Wikipedia:Courtesy vanishing

This page documents an English Wikipedia behavioral guideline. Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page.

Shortcuts WP:RTV WP:VANISH WP:CVAN WP:LEAVE WP:VANISHED

This page in a nutshell: Courtesy vanishing allows a user who is permanently leaving Wikipedia forever to have their account renamed and userpages deleted for privacy reasons. It does not include deleting the user's contributions or talk pages. This is done as a courtesy, not a right, and the user is expected not to return to editing.

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 remove 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.

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