Wikipedia:Revision deletion#Large-scale use
{{Short description|MediaWiki function used to redact page revisions and log entries}}
{{redirect|WP:REVDEL|deletion review|Wikipedia:Deletion review}}
{{policy|WP:RVDL|WP:REVDEL}}
{{nutshell|RevisionDelete is a MediaWiki function used to redact grossly improper posts and log entries. It is available to administrators in accordance with the criteria for use. It can also be used in "Suppression" mode by oversighters to remove certain defamatory content and privacy breaches from public and administrator view.}}
{{deletion policy list}}
RevisionDelete (also known as RevDel or RevDelete) is a feature that allows administrators to remove individual entries in a page history or log from public view. It is used for "selective deletion", largely replacing the prior method (delete and partial undelete) which should no longer be used except for history merges and occasional other technical cases where it is needed. Revision deletion should only be used in accordance with the criteria for redaction.
RevisionDelete can hide the text of a revision, the username that made the edit or action, or the edit summary or log summary. On the English Wikipedia, criteria exist to govern the use of RevisionDelete, which are outlined below. Use of RevisionDelete by oversighters in "Suppression" mode is covered separately by the Oversight or Suppression policy.
Any administrator may handle RevisionDelete requests made by users, but :Category:Wikipedia administrators willing to handle RevisionDelete requests lists administrators who have declared a particular willingness to handle such requests. Users who have concerns about any particular use of RevisionDelete may ask any administrator to review the matter, but again administrators listed in that category may be particularly well placed to do so. When contacting editors about sensitive material, email is preferred to talk page messages, to avoid exposing information to more readers.
Overview
RevisionDelete allows selective redaction of posts and log entries by administrators, as well as peer review by any administrator of the correct use of the tool. Entries still appear in redacted form on the public wiki, and any user may request that an administrator review a RevisionDelete action, to determine whether its removal was reasonable. RevisionDelete logged actions [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Log?type=delete&user=&page=&wpdate=&tagfilter=&subtype=revision&wpFormIdentifier=logeventslist can be found here].
As a deletion tool, RevisionDelete is capable of removing material from the wider community's view. Because of this, the tool should only be used within strict guidelines.
In time-sensitive situations where material may be subject to the oversight policy (such as privacy breaches and defamation), an administrator may redact first, then immediately bring the matter to the attention of oversighters. (See below.)
=Misuse=
RevisionDelete was introduced for administrators in 2010. The community's endorsement of the tool included a very strong consensus that there was a potential for its abuse, that such abuse needs to be prevented by the community and appropriate mitigation of the risk of abuse written into policy. Especially, RevisionDelete is not to be used to remove "ordinary" offensive comments and incivility, or unwise choices of wording between users, nor to redact block log entries; material must be grossly offensive, with little likelihood of significant dissent about its removal. Otherwise it should not be removed. Administrators should consult as usual if uncertain that a revision would be appropriate to redact.
Criteria for redaction
{{shortcut|WP:CRD|WP:CFRD}}
- {{Anchor|1}}RD1. Blatant violations of the copyright policy. Best practices for copyrighted text removal can be found at WP:Copyright problems and should take precedence over this criterion. Usernames should not be hidden under RD1.
- {{Anchor|2}}RD2. Grossly insulting, degrading, or offensive material that has little to no encyclopedic or project value, or violates our biographies of living people policy. This includes slurs, smears, and grossly offensive material of little or no encyclopedic value, but not mere factual statements, and not "ordinary" incivility, personal attacks or conduct accusations. When pages with grossly improper titles are in question, the page names may also be removed from public log entries.
- {{Anchor|3}}RD3. Purely disruptive material that is of little or no relevance or merit to the project. This includes harassment, grossly inappropriate threats or attacks, browser-crashing or malicious HTML or CSS, shock pages, phishing pages, known virus-proliferating pages, and links to any of these or to web pages that disparage or threaten some person or entity and serve no valid purpose, but not mere spam links.
- {{Anchor|4}}RD4. Oversightable information – see separate section below for criteria.
- {{Anchor|5}}RD5. Valid deletion under deletion policy, executed using RevisionDelete. Except for history merges and fixing cut-and-paste moves, if selective deletion is required, RevisionDelete is usually preferable, and should be used instead of the old method of "delete and then partially undelete". It is important that the underlying reason for deletion be made clear in the log summary.
- {{Anchor|6}}RD6. Non-contentious housekeeping including correction of clear and obvious unintended mistakes in previous redactions, changes to redaction based upon communal discussion and clear consensus, adding information to the delete logs, and converting traditional selective deleted edits to RevisionDelete. (The action must not be likely to be contentious or controversial; consult if needed.)
- {{Anchor|AC|RD7}}RD7/AC. Deletion mandated by a decision of the Arbitration Committee. At times the Arbitration Committee may determine that a logged item was sufficiently improper that the record should be formally deleted in the public log. The deletion reason should clearly link to the decision. Deletions under this criterion are considered to be Arbitration Enforcement matters and should not be overturned improperly; they may however be appealed.
