Welcome to the MedLibrary.org Wikipedia Supplement on Wikipedia:Deletion process -- Please Click to Return to Front Page

This page documents an English Wikipedia deletion guideline. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though it is best treated with common sense and the occasional exception. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.

Shortcuts: WP:DELPRO WP:DPR

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. 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 may not have been as obvious as you may have thought.

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

Deletion discussions
Deletion today Deletion yesterday Articles (by category) Templates Images & media Categories (active) User categories Stub types Redirects Miscellany Deletion review
Deletion policy
Process – log – tools Guide – Admin guide

Contents 1 Speedy deletion 2 Articles for deletion page 2.1 Process 2.2 Header and footer text after closing 2.2.1 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 Stub types for deletion page 7.1 Header and footer text 7.1.1 {{Template-stub}} / Cat:Category stubs / {{Template stub}} (redirect) 8 Images for deletion page 8.1 Header and footer text 8.1.1 Image:Image_name.jpg 9 Wikipedia:Deletion review discussions 10 Special situations 10.1 Relisting discussions 10.2 Transwiki 10.3 Untranscluded discussions 11 All others 12 Non-administrators closing discussions 12.1 Non-administrators closing CfD discussions 13 See also

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 G10) please be careful not to quote (potentially libelous) negative comments, so that these do not appear in the log. Likewise, in the case of blatant copyright infringements (CSD G12) please do not quote the copyrighted text.

Articles for deletion page

Shortcuts: WP:DELPRO#AFD WP:DPR#AFD

See also: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion

Every day, the day page (i.e. [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/Year Month Day]]) that is 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.

Process

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

1. If it may take significant time to assess the debate and/or perform the closing edits, consider first editing the sub-page and adding {{Closing}} to the top, to notify others that a close is in progress. This helps to avoid edit conflicts during the close.
2. 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.
3. Remove the line saying {{REMOVE THIS TEMPLATE WHEN CLOSING THIS AfD|something}}. This will decategorise the debate from the active-AfD categories.
4. Remove {{Closing}} if you added it earlier.
5. 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.) Note that the header template and closing result go above the top section header, not below it. Additional usage options are also outlined at Template:At.
   • At the top:

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

   • At the bottom:

     {{subst:ab}}

6. 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 (i.e. add [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Article]); a short explanation is also appreciated, if applicable. 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.
7. 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''' |page= articleName }}

   If this is not the first deletion nomination, use {{oldafdmulti}} instead to consolidate the references to all previous AfD nominations:
             {{oldafdmulti | date = | result = '''result''' | page = articleName | date2 = | result2 = '''result''' | page2 = articleName | small = yes | collapse = 1-10 or yes | numbered = yes }}

   • Remember to fix double-redirects if the page becomes a redirect.
   • If the decision is to merge, use {{Afd-mergeto}} and {{Afd-mergefrom}} to mark the AfD'd page and merge target talk page (respectively):

     {{afd-mergeto|destination article|debate name|debate closure date}}
     {{afd-mergefrom|nominated article|debate name|debate closure date}}

   • If the discussion failed to reach consensus, then the article is kept by default unless it regards a living person (see below). The decision should generally include a reference to the lack of consensus, such as No consensus - default to keep, in order to minimize ambiguity and future confusion.

     (For BLP deletions, the standards are currently under discussion. WP:BLP presently states "When closing an AfD about living persons whose notability is ambiguous, the closing administrator should take into account whether the subject of the article being deleted has asked that it be deleted. The degree of weight given to such a request is left to their discretion".

   • 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.
8. If not enough discussion took place 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. Do not forget to 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). See Wikipedia:Deletion process#Relisting_discussions for a more detailed guide on when to relist or not.
9. 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 to the archive of debates and paste the link at the top in the appropriate month.

Header and footer text after closing

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

Note: there are admin tools available that automate much of this process. There are several and they work differently and may or may not have full functionality depending on your browser. If you'd prefer to use them, ask an experienced admin (one who has closed some afd's recently would be a good choice) for a pointer to them.

Miscellany for deletion page

Shortcuts: WP:DELPRO#MFD WP:DPR#MFD

MFD instructions
close after	5 days (unless ongoing discussion)
top tag	{{subst:mfd top|RESULT}} ~~~~
bottom tag	{{subst:mfd bottom}}
archive	un-transclude, wikilink, add to list for that day at bottom. Archive finished days.
notes	note portal deletions here
If keeping
tag talk page	{{oldmfd|date=|result=|votepage=}} or personal note if user page
remove mfd tag

To process an MFD debate listed on Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion for more than 5 days, where discussion is not ongoing:

1. If it may take significant time to assess the debate and/or do the closing edits, consider first editing the discussion sub-page and adding {{Closing}} to the top, to notify others that a close is in progress. This helps to avoid edit conflicts during the close.
2. 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.
3. 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}}

4. 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.
5. 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). Then put a link to the discussion sub-page on the page's talk page (for user pages a personal note is recommended, otherwise use the template {{oldmfd}} for this), so add:

   {{oldmfd|date=date of nomination|result=result|votepage=PageName}}

   (always include the votepage as talk pages won't properly generate and it protects against later page moves)

   (the default result is "keep")

   • Remember to fix double-redirects if the page becomes a redirect.
   • If the discussion failed to reach consensus, then the page 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 you are closing as "keep" a discussion where the nominated page itself is in a talkspace (or the mainspace), you will need to add the |votepage parameter for the Discussion link to work.
6. Remove the transclusion and place a wikilink for the discussion in the Closed Discussions section; however, if that was the last open entry on that day's page of deletion discussions you must also:
   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]].
7. If the MfD involved a Portal, please note the closure and result at Portals for deletion at MfD.

Header and footer text

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

Categories for discussion page

Shortcuts: WP:DELPRO#CFD WP:DPR#CFD

CFD instructions
Close after	5 days
Top tag	{{subst:cfd top}} RESULT ~~~~
Bottom tag	{{subst:cfd bottom}}
Archive	If that was the last discussion for that day, remove the day from WP:CFD
If merging, renaming, or deleting
Orphan	Remove or rename instances in articles
While orphaning	Move to /Working
If keeping
Tag talk page	{{cfdend}}
Remove cfd tag
This box: view • talk •

Every day, the day page (that is, [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/Year Month Day]]) more than five days old should be 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. If it may take significant time to assess the debate and/or do the closing edits, consider first editing the discussion section for the category and adding {{Closing}} just after the section header, to notify others that a close of the particular discussion is in progress. This helps to avoid edit conflicts during the close.
2. Determine whether or not a rough consensus to delete or rename has been reached. See: Deletion guidelines for administrators.
3. After the category's section header, add:

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

   (where result is usually either Delete or Keep)

4. Remove {{Closing}} if you added it earlier.
5. At the end of the category's section, but before the next category's section header, add:

   {{subst:cfd bottom}}

6. 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.
7. If the decision is Delete, Merge, or Rename:
   1. List it under the appropriate section of Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Working. Be sure to include the link to the CFD day page above the listing. If you are a non-admin, the /Working page is protected, so please do not close discussions that require any of the above 3 actions.
   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.
8. 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.

Header and footer text

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

Category:example category

Templates for deletion page

Shortcuts: WP:DELPRO#TFD WP:DPR#TFD

TFD instructions
Close after	7 days
Top tag	{{subst:tfd top|RESULT}} ~~~~
Bottom tag	{{subst:tfd bottom}}
Archive	If that was the last discussion for that day, remove the day from WP:TFD
If deleting
Orphan	Remove transclusions or move to holding cell
Also delete	Sub-templates (e.g. /doc) and matching categories
If keeping
Tag talk page	{{tfdend}}
Remove tfd tag
This box: view • talk •

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. If it may take significant time to assess the debate and/or do the closing edits, consider first editing the discussion section for the template and adding {{Closing}} just after the section header, to notify others that a close of the particular discussion is in progress. This helps to avoid edit conflicts during the close.
2. Determine whether or not a rough consensus to delete has been reached. See: Deletion guidelines for administrators.
3. After the template's section header, add:

   {{subst:tfd top|result}} --~~~~

   (where result is usually either Delete or Keep)

4. Remove {{Closing}} if you added it earlier.
5. At the end of the template's section, but before the next template's section header, add:

   {{subst:tfd bottom}}

6. 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}}

      (N.B. the date must be in the format: yyyy_Month_dd in other words, the month must be written out, it must be in year month day sequence, and the date must not be wikilinked)

      (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.
7. If the decision is Delete, then either remove all calls for the template and delete the template or 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. On the template page, change {{tfd}} to {{being deleted|YYYY Month DD}}. After all instances of the template used in pages have been removed, the template can be deleted by an administrator. Mere links to a template on a talk page or in project space may be retained if they are important to understanding historical conversations.
8. There is no such thing as quorum. If after the normal time period, there are no objections to deletion of a template, it can simply be deleted.
9. 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.

Header and footer text

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

Template:example template

Redirects for discussion page

Shortcuts: WP:DELPRO#RFD WP:DPR#RFD

RFD instructions
Close after	7 days
Top tag	{{subst:rfd top}} RESULT ~~~~
Bottom tag	{{subst:rfd bottom}}
Archive	If that was the last for that day, remove the day from RFD.
If deleting
Remember	Do not delete redirs with relevant history; histmerge or move
If keeping
Tag talk page	{{Oldrfd}}
Remove rfd tag

• Policy suggests a week of discussion before closure. However, exceptions may be made for items qualifying for speedy deletion.
• 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}}

• 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.
• For those redirects kept after the discussion, add Template:Oldrfd to the redirect talk page.

Header and footer text

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

RedirectName → TargetArticle

Stub types for deletion page

Shortcuts: WP:DELPRO#SFD WP:DPR#SFD

SFD instructions
Close after	7 days unless ongoing discussion
Top tag	{{subst:sfd top|RESULT}} ~~~~
Bottom tag	{{subst:sfd bottom}}
Archive	Add to log subpage
If deleting
De-list	Remove from stub types list
If keeping
Remove sfd tag	from top of template and category
This box: view • talk •

• Because stub type deletions often involve simultaneous discussion on both a category and a template, a separate process page is used for stub types.
• The actual deletion process is usually handled by administrators who are associated with Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting, since re-sorting of stubbed articles will often require these articles to be moved into several different stub categories. It is important for consistency, and to avoid confusion on the parts of stub-sorters that stub types be removed from the stub type list when they are deleted. Please don't leave red links on Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types!
• Policy suggests a week of discussion before closure. However, exceptions may be made for items qualifying for speedy deletion.
• Discussions which are still in process, or where strong cases have been made for both keeping and deleting stub types, are often kept longer than a week.
• Note that decisions to rename stub templates usually result in the deletion, rather than redirection, of the previous name. This is due to strict naming guidelines for stub templates - most renaming of stub templates is due to infringement of these guidelines in the original names.
• Enter the following text at the top and bottom of the SFD 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:sfd top|result}}

  • At the bottom:

    {{subst:sfd bottom}}

• Archived deletion discussions are entered on the appropriate subpage of Wikipedia:Stub types for deletion/Log.
• When archiving the discussion for a kept stub type, don't forget to remove the deletion discussion templates from the top of the stub template or category.

Header and footer text

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

{{Template-stub}} / Cat:Category stubs / {{Template stub}} (redirect)

Images for deletion page

Shortcuts: WP:DELPRO#IFD WP:DPR#IFD

IFD instructions
Close after	5 days unless ongoing discussion
Top tag	{{subst:ifd top|RESULT}} ~~~~
Bottom tag	{{subst:ifd bottom}}
No quorum	delete if no objections
If deleting
If Commons	Ensure Commons version is permissible
If keeping
Tag talk page	{{oldifdfull}}
Remove ifd tag	from image page
This box: view • talk •

Every day, the day page (that is, [[Wikipedia:Images for deletion/Year Month Day]]) more than five days old should be removed from Wikipedia:Images_and_media_for_deletion#Recent_nominations and a wikilink to the day page placed at Wikipedia:Images_and_media_for_deletion#Old_discussions. The decision to keep or delete an image is to be implemented only after the discussion for that template has been closed.

1. If it may take significant time to assess the debate and/or do the closing edits, consider first editing the discussion section for the image and adding {{Closing}} just after the section header, to notify others that a close of the particular discussion is in progress. This helps to avoid edit conflicts during the close.
2. Determine whether or not a rough consensus to delete has been reached. See: Deletion guidelines for administrators.
3. After the image's section header, add:

   {{subst:ifd top|Result}} --~~~~

   (where Result is usually either Delete or Keep)

4. Remove {{Closing}} if you added it earlier.
5. At the end of the image's section, but before the next image's section header, add:

   {{subst:ifd bottom}}

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

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

      {{oldifdfull|date=date of nomination}}

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

      • If the discussion failed to reach consensus, then the image 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 {{ifd}} (and if applicable {{ifdc}}) from the image (be sure the IfD Category is also removed).
   3. If the page becomes a redirect, remember to fix double-redirects.
8. There is no such thing as quorum. If after the normal time period, there are no objections to deletion of an image, it can simply be deleted.

If you disagree with a decision, please discuss it with the closing editor and, if necessary, request deletion review.

Header and footer text

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

Image:Image_name.jpg

Wikipedia:Deletion review discussions

Shortcuts: WP:DELPRO#DRV WP:DPR#DRV

Deletion Review discussions are typically closed after 5 days of discussion. Due to the nature of these discussions, the standards are very different from the standards followed in other discussions. Closers must be very familiar with the standards and outcomes used in the Deletion Review process.

To archive a DRV discussion:

====[Header]====	← Replace with {{subst:DRV top|[Header]|DECISION}}
Header (|talk|history|links|watch|logs)	← If this is missing from the discussion it should be included for archiving.
DISCUSSION	← Body of the discussion stays unchanged
{{subst:DRV bottom}}	← Add bottom template

• Section headers, ====[Header (closed)]]====, should remain until the daily log is archived.
• The default for DECISION is "Deletion endorsed".
• Both {{DRV top}} (shortcut: {{drt}}) and {{DRV bottom}} (shortcut: {{drb}}) need to be substituted for the time stamp to work properly.
• The wikilink brackets [[ ]] around the header should remain so the current status of the article is easily visible (they're not part of the template since not all the text in the headers is always wikilinked, e.g. ====[Header] and related articles====.
• When the daily log is closed, the headers should be removed by hand for archiving.
• User:Lifebaka/closedrv.js is a script to automate the DRV close process.

Special situations

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

Relisting discussions

Shortcut: WP:RELIST

The intent of the deletion process is to attempt to determine the consensus of whether an article should be deleted or not.

However, if at the end of the initial five day period, an XFD discussion has only one or two commenting editors (including the nominator), and/or if it seems to the closer to be lacking arguments based on policy, it may be appropriate for the closer to relist the discussion, with a goal of obtaining further sufficient discussion in order to determine consensus, and with the understanding that it may be subject to being closed once consensus can be determined, without necessarily waiting a further five days.

That said, relisting a debate should not be a substitute for a no-consensus closure. If closer feels that there has been substantive debate, and disparate opinions supported by policy have been expressed, and it appears that consensus will not be achieved, a no-consensus close may be preferable.

If a debate has already been relisted once, the closer should consider carefully if a no-consensus close would be more appropriate than a second relisting. If further discussion is unlikely to bring consensus, then the discussion should simply be closed.

Note that some deletion discussions (such as for categories, redirects, and images and media) can be closed as delete, rather than relisted, if nobody other than the nominator comments.

When relisting a discussion, it should be removed from the log for its original date and moved to the current date's log where the discussion will continue.

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}}

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.

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.

Non-administrators closing discussions

Shortcut: WP:DPR#NAC

See also: Wikipedia:Non-admin closure

In general, administrators are responsible for closing discussions about deletions. However, at times the various deletion discussions become backlogged. Editors in good standing who have not been made administrators may close deletion discussions, with the following provisions:

• Deletion discussions must be decided in accordance with consensus and taking account of Wikipedia policies and guidelines. If you are not familiar with deletion policy or the workings of deletion discussions, it is best that you only close discussions with unambiguous results.

• Non-administrators should not close even unanimous "delete" decisions, as they lack the account feature to delete pages (that feature is only turned on for admins).
• Close calls and controversial or ambiguous decisions should be left to an administrator.
• In cases when an administrator has deleted a page and overlooks closing the discussion, the administrator's name and deletion summary should be included in the closing rationale.

• Closing discussions in which you have offered an opinion or for a page that you have edited heavily presents a conflict of interest and should be avoided. The sole exception is if you are closing your own withdrawn nomination as a speedy keep and all other viewpoints expressed were for keep as well.

Non-administrators closing deletion discussions are recommended to disclose their status in the closing decision. Decisions are subject to review and 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.

Non-administrators closing CfD discussions

Note that Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Working has been protected from editing by non-admins due to exploitation by vandals. As such, CfD decisions which require admin or botwork to complete, such as "delete", "merge", or "rename", should not be closed by non-admins as they will be unable to make the necessary WP:CFD/W edits.

See also

• Template:afd top
• Template:afd bottom
• Speedy keep

• Alternative outlets to recreate deleted articles
• Arguments to avoid in deletion discussions
• Deletion common outcomes
• Deletion debates
• Deletion guidelines for administrators
• Deletion policy
• Deletion review
• Deletion review guide
• Guide to deletion
• Introduction to deletion process
• Undeletion policy
• No blank pages

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 9 October 2008, at 07:44.

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