Sandbox Restore/Unlock Requests

Sometime within the past 24 hours or so, all the sandbox pages on the wiki went mysteriously blank. They were not cut (or at least not via the standard method, as they are still unlocked), but the text is gone and the edit history is gone, save for the very first edit made to the page. I have two main questions:

1. What happened and why? (And I know I'm not the only one asking this, as I have been seeing echoes of this question all around Special Efforts.)
2. Is there any way to restore the pages that were still in active use, short of painstakingly recreating them based on Google cache?

Ok, I've got it.

• 1. A namespace-wide purge. All sandboxes were deleted. Most had been sitting around unused for more than half a year.
• 2. We still have a history. Ask a mod to restore/recover what you need.

"If you aren't him, then you apparently got your brain from the same discount retailer, so..." - Fighteer

Is the history still going to be recoverable even if it doesn't show up when you click on "History"? Because I've got one where the only thing I see in the history is the initial edit that created the page. Both my subsequent edits and those of other people seem to have vanished forever.

Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.

Moderators can access the stored history. The public history is cleared when the page is cut but we have special powahz.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

Cool, restoration request sent. Thanks. I feel a lot better now. :)

Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.

Did that one. The article seems to be unlocked; try it.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

Looks great, thanks.

eta: actually, the history is gone, but that's not such a big deal in this case. The page has its full content and seems to be working fine.

edited 13th Nov '12 1:35:05 PM by Xtifr

Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.

Can we also have Sandbox.Film Monsters restored? It may still be of use over in the Special Efforts thread.

I now go by Graf von Tirol.

Restored.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

Two more to restore, please; if this would be better in the Wiki Talk thread, do say.

Sandbox.Natterfy Button Message Idea was associated with this thread, which hopefully isn't dead and is generally considered a good idea. It's the only place those draft messages were stored, if memory serves me right.

Alex has requested via ATT that his sandbox also be restored.

edited 15th Nov '12 10:39:36 AM by Telcontar

That was the amazing part. Things just keep going.

Could you restore the Writer's Block Constructive Critique Thread Sandbox ?

Thanks,

edited 15th Nov '12 11:45:06 AM by Dimanagul

All Heroes die. Some just more than others. http://dimanagul.wordpress.com

Sandbox.Webcomic Longrunners probably nees to be restored.

Please restore:

• Myth Legend And Folklore
• Legend
• Oral Tradition
• Kill It With Fire

These were in current use, repairing things in TRS.

edited 15th Nov '12 12:03:14 PM by ArcadesSabboth

Oppression anywhere is a threat to democracy everywhere.

• Natterfy Button Message Idea: There is no recoverable history.
• Alex Sora 89: Restored
• Con Crit Thread: Restored
• Webcomic Longrunners: There is no recoverable history.
• Myth Legend And Folklore: Restored
• Legend: The history has only the initial creation and an entry stating that it was transferred to YKTTW. It's not recoverable.
• Oral Tradition: Restored
• Kill It With Fire: I did this one already

edited 15th Nov '12 12:19:36 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

Sandbox.Natterfy Button Message Idea could be recovered from the thread. Most suggestions were copied from it.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

The two with no history are due to incorrect names; they should be Sandbox.Webcomics Long Runners (plural webcomics) and Sandbox.Natterfy Button Messages Idea (plural messages), sorry.

That was the amazing part. Things just keep going.

Thank you.

Oppression anywhere is a threat to democracy everywhere.

• Webcomics Long Runners: Restored
• Natterfy Button Messages Idea: Restored

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

1. If the objective was to get rid of unused sandboxes, why weren't just the unused sandboxes deleted, as in "all sandboxes unedited after [date]"?
2. Should this be moved to Special Efforts or stickied in Wiki Talk?
3. Sandbox.Namespace Sorting, please.

Ask Eddie. No need to move it for now. Restored.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

That wouldn't really work, since old sandboxes are often edited for wick migration and namespacing purposes.

Can we have Sandbox.Namespaced Works With Less Than 15 Wicks restored, only instead of on the Sandbox namespace, make it Administrivia?

edited 16th Nov '12 11:00:56 AM by EarlOfSandvich

I now go by Graf von Tirol.

For the record, the reason is that similar lists are already Administrivia/.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Really? Seems like that shouldn't be happening.

Rhymes with "Protracted."

Yep. That was why I started a thread about this on Special Efforts long ago.

edited 16th Nov '12 11:09:52 AM by EarlOfSandvich

I now go by Graf von Tirol.