Vikidia:Deletion

Quick summary

• Check page history and author: before deleting pages, consider reverting vandalism, welcoming newcomers...
• Speedy deletion: if you are sure that the page should be deleted, put the template {{Speedy delete|Your reason}} on the page. An administrator will delete it.
• Regular deletion: if you think the page should be deleted but it needs the community's opinion, put the template {{Regular delete}} on the page and follow the instructions.

Only Vikidia administrators can delete a page.

However, any Vikidia user coming across a page that doesn't correspond to inclusion criteria (for example spam, vandalism, page in another language than English...) may signal that page to be considered for deletion.

Should this page be deleted?

You've come across a Vikidia page that you consider is not suitable for Vikidia...

Here is what to do!

1. Check the page history. Maybe the page was vandalized: in that case, the page should be kept and a previous version of its content should be restored.
2. Does the page qualify for "speedy deletion"? Check whether it matches the speedy deletion criteria. If yes, then continue with #How to tag a page for speedy deletion.
3. If not... Is it a brand new page, possibly created by a new or still inexperienced user? This article may be a great opportunity to welcome and guide the new user so that they eventually become interested, efficient and beneficial to Vikidia! Here are some ideas along this line: #Before proposing an article page for deletion.
4. Finally, see #How to propose a page be deleted (regular process)

Speedy or regular deletion: the criteria

Warning! Before considering deleting an article, always verify its history: maybe the article was vandalized, in which case a previous version should be restored!

Speedy deletion should be used only in those cases where a deletion discussion would obviously result in a Delete decision. This includes pages containing only:

• Nonsense (not just poor English!)
• Tests, except in Vikidia:Sandbox and in the User namespace (i.e. pages starting with User:)
• Vandalism
• Content mostly identical to a page that was deleted based on the regular deletion procedure
• A redirection, while another page should be moved/renamed into that one
• Nothing, when the contributor who blanked the page was the only author of the page (see page history)
• Attacks, such as intimidation, harassment, etc.
• Explicit promotion (of a product, a company, a person, an opinion...)
• Text copied from elsewhere, such as another website.
• Links to external sites as actual content (that is, besides links to other Vikidia articles, categories and portals)

Speedy deletion also applies to

• Files that are redundant, corrupted or empty
• Files with inappropriate license, or for which no licensing information could be found (try to find it first: look at the history, ask the contributor who uploaded the image...)
• Files with inappropriate content for Vikidia's target audience
• Categories that are empty for two weeks, or that are empty and signalled with the template {{Obsolete category}}.
• User pages that do not correspond to any actual registered user (see Special:ListUsers) nor an IP address, except where the page redirects to a valid user page (usually resulting from the user having been renamed).

One additional case where Vikidia administrators may use the speedy deletion process, is to enforce a legal decision.

The regular deletion process must be followed in any other cases, as well as in case of doubt.

Before proposing an article page for deletion

If the criteria for speedy deletion are not met, then the page will be deleted or kept based on the community's opinion.

Here are some guidelines that may avoid frustration, especially for newcomers.

1. Wait at least 24 hours before proposing a newly created article for deletion. This initial delay gives some time to the creator of the article to work it further.
2. In particular, we must assume that newcomers may not yet know the rules and tools of Vikidia. If the article creator is new, then check whether they was properly welcomed already (if not, place {{welcome}} on his user talk page). The welcome message informs them of some basic rules (e.g. not copying from other sites) and tools (via help page on how to create an own user page).
3. You may then leave a message on the article creator's user talk page, explaining them why their article may not be suitable for Vikidia, at least in its current state. Discussing is positive, unlike standard banners about a possible deletion which may discourage contributors.
4. If the article topic is suitable for inclusion in Vikidia, then consider improving the article yourself.
5. If the article is not brand new, then have a look at its talk page, edit history and categories: you may find out reasons why that article should be kept... or some other articles that you may consider proposing for deletion as well.

How to propose a page be deleted (regular process)

Once you're convinced that a page should probably be deleted, proceed as follows:

1. Add {{Regular delete}} at the top of the article. Summarize the reason in just a few words.
2. Add an entry on the page Vikidia:Request for deletion. Mention the reason here as well, possibly with some more details.
3. Inform the creator of the article, as well as any other significant authors (based on the article history), by means of {{Warn delete}}.

How to tag a page for speedy deletion

When you come across a page that matches the criteria for speedy deletion, proceed as follows:

1. Add {{Speedy delete}} at the top of the page. Summarize the reason in just a few words.
2. Inform the creator of the article, as well as any other significant authors (based on the article history), by means of {{Warn speedy}} .

For categories, you may use {{Obsolete category}} instead and there is no need to warn anyone. Note that {{Obsolete category}} can be put on a non-empty category: it will be equivalent to a request for speedy deletion only in case the category will be empty.