It also restored data of existing objects that I have verified exist, so yeah.

The problem with "delete willy-nilly" that that the people doing the deleting usually haven't actually BEEN to the location. They are relying on aerial photos, which as we well know are not reliable. They can serve well as a *hint* for field work, but they are not sufficient.

People have gotten into the habit of deleting stale bulk imported data, but that is not the same as deleting something that someone added on purpose.

We don't have a good notification for "Hey, that thing you added? Somebody deleted it." That is why deletion is a delicate subject and usually results in conflict. It's better to add things to OSM than to delete. It's not like everything that could be added has already been added!!