about. I don't see that renaming is that big a deal either - this too is done routinely (Wikipedia:Changing username). So about the only aspect of RTV that's different is not connecting the renamed account with the old one, isn't it? I'm not sure if the renamed account is then blocked (would have a certain logic), in which case, there's little scope for abuse, and it can in theory also be undone, by renaming back. Is this right? If so, there's no reason to wait. Rd232 ^talk 18:16, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone more in agreement with the principle that people are responsible for their own actions. We don't have to model our actions on the RL laws, but when one sees mandatory waiting periods to use a condo as collateral for a credit card, one thinks that a mandatory period for an irreversible decision should be considered.

Rd232, you objection is based upon the premise that it can be undone. Can we start by clarifying this? Some members of ArbCom believe it is permanent, although, to be fair, some take a different position. If nothing else is accomplished, it would be helpful to clarify the answer tot his question, as the uncertain status had led to actual distress. Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Climate_change/Proposed_decision#Right_to_vanish

Avi, I'm not following your implication that the existence of a user page, talk page, and the possibility that one could edit in the future could cause distress. Presumably, an editor can enforce a wikibreak, so the potential distress at the temptation to edit can be removed. --SPhilbrickT 19:26, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

BTW, I'd happily support waiver of waiting periods if the 'crat has reason to believe that the waiting period will create more harm than it is intended to prevent. I actually considered including it in the proposal, and should have, but frankly, I couldn't dream up a situation in which case speed is necessary. I agree that RfB is tough because we expect our 'crats to exhibit extraordinary good judgement. I'm happy to report I've seen no counter-examples yet. Adding a waiting period, but allowing waiver gives the 'crat the ability to insist that the requester make an affirmative case for waiver. Under the present rules, as I understand them, the requested can insist on it being immediate, and the 'crat needs to have a positive reason for refusal. I think it is worth protecting those who might assert their RTV in a fit of pique, and might regret the irreversible decision. If, in fact, it is not irreversible, then ArbCom needs to be informed, as they are voting as we speak based upon this assumption.--SPhilbrickT 19:38, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

I think the proposed arbcom decision is clear enough: "Editors who invoke this right should expect that, should they return, their previous identity will be fully restored and any possible sanctions will be reapplied." Your proposal seems substantially based on the premise it's an irreversible action; I don't think it is. Rd232 ^talk 22:08, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

It is also equally clear that Coren believes "Editors who exercise their right to vanish are expected to not return to editing in the future, near or distant." And Shell believes that "No, RTV is permanent." Some one needs to clarify whether RTV is permanent or not.--SPhilbrickT 00:04, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

My thoughts: nothing in life is permanent. RTV is implemented when a user intends never to return. What happens seven years from now, who knows? If someone returns in 2 years and no one can tell who they were; does it matter? If someone returns in eight years and it is obvious immediately who they are, I'd expect that some mention of that will be placed on their user page. -- Avi (talk) 03:56, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

It may be helpful to consider vanishing as permanent but reversible in the way an indefinite block is. I would strongly support Rd232's sentiments above. Skomorokh 16:26, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

• Strong oppose. Per Avi. --Dweller (talk) 21:26, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

I believe right to vanish should be an option both in the case of a clean break, that is, in leaving the project, as we as in a clean start. The intent of right to vanish is that in cases where a username has not provided anonymity, inherently outs someone (using their real name), or where the user has been outed, that the user can have their identify removed to the extent that it is possible for us to do so. The records of long term abusers and other histories of abuse going away along with a vanished user is a separate matter that we may need to examine, but any delay in RTV cases is potentially harmful. At the minimum, evidence of long term abuse or serious misconduct needs to be preserved somewhere in case the user returns, and we need to decide how we can reassociate that when strictly necessary, without publicly linking to past accounts.-- Preceding unsigned comment added by Triona (talk o contribs) 21:05, September 6, 2010

• Comment. First, there is no right to a fresh start on Wikipedia. Your actions on Wikipedia go on your Permanent Record. Most of the people who ask for a 'fresh start' want one because they've ruined their reputation and want to make trouble under a new name. We do not need to accommodate them. --John Nagle (talk) 18:19, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

src: nu.aeon.co

Request to vanish

I'd like to vanish from Wikipedia along with my other old accounts which you can find listed on my userpage. Auntie Beeb (talk) 13:21, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

I'd still like to vanish please. The above still applies. Auntie Beeb (talk) 22:51, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm looking into it. Kingturtle = (talk) 05:19, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Thank you. Auntie Beeb (talk) 18:50, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

The same would apply for this and my other listed accounts. West Wallaby Street (talk) 18:52, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

Because of the sockpuppetry involved, I am not granting this request. I went ahead and blocked the related accounts indefinitely. But I've left the Auntie Beeb active. You are still free to edit Wikipedia as Auntie Beeb, and I invite you to help out with editing Wikipedia. Please let me know if you have further comments or questions. Sincerely, Kingturtle = (talk) 12:48, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

That's very kind of you, although I don't mind you blocking this account too. Auntie Beeb (talk) 22:08, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

src: upload.wikimedia.org

Deleting user talk pages

This has been raised a few times here before, but I don't think we ever established a clear guideline.

Sometimes when people leave, they ask for their talk pages to be deleted, and sometimes moved (to e.g. User talk:Former user 100). Sometimes when they return, the deletion or move is not undone, and sometimes it is, and several times the inconsistencies in treatment have led to arguments.

Can we try to come up with a clear guideline--specifically on the issue of talk pages? User pages are a bit different, because they contain mostly the user's own posts. But talk pages contain other people's posts, including warnings and blocks that the user might want to see gone, but that others might feel are important to preserve. SlimVirgin ^{talk|contribs} 01:12, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

I think both RTV and CSD have been clear for a long time. User talk pages are deleted rarely, and then by MfD. What needs to change is the assumption by some admins that they can get away with what is not allowed to the rest of us. Especially admins who lie as much as the departed one who triggered the latest farrago. DuncanHill (talk) 01:17, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

Please keep the discussion general, Duncan, otherwise people will have to start defending themselves (removing that last point of yours would help a lot). So in what circumstances is there consensus to speedy-delete talk pages, rather than moving them or taking them to MfD? SlimVirgin ^{talk|contribs} 01:51, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

I agree with DuncanHill. Policy says not to do this; the problem is that vanishing editors with admin bits (or with multiple friends with admin bits) frequently go against policy "just this once" and delete the talk page anyway. I'm not personally a big fan of the "right" to vanish, as opposed to the immutable right to leave; but regardless of bad terminology it is to Wikipedia's benefit to accomodate certain users' lingering concerns that prevent them from separating themselves from us, if they would not otherwise do so voluntarily. It is not in Wikipedia's best interest to interpret RTV as a reputational escape hatch for those with connections, especially if they cannot in fact separate themselves from Wikipedia. Note that the preceding is not specifically about the most recent incident, though of course the entire discussion here occurs in the shadow of it. -- Gavia immer (talk) 01:59, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

(ec) As far as I know, the only user talk pages that get speedied relatively consensually are those of banned/indeffed-to-near-ban-proportion editors. Even that is not wholly without opposition. Sorry, I can't bring myself to remove the last comment I made above, it's truthful and relevant. DuncanHill (talk) 02:02, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

• Perhaps there is a middle path available. Delete the talkpage (under the absolute proviso that should the editor ever return there is an immediate undeletion), and have the deleting admin recreate the page with text along the lines of "This user has invoked their right to vanish from Wikipedia. Any concerns should be directed to _____ (for example, ArbCom)."-> ROUX ? 02:51, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

That's not a middle path, that's a complete reversal of existing policy. I do not see any need (apart from massaging bruised egos) to delete usertalk pages. We already allow blanking, full protection, and oversight of specific diffs, which should surely cover all genuine concerns. DuncanHill (talk) 03:03, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

• In general I oppose all deletion of user talk pages, since they may contain my own valuable and freely-submitted contributions of wisdom - but seriously, utalk deletion is a huge impediment to the research of non-admins and should happen as little as possible. User talk is a definite indication of editor interaction with the community and should almost never be lost, as it reflects the ongoing progress of the community above and beyond the one individual editor. If one is truly vanishing, one should not be all that concerned with what is left behind. The exceptions would be usernames equal to living names and/or distinctive internet nic's, but even then I'd be furrowing my brow and asking why you got your distinctive ID into such a fix in the first place. Courtesy blanking and noindexing are equally valid solutions. Roux's idea is OK but I would be much more restrictive if/when I get control of the servers. ;) So mark me down as almost never on deleting utalk pages I guess. Franamax (talk) 03:17, 16 October 2010 (UTC)
  • I agree with everything you've said. My suggestion was in the nature of expediency and attempting to stave off what I confidently predict will be a long, bitter, and acrimonious debate. -> ROUX ? 03:27, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

The case which was the immediate trigger of this thread was not an RTV. It was retirement in a huff while blocked again. Long, bitter and acrimonious describes perfectly the events which led up to the retirement. DuncanHill (talk) 11:47, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

• We should only delete user talk pages in extreme cases, such as when much of the page history includes material that could be used for outing (such as user who used to use his/her real name to edit, but renamed due to RL harassment, etc.), or when the talk page contained only vandalism/spam/attacks by a new user, etc. Unless RTV is invoked for reasons such as offwiki threats the user does not wish to deal with, and much of the talk page's history poses a direct danger to the user, there shouldn't be any reason to delete it completely. /?ETCHCOMMS/ 20:57, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

• As it stands, it is up to the 'crat doing the RTV. Personally, I almost always err on the side of protecting the real-life person. Deletions are reversible; emotional harm usually is not. For people whose sole contributions were trolling and the talk page is full of warnings, especially if there is no link to a real-life identity, then there is less reason to delete the talk pages. But for people who were, overall, good contributors and , more importantly, if there is a connection between their usernames and posts and their real life identities, I will be more likely to delete even the talk page. Keeping the talk page as a way to "punish" wikipedians is wrong. We keep sockmasters not because we want them to suffer, but because we need to protect the project from the near-inevitable future socks they will create. People who leave out of frustration/anger/disappointment should not be forced to have a "scarlet letter" or "wall of shame" dog their internet history forever. -- Avi (talk) 04:56, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

• Avi, I think there's strong consensus that talk pages should not be deleted, because the posts made to talk pages are largely made by others, not by the editor exercising the right to vanish. I can see exceptions being made from time to time, but as a general rule talk pages have not been deleted. SlimVirgin ^{talk|contribs} 05:07, 8 November 2010 (UTC)
  • Currently, I believe it is still within the purview of the bureaucrat performing the RTV. Can you point me to a EnWiki-wide discussion which led to a consensus otherwise? Thanks. -- Avi (talk) 05:47, 8 November 2010 (UTC)
    • I can't point you to any single discussion, but every time it has been raised in the six years I've been editing, there has been consensus against deleting talk pages as a rule (there will always be exceptions of course). As I said, this is for the simple reason that, unlike user pages, it is other people who have mostly written on a user's talk page, so it's other people's edits that single user is deciding ought to be deleted, which is something not normally done. Can you point to any discussion where it was decided to leave this to bureaucrats? SlimVirgin ^{talk|contribs} 06:06, 8 November 2010 (UTC)
  • RtV's are handled at bureaucrat discretion, and my understanding has been that all facets of RtV are so handled. -- Avi (talk) 07:02, 8 November 2010 (UTC)
    • Avi, the guideline/policy is here, can you shew us the EnWiki-wide discussion which deprecated the RTV page and replaced it with unfettered 'Crat discretion? DuncanHill (talk) 13:38, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

src: www.thenation.com

RfC on deleting user talk pages

src: upload.wikimedia.org

Privacy compromised

The Privacy is compromised even if the user is renamed and the talk pages are retained it becomes meaningless as the user's old name is shown in the Talk Page .Now Many users who joined Wikipedia years ago used there Real names or and something closer to there real life identity which later they regretted.Is it possible for Bot or developer to change the name across the Talk pages also. Further as the case with over Millions of users the Talk Page is primarily meant to communicate with the concerned user whether a user blanks or requests deletion should be entirely upto that user as it in his userspace . Important conversations are done in the Article or Wikipedia space not in a User's talk page as not all users will watching a particular user's talk page.It is not possible to cite a discussion based on what took in a user's talk page as other users who did not participate in it would not know about it.Pharaoh of the Wizards (talk) 15:30, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

Many important discussions about both content and behaviour take place in usertalk space. Discussions about deletion decisions, arbcom decisions, etc. DuncanHill (talk) 15:46, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

Witness the current discussions at User talk:Jimbo Wales. If Wales requested RTV, then it'd be absurd to delete that talk page. If a user spends years actively editing under their real name, then there are limits to what we can reasonably do to erase it from the project. See WP:REALNAME, which warns that it may not be possible to erase all mentions of a username.   Will Beback  talk  01:37, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Policy as per WP:DELTALK Deleting your user page or user talk page Unless they meet the criteria for speedy deletion (copyright violations, attack pages, unambiguous promotion, no other significant contributor, etc) or you are permanently leaving Wikipedia, it is unlikely that your main user page or user talk page will actually be deleted.

The Policy states that User Talk Pages are not usually deleted except when it meets the criteria for WP:CSD or when the user is permanently leaving Wikipedia as is the case when user asks for WP:RTV Pharaoh of the Wizards (talk) 18:41, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

I agree with you Will Beback about WP:REALNAME but We need to understand that when users including children join Wikipedia particularly a few years ago they were unaware of the potential of harassment stalking both online and even in Real Life.After contributing a lot to Wikipedia if they wish that to leave and request that there Talk Page which is the most easy place to locate be deleted ,I feel it should be complied with.The Discussion is about any user of the Millions in Wikipedia who wishes to leave after Problems(Most of those asking for WP:RTVdo so only due to Problems) not specifically for Jimbo Wales , Arbcom Members or Crats.Further if you want something from the Talk Page one can take it to there Page.Pharaoh of the Wizards (talk) 18:58, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

The thing is.. there are also many users who request RTV not because of any privacy or harassment problems, but simply because they left on bad terms and they're bitter, or they think everything they contributed belongs to them and they don't want Wikipedia having it, and other selfish reasons like that. This is why RTV requests need to be examined carefully and considered under stricter criteria. Per WP:RTV, It's not a right it's a privelage, and "The right to vanish might not be extended to users who have been abusive or disruptive, who left when they lost the trust of the community". -- oe^(TM) 21:26, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

or they think everything they contributed belongs to them and they don't want Wikipedia having it

Of course it doesn't work like that ... I think people really misunderstand, or overestimate, what vanishing means and can do. --Florian Blaschke (talk) 16:43, 19 January 2016 (UTC)

src: upload.wikimedia.org

SUL

If one chooses to vanish, does one have to request to vanish from each individual wikiproject that one has contributed to, or is there some way to request to vanish from all of them (ie: one stop shopping, like the Unified Login feature)? --nsaum75^!Dígame¡? 07:36, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

RTV must be done separately for each individual wikiproject. Kingturtle = (talk) 05:39, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. If I choose to vanish and never edit again on En. Wiki -- does that prohibit me from also editing on Spanish Wiki? -- nsaum75 ^!Dígame¡? 16:42, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Leaving

I wish to leave and want my Userpage to be forgotten! How do I apply for it? -- Preceding unsigned comment added by Chrissy Gilford (talk o contribs) 02:31, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

A right to vanish might not be what you want. A right to vanish means you're not coming back to Wikipedia, ever. Instead, I can change your username to something that doesn't give away your identity. Then you can still edit here. Let me know. Kingturtle = (talk) 05:38, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

src: upload.wikimedia.org

RTV is getting abused - suggest rewording

Another user has been exposed as requesting RTV and having their edit history moved away from their account name and then returning to editing. Is there support for this RTV renaming and then returning under a new name to be acceptable practice? If not then what is the communities position on reaction for such situations when they are revealed? Off2riorob (talk) 12:41, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

My personal feeling is that such actions should merit an instant and permanent ban. -> ROUX ? 16:02, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

If Off2riorob is referring to the case I'm thinking of, I'd say it's still suspected rather than proven that a vanished editor has returned. But as for the general question, the current language of the guideline is:

• Subsequent return should be notified to ArbCom. Return leads to the "vanishing" being fully reversed, any old account linked to any new account, and any outstanding sanctions or other matters being resumed.

Obviously, someone can regret their decision to leave and wish to return. If done in an open manner there should be no penalty, and everything should be restored the the status quo ante. OTOH, someone trying to sneak back by creating a new name is violating this guideline and also the WP:SOCK policy's prohibition on using alternate accounts to avoid scrutiny. The remedy should be similar to other socking violations, including a block of the sock account. The main account should probably be restored just as if the editor had returned openly. But I can understand that some editors, like Roux above, would think that more severe penalties should be used. Those are perhaps best decided on a case-by-case basis. But however it works it should be clear that RTV is intended to be permanent and is not to be confused with making a clean start.

Maybe the guideline would benefit from a section on returning from RTV, to flesh out the instructions in the lead?   Will Beback  talk  20:46, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

I was not referring to that case, as you say , that is only currently an unconfirmed report - there is another case, but the identity is not really specific here, its enough to be aware that users are requesting Right to vanish and after moving all their contributions to another location they are returning under a new identity - and as the guidelines state this is not currently imo correct according to the RTV guidelines - I agree it needs tweaking up - Off2riorob (talk) 21:05, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

• People invoke "RTV" for many reasons. Those outside the full knowledge of a situation often make assumptions when that happens. The concept of "you left.. so now you can't come back" is simply beyond me. WP is a project that is "open to all"? ... yep ... we're sure making that an obsolete thought. -- Ched :  ?  13:04, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

• • Ched, the objection isn't to people changing their minds about leaving, it's about people using RTV as a way of lying about their previous involvement. DuncanHill (talk) 13:10, 5 July 2011 (UTC)
    • Duncan, I most certainly agree that it's wrong for anyone to use any policy or guideline to "game" the system and us. But I really hate when folks use the words that are written, and ignore the spirit of what WP is supposed to be. In this particular case, it doesn't even apply. I actually know what's going on (for a change). I've seen more than my share of folks rail-roaded out of town at WP, and I hate when I see good honest people getting treated like that. I'm just one voice, and I have to accept it when I can't change a damned thing. There's "he's a dick and a terrible singer" vandals at the door, and yet folks spend their time in trying to ensure that good content editors are hung on high. Sorry, I'm just not interested in buying the "zOMG, we have to know who you are" crap. Ya wanna write a good article about something? Hey .. have at it, and thank you. I honestly don't care if in some past incarnation you were some "Willie on wheels" account .. if you're adding to the project in your current account ... go for it. Just IMHO, and to be blunt. Some folks are soooo far off on their assumptions, and it pisses me off. -- Ched :  ?  14:08, 5 July 2011 (UTC)
      • Hi, as I understand it, the community has previously come out against RTV being used and then users returning without re identifying - I don't think there is much support for Ched's position for users to use RTV in this way, if there is , we need to say that in the guideline and allow all users the ability to use it to remove their username from project space and let then start again with a new identity. This is the reason I opened this discussion - RTV is being used in this way, shall we allow it and alter the guideline?Off2riorob (talk) 20:10, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

Notification about discussion of RtV

For anyone interested, there's a discussion taking place about the consistency of application regarding the Right to vanish and Clean start policies. Please see Wikipedia talk:Arbitration Committee#ArbCom support for Right to vanish and Clean start. SlimVirgin ^{TALK|CONTRIBS} 20:20, 25 July 2011 (UTC)

There are a lot of words there. Could someone summarise it? --SmokeyJoe (talk) 06:54, 30 July 2011 (UTC)

RTV and deletion of the user talk page.

Reviewing a recent case, I think policy has separated from practice.

For a long time, there has been a mantra that we don't deleted user talk pages. Why was this? I had assumed it is because there can be a lot of article and policy related discussion on user talk pages. However, if this is the case, I think it would be better to discourage relevant article/policy discussions from user talk pages rather than keep all talk pages just in case.

Anyway, as per the above discussion, it seems that whenever reasoably asked, the user talk page does get deleted, and that the community is not concenred as long as it is reviewed and done by a highly trusted user. I think we may as well document this. Also, I don't think MfD is an appropriate venue to make the request. Unless it is a theatrical exit desired, filing a relatively high profile, never to be deleted, MfD nomination in order to vanish as if to have never been, seems counter-productive.

I would have thought that most RTV applications are pretty low level occurances, such as young real name accounts changing their mind, and that requesting it by email to OTRS would be suitable. However, when I look, I cannot even work out how to email OTRS. Emailing arbs seems to be taking the matter too high. Aren't the arbs already pretty busy. I would thnk that only complicated cases (eg. high profile users, RTV repeaters) should be referred to Arbs. The project page here comes close to saying that RTV applications should be made by emailing the Bureaocrats. I guess that htis is because bureacrats change usernames. Is this the default recommendation? If so, it should say so in simple terms. I would certainly trust Bureacrats to check out the situation, glance at talk pages to check for important article/project stuff that shouldn't be deleted, and quietly delete the User talk page if appropriate. --SmokeyJoe (talk) 06:44, 30 July 2011 (UTC)

Every rule has exceptions. However in the cited MFD, it appears that none of the uninvolved users agree to the deletion. One said "don't delete" and the other said "just blank it". The closing admin invoked IAR, meaning she thought it was worthwhile making an exception to the rule in that individual case.

One of the principled reasons for not deleting talk pages is that they belong to the community. We only speedy delete pages based on requested when the request comes from the sole editor, such as a user talk page or a user draft. Pages that have been edited by more than one person, like most talk pages, fall under different rules. If someone has inadvertently disclosed too much information, then it'd be better to get it oversighted instead of deleted.   Will Beback  talk  07:02, 30 July 2011 (UTC)

I agree with Will. Oversight of specific problematic edits (e.g. name, address etc, or libellous material) is of course appropriate, and this together with courtesy blanking should surely suffice for RTV cases. DuncanHill (talk) 07:39, 30 July 2011 (UTC)

With an RTV exercised, the talk page may be courtesy blanked, or oversighted. Listing at MfD is not to be encouraged if the reason is privacy. A speedy G7 deletion can be used if requested by the sole author. Is that the agreed position here? --SmokeyJoe (talk) 13:24, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

That's my understanding. An entire talk page wouldn't be oversighted, just individual edits that contain personal info. G7 would almost never apply to talk pages since they almost always have multiple editors. User pages sometimes have multiple editors, but the other edits are typically just vandalism and reverts.   Will Beback  talk  21:18, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Recent edits

Just noting here that I've made some edits to remove the contradictions about returning and not returning; these were added in October 2010. I also removed most of the repetition. SlimVirgin ^{TALK|CONTRIBS} 06:19, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

Upper edit limit

The guideline used to say that accounts up to 200,000 edits could be vanished, but it now says 50,000. Do we have a link to a page discussing that change? SlimVirgin ^{TALK|CONTRIBS} 06:46, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

The current limit at Wikipedia:Changing username is 50,000. Per WP:MOSTEDITS, that means there are more than 500 editors who could not fully vanish.   Will Beback  talk  20:51, 13 August 2011 (UTC)

I believe the limit on renameuser is temporary until r84228/r83494 take effect, see [1]. Unfortunately it is unclear when that will be. WJBscribe (talk) 23:10, 14 August 2011 (UTC)

It's a technical limitation - if an account with more than 50,000 needs to be renamed, a bugzilla: should be filed and a developer will carry it out. (Could get a bureaucrat to endorse it, if necessary) -xeno^talk 04:39, 15 August 2011 (UTC)

Users Deceased in Real World

Is there any way to protect/lock User pages of users who have passed away in the real world and would never return? --Pandaflex (talk) 04:47, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

Yes, see Wikipedia:Deceased Wikipedians/Guidelines ?ereSpielChequers 16:08, 17 August 2011 (UTC)

Proposed changes

I've proposed some changes to this guideline to address concerns that it is misused (either intentionally or not) at User:Hersfold/Leaving Wikipedia. This proposal encompasses a rewrite of Right to Vanish/Courtesy vanishing as well as WP:Clean start. In summary, this proposal:

• Unifies acceptable means of leaving your account onto one page - simple retirement, clean start, and vanishing
• Limits vanishing only to cases where an editor is attempting to escape demonstrable harassment either on- or off-Wikipedia.
• For clean start and vanishing, formalizes the process to prevent misuse by:
  • Outlining more clearly who is eligible through a set of criteria
  • Requiring communication with the Arbitration Committee to ensure that there is oversight of those undergoing this process
  • Outlining what may and may not be done while clean start-ed or vanished, and penalties for violating that

I'm hoping these points will resolve many of the problems currently evident with this system, but of course comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 15:25, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

Is this proposal retroactive to include people currently editing under new identities? ScottyBerg (talk) 15:39, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

It's not intended to be such, particularly as that would be rather difficult to enforce. Presumably, if people have been doing it correctly, vanished people no longer edit here and those who made a clean start haven't raised attention to themselves. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 16:24, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

So what is the recourse if they're not doing it correctly? How do you ever know if they are doing it correctly, is they don't disclose their old user ID. Let's say I encounter an editor whose behavior is problematic. He makes it known that he has had thousands of edits under a previous ID, which he won't disclose. What is the recourse here? ScottyBerg (talk) 17:47, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

One thing that should be remembered is that "vanish" and "clean start" are really just off-shoots of the WP:SOCK policy. -xeno^talk 17:56, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

I'm aware of that. I've stumbled upon this issue previously, and found that existing policy was not sufficient to deal with editors gaming "clean start." I do like Hersfold's ideas, and maybe they can be tweaked and also written so that they cover people who previously invoked the policy. There is a lack of transparency to the whole process that is the Achilles Heel of "clean start." For instance, a currently blocked user cannot utilize "clean start," but a user with a long block record can do so, and additionally can resume his previous behavior pattern without any realistic chance of being caught. ScottyBerg (talk) 15:55, 17 August 2011 (UTC)

Question Why does RtV or courtesy vanishing as it is now called get handled by Arbcom, and why does it remain so in your rewrite? If this is something that should only be done for someone who can demonstrate a real concern for their own safety shouldn't this be something that the Foundation handles directly? It is hard to imagine a situation that is actually serious enough to warrant this type of action not being taken seriously by the Foundation. However it is easy to imagine several scenarios where Arbs can screw this up, and either allow someone to put themselves in danger or grant someone this privilege when it isn't actually necessary to protect them. The Prioryman situation, for instance, comes down to one of these two options, since we are told editing Wikipedia poses him danger yet at the same time the Arbs have worked to facilitate his return. I trust that the Foundation would handle such situations with much more consistency because it is actually in their interest to do so.Griswaldo (talk) 17:21, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

"Proper" vanishing doesn't get handled by the Arbitration Committee at present, and I'm not entirely sure why Hersfold has factored the committee so prominently into proper vanishing in his proposed rewrite.

"RTV" is really just a procedure that ties together various interactional policies and guidelines (such as the deletion policy, the sockpuppetry policy, and the changing username guideline) to permit a user to disappear from Wikipedia.

Please be sure to separate discussion of "proper" vanishing and "disappearing to return under a new name" (for better or worse, the latter has been handled by the committee in the past).

No comment re: the Foundation. -xeno^talk 17:36, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

I believe the attempt is to eliminate the nebulous 'disappearing to return under a new name in a way that is not covered by any policy but handled in secret by arbcom in whatever way they feel is right'.--Cube lurker (talk) 17:45, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

Hmm. The proposed re-write seems to be completely missing the former "proper vanish" (that is typically extended to users fairly liberally as a courtesy), and the "Courtesy vanishing" (or "PtV") section seems to be specifically written to allow the "disappear-reappear" shuffle (see, especially, User:Hersfold/Leaving Wikipedia#How to vanish #6). -xeno^talk 17:50, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

That's how it appears to me. It combines the old RTV with a policy based method for what's apparently been going on with Arbcom support behind the scene. (This is not an endorsement or opposition at the moment, just analysis.)--Cube lurker (talk) 17:55, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

Also without comment on the propriety of "disappear-reappear" maneouvers, I do not think that "proper" vanishing should be combined or confused with them. -xeno^talk 18:05, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

This is true. I added the possibility for users to return because if a user is trying to escape from harassment, they may still wish to edit. I suppose clean start may suffice for that, however. I'll change it to avoid any confusion. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 15:50, 17 August 2011 (UTC)

Now it is just a very strict tightening of RTV. Remember that most RTVs simply involve: deleting userpages (most anyone can request deletion of their user pages); renaming (most anyone can request renaming); and stopping editing (anyone can stop editing). For most simple and proper RTVs, I do not think your changes are warranted (or even enforceable, for the most part). Some people want to be "a bit more vanished" (delete user talk pages, sanction pages, etc.) or "disappear and come back". These are the cases that need addressing. -xeno^talk 17:58, 17 August 2011 (UTC)

WP:OPTOUT

WP:OPTOUT

• - The same good faith should also be given to living people that don't want to be found on wikipedia - Please consider re-discussing and supporting WP:OPTOUT - a similar courtesy as this to the living subjects of our BLP articles. Off2riorob (talk) 18:11, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

Deletion of talk pages

Simple question, but it isn't clear from the policy: does the rule against deleting user talk pages apply to those which are simply redirects? My account was renamed and I'm thinking I would like to have the old user page and user talk page deleted. They don't have any content except redirects to my current user page and talk page. The user page won't be a problem, but can I have the user talk redirect deleted, or not? Robofish (talk) 18:33, 14 November 2011 (UTC)

Proposal to repeal RTV

See Wikipedia:Village pump (policy)#Proposal: Remove the right to vanish. Sven Manguard Wha? 22:29, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

Coming back from RTV

Though the intention RTV is a permanent exit, things change over the years and in practice some people have come back or have been alleged to comeback. My view is that the policy should explain what happens in such circumstances. Especially as there are some people who've gone through RTV but who we would welcome back. There is also a case for more clearly defining the difference between rtv and cleanstart. The most obvious difference is that for some RTV cases we delete user talkpages, but as we don't always do that it does not define the difference. Deleting userpages and even renaming the account don't define RTV as there is nothing to prevent someone who is contemplating a cleanstart from sprinkling U1s in their userspace and or applying for a rename immediately before they Cleanstart. The defining ingredients of RTV seem to me that the rename is to some version of vanished user and that if they were in any disputes such disputes end on their RTV. My preference would be that we combine both policies in one explanation which covers the common factors, defines the difference and explains how one should and should not return. ?ereSpielChequers 10:20, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

I have made a concrete proposal about that on Wikipedia:Village pump (policy)#Clarification proposal where most of the discussion on that seems to be taking place right now. ASCIIn2Bme (talk) 00:03, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

"Vanish" this account

I already have another account so could this one be changed to a random string and deleted/vanished? Thanks SuperStarJan (talk) 23:57, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

Vanished users and "attribution" requirements

All text on Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, which requires attribution. In addition, many users uploaded images released under cc-by or a related license, which require attribution, and then chose to vanish. Doesn't this violate the license?

The cc-by and cc-by-sa licenses require that "...the name of the Original Author (or pseudonym, if applicable) if supplied..." be kept with the work. But when a user vanishes, a random name is assigned to their account, which is not a pseudonym of their choosing. A pseudonym was originally supplied, but it is not kept with the work, and the author is not attributed. It would appear to me that a vanished user's works cannot be hosted on Wikipedia without violating the applicable Creative Commons license. Why am I wrong? - Quadell ^(talk) 01:40, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Vanishing is requested by the user, and the rename is a critical part of the process. Permission to be attributed by the obfuscated username is implicit in the request. I think that I read speculation about a licensing issue with WP:Changing username in general, maybe something to do with revoking licensing for the old username (unnecessary) or relicensing under the new one. Flatscan (talk) 04:32, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Not all text and other material on Wikipedia is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, we also have some Public domain content. If you release content under one license you are still free to broaden that, for example a simple statement on your userpage that all of your contributions can be treated as Public domain. So we could treat RTV as a declaration by one editor that the contributions of their old account can now be treated as Public domain. But I'd say it was neater and easier to continue current practice - cc-by-sa still applies but the pseudonym has changed. ?ereSpielChequers 06:12, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Not for commercial interests

I just added a point.

• It is not a way for accounts affiliated with organizations or interests opposed to the Wikipedia community to erase documentation that they edited Wikipedia. This could happen when an account associated with a business, for example, is criticized on their userpage for the way they edited Wikipedia.

If this is too specific to actually be front facing, then I think that this point should at least be considered as something implied by the "Vanishing is not a way to avoid criticism" point which everyone already accepts. I know of no problem with this but sometimes I wonder what would happen if organizations did realize that Wikipedia is sort of a public record of PR attempts. Blue Rasberry (talk) 14:32, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

Clarifications

The second sentence says that "A courtesy vanishing may be implemented when...

• a user in good standing decides not to return, and
• for whatever reason wishes to make their contributions harder to find."

So:

1. What is meant by "good standing"? Does it mean they are in good standard now (ie a returned previously banned user), or were in good standing when they left? What about an account that was being used as a sock?
2. "Harder to find" does not mean deleted. So why delete an account when it only needs renaming, and the user starts a new account?
3. If a user returns under a different username, should their (old) account be un-vanished?--Iantresman (talk) 17:28, 13 November 2013 (UTC)

Also to do...

Once your account gets vanished after proposing it, it shall automatically change the password into a randomly generated gibberish because vanishing means to stop editing for life. And the vansihing process should be irreversible. It shall also automatically blank your email address stored in your preferences. In accordance with the username policy, effective August 2013, renames have to be done at the Meta Wiki. --[[Tariqmudallal · my talk]] 15:20, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Huh? Trivialist (talk) 13:03, 6 December 2013 (UTC)

profile of myn

ytvm,nkgviujk

-- Preceding unsigned comment added by BRAMHA RAJA CHOLAN (talk o contribs) 14:23, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Vanishing

After being subjected to a tirade of abuse at WP:FOOTY (talk) i, who had decided to retire after the 2014 FIFA World Cup but failed to deliver, now wish to vanish, i want to make it like i never existed on WP.

Since it's a wiki-legal move and i am not asking for any preferential treatment, i'd like to know what am i doing wrong, i have followed the instructions in the proper page and retrieved one (then two) template to my talk page, to no avail.

Directions, please. Attentively --AL (talk) 21:21, 23 July 2014 (UTC)

ways to find vanished users

If your username (before the vanishing) was something that would give away your real life identity, it could be found by at least two ways. If you ever undid one of your own edits it would show (undid revision by "User") in the edit summary and this summary wouldn't change to your new vanished name. Your vanished username could also be discovered if you had earlier requested a name change as the saved version of the page could still be found in your contributions and at the page history at Wikipedia:Changing username/Simple. Df124r (talk) 00:12, 15 January 2015 (UTC)

Just checking the contributions usually gives the old username away, especially when the user has commented on talk pages and left their sig there. Also, if the talk page has not been deleted but only renamed, the old name of the talk page is still visible in the history.

Personally, I find vanishing fairly pointless and doubt that it's effective against harrassment, unless your harrassers are very stupid or not technologically savvy like that. Covering your tracks completely is very hard on Wikipedia and the Internet in general: as they say, the Internet never forgets. I'm pessimistic about that: I fear that privacy is mostly an illusion; you can be as thorough as you want, but just a single slip-up, or a single hole you forget, or accidentally exposing a little bit too much about your real-world identity, can expose your identity to a determined sleuth, or analyst, who is able to intelligently put together disparate facts. (It's incredibly hard to avoid even advanced methods such as lexical analysis, your linguistic fingerprint.) Only perfect anonymity is true privacy, and perfect anonymity doesn't exist because nothing is perfect. You can only make it harder for people to find you. --Florian Blaschke (talk) 16:31, 19 January 2016 (UTC)

I think vanishing is a form of security theatre. More likely to make someone feel safer than actually make them safer. As has been pointed out, it is generally a trivial exercise to find out who they were. HighInBC 16:42, 19 January 2016 (UTC)

Updating the instruction to the new paradigm

Global renames are generally carried out by the global renamers rather than just stewards, and can be requested via Special:GlobalRenameRequest. It is a preferable way as it means that users can do it while logged in, and no longer required a confirmatory edit. It would also seem a worthwhile means for enWP to look to manage their requests if we could get an updated to the form used for requests. It would be useful to get the instructions updated for the GRs and to point to the form. -- billinghurst sDrewth 14:00, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

billinghurst: I've made some tweaks. -xeno^talk 22:30, 19 August 2015 (UTC)

Licensing

It seems somewhat illogical to me that someone would exercise their right to vanish, but still insist their contributions be on a license that requires attribution. Wouldn't it make more sense to encourage people who want to vanish to dual license their contributions {{userpd}} - deleting their userpage and replacing it with that template. ?ereSpielChequers

WereSpielChequers I don't think there are any licensing concerns that we need to worry about with regards to renaming; was there some incident you're referring to or just asking in general? -xeno^talk 22:20, 19 August 2015 (UTC)

The edits are still attributed, but to a random pseudonym instead of a somewhat less random pseudonym. -- Avi (talk) 00:39, 20 August 2015 (UTC)

@xeno, no specific incident, the thought came to me during a discussion about placeholdering vanished users at WP:EDITS. It seems logical to me that people exercising their right to vanish would want to relicense their contributions as CC0 or similar. I don't understand the logic of wanting ones username forgotten, but then to memorialise a random name that you haven't even chosen. @Avi, currently the default license is to require attribution to one's chosen username, which could be a real name, a meaningful nom de plume, or indeed a random but chosen pseudonym. If someone wants to vanish then why would they want attribution to a random name that someone else had chosen? ?ereSpielChequers 13:11, 21 August 2015 (UTC)

@WereSpielChequers:What attribution requires is a link between the author and the contributed text. By requesting vanishing, the author expressly wishes that the nom-de-plume formerly in use should be changed to something clearly not related to said pseudonym, and, in general, they do not care to what it should be changed. Otherwise, they could have simply retired. From our perspective, is the added text still directly related to the author? Certainly. So we are not in any violation since we have the exact same linkage between author and text. The only thing that has changed is how that author is referenced within the Wikimedia projects. -- Avi (talk) 15:41, 21 August 2015 (UTC)

I don't dispute that what we are doing complies with attribution, I'm just pointing out that if someone is vanishing they would vanish more completely if they dual licensed their contributions {{userpd}}. ?ereSpielChequers 15:47, 21 August 2015 (UTC)

Problems with old signatures after vanishing accounts

In my case this vanishing rule wasn't implemented to the end:
"Note that signatures (on user talk pages, article talk pages and project discussion pages) will not be changed, and will, by default, be redirected to the new user name."
i.e. they are not redirected to the new user name.

Also, on bunch of talk pages I put my real name as signature. Because of some I can have problems in next time. I hope there is a way to change them.

Regards -- Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.223.130.150 (talk) 11:47, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

The name you're supposedly trying to hide is almost a generic name in Serbian language, pretty much like John Smith is a generic name in English, for example. :) Thus, IMHO you shouldn't be concerned too much about the possibilities for having "problems in next time", whatever that may refer to. -- Dsimic (talk | contribs) 15:37, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

First, as you already read, vanishing is not did right in my case. I have a right to it.

Second, why do you have this psychologist attitude instead of one of Wikipedia editor? I do not want to debate your reasons.

If you know how to help me, please do it.

P.S.: I will consider User talk:Dsimic#Signature changes later, I hope. -- Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.223.130.175 (talk) 16:42, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

As I already said, you should have a look at WP:SUPPRESS that describes the vanishing options you're interested in. -- Dsimic (talk | contribs) 16:49, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

I hope I will see WP:SUPPRESS later, but as far as I know it's not vanishing.

This is copy of message from an other talk page of an informed user on this topic and can be consider as answer:

"Courtesy vanishing does not include anything to do with signatures. This is clearly spelled out on the courtesy vanishing page. Bureaucrats will do nothing with signatures. That is up to you and convincing anyone seeing you do it that you are the vanished user (which tends to greatly increase your exposure, so it's not recommended that you do it). ···???^? · ?? · Talk to Nihonjoe · Join WP Japan! 18:09, 24 August 2015 (UTC)" -- Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.223.130.137 (talk)

Well, that's the problem. We'd need to know that you, as an IP address, are actually the owner of the account whose signatures would be mangled. I know, it could be frustrating, but establishing the connection is actually a good thing as otherwise pretty much anyone could do anything with the talk page signatures. -- Dsimic (talk | contribs) 08:08, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

OK, I think I agree with you. -- Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.223.130.196 (talk) 08:25, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Proposal about guideline's status

Xeno is suggesting at Wikipedia:Bureaucrats' noticeboard#About "courtesy vanishing" and unvanishing that this guideline has been made obsolete by meta:Global renaming policy, and that the latter does not allow vanishings/renamings to be reversed without the user's consent. Comments would be appreciated there from interested parties. SarahSV ^(talk) 02:35, 16 January 2016 (UTC)

• This policy has never reflected the reality of how "vanishing" is used; the majority of vanishings were always done for reasons other than that mentioned in this policy. A very large proportion weren't even intended to be "vanishings" but sub rosa renames for so-called privacy reasons. This policy is based on an old Meatballwiki essay that was never really adopted anywhere other than English Wikipedia. It should have been deprecated years ago. I've been watching "vanishings" for almost the entire time I've been a Wikipedian, and this policy has caused far more harm than good. If people want to leave, they should leave. If they have a reason for renaming (even if it's a reason that many of us would consider silly), then they should get their account renamed; it used to be on this project, but now it's on Meta, and in either case a significant proportion of the requests were done by email. This policy has been ineffective for as long as I've been here (10 years now) and was not effective even before then from all that I've been able to research. Risker (talk) 04:23, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

I tried to make the guideline reflect practice but I've been reverted. Seems to me there's consensus that the guideline doesn't reflect practice, but I don't want to edit war, so posting to confirm. I see we let users who were found to have used numerous socks be renamed, and don't reverse when vanished users return. Wikipedia should not be doing this contrary to policy - ie lying to users. So the guideline should change. We don't revert anymore without exception; can someone provide any recent evidence showing otherwise? I suppose we could mark the whole thing historical. Well, except we are still doing the vanishing part. --Elvey^(toc) 22:42, 20 June 2016 (UTC)

I will be deleting my Wikipedia profile

I am sorry to say but I am deleting my Wikipedia profile. {{db-user}}

Shortening the last paragraph of the lead

Should the last paragraph of the lead be shortened to "it is not possible to delete an account."?

Reasoning

Currently, the last paragraph of the lead reads:

Due to all contributions being licensed under the CC BY-SA 3.0 License and the GFDL, it is not possible to delete an account.

This is disingenuous. These licenses set out no such requirements. If we're to put aside community norms for a minute, the reason for not being able to delete accounts is technical; as anybody who's had their username changed would know, the software allows for accounts to be created under a previously-held username. The theory is, if we were to delete somebody's account, somebody else could register under the same name and assume authorship of the departed user's edits. There's ways to get around this, but none have been pursued for different reasons; foremost is the community's obsession with requiring editors to identify with only one handle - an obsession that is borne of misguided notions of professionalism. In any case, I suggest condensing the paragraph down to...

it is not possible to delete an account.

... which is strictly factual. Izkala (talk) 01:13, 30 May 2016 (UTC)

Discussion

• Well, once an account has been renamed, the edits are all reattributed in the history... I suppose someone else then registering the old name would create confusion with signatures and links, but I'm not sure that's really an attribution violation. It used to be a thing to re-register the original name and scramble the password to prevent this problem. Anyway, how about just splitting up those two ideas so they aren't presented as causally related? "All contributions are licensed under the CC BY-SA 3.0 License and the GFDL. Your contributions history cannot be removed and the licenses cannot be revoked. It is not possible to delete an account. " (Incidentally, this page badly needs an update to remove all the references to the bureaucrats. And I'm not sure the "unvanished without consent if you return under a new name" part still applies; I doubt a global renamer would do it.) Opabinia regalis (talk) 05:15, 31 May 2016 (UTC)

How/whether to refer to the crats

Section split from above for clarity. Opabinia regalis (talk) 21:55, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

I just now remembered to do this. References to bureaucrats have been removed. Opabinia regalis (talk) 22:40, 9 June 2016 (UTC)

Opabinia regalis From a privacy perspective, eliminating the option to email the bureaucrat mailing list is forcing customers to submit their sensitive request to an ever-growing list of 99+ global renamers and stewards instead of a virtually static list of 17 local bureaucrats. I'm not sure complete removal was indicated here. Have requests to the mailing list been too slow or gone unanswered? (I can check in the morning.) I think this was discussed before also. -xeno^talk 02:27, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

@Xeno: That's a fair point; how about adding something like "Historically, bureaucrats performed user renames prior to mw:SUL finalization; sensitive or private requests may still be sent to the bureaucrats' mailing list at wikien-bureaucratslists.wikimedia.org, where they can be actioned by local bureaucrats who are also global renamers."? I'm not aware of any unanswered requests sent there, but it has occasionally caused confusion (and without explaining the context, it does seem strange to direct requests for action X to a group defined by their ability to do Y). I noticed this awhile ago because the intersection of current arbs and current renamers is the empty set :) It would make more sense to have a separate list for renamers who are also enwiki functionaries (and thus are cleared for private information), but maybe that's overkill. Opabinia regalis (talk) 03:31, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

That would strike a good balance. The rename queue will generally be faster and they won't need to reveal their email address. -xeno^talk 15:02, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

Done, thanks Xeno! Opabinia regalis (talk) 21:55, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

Wikipedia hesab?m? silin

Lütfen Re?at KARAKAYA kullan?c? ad? alt?ndaki hesab?m? silin. Sayg?lar?mla... Re?at KARAKAYA (talk) 18:41, 8 January 2017 (UTC)

We do not delete accounts. If you don't want to use your account just stop using it. - GB fan 19:07, 8 January 2017 (UTC)

Source of the article : Wikipedia