Wikipedia:Essays in a nutshell/Removal or deletion of content

See also Wikipedia:Essay directory § Deletion of content

Essay	In a nutshell	Shortcuts	Impact
Arguments to avoid in deletion discussions	Always try to make clear, solid arguments in deletion discussions, avoid short one-liners or simple links, and explain why an article does or does not meet specific criteria, guidelines or policies.	WP:AADD, WP:ATA, WP:VM	High
Arguments to avoid in deletion reviews	Always try to make clear, solid arguments in deletion reviews, avoiding short one-liners or simple links. Explain why the closing administrator's decision does or does not meet specific criteria, guidelines or policies. Keep in mind the deletion review is not AfD Round 2.	WP:ATADR	Mid
Arguments to avoid in image deletion discussions	Deletion decisions about non-free content at the English Wikipedia are governed by Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria, thus the strongest arguments are those that explain clearly how they are based upon that policy.	WP:AAFFD, WP:AAIFD, WP:AAXFD	Unranked
Arguments to make in deletion discussions	These are arguments, based on Wikipedia's guidelines and policies, that have successfully saved articles from deletion in the past.	WP:GOODARG	Mid
Articles for deletion is not a war zone	AfD discussions should remain calm and civil, avoid adhering too strongly to either deletionism or inclusionism.	WP:NWZ, WP:WARZONE, WP:NOTWARZONE	Mid
Avoid repeated arguments	Avoid repeating statements previously made in AfD discussions.	WP:REPEAT, WP:WABBITSEASON, WP:DUCKSEASON	Low
Blow it up and start over	A page can be so hopelessly irreparable that the only solution is to blow it up and start over.	WP:TNT, WP:TNTTP, WP:DYNAMITE, WP:BLOWITUP, WP:NUKEANDPAVE	Unranked
But there must be sources!	Don't just insist there must be sources out there somewhere, prove it by providing them.	WP:MUSTBESOURCES, WP:THEREMUSTBESOURCES	Unranked
Closing Administrator is not an Edit on Demand Service	A closing administrator's job in an XfD is determining if the consensus is to keep or delete. Editors should boldly improve articles themselves.	WP:DEMAND	Low
Content removal	When removing content from a page, it is important to be sure there is consensus to do so.	WP:REMOVAL, WP:CRV, WP:RMV	Low
Delete the junk	Wikipedia lacks articles on a lot of notable subjects. We don't need to keep an article with no merit in itself just because it might, theoretically, be possible to make a good article on the subject.	WP:NORESCUE, WP:JUNK	Mid
Don't build the Frankenstein	Be careful to verify, when adding references to an article to establish notability, that the subject referenced is actually the one the article is about, and not someone or something else with the same name.	WP:DBTF, WP:FRANKIE	Low
Drafts are not checked for notability or sanity	The criteria that would get an article in mainspace deleted mostly don't apply to drafts.	WP:NDRAFT	Unranked
Don't follow the leader	It's not necessary to agree with the nominator or the first editor to comment, do not be ashamed to be in the minority	WP:LEADER	Mid
Don't move articles at AfD	An article listed at AfD might need a better title than it currently has, but it can wait.	WP:NOMOVE	Unranked
Encourage full discussions	Editors are encouraged to fully discuss all arguments in AfD discussions. If you bring up a point in the discussion, it is okay if someone else responds to it.	WP:ALLARGUMENTS	Low
How to save an article proposed for deletion	Don't panic, discuss, familiarize yourself with the deletion process, and address the issues.	WP:SAVE	High
I just don't like it	Liking or not liking the topic is not a strong argument in a discussion.	WP:JUSTDONTLIKEIT, WP:JDLI, WP:IDONTLIKETHEM	Mid
Kittens	Stub articles can be useful, but avoid mass creating stub articles.	WP:KITTENS	Unranked
Liar, liar, pants on fire	Calling an editor a liar is not a valid argument in AfD discussions (or anywhere else, for that matter).	WP:LIAR, WP:LIARLIAR	Low
No big loss	Deletion of any article is a loss for the wider community and the encyclopedia in the long term, as that's knowledge lost because one person forgot to add references.	WP:NOLOSS, WP:NOBIGLOSS	Mid
Non-admin closure	Administrators close most deletion discussions; regular editors may close some non-controversial discussions with "keep", "merge" or "redirect" closure when they can.	WP:NAC, WP:NADC	High
Nothing	Wikipedia is not about everything, but that, by itself, is not argument for deletion.	WP:NOTHING	Mid
Overzealous deletion	Overzealous deletion goes against Wikipedia's assume good faith principle	WP:OVERZEALOUS, WP:ZEAL	Mid
Quote your own essay	In deletion discussions, editors should feel free to quote their own essays provided that they do not hold them out as policy or consensus. Sometimes, there may be reasons not to quote your own essay.	WP:SELFQUOTE, WP:QUOTEYOURSELF	Low
Relisting can be abusive	Avoid relisting a deletion discussion if a consensus has been firmly and recently established.	WP:RELISTINGISEVIL	Low
The Heymann Standard	The amount of work that an editor feels a page needs to change a delete vote.	WP:HEY, WP:HEYMANN, WP:KERRRZAPPP	Low
TenPoundHammer's Law	If you don't even know the name of an upcoming album, you probably don't know enough about it to write an article.	WP:HAMMER, WP:CRYSTALHAMMER, WP:HAMMERTIME, WP:TPHL	Mid
Why was the page I created deleted?	Deletion, like everything else in Wikipedia, is about consensus between editors. Deletion does not always have to be permanent.	WP:WWMPD, WP:WMD, WP:DUDE	Mid
Wikipedia is not Whac-A-Mole	Don't rush in and suggest an article has no reliable sources without taking time out to find them.	WP:WHACAMOLE	Mid