Deletion Candidate

Please think twice before throwing this badge at a new page. See WikiContentGenerationProcess.

Deletion Candidate: a page that does not appear to contain value to this Wiki. It may belong somewhere, but certainly not here.

Over the last several years Wiki has been accommodating of a vast variety of subjects -- everything from movie and comic book reviews to eastern philosophy to politics to diet. C2 has been a spawning ground for SisterSites and other new wikis precisely because it's been this accommodating. Only new chums and single-minded zealots get heated up about the question of what is OnTopic and what is OffTopic, and Ward himself has never expressed an opinion on the matter.

Well, or someone generally level-headed who gets carried away in the heat of the moment.

Oh...right. Only new chums, single-minded zealots, and generally level-headed people who get carried away in the heat of the moment get heated up about...

Wait, what about Nazi discussions? Pretty much everyone thinks those are off topic.

That goes without saying. All right, then, Only new chums, single-minded zealots, generally level-headed people who get carried away in the heat of the moment, and people reacting to Nazi discussions get heated up about...

And an almost fanatical devotion to the pope...

[See WhatHaveTheRomansEverDoneForUs and other Python-esque references.]

Just Do It

Some see this WikiBadge as another excuse for FailingToDo?. If you honestly believe a page has no value, don't try to make yourself feel better by attaching pejorative labels to it. Just go ahead and delete it. If someone else values it more than you, they'll paste it back. That's WhyWikiWorks. What is it that Yoda said? "Do or do not. There is no try."

The "Let's talk about this before I delete/change this page" thing does not work. Any commentary or reflection about deletions and refactorings is considered to be noise. If you are sure something needs to be deleted, then delete it. If you are not sure, then leave it alone.

Caution: Danger Ahead

This WikiBadge can be interpreted as meaning, "I think this page doesn't belong on Wiki; but I want to see what other WikiZens think before acting." In particular, this badge gives someone else time to defend the page before commencing an actual deletion. Some things one may not want to touch for fear of generating a firestorm.

Perhaps Another Way

We may instead use WikiBadges which convey more accurately our meaning: TopicRequiresNewHome?, TopicMayRequireNewHome?, RelocateMe? or the more whimsical PleaseLookAfterThisBear? (ref. Paddington Bear).

One the other hand, the presense of too many badges may promote inaction. Perhaps we should play MusicalChairs? with the badges, shuffle the names around, and GentlyReduceWikiBadges.

Don't Just Do It

As for the suggestion at top of page that it's more to the point to just delete, well, it depends. I sometimes say DeletionCandidate rather than just deleting as a way of going slow and allowing room for discussion, in which cases I regard it as being quite a bit more polite than just deleting, if there's some chance that someone may object to the deletion.

"DeletionCandidate" is an invitation to discuss the deletion among a wider audience. I tend to use it when I think the page should be deleted, but I'd like some consensus before doing so. I also use it on new pages that I think are unlikely to become a worthwhile addition to the wiki, so that there's a trail to check on them after some time has passed.

"DeletionCandidate" should be accompanied with a note of explanation, lest it be interpreted as a lazy and rude WikiBadge.

Agree. I was using this badge before a particular dispute broke out in full swing, and those people who "got it" understood that my use of the badge was meant as a short circuit to unpleasantness. This state of affairs didn't last long, unfortunately. As Ward has pointed out to me recently, the C2 has lost its wonderful S/N ratio. Perhaps this badge -- along with other attempts at social grace -- can help restore the good feelings Wikizens had before the spate of bad edits began?

See: WikiBadge, DeleteThisPageSoon, DeleteThisPageSomeTime, DeletedButWelcomeToWiki

CategoryWikiMaintenance, CategoryDelete