> - Introduced for issues in [GitLab 9.0](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/merge_requests/7393).
> - Introduced for merge requests, award emoji, notes, and abuse reports in [GitLab 9.1](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/merge_requests/10467).
> - Hard deletion from abuse reports and spam logs was introduced in [GitLab 9.1](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/merge_requests/10273), and from the API in [GitLab 9.3](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/merge_requests/11853).
There are two options for deleting users:
When a user account is deleted, not all associated records are deleted with it.
-**Delete user**
-**Delete user and contributions**
When using the **Delete user** option, not all associated records are deleted with the user.
Here's a list of things that will **not** be deleted:
- Issues that the user created.
...
...
@@ -57,6 +61,12 @@ user with the username "Ghost User", whose sole purpose is to act as a container
for such records. Any commits made by a deleted user will still display the
username of the original user.
When using the **Delete user and contributions** option, **all** associated records
are removed. This includes all of the items mentioned above including issues,
merge requests, notes/comments, and more. Consider
[blocking a user](../../admin_area/blocking_unblocking_users.md)
or using the **Delete user** option instead.
When a user is deleted from an [abuse report](../../admin_area/abuse_reports.md)
or spam log, these associated
records are not ghosted and will be removed, along with any groups the user
