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There's a serious need to preserve the content, but I don't like this solution (at least as I grok it). Here's why.

Right now, deleted pages show "Page Not Found" to everyone except 10k+ users (IE, just about everyone). The site blogs, external sites, etc with links to now deleted questions are broken. SE doesn't look cleaner when that happens... it looks dumb.

Would the "Page Not Found" errors turn into redirects to this new archive location? ... if not, what's the point? The links are still broken. If so, it sounds like a lot of work for something with a very simple solution.

Right now, the problem is a semantic gap. SE is failing good content, contributions from the people who helped build the community, and it's dropping the ball on a social responsibility to not break people's links into the site.

This gap is caused by disappearing the old content because it has no defined place to fit in, that's it.

The solution seems simple to me... just don't break the links. A question flagged "Deleted" should disappears from the lists, search, rep is removed, etc but the LINKS themselves should still work. Have some banner showing it's deleted and why, and possibly create a special kind of archive page where the links are all dead.

Who cares if the link still works, if in every other possible way it's disconnected from the site?

This is purist nonsense. You're definitely pushing some evangelists away with this insanity.

EDIT I was shown Pekka's Show battled deleted questions to the public question. I like that one more than what I'm suggesting... of course spam questions still need to go away. Although, if you do that to J. Random Newbie, please remember to try to find some nice way to say it.

There's a serious need to preserve the content, but I don't like this solution (at least as I grok it). Here's why.

Right now, deleted pages show "Page Not Found" to everyone except 10k+ users (IE, just about everyone). The site blogs, external sites, etc with links to now deleted questions are broken. SE doesn't look cleaner when that happens... it looks dumb.

Would the "Page Not Found" errors turn into redirects to this new archive location? ... if not, what's the point? The links are still broken. If so, it sounds like a lot of work for something with a very simple solution.

Right now, the problem is a semantic gap. SE is failing good content, contributions from the people who helped build the community, and it's dropping the ball on a social responsibility to not break people's links into the site.

This gap is caused by disappearing the old content because it has no defined place to fit in, that's it.

The solution seems simple to me... just don't break the links. A question flagged "Deleted" should disappears from the lists, search, rep is removed, etc but the LINKS themselves should still work. Have some banner showing it's deleted and why, and possibly create a special kind of archive page where the links are all dead.

Who cares if the link still works, if in every other possible way it's disconnected from the site?

This is purist nonsense. You're definitely pushing some evangelists away with this insanity.

EDIT I was shown Pekka's Show battled deleted questions to the public question. I like that one more than what I'm suggesting... of course spam questions still need to go away. Although, if you do that to J. Random Newbie, please remember to try to find some nice way to say it.

There's a serious need to preserve the content, but I don't like this solution (at least as I grok it). Here's why.

Right now, deleted pages show "Page Not Found" to everyone except 10k+ users (IE, just about everyone). The site blogs, external sites, etc with links to now deleted questions are broken. SE doesn't look cleaner when that happens... it looks dumb.

Would the "Page Not Found" errors turn into redirects to this new archive location? ... if not, what's the point? The links are still broken. If so, it sounds like a lot of work for something with a very simple solution.

Right now, the problem is a semantic gap. SE is failing good content, contributions from the people who helped build the community, and it's dropping the ball on a social responsibility to not break people's links into the site.

This gap is caused by disappearing the old content because it has no defined place to fit in, that's it.

The solution seems simple to me... just don't break the links. A question flagged "Deleted" should disappears from the lists, search, rep is removed, etc but the LINKS themselves should still work. Have some banner showing it's deleted and why, and possibly create a special kind of archive page where the links are all dead.

Who cares if the link still works, if in every other possible way it's disconnected from the site?

This is purist nonsense. You're definitely pushing some evangelists away with this insanity.

EDIT I was shown Pekka's Show battled deleted questions to the public question. I like that one more than what I'm suggesting... of course spam questions still need to go away. Although, if you do that to J. Random Newbie, please remember to try to find some nice way to say it.

There's a serious need to preserve the content, but I don't like this solution (at least as I grok it). Here's why.

Right now, deleted pages show "Page Not Found" to everyone except 10k+ users (IE, just about everyone). The site blogs, external sites, etc with links to now deleted questions are broken. SE doesn't look cleaner when that happens... it looks dumb.

Would the "Page Not Found" errors turn into redirects to this new archive location? ... if not, what's the point? The links are still broken. If so, it sounds like a lot of work for something with a very simple solution.

Right now, the problem is a semantic gap. SE is failing good content, contributions from the people who helped build the community, and it's dropping the ball on a social responsibility to not break people's links into the site.

This gap is caused by disappearing the old content because it has no defined place to fit in, that's it.

The solution seems simple to me... just don't break the links. A question flagged "Deleted" should disappears from the lists, search, rep is removed, etc but the LINKS themselves should still work. Have some banner showing it's deleted and why, and possibly create a special kind of archive page where the links are all dead.

Who cares if the link still works, if in every other possible way it's disconnected from the site?

This is purist nonsense. You're definitely pushing some evangelists away with this insanity.

EDIT I was shown Pekka's Show battled deleted questions to the public question. I like that one more than what I'm suggesting... of course spam questions still need to go away. Although, if you do that to J. Random Newbie, please remember to try to find some nice way to say it.

There's a serious need to preserve the content, but I don't like this solution (at least as I grok it). Here's why.

Right now, deleted pages show "Page Not Found" to everyone except 10k+ users (IE, just about everyone). The site blogs, external sites, etc with links to now deleted questions are broken. SE doesn't look cleaner when that happens... it looks dumb.

Would the "Page Not Found" errors turn into redirects to this new archive location? ... if not, what's the point? The links are still broken. If so, it sounds like a lot of work for something with a very simple solution.

Right now, the problem is a semantic gap. SE is failing good content, contributions from the people who helped build the community, and it's dropping the ball on a social responsibility to not break people's links into the site.

This gap is caused by disappearing the old content because it has no defined place to fit in, that's it.

The solution seems simple to me... just don't break the links. A question flagged "Deleted" should disappears from the lists, search, rep is removed, etc but the LINKS themselves should still work. Have some banner showing it's deleted and why, and possibly create a special kind of archive page where the links are all dead.

Who cares if the link still works, if in every other possible way it's disconnected from the site?

This is purist nonsense. You're definitely pushing some evangelists away with this insanity.

There's a serious need to preserve the content, but I don't like this solution (at least as I grok it). Here's why.

Right now, deleted pages show "Page Not Found" to everyone except 10k+ users (IE, just about everyone). The site blogs, external sites, etc with links to now deleted questions are broken. SE doesn't look cleaner when that happens... it looks dumb.

Would the "Page Not Found" errors turn into redirects to this new archive location? ... if not, what's the point? The links are still broken. If so, it sounds like a lot of work for something with a very simple solution.

Right now, the problem is a semantic gap. SE is failing good content, contributions from the people who helped build the community, and it's dropping the ball on a social responsibility to not break people's links into the site.

This gap is caused by disappearing the old content because it has no defined place to fit in, that's it.

The solution seems simple to me... just don't break the links. A question flagged "Deleted" should disappears from the lists, search, rep is removed, etc but the LINKS themselves should still work. Have some banner showing it's deleted and why, and possibly create a special kind of archive page where the links are all dead.

Who cares if the link still works, if in every other possible way it's disconnected from the site?

This is purist nonsense. You're definitely pushing some evangelists away with this insanity.

EDIT I was shown Pekka's Show battled deleted questions to the public question. I like that one more than what I'm suggesting... of course spam questions still need to go away. Although, if you do that to J. Random Newbie, please remember to try to find some nice way to say it.