Wikibooks:Deletion policy
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
Administrators have the ability to delete pages from the Wikibooks database. Administrators should use their best judgment in making this decision.
Administrative deletion removes not just the present content of a page (which is something that anyone can do — but also something that anyone can restore) but also the page's history. While deleted pages can be restored by administrators, if deletions are made too casually it is easy to lose track. Therefore the decision to remove a page from the database is not to be taken lightly.
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[edit] Transwiki
First of all, if the page looks okay, but it's just on the wrong wiki (e.g. wrong language, wrong type of content), add {{transwiki|<suggested wiki>}} to the top of the page, which will look like:
The page will then appear in Category:Modules for transwiki.
[edit] Speedy deletions
If the page you want deleted is your own user page, user talk page, or any subpages thereof, or which which satisfies any of the following criteria:
- A page with no meaningful content. Always check the history of the page, as this nonsense may have replaced good content. If this is the case, simply revert to the last good version. Notice that what is considered "meaningful" changes for different namespaces.
- A repost of content previously voted for deletion, where the page was not listed on votes for undeletion and taken through the necessary procedural steps there.
- Blatant vandalism such as obvious offensive language or completely unrelated content to the Wikibook it is associated with. Make sure that the page that has been vandalized does not have prior history that can simply be reverted. If not then blank the page and add the deletion tag. See also Wikibooks:Dealing with vandalism.
- A page which was created solely for the display of spam, unwarranted advertisements, or other nonsense.
- A page which has been transwikied to more appropriate wiki, and is considered to be against one or more policies here.
- A page that is nominated for deletion by the original author with no other contributors.
- A page that has been nominated for deletion due to a general reorganization of the book by the contributors. In this situation, please note the location of the relevant discussion that occurred regarding the page cleanup.
- A page in a book which clearly does not comply with Wikibooks:What is Wikibooks (if there is some doubt, add the page/book to VfD).
- A redirect page that does not conform with Wikibooks:naming policy, if all links to it have been updated.
- A redirect where it is unlikely that anyone will inadvertently search for a page under that name.
- * Note * When deleting redirect pages, make sure that any links pointing to those redirects have been changed first, including other websites including other Wikimedia projects.
...it is a candidate for speedy deletion. In this case, simply add {{delete|<your personal justification for speedy deletion>}} to the top of the offending page, which will look like:
The page will then appear in Category:Candidates for speedy deletion, and will be addressed by an administrator as soon as possible. Administrators may either delete pages that meet the criteria of candidates for speedy deletion without going through the above process, or may list them in the normal manner if they want a second opinion.
[edit] Copyright violations
If you suspect the page to be a copyright violation from another URL or other source (usually determined by running a Google test), add {{copyvio|<source URL or description of source>}} to the top of the page, which will look like:
| POSSIBLE COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT | |
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A Wikibookian believes this work uses copyrighted material without the express permission of the copyright holder(s). You can help by requesting permission from the copyright holders to use their work under our licensing terms. If they grant you permission, please leave a message on the discussion page explaining this. After 7 days, if no permission to use the copyrighted work is obtained, this work may be deleted according to policy. A Wikibookian believes this work infringes on the copyright of:
Please also warn the primary contributors with:
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The page will then appear in Category:Copyright violations. The user who posted the suspected copyright violation has one week from this date to prove that they have permission to post the suspected content, otherwise it will be deleted.
[edit] Votes for deletion
If a page has existed on the system for more than one week, or it has been listed as a candidate for speedy deletion and you do not agree with the reasoning, you may add a new section to the end of Wikibooks:Votes for deletion, using the unwanted page's name as a title, so that other Wikibookians can have a chance to argue for or against the removal of the page. Please include a justification for deletion, and sign/date your justification with four tildes, ~~~~, or similar. In addition, add {{vfd}} to the top of the page, which will look like:
The page will then appear in Category:Votes for deletion. At this time, the voting process begins. Every registered Wikibooks user is entitled to one vote, which should consist of either Delete or Keep, optionally followed by a justification for their vote. The vote should be signed/dated as above. If you wish to change your vote, please apply the strikethrough tag <s>old text</s> to your previous vote, before adding a new vote.
After one week, if the voters have mostly reached a consensus about what to do, the appropriate action will be taken by an administrator. If not the voting may continue until a consensus is reached. Voting, and reaching consensus should occur according to the decision-making policy. By that policy, voting is used as an aid to decide whether or not the page should be kept — it is never a case that we just count the votes and go with the majority.
One thing to keep in mind with a VfD Discussion is that it may be added as a result of out right vandalism or as a part of an edit war between two contributors who may not like each other. In situations like this it would be considered appropriate to remove the {{VfD}} template tag from the article in question, as well as the content from the discussion page, with perhaps a note on the article discussion page that the VfD discussion was terminated because it was started due to vandalism, even if legitimate arguments for or against keeping the article were subsequently posted. If afterwards a serious objection to the Wikibook is still being raised, the VfD discussion can resume.
You should be especially sensitive to a VfD discussion about a brand-new Wikibook, particularly by a new contributor to Wikibooks. Since they are new to Wikibooks, they may not completely understand all of the policies here, so it would be better to mentor the new contributor more directly trying to help clean up the new Wikibook than trying to force a VfD discussion... even if the content it is a blatant violation of current procedures like a copyright violation or forking of an existing Wikibook. Unless there are obvious problems that are unlikely to be rectified, give the Wikibook some time to develop before the VfD discussion even takes place, and it would be inappropriate to automatically delete a good-faith effort to produce a Wikibook.
If the decision is that the page should be deleted, an administrator will do so, and it will show up on the page Special:Log/delete. Either way, the section should be moved to Wikibooks:Votes for deletion/Archive for historical reference.
[edit] Meaningful content
What is considered meaningful content is open to some interpretation and differs depending on the namespace, so you'll have to use your best judgment when nominating or deleting pages under this criteria. If in doubt, put it under a deletion discussion. Content is not meaningful if it does not contribute to the project or add value to readers. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Edit tests, spam, vandalism, and other nonsense. See also dealing with vandalism.
- Very short pages with no definition or context (e.g. "This guy is great!").
- Pages displaying intent, but no actual content (e.g. "This page will describe ..." without the actual description) once the editor has abandoned the project.
You can leave {{query}} on the page to check whether the user is intending to develop the page further.
[edit] What to keep, what to delete
Consider the following recommendations when deciding whether to list a page for VfD
- In general, keep stubs. However, delete stubs that don't even have a decent definition. Also, delete stubs that will never become more than a simple definition. See Find or fix a stub.
- In general, keep modules that need heavy editing, and list them on Modules needing attention. However, consider deleting pages that are just utter nonsense
- In general, delete pages that simply will never become educational resource modules, for example, modules that represent completely idiosyncratic non-topics ("Teaching 100 monkeys to type the works of Shakespeare"), etc.
[edit] Guidelines for admins
Here are some guidelines that those tasked with removing pages from the database can generally be expected to follow in making the decision to delete or not:
- As a general rule, don't delete pages you nominate for deletion if there are a number of comments in favor of keeping. Let someone else do it.
- Simply deleting a page does not automatically delete its talk page or any subpages. Please delete these pages too.
- If another solution has been found for some of these pages than deletion, leave them listed on Wikibooks:Votes for deletion for a short while, so the original poster can see why it wasn't deleted, and what did happen to it. This will prevent reposting of the same item. Alternately, leave a message on their user page explaining the verdict of the deletion process.
- Use common sense and respect the judgment and feelings of other Wikibooks participants.
- When in doubt, don't delete.
- Don't hesitate to turn a speedy delete into a VfD discussion. It is better to get community input on deleting a page than indiscriminate deleting on the part of admins.
- Where the content is such that it might usefully be moved elsewhere (for example, another wiki or that the authors might want a copy for their own records) give some time for them to do this before deleted (or alternatively email them a copy of the text).
- Copyright: See Wikibooks:Copyrights for deletion policy on copyright infringement (and m:Wikipedia and copyright issues and m:Avoid Copyright Paranoia for perspective).
- Administrators necessarily must use their best judgment, attempting to be as impartial as is possible for a fallible human, to determine when rough consensus has been reached. For example, administrators can disregard votes and comments if they feel that there is strong evidence that they were not made in good faith. Such "bad faith" votes include those being made by sock puppets, being made anonymously, or being made using a new userid whose only edits are to the article in question and the voting on that article.
Ideally, when an admin deletes a test page or other page with no useful content, it is a good idea to put a note on the author's talk page explaining things, pointing them to the sandbox in cases of tests. Be friendly! Everyone was new once. In the case of anon IP users this is not as important as they have likely moved on or their IPs changed since that edit.
[edit] Frequently Asked Questions
- Module X is totally biased! What gives?
- See Wikibooks:NPOV dispute. You don't need the VfD page for that.
- This user should be banned.
- Please take the issue up in the administrative assistance reading room.
- Where'd my page go?!
- Check the deletion log and head over to Wikibooks:Votes for undeletion if you believe that a page may have been deleted without proper grounds.
