<p>I don't think your question was controversial. In my opinion, the only thing questionable was whether or not the question was <a href="https://stats.stackexchange.com/faq">on topic</a> for the site. In particular, the question almost seems to require more legal expertise than statistical expertise. As such, the types of answers you're likely to get on the statistics stackexchange will probably be pretty subjective and more akin to what is normally a community wiki (which is, I think, why it got converted). </p>

<p>Regarding your specific queries: </p>

<p><strong><em>Can I / should I delete the question? Might it come back again in some partial form (for example, with only some of the answers present, as now)?</em></strong></p>

<p>My personal opinion is: <em>No, the question shouldn't be deleted</em>. </p>

<p>It is arguably off topic but special circumstances sometimes allow somewhat "off topic" questions to remain (e.g. <a href="https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/1337/statistics-jokes">the Statistics Jokes thread</a>. See whuber's comment there) due to popular demand which your's may fit under, since it has so many upvotes. I invite the moderators (and other members) to correct/augment that last statement. </p>

<p><strong><em>How can I find out why and by whom the answers were deleted?</em></strong></p>

<p>Generally, you can't. If you have over 10K rep you can see deleted answers, where you can also see who deleted the answer. You can also see answers that you personally deleted. Other than that, only moderators can see deleted posts. Posters are not required to give reasons for deletion. </p>
