Wikipedia:Articles for deletion

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Today's AfD log

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WP:AFD
Deletion discussions
Deletion policy

Process – log – tools
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Articles for deletion (AfD) is where Wikipedians discuss whether an article should be deleted. Articles listed here are debated for at least five days, after which the deletion process proceeds based on Wikipedia community consensus. The page is then either kept, merged and/or redirected, transwikied (copied to another Wikimedia project), renamed/moved to another title, userfied to the creator's user page or user subpage, or deleted per the deletion policy.

This article explains what you should consider before nominating, the steps for nominating single or multiple pages, and how to discuss an AfD. It also links to the list of articles currently under consideration, and to two faster alternatives to AfD: the simpler companion processes, Wikipedia:Speedy deletions and Wikipedia:Proposed deletion, exist for the deletion of articles that are generally uncontroversial deletion candidates, such as vandalism and patent nonsense.

If you want to nominate an article, the Wikipedia deletion policy explains the criteria for deletion and may help you understand when an article should be nominated for deletion. The guide to deletion explains the deletion process. If the article in question meets the criteria for deletion and you understand the deletion process, consult the instructions on how to list pages for deletion.

If you aren't sure if a page should be nominated for deletion, or you need more help, try this page's talk page or Wikipedia's help desk.

Contents

[edit] Current discussions

Articles being considered for possible deletion are indexed by the day on which they were first listed.

Add a new entry

Alternatively, if you are confident that deletion of the article would be uncontroversial, consider using {{subst:prod|reason for deletion}} instead (see Wikipedia:Proposed deletion). See the proposed deletion current nominations.

Old discussions

(Archived discussions)

[edit] Categorized discussions

Biographical | Fiction and the arts | Games and sports | Media and music | Organisation, corporation, or product | Places and transportation | Science and technology | Society topics | Web and internet | Indiscernible or unclassifiable topic | Nominator unsure | Topics not yet sorted

[edit] Before nominating an article for deletion

Notability
Inclusion guidelines
Academics
Books
Criminal acts
Films
Music
Numbers
Organizations & companies
People
Web content
Active proposals
Local interests
Populated places
See also
Common deletion outcomes
Why was my page deleted?
Shortcut:
WP:BEFORE
  • Read and understand the Wikipedia deletion policy (WP:DEL), which explains valid grounds for deletion. If the page can be improved, this should be solved through regular editing, rather than deletion.
  • Read the article to properly understand its topic. Note that stubs and imperfect articles are awaiting further development and so the potential of the topic should be considered.
  • If the article is not already tagged to note a problem, apply a tag, such as {{notability}}, {{hoax}}, {{original research}} {{unencyclopedic}}, or {{advert}}; this ensures that everyone viewing the article is aware of the problem and may act to remedy it.
  • Consider making the page a useful redirect or proposing it be merged rather than deleted. Neither of these actions requires an AfD.
  • Click "what links here" in the article's sidebar, to see how the page is used and referenced within Wikipedia.
  • Check interwiki links to pages "in other languages" which may provide additional material for translation.
  • Read the article's talk page, which may provide reasons why the article should or should not be deleted; if there was a previous nomination, check that your objections haven't already been dealt with.
  • Familiarize yourself with the guidelines and policies on notability, reliable sources and what Wikipedia is not. Related guidelines include WP:BIO, WP:COI, WP:CORP, WP:MUSIC, WP:WEB, and, for list articles, WP:CLN.
  • When nominating an article for deletion due to sourcing concerns, make a good-faith attempt to confirm that such sources aren't likely to exist.
  • Before nominating a recently created article, please consider that many good articles started their Wikilife in pretty bad shape. Unless it is obviously a hopeless case, consider sharing your reservations with the article creator, mentioning your concerns on the article's discussion page, and/or adding a "cleanup" template, instead of bringing the article to AfD. If the article can be fixed through normal editing, then it is not a good candidate for AfD.
  • Confirm that the article does not meet the criteria for speedy deletion or proposed deletion.
  • If you expect that the AfD page will be edited by newcomers to Wikipedia (possibly because the article itself is linked from some visible place outside Wikipedia), or if you notice this happening after the AfD page is created, you might want to insert the {{Afdanons}} template into it.
  • Note that if you are editing under an IP address because you have not yet created a user account, you will not be able to complete the AfD process, as anonymous contributors are currently unable to create new pages (as required by step 2 of "How to list pages for deletion," below). If this is the case, consider creating or requesting a user account before listing an article on AfD.

[edit] How to list pages for deletion

Shortcut:
WP:AFDHOWTO

This section describes how to list for deletion articles and their associated talk pages. See the related pages for templates, categories, redirects, stub types, pages in the Wikipedia namespace, user pages, or images and other media, or use copyright violation where applicable. As well, note that deletion may not be needed for problems such as pages written in foreign languages, duplicate pages, and other cases.

Note: Users must be logged in to complete steps II and III.

To list a single article for deletion, follow this three-step process:

I.
Put the deletion tag on the article.

Insert the {{subst:afd1}} tag at the top of the article if it's the article's first AfD nomination, if the article has been nominated for deletion before use {{subst:afdx}} instead.

  • Please do not mark the edit as minor.
  • Please include in the edit summary the phrase
    AfD: Nominated for deletion; see [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/NominationName]]
    replace NominationName with the name of the page where the nomination will be- this is normally the same as the article name that is up for deletion (PageName).
(But if it has been nominated before, use "PageName (2nd nomination)" or "PageName (3rd nomination)" etc.)
  • You can check the "Watch this page" box to follow the page in your watchlist. This allows you to notice if the AfD tag is removed by a vandal or a new user unfamiliar with deletion policy.
  • Save the page.
II.
Create the article's deletion discussion page.

The resulting AfD box at the top of the article should contain a link to "Preloaded debate" in the AfD page.

  • Click that link to open the article's deletion discussion page. Some preloaded text and some instructions will appear.
  • Give a reason for the deletion and a category for the debate (instructions will be on the page).

OR

  • Click the link saying "this article's entry" to open the deletion-debate page.
  • Insert this text:
    {{subst:afd2 | pg=PageName | cat=Category | text=Reason the page should be deleted}} ~~~~
    replacing PageName with the name of the page you are proposing for deletion, Category with one letter from the list M, O, B, S, W, G, T, F, and P to categorize the debate, and Reason... with the reasons you think the page should be deleted.
  • Consider adding an appropriate deletion sorting template to the nomination.
  • Consider checking "Watch this page" to follow the progress of the debate.
  • Please use an edit summary such as
    Creating deletion discussion page for [[PageName]]
    replacing PageName with the name of the page you are proposing for deletion.
  • Save the page.
III.
Notify users who monitor AfD discussion.

Open the articles for deletion log page. At the top of the list on the log page (there's a comment indicating the spot), insert:
{{subst:afd3 | pg=NominationName}}
replacing NominationName appropriately, (use "PageName (2nd nomination)" instead of "PageName" for a second nomination, etc.).

  • Include the discussion page's name in your edit summary like
    Adding [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/NominationName]]
    replacing NominationName with the name of the nomination page you are proposing for deletion.
  • Save the page. Your insertion will be automatically expanded to the same form as the preceding lines in the file: {{Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/NominationName}}.

To list multiple related pages for deletion see this page.


Once listed, deletion discussions can, optionally, also be transcluded into an appropriate deletion sorting category, such as the ones for actors, music, academics, or for specific countries; which helps attract people familiar with a particular topic area. Please see the list of categories.

For creators who are totally new users: {{subst:AFDWarningNew|Article title}} ~~~~
For creators: {{subst:AFDWarning|Article title}} ~~~~
For contributors or established users: {{subst:Adw|Article title}} ~~~~
For an article you did not nominate: {{subst:AFDNote|Article title}} ~~~~

  • To avoid confusing newcomers, the reasons given for deletion should avoid Wikipedia-specific abbreviation.
  • Unless obvious from the page title, the nomination should also indicate what the nominated article is about.
  • Place a notification on significant pages that link to your nomination, to enable those with related knowledge to participate in the debate.
  • If recommending that an article be speedily deleted, please give the criterion or criteria that it meets, such as "A7" or "biography not asserting importance".

[edit] How to list multiple related pages for deletion

Shortcut:
WP:BUNDLE

Sometimes you will find a number of related articles, all of which you feel should be deleted together. To make it easier for those participating in the discussion, it may be helpful to bundle all of them together into a single nomination. However, for group nominations it is often a good idea to only list one article at afd and see how it goes, before listing an entire group.

Examples of when articles may be bundled into a single nomination:

  • An article about a band and three articles about its members, none of whom has done anything else notable outside of the band.
  • An article about a company/organization and a second article about its founder, who has done nothing else of note.
  • An article about a video game/book and related articles for characters within it.
  • An article about an album and related articles for its songs.
  • An article about any topic and other articles with the same content but with different titles.

If any of the articles you are considering for bundling could stand on its own merits, then it should be nominated separately. Or to put it more succinctly, if you are unsure of whether to bundle an article or not, do not.

For the sake of clarity, debates should be bundled only at the start or near the start of the debate, before most of the discussion.

To bundle articles for deletion, follow these steps:

I.
Nominate the first article for deletion.

  Follow the steps as outlined above.
II.
Nominate the remaining articles.

  On each of the remaining articles, at the top insert the following:

{{subst:afd1|PageName}}

Replace PageName with the name of the first page to be deleted, not the current page name. In other words, if Some article was the first article you nominated, replace PageName with Some article. As before, please include the phrase "AfD: Nominated for deletion; see [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/PageName]]" in the edit summary (again replacing PageName with the first page to be deleted), and do not mark the edit as minor. Save the page. Repeat for all articles to be bundled.

(If the article has been nominated before, use {{subst:afdx}} instead of {{subst:afd1}}, and replace "PageName" with the name of the page plus a note like "(second nomination)" for a second nomination, etc. See Template talk:Afdx for details.)
III.
Add the remaining articles to the nomination.

  Go to the first article's deletion discussion page,
  Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/PageName, and add a note
  under your original nomination listing all related pages, for example:

I am also nominating the following related pages because [insert reason here]:
:{{la|related article 1}}
:{{la|related article 2}}

In the edit summary, note that you are bundling related articles for deletion.

[edit] AfD Wikietiquette

  • Users participating in AfD discussions are expected to be familiar with the policies of civility and Wikietiquette and the guideline "do not bite the newbies".
    • This also applies to the other deletion pages.
  • AfDs are public, and are sometimes quoted in the popular press.[1][2] Please keep to public-facing levels of civility, just as you should for any edit you make to Wikipedia.
  • Avoid personal attacks against people who disagree with you; avoid the use of sarcastic language and stay cool.
  • Do not make unsourced negative comments about living people. These may be removed by any editor.
  • Remember that while AfD may look like a voting process, it does not operate like one. Justification and evidence for a response carries far more weight than the response itself. Thus, you should not attempt to structure the AfD process like a vote:
  • Do not add tally boxes to the deletion page.
  • Do not reorder comments on the deletion page to group them by keep/delete/other. Such reordering can disrupt the flow of discussion, polarize an issue, and emphasize vote count or word count.
  • Do not message editors about AfD nominations because they support your view on the topic. This can be seen as votestacking. See Wikipedia:Canvassing for guidelines. But if you are proposing deletion of an article, you can send a friendly notice to those who contributed significantly to it and therefore might disagree with you.
  • If a number of similar articles are to be nominated, it is best to make this a group nomination so that they can be considered collectively. This avoids excessive repetition which would otherwise tend to overload involved editors. However, group nominations that are too large or too loosely related may be split up or speedy-closed.
Footnotes
  1. ^ "The battle for Wikipedia's soul", The Economist, Mar 6th 2008.
  2. ^ Seth Finkelstein,"I'm on Wikipedia, get me out of here", The Guardian, September 28 2006.
    "At Wikipedia, contentious decisions are made by a process of elaborate discussion culminating in administrative fiat. Deletions go through a comment period. The process is not a vote, but the result forms a recommendation to the administrators."

[edit] How to discuss an AfD

AfDs are a place for rational discussion of whether an article is able to meet Wikipedia’s article guidelines and policies. Reasonable editors will often disagree, but valid arguments will be given more weight than unsupported statements. When an editor offers arguments or evidence that do not explain how the article meets/violates policy, they may only need a reminder to engage in constructive, on-topic discussion. But a pattern of groundless opinion, proof by assertion, and ignoring content guidelines may become disruptive. If a pattern of disruptive behavior persists after efforts are made to correct the situation through dialogue, please consider a dispute resolution process outside the current AfD.

There are a few basic practices that most Wikipedians use in AfD discussions:

  • Usually editors recommend a course of action in bold text, e. g., "Keep" or "Delete".
  • Start your comments or recommendations on a new bulleted line (that is, starting with *), and sign them by adding ~~~~ to the end. If you are responding to another editor, put your comment directly below theirs, making sure it is indented (using multiple *s).
  • Please disclose whether you are an article's primary author or if you otherwise have a vested interest in the article.
  • Please have a look at the article before making a recommendation. Do not base your recommendation solely on the information supplied by the nominator. To understand the situation, it may also help to look at the history of the article. Also, please read the earlier comments and recommendations. They may contain relevant arguments and further useful information.

The following are practices that should be avoided:

  • The debate is not a vote; please make recommendations on the course of action to be taken, sustained by arguments.
  • When making your case or responding to others, explain how the article meets/violates policy rather than merely stating that it meets/violates the policy.
  • Do not use multiple accounts to reinforce your opinions. Multiple recommendations by users shown to be using "sock puppets" (multiple accounts belonging to the same person) will be discounted and the user manipulating consensus with multiple accounts will likely be blocked indefinitely.
  • Do not make conflicting recommendations; if you change your mind, modify your original recommendation rather than adding a new one. The recommended way of doing this is to use strike-through by enclosing a retracted statement between <s> and </s> after *, as in "* Delete Speedy keep".
  • Unregistered or new users are welcome to contribute to the discussion, but their recommendations may be discounted, especially if they seem to be made in bad faith (for example, if they misrepresent their reasons).

There are many good ways to advocate keeping, deleting, or even redirecting an article. This includes:

  • Arguments commonly used to recommend deletion are: "unverifiable" (violates WP:V), "original research" (violates WP:NOR), and "non-notable" in cases where the subject does not meet their respective notability criteria. (In the cases of non-notable biographical articles, it is better to say "does not meet WP:BIO" to avoid insulting the subject.) The accusation "VANITY" should be avoided [1], and is not in itself a reason for deletion. The argument "non-neutral point of view" (violates WP:NPOV) is often used, but often such articles can be salvaged, so this is not a very strong reason for deletion either.
  • If you wish for an article to be kept, you can directly improve the article to address the reasons for deletion given in the nomination. You can search out reliable sources, and defuse the deletion arguments given using policy, guidelines, and examples from our good and featured articles. In certain cases, if you believe the article topic is valid and encyclopedic, and it lacks only references and other minor changes to survive, you may request help in the task by adding a bolded {{rescue}} tag below the AfD template, in accordance with info given at WP:RESCUE. Please do not do this for unencyclopedic articles of no redeeming value, which are likely to be eventually deleted anyway, on grounds other than simple incompleteness or poor writing (see WP:SNOW).

    If the reasons given in the deletion nomination are later addressed by editing, the nomination should be withdrawn by the nominator, and the deletion discussion will be closed by an admin. If the nominator fails to do it when you think it should have been done (people can be busy, so WP:AGF on this point), leave a note on the nominator's talk page to draw their attention.

  • If you think the article should be a disambiguation page, or a redirect to another article, then recommend "Disambiguation" or "Redirect". Do not recommend deletion in such cases, because deleted pages cannot be redirects or disambiguation pages.

You do not have to make a recommendation on every nomination; consider not participating if:

  • A nomination involves a topic with which you are unfamiliar.
  • You agree with the consensus that has already been formed.

Please also see Wikipedia:Notability.
Deletion discussions
Deletion policy

Process – log – tools
Guide – Images – Admins

[edit] What to do after an AfD discussion has passed with a confirmation

Nothing. If the discussion has been listed according to the rules above, at the end of the discussion period (five days), it should be closed within a few more days at most. Asking for someone to close the discussion is unnecessary.

[edit] Related pages

Please DO NOT try to update these pages or start a new day yourself. (Note: These pages are not the deletion log pages referred to in step 3 of the instructions, above).

Purge server cache for today's AFD page

See also

Undeletion policy | Deletion guidelines for admins | Deletion process | Alternative outlets | Common outcomes of AfD | Archived delete debates | Policy consensus discussions | Arguments to avoid in deletion discussions | Deletion review | Non-admin closure
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion"
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