[Commons-l] some statistics

[Magnus Manske]

Essjay wrote:
<snip> lots of replys</snip>
I am aware that none of my "solutions" is perfect, but I'm sure they
could be useful. People might be more sympathetic for admins deleting
files if "the system" prevents new uploads until the backlog of bad old
ones is cleared up. Likewise, once the backlog is down considerably, an
automativ deletion after X days would be reasonable. If the backlog
grows (vandals), it could pause. Etc.
> I am a Commons admin, and the thing that scares me most about Commons 
> admin work is deletion: Almost everything on Commons, if deleted, cannot 
> be recovered, and Commons materials are used on all Wikimedia projects. 
> There are good tools, like the one that checks usage on other projects, 
> and I'm glad we have them, but we still have the problem that there is a 
> major language barrier, and very low participation from projects.
>
> However, the thing that would make me feel most comfortable deleting 
> would be a way of getting things back. If deleted images could be 
> recovered, I'd have no problem whatsoever with deleting things in those 
> categories left and right. And, it solves the problems raised above with 
> the idea of deleting by bot: As long as we know we can get it back, why not?
>   
Is there a rule that says this has to be done *inside* the commons? The
images are accessible from everywhere, so deleted images could be copied
to other places prior to deletion. The toolserver might be a suitable
place, or we could even go for a distributed solution that uses the
toolserver as an organizing hub. Similar to the recycle bin on Desktops,
old deleted images (where noone complained about the deletion) could be
deleted permanently if space gets low. Images would not be accessible
for the public, so no problem arises for copyvios.

I'd be willing to code that. Note that this deletion would require going
through a script on the toolserver (to copy the image), which would then
invoke the coimmons deletion form.

Magnus