Deleting Wiki Pages

• It's okay for the deletion process to be slow in cases of uncertainty, as long as it's not so slow that it stops people from trying to delete things at all.
• It's easy to restore deleted pages, so mistaken deletes are okay as long as they're noticeable.
• It's most likely that deletion causes harm if useful information disappears and isn't noticed, so silently deleting things should be reserved for more obvious cases.

1. If an article is obviously unnecessary, just delete it. (To delete a page, edit it and remove all of its content.) For example:
   • A page that has been completely replaced by a different page
   • A page that describes something that no longer exists, and there's no pressing reason to keep a historical record
2. If it's unclear whether a page is necessary, add it to the list labeled “Candidates for Deletion” below.
   • This is to enable someone to follow-up later if it takes time to figure out whether or not to delete it.
3. Make a good faith effort to identify the relevant committee (or if no committee, those that might care most about the page) and discuss with them if the page is necessary.
4. If no specific stakeholders are immediately apparent, make a more general post on Talk & Slack soliciting any input on the potential deletions.
   • For efficiency's sake, it's best to do this as a batch process - make a single post for an entire set of candidate deletions.
5. Allow sufficient time (1-2 weeks) for potential issues to be raised, discussed, and addressed. Aim for consensus, but if there's disagreement, consider alternatives to meeting everyone's goals, not just black-and-white outcomes.
   • For example, maybe part of a page should be moved somewhere else to preserve historical context, even if the page gets deleted.
6. If the general conclusion is to delete the page, delete it and remove it from the Candidates for Deletion list.
7. If the general conclusion is not to delete the page, figure out why it was suggested for deletion and try to address that (e.g. if the page is outdated, try to update it).

This is a living list and may grow over time.