Help talk:Deletion and undeletion

delete "bac ? sable"
I have a corrupted entry in my database giving a "bac ? sable" instead of "bac à sable". I created a page "bac à sable" but can't delete "bac ? sable" anymore : it's always shown in "all pages". What should I do ? NewMorning 04:23, 22 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Could be a mediawiki bug, or more likely I guess some problem with character encoding in your database set-up. I don't know. See Communication for other (better) places to ask this question. -- Harry Wood (talk) 11:59, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Can you use phpMyAdmin to Delete Pages?
I have dozens of pages, posted by spammers, that cannot be deleted, because of character mismatches like the previous poster's problem. Is there a safe way to remove them from the database using a tool like phpMyAdmin?

-- User:Sakshale 19:20, 28 January 2012


 * In general I would recommend against manipulating things in SQL directly (or with phpMyAdmin), and if you do, back up the whole DB first.
 * You should know that the revisions table is cross-linked from various other database tables, so just deleting an entry could put your database in an inconsistent state. Maybe a safer thing to do, would be to change the page_title in the Manual:Page table, to something easier like "DeleteMe", then see if that lets you find it and delete it via the normal web interface.
 * -- Harry Wood (talk) 12:13, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Unable to see delete tab
I have some wrong pages which I want to delete. Though I login as Sysop I am unable to see the delte tab to remove the wrong pages.

User:Guru


 * First of all, this page just said 'delete tab' for a long time, but more recent MediaWiki user interfaces changes put the delete option on a little drop-down. You should see 'Delete' as an option alongside 'Move',  if you are indeed a sysop.
 * Check you are in fact a sysop by going to Special:Listadmins. You should be listed there.
 * --Harry Wood (talk) 12:13, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Simple changes
I just registered because, sorry, I couldn't help altering a line in the text (I altered before registering). It read wrong. Hope that is okay.

--Reggie Mental 00:07, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Suggestion: Permanently delete a page
I would like to suggest a feature where you can permanently delete a page. If you delete a page, you can select to delete permanently on the archived page. I would like to be able to permanently delete a page as a way to clear up some space on the server that is being used for archived pages that for sure I will never undelete. --Atomicdragon136 (talk) 22:24, 26 April 2018 (UTC)
 * There's deleteArchivedRevisions.php for this. --Nemo 04:49, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

How to contact an admin or sysop
Does ANYONE know how to contact an admin or SYSOP? I want a page I created deleted. I'm the only one who has contributed to it. I would suggest that if someone has the 'ability' to create a wiki page that they should be allowed to delete it if no other user has added/modified content.--Mcgyver2k (talk) 21:44, 3 January 2019 (UTC)


 * Procedures for this will vary from one wiki to another. It might be written down somewhere, who is in charge of the wiki and how to contact them, or specifically how to request a page deletion. But here's a generic answer to your question. Also this answer will apply to many small wikis where nobody has taken the time to document a procedure. How to contact an admin?:
 * On that wiki go to the page called "Special:ListUsers/sysop" (put that title in the URL, or in the search box). There you'll see a list of admin users. On a small wiki it might be only one user. I'd suggest taking a look at their user page where they may give an email address, or preferred contact channel, but otherwise you should see a link in the bottom left "Email this user". Failing that, you can click their 'Discussion' tab at the top, and leave a message there. If you have a choice of admin users, you might try to be smart and choose an admin user who has recent "User contributions" (another link the bottom left of a user page).
 * -- Harry Wood (talk) 02:10, 3 March 2019 (UTC)