Wiki not found

We know it can be frustrating if you can't find a wiki. There might be several reasons why the wiki you're looking for cannot be found. Check below for some common reasons on why a wiki is missing. If you need further help, visit the Help center. Some reasons for not finding a wiki include:  Misspelling   Subdomain change   Self-requested wiki closure   Inactivity closure   Policy violations 

Misspelling


The most common reason you might not find a wiki is because the subdomain has been misspelled. Make sure you spelled the subdomain correctly and try again. If you still can't find the wiki, check out our directory of wikis.

Subdomain change
It is possible the wiki you're looking for has requested that its subdomain be changed. Try searching for the wiki on a search engine or ask someone you know who knows about the wiki if they know of any subdomain changes. You can also check out our directory of wikis to see if you can find the wiki.

Self-requested closure
It is possible that the wiki you are looking for has been deleted per that local community's request. If a small/personal wiki has one sole editor (a local bureaucrat), they can request a wiki be deleted if they've moved on or no longer need the wiki.

If a community is larger and has various editors, community consensus and consent is required before we close a wiki. Once a majority of editors vote in favor of a wiki's closure, a bureaucrat can request the wiki be deleted. If a vote does not reach a majority then we do not close wikis.

If a wiki has been closed, you might be able to find a complete XML database dump of it on [ https://archive.org archive.org]. or a snapshot version on the [https://web.archive.org Wayback Machine].

Inactivity
Because Miraheze runs exclusively on donations and never shows you ads, we have only so many resources available to us. For that reason, after 6 months of inactivity on a wiki, pursuant to the Dormancy Policy, we 'soft' delete wikis. During this phase, a wiki will appear as 'not found' but it can be reopened if you request it on Requests for reopening wikis.

During this period of 'soft' deletion, your wiki is also eligible for permanent deletion. We don't permanently delete wikis exactly at the six month mark to allow wiki bureaucrats a chance to request their wiki be reopened if they notice it has been "soft" deleted.

If a wiki is permanently deleted, we may be able to restore the data on it in most circumstances. An XML backup (this includes all pages but does not include files/images or settings) of all public wikis is uploaded every month to archive.org. A private XML backup (only pages, no files/settings) is held by us for private wikis. If your wiki was deleted due to inactivity, we may be able to restore it from these backups upon request. If this is your case, please file a Phabricator request stating that you request your wiki be restored from a backup and file another wiki request. Your wiki request must mention what your wiki will focus on and that you have requested it be restored from a backup on Phabricator. Just mentioning that you request it be restored and not telling us the scope of your wiki will result in a request rejection. Please note that files/images cannot be restored once a wiki is permanently deleted.

If a public wiki you're looking for has been deleted due to inactivity, you may be able to find a snapshot version of it on the [https://web.archive.org Wayback Machine].

Policy violations
In rare circumstances, Miraheze may close and delete a wiki if it violates our global policies. While this is rare, it generally only happens in egregious cases and after remediation attempts with the local community have failed.

Generally, wikis are locked and closed (that is, we 'private' the wiki) first if severe policy violations are found and we attempt to resolve these issues with wiki bureaucrats. If these cannot be resolved within a reasonable amount of time or the bureaucrats refuse to cooperate, a wiki may be deleted.

In some cases, we may delete a wiki immediately rather than mediate if we either determine that the policy violations are very egregious or that it is almost impossible to fix the wiki due to systemic/core conflicts, or if a wiki is a legal liability or risk. Additionally, if a wiki severely derails from it's approved scope and it is clear that the wiki was never intended to be used as approved, we may immediately delete the wiki.

If a wiki has been deleted due to a policy violation, we attempt to send a notice to the wiki's bureaucrat informing them of the action. If requested, we will provide the bureaucrats with an XML dump of the wiki.