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A couple of years ago, I uploaded a module to CPAN that probably isn't or hasn't been of use to anyone. The problem it solves is simple, it doesn't solve it well, and the code embarrasses me.

How can I remove it?

brian d foy
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Tim
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  • If you can't find a way to delete it on the PAUSE server (where you uploaded it), then create an update to the code that completely neutralizes it — remove the working code, replace it with dummy code that carps when it is called, or thereabouts. Make the POD and README clear about what is going. Probably give it a new version number (like 1.000 or perhaps 0.999 if it was previously a 0.00x version). – Jonathan Leffler Aug 27 '12 at 19:30
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    If feel a distinct curiosity to know which module it is. I think I may have a sickness. – Joel Berger Aug 27 '12 at 19:48
  • I'm with Joel: Perhaps it's worth salvaging by someone still interested in the project. Passing along co-maintainership (or full rights) to someone else might be a better solution, but without knowing what module it is, it's hard to say. – DavidO Aug 27 '12 at 19:50
  • [Games::Pentago](http://search.cpan.org/perldoc?Games::Pentago)? [Few](http://search.cpan.org/~tim/) possibilities. – ikegami Aug 27 '12 at 19:59
  • Yes, there are few possibilities, but this is also the long tail. It's not hurting anything being there, and it might benefit someone later. – brian d foy Aug 28 '12 at 12:31
  • @ikegami it must be, since that module no-longer exists on CPAN. – Brad Gilbert Sep 10 '12 at 21:02
  • @Brad Gilbert, The OP had confirmed it, but he removed the confirmation. – ikegami Sep 10 '12 at 21:04

2 Answers2

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Log in to your PAUSE account and there is a menu item to delete your files. The files will be scheduled to be deleted 3 days hence (giving you a change to change your mind), and maybe another day after that for the change to be propagated to all the CPAN mirrors.

By design, this will not delete your files from the BackPAN.

ikegami
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mob
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  • Thanks. I had seen the "Delete files" menu, but it wasn't very clear whether doing so would remove the distribution or just break it. – Tim Aug 27 '12 at 19:41
  • I think the cooling off period can be up to three days (not "up to a day"). ...and then whatever time it takes for the mirrors to propagate the change. – DavidO Aug 27 '12 at 19:47
  • @DavidO - you're right about the 3 day periods. Is that a new feature? – mob Aug 27 '12 at 19:57
  • @mob I'm not sure how new it is. It's been around at least a year, but could go back before that. That's just how long I've been using PAUSE. – DavidO Aug 27 '12 at 20:01
  • The three days thing has been there forever. – brian d foy Aug 28 '12 at 12:26
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2021 update Sometime around 2015, PAUSE changed the way they manage meta-data by not tracking the meta-data not derived from the release itself. These options have disappeared from the PAUSE interface years ago (although I wasn't able to pin it down from looking at the commit messages).

It's not like most of that ever really did anything. Marking something "can be deleted" didn't mean it would be deleted.

Besides deleting all the files, which you can still do, if you need extra help, you can write to the admins.

You can delete files from CPAN by marking them for deletion in PAUSE. This only removes them from the master repository that PAUSE maintains. It does not send out signals to the universe to delete all copies ever created.

If you've registered it in the module list, you can set its lifecycle to "Can be deleted from database" by editing the module metadata. This does not immediately remove it, but it can be removed the next time PAUSE does a database cleanup.

This doesn't make the code disappear from the world. It will not be on the main CPAN server, but it can still show up on mirror sites and in BackPAN.

But, don't despair about bad code. Everyone has embarrassing code somewhere in CPAN. Even if the code is incomplete or buggy, it might be a good starting point for other people with a related problem.

I'd suggest you leave it on CPAN but change the primary maintainer to ADOPTME, the PAUSE ID we use for modules who have lost their maintainers. If you have it registered in the module list, you can also mark it as "abandoned" under Support Level by editing the module metadata.

brian d foy
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  • I can't find the link to edit module metadata in the PAUSE interface. I'm trying to mark a module as "Can be deleted from database" – Flimm Jul 06 '21 at 11:41