Page deletion is a drastic, although not irreversible, measure that administrators can take to deal with problem pages in the wiki. The exact policies under which pages can or should be deleted have not been worked out, but here are some general guidelines:
- Before deleting any page (article, template, etc.):
- Check the corresponding talk page to see if there's controversy about whether the page should be deleted, or a justification for not deleting the page.
- Check the edit history to see if previous versions were worth keeping.
- Check "What links here" for other pages that link to the page; these links should be changed before deleting the page. (Although note that if there are already links to the page title, it probably should be redirected to a different title instead of being deleted.)
- Don't delete a page just because it has a poorly chosen title. Instead, use the page move feature to "rename" the page to a better title (this preserves the edit history).
- After a page has been moved, a redirect is left at the previous page title. If the previous title was so poorly chosen that it is unlikely anyone would search for it or want to see it while browsing through the list of all articles, the redirect may be deleted.
Nominating a page for deletion[]
Regular users cannot delete pages, but they can nominate them for deletion by using the {{delete}} template, which places the page in Category:Pages nominated for deletion so that administrators can consider the nomination.
Examples:
- {{delete}}
- {{delete|junk page created by vandal}} — specifying a reason
Administrators can also use the template, of course, if they feel a "second opinion" is warranted.