@Arxivist , https://uk.wikisource.org/wiki/Спеціальна:Усі_сторінки/Переклад%3A — оці сторінки тоді стануть сторінками основного простору — це те що ти хочеш? // (en: these pages will become part of main namespace, is this what your intention is?)

From a technical perspective, it is preferable to only delete namespaces when they were never used. Deleting a namespace would mean that all pages that are/were in it (deleted or not) would be inaccessible without sysadmin intervention, since the system would no longer recognize the namespace properly.

Since the namespace was used previously, I would recommend to simply stop using it (you can enforce that either via MediaWiki's native namespace protection feature or via an abusefilter), which would allow you to access all pages in that NS with no limits.

You can also move all pages away from the namespace to somewhere else, which would also allow you to access the pages with no limits. Alternatively, you can delete all the pages that are there, which means you will no longer be able to see them once the namespace is deleted.

Do you still wish to proceed with this?

Deleting a namespace would mean that all pages that are/were in it (deleted or not) would be inaccessible without sysadmin intervention, since the system would no longer recognize the namespace properly.

I think there is a maintenance script to fix this. At least it is supposed to be applied when a new namespaces or new interwiki prefixes are being added. It is also possible to move them via API using page ids, rather than page names, but it is indeed easier to move them beforehand :)

In T270628#6713622, @Base wrote:

@Arxivist , https://uk.wikisource.org/wiki/Спеціальна:Усі_сторінки/Переклад%3A — оці сторінки тоді стануть сторінками основного простору — це те що ти хочеш? // (en: these pages will become part of main namespace, is this what your intention is?)

Так, все правильно.

I don't want to. The community decided so. :)

In T270628#6713658, @Urbanecm wrote:

From a technical perspective, it is preferable to only delete namespaces when they were never used. Deleting a namespace would mean that all pages that are/were in it (deleted or not) would be inaccessible without sysadmin intervention, since the system would no longer recognize the namespace properly.

Since the namespace was used previously, I would recommend to simply stop using it (you can enforce that either via MediaWiki's native namespace protection feature or via an abusefilter), which would allow you to access all pages in that NS with no limits.

You can also move all pages away from the namespace to somewhere else, which would also allow you to access the pages with no limits. Alternatively, you can delete all the pages that are there, which means you will no longer be able to see them once the namespace is deleted.

Do you still wish to proceed with this?

Thanks for the answer.

All pages in this namespace have been renamed to the main namespace.
The community doesn't need this namespace. It needed to be removed (permanently).

In T270628#6713666, @Base wrote:

Deleting a namespace would mean that all pages that are/were in it (deleted or not) would be inaccessible without sysadmin intervention, since the system would no longer recognize the namespace properly.

I think there is a maintenance script to fix this. At least it is supposed to be applied when a new namespaces or new interwiki prefixes are being added. It is also possible to move them via API using page ids, rather than page names, but it is indeed easier to move them beforehand :)

There's a script to fix unaccessible pages due to a new namespace (alias), not due to removed namespace. When a page is inaccessible due to new namespace, it's easy to detect the namespace and move the page accordingly. However, when a namespace is deleted, it's not so simple -- should the page be moved to main NS? Deleted? Moved to somewhere else? That's why manual action by community is preferred :).

In T270628#6713753, @Arxivist wrote:

[...]
Thanks for the answer.

All pages in this namespace have been renamed to the main namespace.
The community doesn't need this namespace. It needed to be removed (permanently).

Thanks. I'll have a look at this one in January 2021, after the holiday season ends.

In T270628#6713771, @Urbanecm wrote:

In T270628#6713666, @Base wrote:

Deleting a namespace would mean that all pages that are/were in it (deleted or not) would be inaccessible without sysadmin intervention, since the system would no longer recognize the namespace properly.

I think there is a maintenance script to fix this. At least it is supposed to be applied when a new namespaces or new interwiki prefixes are being added. It is also possible to move them via API using page ids, rather than page names, but it is indeed easier to move them beforehand :)

There's a script to fix unaccessible pages due to a new namespace (alias), not due to removed namespace. When a page is inaccessible due to new namespace, it's easy to detect the namespace and move the page accordingly. However, when a namespace is deleted, it's not so simple -- should the page be moved to main NS? Deleted? Moved to somewhere else? That's why manual action by community is preferred :).

In T270628#6713753, @Arxivist wrote:

[...]
Thanks for the answer.

All pages in this namespace have been renamed to the main namespace.
The community doesn't need this namespace. It needed to be removed (permanently).

Thanks. I'll have a look at this one in January 2021, after the holiday season ends.

Thank you. Also, could you see this task?: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T270627

Change 653170 had a related patch set uploaded (by Urbanecm; owner: Urbanecm):
[operations/mediawiki-config@master] ukwikisource: Delete Translation namespace

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/653170

Change 653170 merged by jenkins-bot:
[operations/mediawiki-config@master] ukwikisource: Delete Translation namespace

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/653170

Mentioned in SAL (#wikimedia-operations) [2021-01-04T19:09:23Z] <urbanecm@deploy1001> Synchronized wmf-config/InitialiseSettings.php: 192fe58369cba7b35f2fc426b55d410b0fe351d4: ukwikisource: Delete Translation namespace (T270628) (duration: 00m 58s)