Delete content on Microsoft Q&A

  • Article

The Q&A code of conduct sets the standards for the site content. Moderators can delete any content that doesn't meet these standards, to keep the site healthy and help users find the answers they need faster.

Important

Instead of deleting an answer that you think is unclear or incomplete, you can use a comment to request more details or clarification from the answer author. This way, we can show our appreciation for the users who share their knowledge and time with us. Another option is to share a different answer if you know one.

Prerequisites

  • You need to be signed in Q&A.
  • You need to be a moderator in Q&A.

Limitations

  • You can't delete your own content. If you feel your content should be deleted, you can report it and a moderator can delete it.
  • Deleted questions don't appear in the question or tag lists.
  • If you aren't a moderator, you can't see any indication of a deleted answer or comment.

Delete a question

If you're a moderator, follow these steps to delete a question that doesn't follows Q&A code of conduct.

  1. From the Questions page, select any question you would like to delete.
  2. From the question overflow menu (the ellipsis), select “Delete”.
  3. In the dialog box, confirm you want to delete the question thread.
  4. Select a reason for deleting the content.
  5. Select "Yes, delete content".
  6. The full question thread is deleted.
  7. You see a temporary message saying the content is deleted.

Delete an answer

If you're a moderator, follow these steps to delete an answer that doesn't follows Q&A code of conduct.

  1. From the Questions page, select any question you would like to delete one of its answers.
  2. From the answer overflow menu (the ellipsis), select “Delete”.
  3. In the dialog box, confirm you want to delete the answer and all its comments, if any.
  4. Select a reason for deleting the content.
  5. Select "Yes, delete content".
  6. The answer and its comments (if any) are deleted.
  7. You see a temporary message saying the content is deleted.

Delete a comment

If you're a moderator, follow these steps to delete a question that doesn't follows Q&A code of conduct.

  1. From the Questions page, select any question you would like to delete one of the comments on the page.
  2. From the comment overflow menu (the ellipsis), select “Delete”.
  3. In the dialog box, confirm you want to delete the comment.
  4. Select a reason for deleting the content.
  5. Select "Yes, delete content".
  6. The comment is deleted.
  7. You see a temporary message saying the content is deleted.

Seeing deleted content

Content authors can only see their deleted content. The question has a "Deleted" label on top. For other user's content, they see a standard message telling them the content is deleted.

Moderators can see any deleted content. Additionally, moderators can see the full list of deleted content by accessing the Deleted tab in the moderation queue.