[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #43162: Deleting a site from a multisite network leaves orphaned database tables and files

[WordPress Trac]

#43162: Deleting a site from a multisite network leaves orphaned database tables
and files
--------------------------------+------------------------------
 Reporter:  bluep92877          |       Owner:
     Type:  enhancement         |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal              |   Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Networks and Sites  |     Version:  3.0
 Severity:  normal              |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  2nd-opinion         |     Focuses:  multisite
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Changes (by johnjamesjacoby):

 * keywords:   => 2nd-opinion
 * version:  4.9.2 => 3.0
 * type:  defect (bug) => enhancement


Comment:

 Hey @bluep92877, thanks for opening this issue up, and congrats on your
 first ticket here on WordPress Trac.

 I think you've brought up good points, and these are all areas where
 clarification and improvements are necessary.

 Re: #30673, I agree that "uninstall" in the context of a multisite
 installation implies that all relevant data is removed from all sites,
 which seems heavy handed under most circumstances, though I can imagine
 why that might be necessary.

 Plugins can (and should) use the `wpmu_drop_tables` filter to add their
 custom database tables to the array of tables that are dropped when a site
 is deleted.

 Database tables and Uploads are both pretty sacred, IMO. If we are
 deleting one, we can safely delete the other. Dropping large database
 tables can be costly on the database server in a similar fashion to
 unlinking a directory. It looks like `wpmu_delete_blog()` does try to
 delete both the database tables and the uploads directory. Maybe something
 is wrong with the `$drop` logic, or something else is in the way?

 That said, permanent deletion is so scary; I'm always hesitant to give
 anyone that power (even super admins.) 1 click to ruin it all is a lot of
 responsibility, even 2 or 3 clicks with warning signs and notices.

 ----

 I think erring on the side of caution here is OK. Only delete stuff if we
 are 100% certain it's OK to do so, and leave it untouched if there is any
 doubt. This might result in orphaned tables or files, but I think that's
 better than blindly deleting them without explicit say-so.

 I guess, now that I type this, we could (should) do a quick check on that
 `delete-site` confirmation screen that says "Here are all of the database
 tables this site has, and it contains 2GB of uploads. Are you sure you
 want to delete all of this stuff?"

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/43162#comment:2>
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