Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2022-02-27/Humour

This humorous spoof of a Wikipedia notability guideline, originally titled

WP:MAILBOX

and not on The Signpost.

On Wikipedia,

.

For the purposes of this guide, a mailbox (also known as a letter box) is defined as a receptacle for receiving incoming mail at a private residence or business. A mailbox-related article (MRA) is defined as an article related to mailboxes. A non-mailbox-related article (NMRA) is defined variously as either an article not related to mailboxes or an article related to something that is not mailboxes.

This guide is independent from the other

. It is possible for a mailbox not to be notable under the provisions of this guide but to be notable in some other way under the general notability guideline or one of the other subject-specific notability guidelines. Conversely, failure to meet either the general notability guideline or other subject-specific notability guidelines is irrelevant if a mailbox is notable under this guide.

Criteria

1. A non-cool mailbox is presumed notable when it has received
   significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent
   of the mailbox or its owner.
2. A cool mailbox is presumed notable when it has received
   significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent
   of the mailbox or its owner.
3. A very cool mailbox is presumed notable when it has received
   significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent
   of the mailbox or its owner.
4. A mailbox flag is presumed notable when it has received
   significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent
   of the mailbox flag, the mailbox to which it is attached, or its mailbox's owner. Mailbox flags which are determined to be non-notable are generally redirected to the page for the mailbox to which they are attached.
5. All
   carrier pigeons
   are presumed to be notable.

Help! My mailbox article got nominated for deletion!

Some new editors attempt to create a page for their mailbox as their first article, and these are often nominated for deletion. It takes a lot of work to create an article, so if your mailbox article has been nominated for deletion, this may feel very discouraging. But don't panic just yet—deletion isn't automatic; it's a process. While mailbox articles do sometimes get deleted, and authors of non-notable mailbox articles do sometimes get permanently banned from ever editing or reading Wikipedia again and then defenestrated for good measure, this doesn't always happen.

Maybe your initial reaction was feeling hurt, or even angry. Know that plenty of established users have had their mailbox articles nominated for deletion. People will (or at least will try to) argue objectively about whether or not the mailbox is

.

See also

• Wikipedia:WikiProject Mailboxes in Red
• Wikipedia:Avoid instruction creep