The process of systematically erasing a large amount of contribution to the Wiki Wiki forum. The act is considered vandalism unless the erased contributions are one's own. [⇒ How to Delete Structure]
The concept was coined during its first occurrence around the Summer of 1999 (Wiki Mind Wipe Discussion).
If you don't like Wiki Mind Wipes, one way to avoid them is to avoid making someone so upset that they'd contemplate one.
Doesn't that lead to stifling one's opinions based on fear of reprisal, the opposite of the trust Wiki is based on?
On the contrary. Trying hard never to offend someone is a wikizen's duty to the community and to Jah. We should all try to pander to the community and Clorox our beliefs until we achieve uniformity - then we can prevent anyone from hurting us when they get upset.
But seriously, let's not forget politeness and its contribution to Why Wiki Works.
Why must life be seen by so many people to be a function of absolute extremes? It is possible to routinely avoid offense without compromising one's standards. If someone takes offense at a statement offered in a calm and rational manner, that is hardly worth worrying about. If we routinely speak in a confrontational and disrespectful fashion, we can do better.
In either case, I take delight in expending 0 effort vandalizing something. -- Vincent Lowe
If I might add in a bit of variety here... there might be a case for mind wipes being fairly good for the community as a whole. The causes may be less than ideal, and although painful at first, the new growth that accompanies it can be quite worthwhile...
Mind wipes don't seem to have been necessary for Wiki to continuously grow in the past, and I don't see how they should help growth in the future. After all, who says what will come after a mind wipe will be better than what was there before? Joel Spolsky has something about always wanting to rewrite a (software) system, and why you shouldn't, which seems applicable here... (www.joelonsoftware.com 
) -- Falk Bruegmann
Maybe Wiki Mind Wipe can be considered Wiki Spring Cleaning? If the bulk of Wiki just keeps accumulating, maybe occasionally it's good for someone to go clear out some cobwebs, some hardened crud? Especially in Thread Mode pages. I think of Carters Compass: "I know I'm on the right track when, by deleting something, I'm adding functionality." -- John Douglas Porter
I don't think so. In another life I dealt with vandals of a more physical kind; you would be surprised to know how infrequently they had higher motives. There is a great deal of difference between the careful but robust pruning of the loving gardener and the wanton destruction of a work of art. I cannot necessarily think that the latter re-energizes the creative spirit of a new generation of artists. Wanton destruction diminishes society; that's why society tries to protect itself against it. The dilemma is that sometimes the protection is equally destructive. - johnH http://www.hulbert.net/ www.hulbert.net.
There should be a Happy Medium between total destruction and planned pruning. That's what we're learning from Forest Fires in national parks -- Phil Jones
That's funny; I thought "Wiki Mind Wipe" might be what happens if you spend too much time Wiki Walking, I mean like twenty-four hours at a stretch, your mind might be wiped, so... -- Edward Kiser
"I agree"
Maybe that's "Wiki Wipe Mind."
Technically, all the texts contributed are here under a mutual agreement between every contributor and Ward Cunningham. So to put it simply: if I or anyone else decide to withdraw our contributions here, this is a matter of private business. -- Costin Cozianu
And if I wish to show what somebody else wrote in the past by posting the same text again, that's no different in principle from giving a url in the Internet Archive to see the same information. -- Anon
May 2006: The latest victim of anonymous abuse is Colin Wright, a long time contributor who has chosen to wipe his contributions and attributions when leaving. Perhaps it is time to reconsider anonymous editing?
See also: Wiki Mind Wipe Discussion, Wiki Suicide, Wiki Stroke, Perpetual Now (as an aside), Wiki Mind Wipe Reality Check, Violent Refactoring
See original on c2.com