Q&A for How to Delete Your Wikipedia Account

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How can I delete a Wikipedia account totally?

Freyr

Top Answerer

You cannot delete a Wikipedia account totally due to restrictions on the MediaWiki software. This article shows you the closest you can get to 'deleting' your account.

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Question

On Step #4: File a rename request, are you supposed to rename your username literally to "Vanished user #######"? Since it says that # are any number, it doesn't matter what numbers are put? just 5 #?

Aasim

Top Answerer

No, you are supposed to fill ###### with a random number. For example: Vanished user 1030285.

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Question

Why can't people delete their Wikipedia account completely?

Aasim

Top Answerer

Because many MediaWiki wikis require attribution for their work, usernames cannot be deleted. Otherwise, it would violate the terms of the license.

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Question

How can I delete a single edit on Wikipedia?

Zan Hecht

Community Answer

Edits can only be deleted in certain circumstances. If an edit contains copyright violations, you can request deletion via the {{Copyvio-revdel}} template. If it contains insulting or offensive material, or is purely disruptive, you can request revision deletion by contacting one of the administrators listed at wikipedia:Category:Wikipedia_administrators_willing_to_handle_RevisionDelete_requests . If it contains non-public personal information, you can email oversight-en-wp @ wikipedia.org

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Question

I made a wrong edit that was reverted, and I feel so embarrassed that I want to remove my name from it.

Zan Hecht

Community Answer

The only way to do that is via wikipedia:Wikipedia:Clean_start , but it would require abandoning your current account, renaming it to something else, and creating a new account.

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Question

Should I follow these steps if my account is blocked?

Zan Hecht

Community Answer

Blocked accounts are not eligible for vanishing; you need to request an unblock first.

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Question

What can I do if someone else creates and maintains a Wikipedia page about me, and I cannot edit the image or content?

Zan Hecht

Community Answer

Wikipedia is not a social network and doesn't have profile pages. If there is an article about you, Wikipedia's conflict of interest policy discourages editing it directly. Instead, you can request that it be updated using the wikipedia:Wikipedia:Edit Request Wizard .

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