User:Yunshui/Deletion for beginners

Whilst Wikipedia is one of the most comprehensive collections of information anywhere in existence, there are some things which we do not, and should not, have articles about. Despite this, such articles are often created - when this happens, it is sadly necessary to delete them.

The deletion criteria are quite comprehensive, but basically boil down to two policies: WP:NOT and WP:NOTE. Between them, these govern what can and can't be included in the encyclopedia. WP:NOT covers things that are simply not appropriate (advertising, speculation, personal essays and so on) whilst WP:NOTE covers things that are appropriate, but may not (yet) be sufficiently noteworthy (for a dedicated article at least). Make sure you have at least a passing familiarity with these two policies before you tag anything for deletion.

The Bob the Builder test

When considering whether on not to tag a page for deletion, the first question you should ask is, "Can we fix it?" If the answer is yes, you should either fix it yourself (find sources, make corrections, improve the tone etc.) or add cleanup tags to help other editors do so. Only if there is no prospect of fixing the article should you go down the deletion route.

Wikipedia has three process you can use to delete articles which do not conform to the above policies.

Speedy deletion

Main page: Wikipedia:Speedy deletion

If a page falls unambiguously into any of the criteria listed at WP:SPEEDY, it can be deleted promptly and without discussion. Note "unambiguously"; speedy deletion criteria are very specific and should not be interpreted to cover more than their remit.

To tag an article for speedy deletion, place {{db-reason code}} at the top of the article. The most common speedy deletion reason codes are:

• A7: for articles about non-notable people, organisations, or web content. Do not apply this tag if:

• the article claims the subject is notable (e.g. "They supported Bon Jovi on a world tour", "He is the fastest/richest/heaviest/hairiest man in Botswana"). Even if it isn't verifiable, a claim to notability still voids A7.
• the article is not about an individual (person or animal), organisation (including clubs and bands) or web content. Books, albums, products, species, instruments, places and concepts are not covered by A7.
• the article is a draft or user page - A7 (like all "A" tags) only applies to articles.

• G11: for articles that are obviously only intended to promote a product, person or company. This can be used on userpages as well as articles. Do not apply this tag if:

• the article has been around for a while and has only recently been cluttered with spam. Revert to an older version instead.
• the article is about a clearly notable subject and could be cleaned up to Wikipedia standards by removing the promotional wording. Clean it up instead (or tag it with {{advert}}).

Articles that fall under G11 because they read like the text came from a company's website often look that way because the text came from a company's website... you may also need to tag them with:

• G12: for articles which have been copied from a copyrighted source. If the text looks as though it came from another website (common indicators are phrases like, "we strive to...", "our company" etc.), copy and paste a chunk of text into Google and see what comes up. If you find the exact same text on another website, chances are you've got a G12. Do not use this tag if:

• only a small amount of the page is copied text and the rest is original - in this case, just delete the offending segment.
• the content has been on Wikipedia for a while. The other website may have copied from here, rather than the other way around - check the dates.

• G3: for blatant vandalism or hoaxes. If you aren't sure whether it really is a hoax, don't use this tag.
• G10: for pages that attack their subject (e.g. "Bobby is gay", "She is fat and smelly", "they treat their customers like dirt"). If you use this, you also should blank all the page content except your deletion tag.

Other tags that you may use occasionally are:

• G1: for gibberish. Note that this only applies to indecipherable nonsense; "fdtetay djhjhgjus" or "squirrel art the flabjimous pronto-badger" can be tagged, "the third eye radiates a cosmic plasma which interacts with the higher beings of Venus" cannot, nonsensical though it may be.
• A10: for articles which already exist - make sure the new article doesn't contain any new information, though; if it does, a merge might be a better idea.
• G8: for talkpages without a corresponding article or redirects that go nowhere.
• U1: for userpages you have created yourself (i.e. not other people's), and don't want/need any longer.

Once tagged, articles are automatically listed in Category:Candidates for speedy deletion. An admin will check the article (usually within an hour or two at most) and will delete it if they agree with your tag.

You should notify the original author of the page if you apply a speedy deletion tag to their work. The red box that appears when you add a deletion tag has a code at the bottom with which to do this: copy the code, check the edit history to find the page's creator, go to their talk page and paste the code there. If you use Twinkle the script will notify the original creator automatically, so you can skip this step.

Proposed deletion

Main page: Wikipedia:Proposed deletion

If an article doesn't fall into one of the Speedy deletion categories, and you think it clearly fails NOT or WP:NOTE, you can place a tag on it to propose deletion:

{{subst:Proposed deletion|reason=your reason here}}

Make sure you add a valid reason - and be sure to do at least a basic Google search for sources before giving the reason, "It's just not notable." If the article is about a living person and does not cite any sources, you can use the specialised {{BLPPROD}} tag - such articles must have sources to comply with the policy on biographies of living people.

As with speedy deletion templates, the red box that appears on the page will contain a code to paste onto the author's talkpage. If the PROD tag remains in place for seven days and is not removed by another editor during this time, the page will be deleted.

Be aware that articles should only be proposed for deletion by this method once - if the edit history shows that someone else has added a PROD tag before, or if yours is removed, do not replace it. Instead, consider...

Articles for deletion

Main page: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion

If you can't delete an article via the above two methods, and you're still sure it doesn't belong on Wikipedia, you can raise it for discussion at AfD. There are complete instructions here; those below are just to give you the gist.

• Add the tag {{subst:afd1}} to the top of the article.
• On the template box that appears, click "Preloaded debate".
• Complete the {{subst:afd2}} provided. Make sure you add a valid reason, and link to any policies you think the page violates.
• Go to the current AfD log, and add a {{subst:afd3|article name}} tag to the top of the list there.

(If you're using Twinkle, the XfD option will perform all these steps for you automatically.)

Once listed, the article will appear at Articles for deletion, where other editors will discuss whether or not to keep it. You should not add a Delete vote yourself (yours is assumed since you nominated the article), but you can add comments and replies to other users. If during the discussion you become convinced that the article should, in fact, be kept after all, you can add Nomination withdrawn with your rationale.

After a week, the discussion will usually be closed by an admin, although if very few people have commented the debate might be relisted for another week. If the closure goes agains you (i.e. if the article is kept), you should avoid renominating for deletion for a minimum of three to four months - and only then if you have convincing arguments for deletion.

It's not a progression

Sometimes editors will find an article they dislike and go through the following process: tag for speedy → declined by admin → tag for PROD → tag removed by another editor → take to AfD → article kept by consensus. That isn't how it's meant to work.

• Speedy deletion is only for pages that are unambiguously inappropriate. If you've placed a speedy tag correctly, the article will be deleted. If the page doesn't fit the criterion exactly, it won't.
• Proposed deletion is only for articles whose deletion would be uncontraversial. If no-one is going to disagree with the deletion, this is the correct tag. However, if a case could feasibly be made for keeping it, this is the wrong process.
• AfD is for articles which need to be discussed. If you think it should be deleted, but you can see how others might disagree, take it straight to AfD.

You should only have to use one of the three deletion processes for any article. If you use the correct process and deletion is refused, the article should probably stay.