Wikipedia:Proposed deletion

See Category:Proposed deletion for the listing of all articles currently proposed for deletion. An automated summary table can be found at WP:PRODSUM. For community proposals, See WP:VILLAGE for the Village Pump, where editors can submit proposals.

Proposed deletion (PROD) is a way to suggest an article for uncontroversial deletion. It is an easier method of removing articles than the articles for deletion process (AfD), and is meant for uncomplicated deletion proposals that do not meet the strict criteria for speedy deletion.

PROD must only be used if no opposition to the deletion is expected. It must never be used simultaneously with an AfD, and it may only be placed on an article a single time. Any editor may object to the deletion by simply removing the tag; this action permanently cancels the proposed deletion via PROD.

A nominated article is marked for at least seven days; if nobody objects, it is considered by an uninvolved admin, who reviews the article and may delete it or may remove the PROD tag. The first objection kills the PROD, and anyone may object as long as the PROD tag is present. Even after it has been deleted, a PRODed article can be restored by anybody through an automated request for undeletion. By the same logic, PROD is one-shot only: It must not be used for articles PRODed before or previously discussed on AfD.

PROD is only applicable to mainspace articles, lists, and disambiguation pages; it cannot be used with redirects, userspace pages, templates, categories, or pages in any other namespace.

There are three steps to the PROD process

1. To nominate an article, place the {{subst:Proposed deletion|concern=reason for proposed deletion}} tag on the page. This is automatically converted to a {{proposed deletion/dated}} which lists the article in Category:Proposed deletion.
2. If anybody objects to the deletion (usually by removing the {{proposed deletion/dated}} tag - see full instructions below), the proposal is aborted and may not be re-proposed.
3. The article is first checked and then deleted by an administrator 7 days after nomination (or any time after 7 days that an administrator reviews the article). It may be undeleted upon request. If the reviewing administrator does not agree with the deletion they may remove the PROD tag instead of deleting the article.

Nominating

Before nomination:

1. Be sure you have a valid reason for deletion. Consider alternatives to deletion like improving the article, merging or redirecting.
2. Review the article's history to confirm that it has not been recently vandalized.
3. Confirm that the article is eligible for proposed deletion by checking that it:
   • has not previously been proposed for deletion.
   • has not been undeleted.
   • has not been and is not being discussed at AfD.
4. Note that only articles, lists, and disambiguation pages may be deleted using the Proposed deletion process.

Nomination:

1. Add the {{subst:Proposed deletion|concern=reason for proposed deletion}} tag to the top of the main article page to nominate the article, and provide a clear and non-generic reason. To aid deletion sorting, indicating the article's general subject area or what notability guidelines it falls under is considered good practice.
2. Make sure to provide an edit summary that clearly indicates that the article has been proposed for deletion. Do not mark the edit as minor.
3. Consider adding an {{Old prod full}} tag to the article's talk page.
4. Consider adding the article to your watchlist.
5. The article's creator or other significant contributors should ideally be left a message at their talk page(s) informing them of the proposed article deletion, except for cases where contributors are no longer regarded as active editors on Wikipedia. This should be done by adding the {{subst:Proposed deletion notify|Name of Article‎}} tag, or other appropriate text. Prodding an article via Twinkle will automatically inform the article's creator.

To second a proposed deletion:

1. Consider adding a {{Prod-2}} tag to indicate your opinion.
2. Consider adding or modifying an {{Old prod full}} tag to the article's talk page.

Objecting

To object to and therefore permanently prevent a proposed deletion, remove the {{proposed deletion/dated}} tag from the article. You are encouraged, but not required, to also:

1. Explain why you disagree with the proposed deletion, either in the edit summary or on the talk page.
2. Consider notifying the editors involved in the PROD by placing a {{Deprod}} tag on their user talk page.
3. Add or modify an {{Old prod full}} tag on the article's talk page, to prevent renomination under Proposed deletion. It will then be listed at Category:Past proposed deletion candidates for easy tracking.
4. Consider improving the article to address the concerns raised.

If anyone, including the article creator, removes a {{proposed deletion/dated}} tag from an article, do not replace it, even if the tag was apparently removed in bad faith. This excludes removals that are clearly not an objection to deletion, such as page blanking or obvious vandalism, and tags removed by banned users may be restored. If you still believe that the article needs to be deleted, or that the article should be deleted but with discussion, list it on Wikipedia:Articles for deletion.

If the article has already been deleted, please go to Requests for undeletion. Any article which has been deleted as a result of a proposed deletion will be undeleted automatically on request (unless there are other reasons for keeping it deleted, such as copyright infringement), but it may then be nominated at WP:Articles for deletion.

Patrolling or checking

Articles that are proposed for deletion are listed in Category:Proposed deletion, which is organised by date. Any editor may patrol the category to check that articles are correctly prodded, and either endorse the prod by adding {{Prod2}} or remove the prod tag. It is helpful when either endorsing or removing a prod to give an explanation. This may be placed in the edit summary and/or on the talkpage. Wikipedia:WikiProject proposed deletion patrolling has further information on checking prods.

Articles that have been tagged for at least seven days are listed in Category:Expired proposed deletions. Admins may check the articles in this category, and follow the deletion advice below:

Procedure for administrators

Deletion

Before deletion, administrators should check the article, its history, and deletion log to confirm that:

1. The nominator's edit summary stated that the article was proposed for deletion.
2. The {{proposed deletion}} tag has been in place continuously for at least 7 days
3. No objections have been raised on the talk page.
4. The article is eligible for proposed deletion: the page is not a redirect, never previously proposed for deletion, never undeleted, and never discussed at AfD.

If you decide to delete the article, provide an informative deletion reason, such as that given by the nominator or editor who clarified the nominator's reason – not just "expired prod". Note that once the article is deleted, the reason that was given in the {{proposed deletion}} can only be seen by administrators. If you are using an automated script, make sure it leaves an adequate message. To ensure independent judgment, an article should not be deleted by the same person who added the {{proposed deletion}} tag. After deleting the article, it is recommended to check What links here to find any redirects to the article which should be deleted. In addition, incoming links from other pages (except discussions, archives and tracking pages) should be unlinked, and list entries should be removed altogether if notability has not been demonstrated.

If you decide not to delete the article, consider editing it to deal with the concerns raised, or nominating the article for deletion on AfD. You should document that it has been contested with an {{Old prod full}} on the article's Talk page.

Undeletion

An administrator may decide on their own to restore an article that has been deleted after a proposed deletion without having to make the request at Requests for undeletion.

Sticky prod

Further information: Wikipedia:Proposed deletion of biographies of living people

A new sticky prod process was established on April 3, 2010, requiring all biographies of living people (BLP) created after March 18, 2010 to have at least one reliable source that supports a statement about the subject, or it can be proposed for deletion. The {{prod blp/dated}} tag may not be removed until such a source is added, and if none is forthcoming within seven days the article may be deleted. This does not affect the regular prod process, which may still be used on BLPs, including BLPs from which the sticky prod has been legitimately removed.

See also

• Wikipedia:Articles for deletion
• Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion
• Wikipedia:List of policies and guidelines to cite in deletion debates
• Wikipedia:WikiProject proposed deletion patrolling – WikiProject to ensure articles are correctly PRODed and de-PRODed
• Wikipedia:Proposed deletion review
• Category:Past proposed deletion candidates
• Category:Proposed deletion – This category contains a list of the articles which have been PRODed