On Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 11:47 AM, S Page spage@wikimedia.org wrote:
Can we change the Delete operation to "Move to user subpage of initial author"? Delete is such an awful game over event, a big fat "Insert 200 quarters and bang your head on the screen to continue".
"Userfying" articles this way is sometimes used, and the English Wikipedia's "articles for creation" review system (AFC) moves pages in and out of the Wikipedia Talk namespace. Both of these strategies run in to trouble when used at scale.
One idea to test in the future, which editors who work in AFC have been receptive to, is creation of a noindexed Draft namespace. This would probably help accomplish the goal you were suggesting, where articles that aren't harmful per se but which need work can simple be demoted to a draft status.