Wikiversity:Deletion policy

This policy explains when and why support staff may delete and restore resources. The deletion log allows anyone to track deletions and restorations at Wikiversity. Deletion removes access while keeping resources and their development histories intact. Access can be restored through undeletion. Deletions and undeletions are discussed at Requests for Deletion.

Deletion pathways

There are three main pathways for deletion:

• Speedy deletion (when noncontroversial)
• Proposed deletion (when a resource could be improved)
• Deletion request (when potentially controversial)

These three options are described in more detail below. The practical steps for to nominate for deletion are described in the deletion templates section.

Speedy

Resources may be speedy deleted when a good reason is given by adding {{delete|your good reason}}. You may request community feedback, or object with or without explanation by removing the speedy deletion suggestion from the resource. Resources may not be subject to speedy deletion when a reasonable objection is made or is likely because participants may be able to learn how to implement concrete improvements when taught appropriate practices.

Criteria for speedy deletion

A non-exhaustive list of possible reasons support staff may speedy delete resources:

Common reasons

1. Test page to practice use of the wiki software outside user space. Experiment in the Wikiversity:Sandbox. Consider Welcoming the user.
2. Vandalism and user pages for vandalism-only accounts.
3. Solicitation for products, services, companies, events, people, or other things with no educational merit or which generate direct financial benefit to the contributor.
4. Spam consisting of bulk automated creations, cross-wiki cross-posting, or repetitive external links with no educational value
5. Repost with no concrete improvements to merit keeping. User should request undeletion instead.
6. Author request by an only contributor or only substantial contributor, or arising from an expressed consensus of contributors.
7. Empty page which has been blanked or content not developed
8. Empty category with no notice suggesting the category may be occasionally empty.
9. Copyrighted work which does not satisfy Wikimedia's Terms of Use.
10. Orphaned, broken, or unused redirect with no educational histories, no links, and either no appropriate targets or not likely to be searched for.
11. No educational objectives or discussion in history. Welcome users and resources when likely to be expanded shortly.
12. No research objectives or discussion in history. Welcome users and resources when likely to be expanded shortly.

Less common reasons

1. Abandoned resource
2. Per proposed deletion
3. Per request for deletion
4. Basic maintenance such as repairing cut-and-paste moves, and moving resources over a redirect.
5. Discussion about deleted resource where context is lost and becoming an independent resource is unlikely
6. Resource moved to another project due to scope, or file uploaded to Wikimedia Commons with history intact and links fixed.
7. Unused file lacking either a license or a source may be deleted one week after uploader is notified.
8. Ethical breach where a resource standing undeleted may cause harm
9. Not English. See https://www.wikiversity.org to find where contributions may be appreciated
10. History merge
11. Deletion test

Proposed deletion (prod)

Resources may be eligible for proposed deletion when educational objectives, learning outcomes, or research aims are scarce, and objections to deletion are unlikely. You may add {{subst:prod}} to the top of resources to propose deletion. Support staff may examine the resource after 90 days, and either delete the resource or remove the proposal. Anyone may object by removing the proposed deletion template from the resource, with an explanation on the resource's discussion page and/or in the edit summary. Anyone still considering that the resource should be deleted may discuss deletion.

Deletion request

Use a deletion request if you think a developed page should be deleted or if the topic is complicated in some way. Then be prepared to engage in the discussion at Wikiversity:Deletion requests.

How to discuss

You should ask questions and discuss concerns with participants, make an effort to resolve problems yourself, and try alternatives as appropriate before suggesting deletion for resources with substantial development histories and contributions from multiple participants. You may ask for guidance and advice, explain what you have done or will do, and discuss options at Wikiversity:Requests for deletion. Resources are generally kept when a community decision is inconclusive. Add {{rfd}} to the top of resources to draw attention to the discussion. As a courtesy, you may also notify any participants directly.

Be concise and specific when suggesting solutions, because the preferred outcome is one participants can learn from to implement concrete improvements. On occasion, deletion might be permissible when productivity from a fresh start is likely and concerns relate to Wikiversity's mission, scope, process, or policy in some way. If you can raise concerns not addressed by a previous discussion, you may begin a new discussion at Requests for Deletion. Reasonable requests for resources to be restored during discussion are honored, where possible. Please only participate if you are willing to keep an open mind and make an effort to improve resources.

Alternatives to deletion

Deletion should be a last resort. Participants are encouraged to boldly consider constructive alternatives to deletion such as:

Issue	Possible alternatives
Outside Wikiversity's scope	Move to another Wikimedia project or more appropriate external platform. Some resources, such as personal essays, may be suitable for user space.
Outside the scope of a learning project	Merge into another learning project or develop into a new learning project.
Content dispute	Seek discussion, mediation, or wider community input before considering deletion.
Foreign-language resource	Translate into English, move to the relevant language Wikiversity, or move to Beta Wikiversity if no Wikiversity exists in that language.
Duplicate resource	Merge content, redirect to the primary resource, or move to a subpage with a clearer focus.
Poorly organised resource	Reorganise sections, rename the resource, or restructure into subpages.
Oversized resource	Split into smaller resources or reorganise into subpages.
Undersized resource	Expand, merge into a broader resource, or redirect appropriately.
Isolated content	Integrate into a broader learning project or create supporting pages.
Low-quality content	Add cleanup, expansion, or context templates and encourage improvement.
Insufficient or unclear educational value	Request clarification, improve the resource, or move to draft or user space for further development.
Outdated resource	Update, archive, or mark as historical or superseded.
Inactive learning project	Retain, archive, or reorganise if the project continues to have educational value.
Abandoned draft	Move to draft or user space for future development.
Unsuitable resource title	Rename or move to a more descriptive title.
Unsourced or poorly sourced content	Tag for verification, request sources, or assist with adding references.
Missing or incomplete licence information	Assist the user in providing the information or supply it if possible.
Test or practice edits	Move to user space or sandbox space if there is constructive or educational value.
Broken redirects	Redirect to a more appropriate target.
Temporary concerns	Use maintenance, protection, discussion, or draftification templates until issues are resolved.

Deletion templates

To remove resources from mainspace use the following templates:

• {{delete}} for speedy deletion
• {{prod}} for a proposed deletion
• {{dr}} for a deletion request
• {{pagemove announcement}} informs editors that the page (and any subpages) are likely to be moved to either draft space or user space. Wikiversity is a complex interaction between instructor teaching materials, student efforts, and even research. Mainspace should focus on teaching, learning, and research resources.
• {{draftify}} for proposed moving to the Draft: namespace

Speedy deletion

• Use {{delete}} or {{delete|(with optional explanation)}}

Use Speedy deletion for uncontroversial deletions. Placing {{delete|<suggested reasons go here ...>}} at the top of a page creates this banner:

The most common use of speedy deletion is for pages written by a single author and which include copyright violations, pseudoscientific claims, inappropriate language, advertisements, or slander or other efforts to harass living persons.

Anything that potentially causes harm should be immediately deleted, and speedy deletion is the fastest way to nominate a page for removal. But a speedy deletion is also the most time-consuming to revert (if the resource actually gets deleted). A good rule of thumb is never to speedy delete a resource that might be salvable or has had active edits in the past three years. Also, hesitate before you speedy delete a project or a large number of subpages, as reverting such deletions can be extremely time-consuming.

Proposed deletion

• Uses {{subst:prod}}

Proposed deletion (or "prod") is for pages that may or may not belong in mainspace. It allows editors to debate possible deletion on the talk page and ponder other options such as moving to the user or draft namespace. Prod draws attention and can result in an effort to improve the resource. Prod places the discussion about whether to delete on the talk page. Prod's greatest disadvantage is it causes projects to remain in mainspace until the question is resolved. A simple remedy for this is to move the project into user or draft space until an outcome has been decided. Support staff can move a resource with up to 100 subpages. To understand how prod works, suppose that on January 1, 2000 you placed {{subst:prod}} at the top of a page to create this banner:

Link to any subpages this page might have

The deadline for improving the page is 90 days after the template was inserted. This gives editors time to improve the page or defend its virtues. The proper venue for all discussions is the talk page of the article under consideration.

Deletion request

• Uses {{dr}}

Use Deletion request if you think a developed page should be deleted or if the topic is complicated in some way. Begin by placing {{dr}} at the top of the page to create:

Link to any subpages this page might have

Click the words share your thoughts in the box. This will lead to a page called Wikiversity:Requests for Deletion. Follow the instructions for starting a discussion. Explain why you think the page should be deleted. Be prepared to engage in discussion about the page's value. At some point the discussion will be closed. Sometimes the decision may be to place the article in draft space or on a subpage of their user page.

Pagemove announcement

• Uses {{subst:Pagemove announcement}}

The advantage of moving material into the user or draft namespace is that less time is spent discussing and more time cleaning up. Wikiversity has a limited staff of volunteers, and the quicker decisions are made, the more that can be done. Too many obscure pages in mainspace gives others a bad impression of Wikiversity. On the other hand, people should be encouraged to write on Wikiversity about all sorts of topics. The goal is to separate materials recommend for teachers, learners, and researchers from the discovery and exploration done by Wikiversity users.

{{subst:Pagemove announcement}} is used to communicate with all the page's main authors' talk pages and looks like this:

Removal of a project from mainspace To Somebody's username: The project [[Some page]] has been moved to [[User:Somebody's username/Some page]] A tentative decision has been made to remove this project from mainspace. If this move is not under discussion at Wikiversity:Requests for Deletion, you may make a request regarding this project at Wikiversity:Request custodian action. Yours truly, --Guy vandegrift (discuss • contribs) 06:07, 20 December 2022 (UTC)

See also

• MediaWiki:Deletereason-dropdown - List of common deletion reasons displayed in the deletion interface
• Category:Candidates for speedy deletion - List of current resources suggested for speedy deletion
• Category:Proposed deletions - List of current resources proposed for deletion
• Category:Requests for Deletion - List of resources with active deletion discussions
• Wikipedia is not a democracy