The "this page has been deleted" message should be served as HTTP 404 (note: not HTTP 410, as in WONTFIXed bug 12345, which implies that the resource will never come back - that is not necessarily true for deleted pages). This would be in keeping with the "user account is not registered" message, which is served as 404.
Related: a current discussion on the English Wikipedia, at
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons/Noticeboard&oldid=589460695#Does_the_statement_.22A_page_with_this_title_has_previously_been_deleted.22_create_a_BLP_problem.3F , regarding potential consequences of the "this page has been deleted" message appearing in search results for living persons.
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**Version**: 1.23.0
**Severity**: minor