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. |
 | 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.
Vanishing from Wikipedia
Vanishing typically involves the following:
- A global renamer or steward responds to a vanishing request and renames the account to a randomly-generated string of characters, such as "Vanished user 157yagz5r48a5f1a1f".
- The account is then automatically globally locked, preventing any future logins.
- References in page histories are updated to the new username, but direct references made by other users remain unchanged. Signatures (on user talk pages, article talk pages, and project discussion pages) will not be changed, and will redirect to the new username by default, although this redirect can be removed upon request.
- The account's user page and subpages may be deleted, while user talk pages are rarely deleted and may be restored if there is community consensus through a deletion review.
- Because of account unification, these actions have a global effect.
What vanishing is not
- Vanishing is not a way to start over with a fresh account. Requesting courtesy vanishing implies that you do not intend to return. If you wish to start over, follow the instructions at Clean start instead of, not in addition to, vanishing. Should you vanish and then continue editing under a new account, and are later discovered, the vanishing can be reversed, and your old and new accounts may be linked.
- It is not a way to avoid accountability an escape from criticism, sanctions, or other negative attention unless you genuinely intend to leave permanently. Users who have been disruptive, lost the community's trust, or are blocked or banned may not be granted courtesy vanishing.
- It is not a method for erasing evidence of conflicts of interest or organizational affiliations that contradict Wikipedia's community values. For instance, a business account criticized for its editing cannot use vanishing to remove that record.
- It is not a suitable response if you wish to continue editing after unintentionally revealing personal information. In such cases, consider contacting Oversight.
- Users in good standing can request a username change at any time, with contributions re-attributed to the new name, maintaining the edit history.[a]
How to request a courtesy vanishing
Before proceeding, consider whether a simple retirement or a clean start would be more appropriate than vanishing. Vanishing is a last resort, intended only for those who wish to stop editing permanently and minimize their visible past associations.
If deciding to vanish, it may be helpful to blank or request deletion of user pages and subpages. To request deletion of existing pages, add the {{Db-userreq}} tag at the top of each page to be deleted. An administrator will then delete the page. Do not create a page solely for the purpose of requesting its deletion. 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 below).
To initiate courtesy vanishing:
- The preferred method is to use Special:GlobalVanishRequest to access the vanish request interface. Requests submitted here are handled by global renamers or stewards.
- If your request is particularly sensitive, contact the global renamers via e-mail, using "Request for courtesy vanishing" as the subject. The contact interface is available at meta:Special:EmailUser/Wikimedia Global-renamers or by emailing renamers
wikimedia.org. If you send the mail directly, include some sort of verification that you own the account. A record of this correspondence will be kept in the VRT system, accessible only to current renamers, stewards, and Wikimedia Foundation staff. - Although a public request page exists for name changes, using it is not recommended, as it creates a public record of your vanishing request that cannot be hidden.
For questions about vanishing or to explore less permanent solutions, consider contacting a Functionary or a member of the Arbitration Committee for advice.
Finally, take these steps before completing the vanishing process:
- If you have an email address associated with your account, remove it at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-personal-email.
- Review and reset preferences to their defaults at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-personal.
- Scramble the account's password with a long, random string to prevent anyone else from accessing the account.
Deletion of user talk pages
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 by 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.