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Deleting pages

From Beachapedia

Deleting an article/page

From time to time, some pages on the wiki may merit consideration for deletion. This is not something that should be done lightly, and it should only be done after a period of time has been allowed to consider and discuss why a page should be deleted. Some possible reasons for deleting articles may be:

  • redundant
  • outdated
  • largely duplicated in another article

Before considering an article for deletion, think about what will be done with the content of that article. Should it be merged into another article? Is the content based on old information that is not (or no longer) accurate?

Deletion Template

When proposing to delete an article from Beachapedia, there is a template that should be used: Template:Deletion candidate. Usage instructions are provided on the template page. You will need to provide your username, the date you added the deletion template to the article, and the proposed date for the article to actually be deleted. The actual deletion must be performed by an admin.

What the template does

Adding the "Deletion candidate" template to a page automatically adds the page to the category "Considered for deletion" and places a link to the category page at the bottom of the article. The template places a large red banner on the page being considered for deletion to alert other users that the page is being considered for deletion.

Deletion discussions

Discussion as to why an article is being considered for deletion should be conducted on the talk page for that article. You should list the reason(s) you think the article/page should be deleted on that page. This also provides a place for other users to share their opinions and views as to the proposed deletion. Options other than deletion should also be discussed, including merging the page into another article.

Checking for links

Before a page is deleted, someone should check to make sure that it is not linked to by other pages. This can be done by clicking on "What links here" in the Toolbox area of the left-side navigation bar. Some links may be automatic (such as a link from the Main Page if the article is in the category "A-Z").