[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #38132: Remove orphaned postmeta

[WordPress Trac]

#38132: Remove orphaned postmeta
--------------------------------+----------------------
 Reporter:  lukecavanagh        |       Owner:  (none)
     Type:  feature request     |      Status:  closed
 Priority:  normal              |   Milestone:
Component:  Options, Meta APIs  |     Version:
 Severity:  normal              |  Resolution:  wontfix
 Keywords:                      |     Focuses:
--------------------------------+----------------------
Changes (by desrosj):

 * status:  new => closed
 * resolution:   => wontfix
 * milestone:  Awaiting Review =>


Comment:

 I'm going to close this out as a `wontfix`.

 I do not think Core should make assumptions about what post meta is "no
 longer being used".
 - There is currently no way to tell when post meta is updated or utilized.
 - It's not uncommon for post meta to be set once and never change.
 - If meta remains after using `wp_delete_post()` (or remains "orphaned",
 in general), then we should look into why this happens and fix it.
 - If a plugin, theme, or custom code is using a direct query to remove a
 post, then they should be educated on the benefits of using
 `wp_delete_post()`.

 Expired session data stored in transients, as referenced in the
 description, is a much different use case. Transients have an explicit
 expiration timestamp that defines when data should no longer be used.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/38132#comment:5>
WordPress Trac <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/>
WordPress publishing platform