Wikipedia:Deletion process

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shortcut: WP:DELPRO WP:DPR

For instructions on nominating an article for deletion, see WP:AFD, WP:SPEEDY, or WP:PROD. More information is also available at Wikipedia:Guide to deletion.

This page describes the actual deletion process involved in recording and executing the community's decisions to delete or keep a page. In general, administrators are responsible for closing discussions about deletions, but in practice, the various deletion discussions tend to be badly backlogged, and editors in good standing who have not been made administrators may close deletion discussions under conditions described under non-administrators closing discussions.

People should not close discussions in which they have been involved. To do so presents a conflict of interest.

Closing decisions are subject to review and, if necessary, may be reopened by any administrator. If this happens, take it only as a sign that the decision was not as unambiguous as you thought.

Deletion Debates Articles (by category) Templates Images & media Categories User categories Stub types Redirects Miscellaneous Deletion review policy - log - tools

Contents 1 Speedy deletion 2 Articles for Deletion page 2.1 Header and footer text 2.1.1 PageName 3 Miscellany for deletion page 3.1 Header and footer text 3.1.1 Wikipedia:MiscellanyPage 4 Categories for Discussion page 4.1 Header and footer text 4.1.1 Category:example category 5 Templates for Deletion page 5.1 Header and footer text 5.1.1 Template:example template 6 Redirects for Discussion page 6.1 Header and footer text 6.1.1 RedirectName → TargetArticle 7 Special Situations 7.1 Relisting debates 7.2 Transwiki 7.3 Untranscluded discussions 8 All others 9 Non-administrators closing discussions 10 See also

[edit] Speedy deletion

1. Decide whether the page meets one or more of the criteria for speedy deletion.
2. Delete the page with a good comment in the reason for deletion field. (This will be automatically recorded in the Deletion log.)
   • Citing the specific criteria for speedy deletion in the comment is strongly recommended.
   • It may sometimes be helpful to quote page content in the reason for deletion. But in the case of attack pages (CSD A6) please be careful not to quote (potentially libelous) negative comments, so that these do not appear in the log.

[edit] Articles for Deletion page

Every day, the day page (ie [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/Year Month Day]]) more than five days old should be moved here. The decision to keep or delete a page is to be implemented only after this move has been performed.

To process an AFD debate listed on a day page containing debates old enough to be closed:

1. Determine (using the guidelines) whether the consensus was to keep or delete the article, and if the associated talk or sub-pages should also be deleted.
2. Remove the line saying {{REMOVE THIS TEMPLATE WHEN CLOSING THIS AfD|something}}. This will decategorise the debate from the active-AfD categories.
3. Enter the following text at the top and bottom of the AFD discussion sub-page. (Together, these two edits will create a shaded box around the discussion thread confirming that it has been closed. See the example below.)
   • At the top:

     {{subst:at}} '''RESULT'''. ~~~~

   • At the bottom:

     {{subst:ab}}

4. If the decision is DELETE, then delete the article. (This will be automatically recorded in the Deletion log.) Remember to paste a link to the discussion in the "Reason for deletion" box (ie add [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Article]] ). If appropriate, delete the article's talk page or any associated sub-pages first. Also remember to check "what links here" and either delete any redirects or redirect them elsewhere. If a given title should never have an article, then remove all links to it. However, you should never remove a link to the article from its nomination for deletion.
5. If the decision is KEEP (including any variant such as NO CONSENSUS, REDIRECT, or MERGE), remove the AFD Header from the article (be sure the AFD Category is also removed), and put a link to the discussion sub-page on the article's talk page (the template {{oldafdfull}} is recommended for this, so add
   {{oldafdfull|date= dateOfNomination |result= '''result''' |votepage= articleName }}
   • Remember to fix double-redirects if the page becomes a redirect.
   • If the discussion failed to reach consensus, then the article is kept by default, but the decision should generally include a reference to the lack of consensus, in order to minimize ambiguity and future confusion.
   • The template {{cleanup-afd}} is available for discussions that close as KEEP AND CLEANUP. To use, simply add the template (without subst:) to the kept article. If the AFD discussion is under a different name for some reason, then use {{cleanup-afd|(name of article in the discussion title)}}. For example, if the article is Asdf but the deletion discussion is Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Qwertyuiop, then add {{cleanup-afd|Qwertyuiop}} to Asdf.
   • If not enough discussion happened to determine a consensus or lack thereof add {{subst:relist|~~~~}} below the last comment and relist the AFD subpage on the listings for the current date. Remove the AFD listing from the log for the original date (if the debate is left on the old log, the "ready for closing" list at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Old is broken).
6. If that was the last open entry on that day's page of deletion discussions,
   1. Edit the old day pages list by cutting the link for the day, which will look like [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/Year Month Day]]
   2. Go here and paste the link at the top in the appropriate month
   3. Edit the Old discussions section of the main AFD page by deleting the link for the day, which looks something like ''[[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/Year Month Day|Day of week, Day Month]]''.

[edit] Header and footer text

After closing the discussion, the page will look like this:

[edit] Miscellany for deletion page

To process an MFD debate listed on Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion for more than 8 days:

1. Determine (using the guidelines) whether the consensus was to keep or delete the page, and if the associated talk or sub-pages should also be deleted.
2. Enter the following text at the top and bottom of the MFD discussion sub-page. (Together, these two edits will create a shaded box around the discussion thread confirming that it has been closed. See the example below.)
   • At the top:

     {{subst:mfd top}} '''RESULT'''. ~~~~

   • At the bottom:

     {{subst:mfd bottom}}

3. If the decision is DELETE, then delete the page. (This will be automatically recorded in the Deletion log.) Remember to paste a link to the discussion in the "Reason for deletion" box (ie add [[Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Page]] ). If appropriate, delete the page's talk page or any associated sub-pages first. Also remember to check "what links here" and either delete any redirects or redirect them elsewhere.
4. If the decision is KEEP (including any variant such as REDIRECT or MERGE), remove the MFD Header from the page (be sure the MFD Category is also removed), and put a link to the discussion sub-page on the page's talk page (the template {{oldmfd}} is recommended for this, so add

   {{oldmfd|date= dateOfNomination |result= result |votepage= PageName }}

   • Remember to fix double-redirects if the page becomes a redirect.
   • If the discussion failed to reach consensus, then the article is kept by default, but the decision should generally include a reference to the lack of consensus, in order to minimize ambiguity and future confusion.
   • If not enough discussion happened to determine a consensus or lack thereof add {{Relist}} below the last comment and relist the MFD subpage on the listings under the current date.
5. If that was the last open entry on that day's page of deletion discussions,
   1. Remove the day's discussions to the relevant archive by cutting and pasting the date header and the links to the listed deletion pages, which will look like {{Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/foo:foo}}
   2. Go here and open the relevant monthly page, pasting the date header and links at the top.
   3. Convert the transcluded pages {{Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/foo:foo}} to bulleted links * [[Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/foo:foo]].

[edit] Header and footer text

After closing the discussion, the page will look like this:

[edit] Categories for Discussion page

Every day, the day page (that is, [[Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/Log/Year Month Day]]) more than seven days old should be removed from Wikipedia:Categories for discussion, and added to the Closing in progress list at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Working#Closing discussions. The decision to keep or delete a category is to be implemented only after the discussion for that category has been closed.

1. Determine whether or not a rough consensus to delete or rename has been reached. See: Deletion guidelines for administrators.
2. After the category's section header, add:

   {{subst:cfd top}} '''result'''. ~~~~

   (where result is usually either Delete or Keep)

3. At the end of the category's section, but before the next category's section header, add:

   {{subst:cfd bottom}}

4. If the decision is Keep (including any variant such as "Redirect" or "No Consensus"):
   1. Add a link on the category's talk page to the discussion sub-page.
      • The template {{cfdend}} is recommended for this, so add one of:

      {{cfdend|section heading|date=date of nomination|result=result}}

      {{cfdend|date=date of nomination|result=result}}

      {{cfdend|date=date of nomination}}

      (the default section heading is the category name, so that parameter may be omitted entirely)

      (the default result is "Keep", so that parameter may be omitted)

      • If the discussion failed to reach consensus, then the category is kept by default, but the decision should generally include a reference to the lack of consensus, in order to minimize ambiguity and future confusion.
   2. Remove {{cfd}} or other CfD template from the category (be sure the CfD Category is also removed).
   3. If the page becomes a redirect, remember to fix double-redirects.
5. If the decision is Delete, Merge, or Rename:
   1. List it under the appropriate section of Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/Working. Be sure to include the link to the CFD day page above the listing.
   2. To rename a category, copy the introductory text and paste it to the new category name. If the category has a talk page the talk page can be moved to the new name. Also, any significant history of the category introductory text should be pasted into the new category talk page.
   3. All references to the category in articles (and other pages) must be changed to the new name, or removed, as the case may be. A variety of bots have at times been able to help with this task.
   4. After all instances of the category used in pages have been removed, the category can be deleted by an administrator.
6. If the proposal includes an addition or change to Wikipedia:Naming conventions (categories) which has consensus, make the indicated change to the consensus page.

This relies on the discretion and common sense of the user closing a debate. If you disagree with a decision, please discuss it with that user.

[edit] Header and footer text

After closing the discussion, the page will look like this:

[edit] Category:example category

[edit] Templates for Deletion page

Every day, the day page (that is, [[Wikipedia:Templates for deletion/Log/Year Month Day]]) more than seven days old should be removed from Wikipedia:Templates for deletion. The decision to keep or delete a template is to be implemented only after the discussion for that template has been closed.

1. Determine whether or not a rough consensus to delete has been reached. See: Deletion guidelines for administrators.
2. After the template's section header, add:

   {{subst:tfd top}} '''result'''. ~~~~

   (where result is usually either Delete or Keep)

3. At the end of the template's section, but before the next template's section header, add:

   {{subst:tfd bottom}}

4. If the decision is Keep (including any variant such as "Redirect" or "No Consensus"):
   1. Add a link on the template's talk page to the discussion sub-page.
      • The template {{tfdend}} is recommended for this, so add one of:

      {{tfdend|section heading'|date=date of nomination|result=result}}

      {{tfdend|date=date of nomination|result=result}}

      {{tfdend|date=date of nomination}}

      (the default section heading is the template's name, so that parameter may be omitted entirely)

      (the default result is "Keep", so that parameter may be omitted)

      • If the discussion failed to reach consensus, then the template is kept by default, but the decision should generally include a reference to the lack of consensus, in order to minimize ambiguity and future confusion.
   2. Remove {{tfd}} or {{tfm}} from the template (be sure the TfD Category is also removed).
   3. If the page becomes a redirect, remember to fix double-redirects.
5. If the decision is Delete, then list it under the appropriate section of Wikipedia:Templates for deletion/Holding cell. Be sure to include the link to the TfD day page above the listing. After all instances of the template used in pages have been removed, the template can be deleted by an administrator.
6. If the template has a matching category that is not used for other purposes (for example, {{cleanup}} and Category:Wikipedia cleanup), delete the category as well.

This relies on the discretion and common sense of the user closing a debate. If you disagree with a decision, please discuss it with that user.

[edit] Header and footer text

After closing the discussion, the page will look like this:

[edit] Template:example template

[edit] Redirects for Discussion page

• Enter the following text at the top and bottom of the RFD discussion section. (Together, these two edits will create a shaded box around the discussion thread confirming that it has been closed.)
  • At the top:

    {{subst:rfd top}} RESULT. ~~~~

  • At the bottom:

    {{subst:rfd bottom}}

• Policy suggests a week of discussion before closure. However, exceptions may be made for items qualifying for speedy deletion.
• Note: Sometimes a redirect has history, and the history is significant - i.e. contains information about the addition of text. (This often happens because someone did a cut-and-paste "move", instead of using the "Move this page" button.) If this is the case, do not simply delete the redirect page, which we need to keep for copyright reasons. There are two ways to deal with such pages.
  • For cut-and-paste moves, the "right" way to handle them is to merge the history into the appropriate page, using the procedure outlined here. This is a procedure fraught with peril, however, and on rare occasions doesn't work correctly. Once done, it cannot be undone without a lot of exceptionally tedious gruntwork. So don't pick this option unless it's definitely the right one for the case at hand.
  • Another option, useful for pages which were merged (for example), is for redirect pages with significant history to be archived into a talk namespace, and a link to them put into an article's talk page.
• If you delete a redirect, don't forget to delete the accompanying talk page, if applicable.
• When you remove an entry from this page because people decided to keep it, don't forget to remove the {{Rfd}} tag from the page (alas, this has to be done manually). It's worth periodically checking either Category:Redirects for deletion and Special:Whatlinkshere/Template:Rfd to see if any pages missed this step. Checking either of these regularly has the side-benefit of finding pages where people added the {{Rfd}} tag to the page, but didn't realize they needed to edit RfD as well.

[edit] Header and footer text

After closing the discussion, the page will look like this:

[edit] RedirectName → TargetArticle

[edit] Special Situations

Some deletion discussions require a few extra steps to close completely.

[edit] Relisting debates

If not enough discussion happened to determine a consensus, the debate should be removed from the log for its original date and moved to the current date's log where the debate will continue. For AfD, see details above. For other deletion debates, the text can be cut-and-pasted.

[edit] Transwiki

If the decision is TRANSWIKI but you do not want to complete the transwiki process immediately,

1. add a new entry to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Old/Transwiki.
2. add the appropriate tag to the article
   • {{Copy to Wiktionary}}
   • {{Copy to Wikisource}}
   • {{Copy to Wikiquote}}
   • {{Copy to Wikibooks}}
   • {{Copy to Wikibooks Cookbook}}
   • {{Copy to Wikimedia Commons}}

[edit] Untranscluded discussions

Sometimes, AFD discussions become excessively long and are temporarily untranscluded from the day's AFD page. This is most often done through the creation of a /temp page for the AFD discussion. If you close one of these very large discussions:

1. Edit the AFD day page to re-transclude the long discussion.
2. Delete the /temp page.

[edit] All others

• If a separate discussion page was created, follow the AFD procedures above.
• If no separate discussion page was created, please consider creating one. If you choose not to, at least copy the discussion onto the article's Talk page.

[edit] Non-administrators closing discussions

In general, administrators are responsible for closing discussions about deletions. In practice, the various deletion discussions tend to be badly backlogged. Editors in good-standing who have not been made administrators may close deletion discussions under the following conditions:

1. Non-administrators may only close decisions which are unambiguous "keep" decisions. Close calls and controversial or ambiguous decisions should be left to an administrator.
   • Non-administrators may also close the other variations of "keep" such as unambiguous "merge and redirect".
   • Non-administrators generally should not close "delete" decisions even if they are unanimous. Only administrators have the ability to actually delete the target article, so they will have to re-check for a valid AfD in any case.
   • Non-administrators may not "speedy-close" deletion discussions. They must either express their view that the debate should be "speedy-closed" in the normal procedure, or wait until the discussion has run the full AfD period to close it as a "keep" if there is a concensus to do so.
   • In some situations, an administrator may delete an article without closing the AfD, possibly because they thought the material was suitable for deletion on sight, and did not notice the AfD. If so, the AfD may be closed by a non-administrator. It is advisable for the non-administrator to say who deleted the article, and give the administrator's deletion summary.
2. Closing discussions in which you have offered an opinion presents a conflict of interest and should be generally avoided; if necessary, contact someone uninvolved to perform the close. One exception is if you are closing your own withdrawn nomination as a speedy keep, and all other viewpoints expressed were for keep as well.
3. Closing decisions are subject to review and may be reopened. If this happens, take it only as a sign that the decision was not as unambiguous as you thought.

[edit] See also

• Template:afd top
• Template:afd bottom
• Deletion policy
• Deletion guidelines for administrators
• Speedy keep