I want to delete a question permanently, also from the deleted questions section. Is it possible? Also, are my deleted question viewable by some users?
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11$\begingroup$ math.stackexchange.com/help/… and math.stackexchange.com/help/licensing are relevant. Basically, no, you cannot permanently delete anything, and your posts, even if deleted, will still be visible to users with sufficient reputation (though they will not appear in search and are otherwise difficult to discover). $\endgroup$– Xander Henderson ModCommented Apr 8 at 20:37
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$\begingroup$ Wouldn’t it be possible to remove it from the stackexchange database, in more dire cases? $\endgroup$– Тyma GaidashCommented Apr 8 at 20:58
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1$\begingroup$ @Tyma In principle an ad hoc deletion can be done on a running database. In my experience this will often have unforeseen consequences causing regret. Even if it were done, old data dumps might retain the record from an earlier state. $\endgroup$– hardmathCommented Apr 9 at 3:23
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2$\begingroup$ @ТymaGaidash That is not something which can be done by a diamond moderator. As noted in the first link I provided, above, redaction and dissociation are possible, but these require intervention from SE staff, which means that someone wanting either of these would need to reach out to SE directly. However, note that both dissociation and redaction are rare, and typically related to things like the GDPR. $\endgroup$– Xander Henderson ModCommented Apr 9 at 11:52
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1$\begingroup$ You should not be able to delete a question entirely i.e., I think that is a good thing. Someone made a point of answering your question, it is their work too. Meanwhile people have to understand that their posts on here are not just for themselves, they are for the site as a whole, meaning that it belongs to others as well as them. $\endgroup$– MikeCommented Apr 9 at 17:13
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1$\begingroup$ Why would anyone even want to delete a question permanently, unless they were using it to say cheat on a take-home exam. So this question itself does get my cackles up. $\endgroup$– MikeCommented Apr 9 at 17:14
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$\begingroup$ @Mike, it could be that a user, having received a Fields Medal, is embarrassed at having once asked, how much is $2+2$? or, a user accidentally revealed top-secret military information, or something she read in a preprint about the Riemann Hypothesis that she wasn't supposed to share with the general public. Don't we all have skeletons in our closets? $\endgroup$– Gerry MyersonCommented Apr 10 at 6:41
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1$\begingroup$ @GerryMyerson we do all have our dark secrets but I can't imagine sharing mine on MSE [no offense to any of you wonderful people here!] And...once something is there in the internet, it can be assumed it is remains somewhere out in the ethos forever. $\endgroup$– MikeCommented Apr 10 at 15:01
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$\begingroup$ Also know, Elvis, that deleted questions (and deleted question with negative vote counts, especially) count, as well as negative votes, in determining possible actions to limit one from asking questions. $\endgroup$– amWhyCommented May 2 at 18:49
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