Wikipedia:Courtesy vanishing

The usual way to leave Wikipedia is simply to stop editing and abandon the account. However, a courtesy vanishing may be implemented if a user in good standing decides not to return and wishes to make their contributions less easily traceable or to obscure their association with their edits. If there is no administrative need to retain the information, a departing user may request the deletion of a wide range of their user pages, as well as other pages affecting them alone. The user's account is renamed, user pages are blanked or deleted, and pages related to the user's conduct may also be deleted, blanked, or moved. Contributions, logs, signatures, and user-page templates (such as those related to blocks or bans) are usually not removed, and user talk pages are usually not deleted.

Courtesy vanishing is discretionary and may be refused. It is not intended as a temporary measure, nor as a way to avoid scrutiny or avoid sanctions. "Vanishing" differs from a clean start and does not guarantee anonymity. Pages deleted as part of vanishing may be restored following community discussion. If the user returns, the vanishing will likely be fully reversed, the old and new accounts will be linked, and any prior sanctions or restrictions reinstated.

It is not possible to delete an account. Because all contributions are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 License and GFDL, every edit must be attributed to a user.

Vanishing from Wikipedia

Vanishing typically involves the following:

What vanishing is not

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Alternatives to vanishing

Before proceeding, remember that vanishing is a last resort, intended only for those who wish to stop editing permanently and minimize their visible past associations. You may want to consider the following alternatives:

How to request a courtesy vanishing

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To request courtesy vanishing, do the following:

  1. Request deletion of any existing user pages under your user name by adding the {{Db-userreq}} tag at the top of each page to be deleted. Another option is to replace the user page with the {{Retired}} template. Note that user talk pages are generally not deleted, except in rare cases (see § Deletion of user talk pages).
  2. If you have edited other Wikimedia wikis, you may request deletion of your user pages on other Wikimedia wikis using Synchbot (see what to check before a vanish request).
  3. Submit your vanishing request using the global vanish request form. Your request will be automatically granted if your account has not made any edits on any wiki. Otherwise, it will be submitted into a queue for review. Requests cannot be cancelled once submitted.
    Records of your request are visible only to current global renamers, stewards, and Wikimedia Foundation staff.

For questions about vanishing or to explore less permanent solutions, consider contacting a renamer, steward, functionary or a member of the Arbitration Committee for advice.

Prior to requesting a courtesy vanishing

The following is a suggested to-do list prior to placing a vanishing request. All of the following is entirely optional.

Deletion of user talk pages

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While user pages and subpages may be deleted, the deletion of established users' talk pages is rarely granted due to their nature as collaborative documents primarily written by other editors. Such deletions are the exception rather than the rule, and user talk pages should not be speedy deleted. Community consensus is that user talk pages should be deleted only when there are compelling reasons per the revision deletion policy, such as serious privacy breaches and potential for real-world harm. Users seeking the deletion of their talk pages for this reason should consult a functionary or the Arbitration Committee. Otherwise, deletion requests for user talk pages should go through Miscellany for Deletion (MfD). Any deletion may be challenged and reversed at deletion review. User talk pages must not be moved to user subpages as a means to facilitate their deletion.

Vanishing of temporary accounts

Temporary accounts cannot be vanished as they cannot be renamed. However, temporary accounts will automatically expire 90 days after they are created. Expired temporary accounts are permanently inaccessible and cannot be used again. Users may also log out of a temporary account by selecting their user icon and then selecting "Exit session", or by clearing their browser cookies. Once logged out, the temporary account cannot be used again, though it will not appear as expired until after the 90-day period. A new temporary account is automatically created when the user attempts to edit Wikipedia while logged out.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Old signatures embedded in past posts are not renamed or changed in any way.
  2. ↑ Old signatures embedded in past posts cannot be changed due to technical limitations of the MediaWiki software, although in some cases collapsing or blanking is possible.