Wikipedia:Deletion policy

[[:|WP:DP]]

One of Wikipedia's policies and guidelines

In the normal operations of Wikipedia, about 100 articles are deleted each day. While it is possible for any user to blank a page, the original content will still be available in the page history for others to view and put back if they wish. When pages are deleted, this removes not only the current version but also all previous versions.

Only administrators have the ability to delete and undelete pages within the system. With our current deletion system (cf meta:deletion management redesign), administrators necessarily must use their best judgment in making this decision. You can expect administrators (or sysops) to follow the process detailed below to aid them in their judgement.

Deleted pages can be restored, by administrators, if and only if there is support on votes for undeletion or the page was speedily deleted out of process. If deletions are made too casually, it is easy to lose track. Hence, the decision to permanently delete an article is not taken lightly, and the deletion process is followed. See Wikipedia:Undeletion policy for the guidance on undeletion.

If an article is constantly being deleted and re-created, this should be seen as evidence for the need for an article. Administrators should always be responsible with the power that they have. If in doubt... don't delete!

Procedure for deletion

If a page does not fall into one of the categories listed under Wikipedia:Candidates for speedy deletion, then you cannot delete it without it spending five days on Wikipedia:Votes for deletion (or the analogous pages for Wikipedia:Images for deletion, Wikipedia:Categories for deletion, Wikipedia:Templates for deletion, Wikipedia:Redirects for deletion) first.

What to do with a problem page/image/category

Does the page really belong on VfD? Read the following two tables to find out what to do with a problem page.

**Problems that don't require deletion**
Problem with page	Solution	Add this tag
Article written in a foreign language	List on Wikipedia:Pages needing translation	`{{notenglish}}`
A stub (but with potential)	Expand it!	`{{stub}}`
Such a minor branch of a subject that it doesn't deserve an article	Merge the useful content into a more comprehensive article and redirect
Article duplicates information in some other article	Merge and redirect. If you can't figure out how to do the merge, list on Wikipedia:Duplicate articles and add the tag:	`{{merge}} [[article]].`
Article needs improvement	List on Wikipedia:Cleanup	`{{cleanup}}`
Article needs a lot of improvement	List on Wikipedia:Pages needing attention
Article is biased or has lots of POV	List on Wikipedia:Pages needing attention	`{{npov}}`
Dispute over article content	List on Wikipedia:Requests for comments	`{{disputed}}`
Two subjects have the same name	Make a disambiguation page	`{{disambiguation}}`
Can't verify information in article	Follow the procedure on Wikipedia:Verifiability; if that doesn't work, come back here
Inappropriate user page	Talk to the user; if that doesn't work, come back here
Vandalism or inaccuracy	Revert it and mention it on Wikipedia:Vandalism in progress
Annoying user	Add user to Wikipedia:Requests for comment. But stay cool.

**Problems that may require deletion**
Problem with page	Solution	Add this tag
Article is a candidate for speedy deletion including: Patent nonsense (total jibberish, confusing text) Pure vandalism or disruption	List on Wikipedia:Speedy deletions. In simple cases, just add the {{delete}} tag and the page will automatically be listed in CAT:CSD	`{{delete}}`
Article is possible copyright infringement	List on Wikipedia:Copyright problems	`{{copyvio}}` or `{{copyvio\|url=Alleged source of material}}`
Image is possible copyright infringement	List on Wikipedia:Copyright problems	`{{imagevio}}` or `{{imagevio\|url=Alleged source of image}}`
Image or other media needs deleting (but not because of copyright violation)	List on Wikipedia:Images for deletion	`{{ifd}}`
A useless redirect	Don't worry, redirects are cheap. If you must, list on Wikipedia:Redirects for deletion but only after reading our recommendations on deleting redirects	`{{rfd}}`
A category scheme gone awry	List on Wikipedia:Categories for deletion	`{{cfd}}`
A redundant or misguided series box.	List on Wikipedia:Templates for deletion	`{{tfd}} (Put in the box itself)`
Can never be more than a dictionary definition	List on Wikipedia:Things to be moved to Wiktionary	`{{wiktionary}}`
Article is a source text	Move text to Wikisource and replace it with a stub and a soft redirect.
Inappropriate user page	Talk to the user; if that doesn't work, come back here
Original research Inappropriate user pages in excessive or stubborn cases. Vanity page Advert or other spam No potential to become encyclopedic Completely idiosyncratic non-topic	Nominate on Wikipedia:Votes for deletion	`{{vfd}}`

Each deletion category has a slightly different procedure. See the page for that category for details.

Give the reason why you think it should be deleted. It will remain there for a time, giving other users the chance to comment on whether they think deletion is in fact appropriate. After an appropriate lag time, an administrator will delete the page if a rough consensus is reached - see Wikipedia:Deletion guidelines for administrators#Rough_consensus.

For candidates for speedy deletion, Administrators do not have to request deletion - they may delete them on sight, though some choose to use Wikipedia:Speedy deletions in some cases.

"Listed for deletion" notice

When you list a page on Wikipedia:Votes for deletion, it is courteous to let people know it might be deleted. The suggested way is to place {{subst:vfd}} (not {{vfd}}) above the page's content, which expands to:

{{subst:#ifeq:a|b||{{subst:#ifexist:Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/{{subst:PAGENAME}}|{{subst:lessthan}}!-- The nomination page for this article already existed when this tag was added. If this was because the article had been nominated for deletion before, and you wish to renominate it, please replace "page={{subst:PAGENAME}}" with "page={{subst:PAGENAME}} (2nd nomination)" below before proceeding with the nomination. -->}}}}This template must be substituted. Replace {{afd with {{subst:afd.

{{subst:lessthan}}!-- Once discussion is closed, please place on talk page:

This project page was nominated for deletion on {{subst:#time:j F Y|{{subst:CURRENTTIMESTAMP}} }}. The result of the discussion was keep.

-->

Hopefully, this notice will prevent readers and new users from becoming confused as to why a page was removed. Please note: copyright problems have a different suggested notice. See also: Wikipedia:Boilerplate_text#Listed_for_deletion

The notice is not needed for pages which a) have no content (such as redirects), and b) also have no significant history. (E.g. a redirect whose entire history is that it used to redirect from "Foo" to "Foobar", and has been changed to redirect to "FooBar", because the target page was moved, does not have any significant history.) A history which shows any content being added or removed that is not a candidate for speedy deletion is significant history.

Lag times

Once a page is nominated for deletion by listing on one of the different pages, the nomination is kept open for a period of time to allow for community comment. The different pages have different "lag times" (the length of time that nomination should normally be listed before the article can be deleted). This gives other users the chance to comment on whether they think deletion is in fact appropriate. The lag times are discussed at Wikipedia talk:Votes for deletion/lag time and are currently set at:

Wikipedia:Copyright problems - about a week
Wikipedia:Images for deletion - about a week
Wikipedia:Redirects for deletion - about a week
Wikipedia:Templates for deletion - about a week
Wikipedia:Speedy deletions - no lag
Wikipedia:Votes for deletion - five days

Commenting on a nomination for deletion

When someone has nominated an article for deletion on one of the lists, anyone else may comment on the request. When expressing an opinion, please include your opinion, your reasoning, and sign with ~~~~ (four consecutive tilde characters). Here are some suggested wordings:

delete
keep
comment (not a vote)
other (some other action) such as
- redirect to [[article]]
- merge into [[article]] and redirect
- move to Wiktionary / Meta / other GFDL site

Note that merge into [[article]] and delete is not a valid option (except for public domain text) unless the information on authorship of the content is somehow preserved.

Decision Policy

To request that a page (or image) be permanently deleted, the request made on VfD, and any votes or comments relating to a listed page must be made in good faith. At the end of five days, if a "rough consensus" (what a rough consensus is is not set in stone, a few do consider a 2/3 majority a "rough consensus") has been reached to delete the page, the page will be removed. Otherwise the page remains. The page will also remain if it has been improved enough since the initial listing that the reason for listing no longer applies. This requires a reason to be given initially when requesting that a page be deleted.

Wikipedia:Deletion guidelines for administrators expands on this and provides a little rationale.

Unlisting a page from VfD

If another solution has been found for some of these pages than deletion, leave them listed on Wikipedia:Votes for deletion for a short while, so the original poster can see why it wasn't deleted, and what did happen to it. This will prevent reposting of the same item. After the original poster has seen the explanation, or in any case after about a day, the page can be delisted from VfD.

When the Lag Time runs out

At the end of the five days, the VfD discussions may be moved off the main VfD page onto a "holding page" called Votes for deletion/Old where they will stay until an admistrator has time to act on the consensus decision. When carrying out those duties, please follow the process at Wikipedia:Deletion process which describes where and how the discussion should be archived. While the page itself may be deleted, the discussion about the deletion should be preserved.

Always give a good edit summary when editing the VfD page, especially when unlisting an article, so that the page history of the VfD page can be used as backup archive for discussions that have not been properly archived.

The votes for deletion page gets very busy. Please join the Wikipedia:Cleaning department to help in maintaining it on a regular basis!