Wikipedia:Deletion policy

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Deletion of a Wikipedia article removes the current version and all previous versions from view. Unlike page blanking, which can be performed by any user and which preserves the original content in the page history, deletion can be performed only by administrators. In the normal operations of Wikipedia, over one thousand articles are deleted each day, in accordance with a Deletion process that is open to all users: See Wikipedia:Guide to deletion for the mechanics of how articles are nominated and discussed, Wikipedia:Deletion process for the specific mechanics of how the deletion discussions are closed and archived, and Wikipedia:Articles for deletion for the current deletion discussions. Participants in the deletion process are expected to be familiar with the core Wikipedia policies of Verifiability, No Original Research and Neutral Point of View. They should bear in mind what Wikipedia is not.

Undeletion can be performed by Administrators if there is support on Wikipedia:Deletion review or if a page has obviously been deleted out of process. (See undeletion policy). Undeletion of pages is limited to those pages that are kept in the archive. Some older deleted pages are completely inaccessible.

Repeated re-creation of an article by previously unassociated editors may be evidence of a need for an article, but repeated nominations for deletion are not necessarily evidence that an article should be deleted, and in some cases, repeated attempts to have an article deleted may even be considered disruptive. If in doubt, don't delete.

Contents

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Deletion categories (speedy/uncontroversial to contested)

Certain types of pages such as patent nonsense or pure vandalism may meet the criteria for speedy deletion and can be listed here.

Articles that do not meet the speedy criteria but that may still be uncontroversial candidates for deletion (such as articles that fail the criteria for notability or that lack sources or context) can be placed into Category:Proposed deletion by flagging them with Template:Tl. (See: Wikipedia:Proposed deletion). If an article remains there without objection for five days, it may be deleted at an administrator's discretion.

Pages that do not qualify for speedy deletion or which are contested at Wikipedia:Proposed deletion cannot be deleted without first spending five days on Wikipedia:Articles for deletion (or the analogous pages for images and media files, categories, templates, redirects, miscellaneous). For instructions, see AfD in 3 steps or Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion

Each deletion category has a slightly different procedure. 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.

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What to do with a problem page/image/category

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

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Problems that may require deletion

Problems that may require deletion
Problem with page Solution Add this tag
  • Is not suitable for Wikipedia (see WP:NOT)
  • Original research (including the coining of neologisms) - but if it's a source text, it should be moved to Wikisource (see below).
  • Vanity page
  • Advertising or other spam
  • Completely idiosyncratic non-topic
List on Wikipedia:Articles for deletion (WP:AFD). See AfD in 3 steps for instructions and tags.

Subject of article fails one of the following consensually accepted guidelines:

List on Wikipedia:Articles for deletion (WP:AFD). See AfD in 3 steps for instructions and tags.
List on Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion (WP:MfD). See WP:MfD for instructions and tags.
Article is possible copyright infringement
List on Wikipedia:Copyright problems. {{Template:copyvio}} or
{{copyvio|url=source}}
Image is possible copyright infringement List on Wikipedia:Copyright problems. {{imagevio}} or
{{imagevio¦url=source}}
Image or other media needs deleting (but not because of copyright violation) List on Wikipedia:Images for deletion. See WP:IfD for instructions and tags.
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.

See WP:RfD for instructions and tags.
A category scheme gone awry
List on Wikipedia:Categories for deletion. See WP:CfD for instructions and tags.
A redundant or misguided series box. List on Wikipedia:Templates for deletion. {{tfd}} (Put in the box itself.)
A redundant or misguided stub template or category. List on Wikipedia:Stub types for deletion. {{sfd-c}} for stub categories
{{sfd-t}} for stub templates
Can never be other than a dictionary article ("dicdef")
Turn the article into a redirect (or rename and refactor it) as per Wikipedia:Naming conventions (adjectives) and Wikipedia:Naming conventions (verbs).

Check that Wiktionary does not already have a dictionary article. If a Wiktionary article does not already exist, transwiki the article to Wiktionary. Afterwards, either replace with a soft redirect or list the article for deletion.

See Wikipedia:Things to be moved to Wiktionary for instructions and tags.
Article is a source text (but not a copyvio)
Move text to Wikisource and replace it with a stub and a soft redirect.  
Article is a hoax (not an article about a hoax) List on Suspected hoax articles and/or propose deletion. {{Template:Hoax}} and/or use {{prod}}.
Article is a candidate for speedy deletion including:
List on Wikipedia:Speedy deletions.

In simple cases, just add the {{deletebecause}} tag and the page will automatically be listed in CAT:CSD.

{{db¦reason}}
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Problems that may not require deletion

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}}, or preferably the topic-specific one from Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types
Article resembles a dictionary article
Modify the introduction removing "refers to", "means", and other such phrases. {{stub}}, or preferably the topic-specific one from Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types
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. {{mergeto¦article}}
Article duplicates information in some other article
Merge and redirect.

If you can't figure out how to perform the merger, tag it and list on Wikipedia:Proposed mergers.

{{merge¦article}}
Article needs improvement
List on Wikipedia:Cleanup. {{cleanup}}, or preferably a more-specific tag.
Article needs a lot of improvement List on Wikipedia:Pages needing attention. {{attention}}
Article is biased or has lots of POV
List on Wikipedia:Pages needing attention. {{npov}} or {{POV check}}
Dispute over article content
List on Wikipedia:Requests for comments. {{disputed}}
Two subjects have the same name
Make a disambiguation page. {{disambig}}
Can't verify information in article
Follow the procedure on Wikipedia:Verifiability.

If that doesn't work, come back here. If it is truly unverifiable, it may be deleted.

{{cleanup-verify}}
Inappropriate user page Talk to the user.

If that doesn't work, come back here.

 
Vandalism or inaccuracy
Revert it.

Mention it on Wikipedia:Vandalism in progress if appropriate.

 
Annoying or incivil user Stay cool.

Add user to Wikipedia:Requests for comment if necessary.

Add {{civil1}} or {{civil2}}
Any problem with a community-accepted policy or guideline page, including m:instruction creep. Make the proposal on the talk page, seek comment in community discussion areas.

See also: Wikipedia:Template messages#Deletion

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Limitations on renomination

In general, if an article has had a deletion discussed and this did not result in a "delete" decision, the article should not be immediately renominated for deletion. Unless there is a good reason for people to change their minds, the second nomination would be identical to the first.

An exception can be made if a discussion has no consensus and a severe lack of contributors. There is no policy or consensus for a hard time limit before an article can be renominated, but some people are likely to state 'keep' for the reason that it was already discussed last week.

Please note that if the result was to transwiki, once the transwiking process is done, the page is a candidate for speedy deletion, and does not need to go through AfD again.

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"Listed for deletion" notice

When you follow the proper procedure to list an article for deletion, you place a warning at the top of the article, so that readers of the page know it is being considered for deletion. The warning looks like this:

Template:Qif}}

This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedia's deletion policy.
Please share your thoughts on the matter at [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/{{{1|{{subst:PAGENAME}}}}}|this article's entry]] on the Articles for deletion page.
You are welcome to edit this article, but please do not blank this article or remove this notice while the discussion is in progress. For more information, particularly on merging or moving the article during the discussion, read the Guide to deletion.
If you created the article, please don't take offense. Instead, please join the discussion and consider improving the article so that it meets the Wikipedia inclusion criteria.

How to list a page for deletion ([[[Template:Fullurl:Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2025 June 8]] log])


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 and Wikipedia:Example deletion discussion

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.

If an article has been on AfD before but users want to start another iteration of a deletion debate, they should consider using this template, {{subst:afdx|2nd}}. This creates a link to a new debate page and prevents the old one from being overwritten or re-used. Template:Afdx

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Lag times

Once a page is listed 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 the page 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 currently set at:

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Commenting on a listing for deletion

When someone has listed 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). The following are some suggested wordings. There is a list of these and other commonly used shorthands at the Wikipedia:Guide to deletion.

  • delete
  • keep
  • comment
  • 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 only a valid option if the information on authorship of the content is somehow preserved, or for public domain text.

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Decision Policy

To request that a page (or image) be permanently deleted, the request made on AFD/ND/IFD, and any opinions or comments relating to a listed page must be made in good faith. At the end of the discussion, if a rough consensus has been reached to delete the page, the page will be removed. Otherwise the page remains.

Please do not remove any statements from any deletion discussion. If you suspect an opinion of being stated by a sockpuppet or being otherwise invalid, mark it as such with a comment, and any pertinent links, and leave it there. The admin who reviews the discussion will investigate and decide whether or not to take that opinion into account. By not removing any opinion, we ensure that there can be no arguments over who removed what and why.

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

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Early closings

If a clear consensus for a solution is quickly reached that does not involve formal deletion, a deletion discussion may be closed before the end of the discussion period. Examples would include a clear consensus for speedy deletion, a clear consensus for a speedy keep, or a consensus for a redirect. In these situations, the debate should be closed, but remain transcluded on the appropiate deletion page. However, if the proposed solution has not achieved a very clear consensus, the listing should remain for the full five day period. Any substantial debate, regardless of how lopsided the keep/delete count may be, implies that an early closing would be a bad idea.

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Help with deletions

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

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See also

de:Wikipedia:Löschregeln ko:위키백과:문서삭제 지침 it:Wikipedia:Regole per la cancellazione hu:Wikipédia:Törlési irányelvek ms:Wikipedia:Memadam Laman ja:Wikipedia:削除の方針 vi:Wikipedia:Xóa trang ru:Википедия:Удаление страниц

zh:Wikipedia:删除守则
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