Wikipedia:Revision deletion
Large-scale use
RevisionDelete is mainly intended for simple use and fairly recent material. Text that exists in numerous revisions (e.g. on busy pages) or which has been the subject of many others' comments may not be practical to redact. Redaction of such material should take into account how practical and effective redaction will be, how disruptive it would be (e.g. to others' valid posts), and whether redaction will itself draw attention to the issue. No hard line exists; judgment is required.
Administrators in this situation may wish to initially edit the page to revert or remove the grossly improper material, and then consult.
How to request Revision Deletion
To request revision-deletion for copyright violations, see Template:Copyvio-revdel.
To avoid the Streisand effect, there is no dedicated on-wiki forum for requesting revision deletion under other circumstances. You can send a message to any administrator in Category:Wikipedia administrators willing to handle RevisionDelete requests either at their talk page or by email, especially if privacy is a concern. You can also request revision deletion on IRC using #wikipedia-en-revdel connect, where only administrators will be able to see your request (if you don't have an IRC client, click the green connect button to launch web-based IRC; for more information, see WP:IRC). Keep in mind that if the revision you're reporting could be subject to oversight, follow the procedures at WP:Requests for oversight or email [email protected].
Appeal and discussion of actions
Actions performed using this tool remain visible in the public logs. They are subject to review by other administrators (who can see redacted material), and to reversal upon clear, wider consensus. Such a review should take place at the Administrators' Noticeboard. As with other administrative tools, good judgment and appropriate use are expected; improper use can lead to sanctions or desysopping.
Statistics
- WP:Revision deletion/Statistics
- Examples of what can and cannot be RevDeleted
- Academic paper on RevDel usage, statistics, and impact (presented at WikiSym'11)
See also
- Category:Wikipedia administrators willing to handle RevisionDelete requests
- Wikipedia talk:Oversight/Archive 3#Usage of RevisionDeleted (2009) – Stats on current oversight usage of the function.
- MediaWiki:Revdelete-reason-dropdown – Configuration page for the RevDelete dropdown box.
- WP:Revision deletion/Noticeboard (failed proposal, see "How to request Revision Deletion")
- mw:Help:RevisionDelete – MediaWiki Help page.
- mw:Manual:RevisionDelete – Technical page discussing the function.
- mw:Bitfields for rev deleted – Largely outdated technical discussion.