User:Lenticel/Deletion isn't Evil

This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

Deletion is like decay, it is integral to the upkeep of the Wiki but it's a dirty job. Deletionists are editors who bravely face this job even in the midst of being accused as evil or lazy. Although we can't change the other person, we could practice deletion with a more responsible approach.

• Know thy opponent's feelings - the deletionist should understand the article's creator or maintainer feelings. Usually they are upset that their hard work is up to deletion and might make unreasonable comments or accusations. Please don't engage them in a similar manner but understand their position. In this way, your nomination will not be compromised and you keeping a cool head might calm your opponents feelings as well.

• Don't use the cruft word liberally - Deletionists seem to use the term and its derivatives often. I suggest that one should not use it in arguments simply because contributors might find it offensive.

• Don't be an
  Ostrich
  - Always study the background of the article that you are planning to delete.

• Don't play
  inspector - This is the bane of New pages
  patroller. Give new articles a chance to grow. Better yet, do it yourself.

• Don't single out a group - If you have successfully nominated and deleted an article, don't quickly nominate other related articles. It is not your job to do so. This is to avoid being labelled a witchhunter or someone who has a grudge or is simply ignorant of their target articles. Avoiding such practice will also prevent you from becoming a dick.

• Be professional - dealing with crappy articles doesn't give you the license to be a crappy deletionist as well. These are some unprofessional ways of nominating articles, among them are:

1. Single word reasons (nn, cruft etc.)
2. Copy-pasted arguments for different nominations.

• Search engines are your friends - If you are not sure about the notability of the article in question, I suggest that you search for references first. If you really can't find reliable sources out there, then you should present your results in your nomination and make your case stronger. If you found some reliable sources, consider improving the article with that source.

• Contributors are your friends - If you are unsure of the notability of an article, consider talking with the contributor that created the article or the Wikiproject that covers the field of your target article. They might be more willing to make the article grow or support your deletion nomination.

• Afd is not cleanup - Do not use Afd as a tool to improve the quality of an article. It is just plain annoying and give the impression that you are too lazy to do it yourself. Besides, other editors might feel that you are simply using the Afd to give yourself authority to shape Wikipedia in your own image.

• Try to relocate your nomination if possible - Some articles are simply "misplaced" in Wikipedia. Suggest in your nomination to Transwiki the article into a fan Wiki. There are also dedicated Wikia sites that could accommodate in-depth articles on their respective fields. This way, the contributors will see that their hard work isn't simply vanishing to oblivion.

Remember:

Deletion is not evil and try to make it stay that way.