We can delete emails but we generally don't want to do it. It only makes
sense for a very few emails.

I've also added a bit more "substructure" to the text to make it easier
to navigate

service/lists.md

@@ -240,6 +240,8 @@ modify the list settings on creation.
 Below are instructions for handling a request for redaction of
 personally-identifying information (PII) from the mail archive.
 
+### Before starting
+
 The first step is to ensure that the request is lawful and that the requester
 is the true "owner" of the PII involved in the request. For an email address,
 send an email containing with a random string to the requester to prove that they
@@ -247,14 +249,27 @@ control the email address.
 
 Secondly, the redaction request must be precise and not overly broad. For
 example, redacting all instances of "Joe" from the mail archives would not be
-acceptable.
+acceptable. We usually don't delete entire emails, except if they were not aimed
+for the mailing list and got sent there by mistake. It is preferred to just
+redact the actual PII information in the emails.
 
 Once all that is established, the actual redaction can proceed.
 
+### Option 1: Removing emails
+
+This option is generally not the preferred one.
+
 If the request is limited to one or few messages, then the first compliance
-option would be to simply delete the messages from the archives. This can be
+option could be to simply delete the messages from the archives. This can be
 done using an admin account directly from the web interface.
 
+Note however that we usually refrain from deleting entire emails except if the
+majority of their content is actual PII or unrelated.
+
+### Option 2: Redacting parts of the emails
+
+This option is more complex but it is generally preferred.
+
 If the request involves many messages, then a "surgical" redaction is preferred
 in order to reduce the collateral damage on the mail archive as a whole. We
 must keep in mind that these archives are useful sources of information and