5 ms·

The history isn't removed, but its only visible to Wikipedia admins.

andrew_ 4y ago
Factually accurate, but not any better for the public.
Snowworm 4y ago
Do you think an admin, with some programming knowledge, could write a program to scrape all of the deleted pages on Wikipedia and store them in some public archive for people to view? I'm sure it goes against their terms of service, but it would be really great for getting rid of censorship.
- Snowworm 4y ago
  Btw. I was asking this in case deletionpedia hadn't managed to copy all of the articles.
  - Kim_Bruning 4y ago
    See some of the other comments here, there's actually a procedure to request deleted pages (that are otherwise not problematic).
- lelandfe 4y ago
  The trickiness comes from the deleted articles that really ought to stay dead – things like copyright infringement, doxxing, etc. Were I an admin, I'd be loath to cast the net too wide when resurfacing those removed pages. That's the reason, I'm sure, even Deletionpedia has a removal process: https://deletionpedia.org/en/Deletionpedia.org:Removal_requests https://deletionpedia.org/en/Deletionpedia.org:Removal_reque...
car_analogy 4y ago
That is even more damning - it does not even allow the "saving storage space" excuse.
- mlyle 4y ago
  Do note that there's backups/dumps at approximately monthly intervals, too, that could have helped.
- tptacek 4y ago
  "Saving storage space" has literally nothing to do with any of Wikipedia's policies. If you thought that's why articles got deleted, you don't understand the policy, and Chesterton's Fence controls.
  - hollerith 4y ago
    I know what Chesterton's Fence means, but wish you would elaborate a little on how it relates to the policy.
    - tptacek 4y ago
      The rationale for deleting articles on Wikipedia has nothing to do with saving storage space, as I just said. Your comment implies that they do; in fact, you essentially argue that losing the "save space" excuse is fatal to the policy. You need to understand those policies before you can plausibly critique them. You evidently don't, and your critique is consequently implausible.
      - aspenmayer 4y ago
        I read their comment differently. I think they were saying the admins can’t even use the excuse that any specific deletions or deletions generally are necessary to save space, because deleted items are not erased completely, but are still available to admins.
      - Veen 4y ago
        So why don't you explain what they do mean instead of these mysterious repetitions of "you don't understand" and references to concepts (Chesterton's Fence) that aren't obviously applicable to what's being discussed.
kens 4y ago
The motivation for hiding the history of deleted Wikipedia articles is to minimize legal complaints. E.g. if something is libelous or a copyright violation, they want to remove it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Viewing_deleted_content https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Viewing_deleted_cont...
- car_analogy 4y ago
  Yet the vast majority of articles are deleted for reasons other than legal.

Factually accurate, but not any better for the public.

Do you think an admin, with some programming knowledge, could write a program to scrape all of the deleted pages on Wikipedia and store them in some public archive for people to view? I'm sure it goes against their terms of service, but it would be really great for getting rid of censorship.

Snowworm 4y ago
Btw. I was asking this in case deletionpedia hadn't managed to copy all of the articles.
- Kim_Bruning 4y ago
  See some of the other comments here, there's actually a procedure to request deleted pages (that are otherwise not problematic).
lelandfe 4y ago
The trickiness comes from the deleted articles that really ought to stay dead – things like copyright infringement, doxxing, etc. Were I an admin, I'd be loath to cast the net too wide when resurfacing those removed pages. That's the reason, I'm sure, even Deletionpedia has a removal process: https://deletionpedia.org/en/Deletionpedia.org:Removal_requests https://deletionpedia.org/en/Deletionpedia.org:Removal_reque...

car_analogy 4y ago

That is even more damning - it does not even allow the "saving storage space" excuse.

mlyle 4y ago
Do note that there's backups/dumps at approximately monthly intervals, too, that could have helped.
tptacek 4y ago
"Saving storage space" has literally nothing to do with any of Wikipedia's policies. If you thought that's why articles got deleted, you don't understand the policy, and Chesterton's Fence controls.
- hollerith 4y ago
  I know what Chesterton's Fence means, but wish you would elaborate a little on how it relates to the policy.
  - tptacek 4y ago
    The rationale for deleting articles on Wikipedia has nothing to do with saving storage space, as I just said. Your comment implies that they do; in fact, you essentially argue that losing the "save space" excuse is fatal to the policy. You need to understand those policies before you can plausibly critique them. You evidently don't, and your critique is consequently implausible.
    - aspenmayer 4y ago
      I read their comment differently. I think they were saying the admins can’t even use the excuse that any specific deletions or deletions generally are necessary to save space, because deleted items are not erased completely, but are still available to admins.
    - Veen 4y ago
      So why don't you explain what they do mean instead of these mysterious repetitions of "you don't understand" and references to concepts (Chesterton's Fence) that aren't obviously applicable to what's being discussed.

kens 4y ago

The motivation for hiding the history of deleted Wikipedia articles is to minimize legal complaints. E.g. if something is libelous or a copyright violation, they want to remove it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Viewing_deleted_content https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Viewing_deleted_cont...

car_analogy 4y ago
Yet the vast majority of articles are deleted for reasons other than legal.