Delete By Delaying Refactoring

There is no need to delete a page while it it being refactored. Simply make a copy of the page for yourself, and place a notice at the top of the old page to the effect that a refactoring is pending and any changes made between now and when the refactoring happens could be lost. Then refactor your copy of the page and put it back in when it's done. It would also be polite to mention who is doing the refactoring, and a hoped for completion date for the refactoring. If you are going to take a long time for the refactoring, it would be better to make a new page with your refactored copy, rather than hold up discussion unnecessarily while the refactoring is pending.

This pattern obsoletes MoratoriumPeriod. ;)

Not to get too strange-loopy here, but shouldn't a page that's about keeping content available during a refactoring (say, this one) keep its content available during a refactoring? There was a discussion going on here, and now it's either gone (!) or moved, with no forwarding address. --GeorgePaci

The refactoring of this page was over according to the person who did the refactoring. I don't know who that was. Even if you think "too much" was deleted it is not an example of deletion by delayed refactoring because the refactoring was complete.

The refactoring by one person may have been complete. The discussion isn't.

Perhaps those who find it interesting can discuss it offline, then jointly produce a page about it when they're done. In the mean time, it does nothing to advance my learning about programming, and is not a demonstration of how people successfully resolve conflicts. -- WayneConrad

It's partly about how Wiki should deal with a very difficult to resolve conflict, and partly about how some very bad habits have become detrimental to learning about anything here. OnTopic I'd say. See WastingPeople. -- RichardDrake