Talk:Institute for Mathematics and its Applications

Did we have an article on this IMA before? There are certainly plenty of red links to it. Did it get deleted in a war between rival claimants of the title IMA? Billlion 22:40, 28 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

We had it before. It was deleted. User:The Kinslayer deleted it with no discussion because he considered it unimportant. <personal attack removed by User:Leebo> Michael Hardy 02:26, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I don't always agree with The Kinslayer, but I definitely don't approve of others misrepresenting his actions (he can't delete articles) or making personal attacks against him. In any case, remember that everything can be undone on Wikipedia, so even if someone ruined an article in bad faith (which is not what happened here), it could easily be undone, and would not call for attacks or other disparaging remarks. Leebo ^T/C 12:30, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Out of interest, how do you get back an article that has been mistakenly deleted? Billlion 15:56, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If an article is indeed mistakenly deleted, one can file a request to review the deletion at Wikipedia:Deletion review. Administrators have the power to restore deleted content, so if enough of a case is presented that the deletion was improper or the reason for deletion no longer applies, it can be restored. Leebo ^T/C 15:59, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Except in exceptional cases, "deleted" articles are more like "hidden" articles - any administrator is able to view the edit history and previous versions before deletion. A few users can delete things even from the view of administrators. My impression is that nothing ever ever permanently deleted. CMummert · talk 16:05, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

So can I see the old article to see if there is anything we need to include in the new one? Is there a way to do it without asking an admin to do it? Billlion 16:23, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There is no way to do it without asking an admin. In some (other) cases, the deleted material violates copyright or contains libel or personal attacks, and so allowing everyone to view the deleted material would negate the purpose of deleting it.

However, I am an admin, and I already went through the deleted article to compare it to this one. They were essentially identical stubs, but I added a few categories to the article that were only in the deleted one. If you wish, I can put the text of the deleted version somewhere for you to look over. By the way, there is a user category for Wikipedia administrators who will provide copies of deleted articles. CMummert · talk 16:38, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That's ok, sounds like there was nothing useful in it we do not now have. Billlion 16:52, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]