| Revision as of 00:13, 18 June 2009 editGigs (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers15,455 edits →Flag an article for Rescue: clarified← Previous edit | Revision as of 09:20, 21 June 2009 edit undoBenjiboi (talk | contribs)50,496 edits clarifyNext edit → | ||
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| * Userpages. | * Userpages. | ||
| === |
=== Usage === | ||
| If an article has been tagged for deletion (]), and you feel it meets the above guidelines, then you can flag an article for rescuing by: | If an article has been tagged for deletion (]), and you feel it meets the above guidelines, then you can flag an article for rescuing by: | ||
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| If you are the main editor of the article tagged for deletion, or are unsure if an article is a good candidate for the Article Rescue Squadron, then please ] including the article's title on ]. | If you are the main editor of the article tagged for deletion, or are unsure if an article is a good candidate for the Article Rescue Squadron, then please ] including the article's title on ]. | ||
| '''As part of this tag's use please comment at the deletion discussion on ''why this item should be rescued and how that could happen.''''' Your input should constructively lead the way for other editors to understand how this item can be improved to meet Misplaced Pages's policies and likely benefits our readers. | |||
| ⚫ | You can |
||
| ⚫ | You can also add the template ] to the deletion discussion to let other editors know that this item was tagged for rescue. This produces output similar to the following: | ||
| * <small>'''Note:''' This article has been nominated for ]. ] (]) 12:51, 17 June 2009 (UTC)</small> | * <small>'''Note:''' This article has been nominated for ]. ] (]) 12:51, 17 June 2009 (UTC)</small> | ||
Revision as of 09:20, 21 June 2009
- To see the articles listed for rescue click here. To add an article to the list, see the instructions.
| Notice: The Article Rescue Squad is always in need of additional help; All are welcome to try their hand at saving articles tagged for rescue! |
Please join us!. All too often, an article about a perfectly notable topic lies wounded, badly written, unsourced – but should its life be taken at Articles for Deletion? No! Only articles about non-encyclopedic topics should be deleted, not articles that need improvement. Improvement is the opposite of deletion.
An article should not be deleted just because it is ill-formed. Some writer worked hard on that article. Some reader can use that article. Those writers and readers, if reached out to, can help us preserve this worthwhile content.
Why is it important to read Misplaced Pages:Articles for Deletion?
Every time an article is deleted, the contributions that were made to it are lost. Misplaced Pages administrators can access the information in deleted articles, but they are not necessarily experts on the article's topic. Once an article is deleted, its content, value and appropriateness can no longer be evaluated by the general public.
In addition, the contributor who writes a poor article on a notable topic is likely to be inexperienced. If their first efforts are deleted, they may be discouraged and refrain from creating further articles, or even editing. Everyone starts somewhere and we should encourage better writing and better articles. Good faith efforts to contribute should be met with encouragement to improve.
This makes Articles for Deletion a very important place, one that deserves everyone's attention.
A common axiom is that "AFD is not cleanup". Consider that Misplaced Pages is a work in progress and articles should not be deleted as punishment because no one has felt like cleaning them up yet. Remember, Misplaced Pages has no deadline. If there's good, eventually sourceable, content in the article, it should be developed and improved, not deleted.
The question on whether a poor but improvable article ought to be deleted is a major point of contention, and has given rise to the wiki-philosophies immediatism and eventualism. The Article Rescue Squadron was highlighted in a July 2007 Misplaced Pages Signpost and has grown exponentially with many processes to tag, track and list tagged articles.
What can one person do?
The Article Rescue Squadron is not about arguing on talk pages but instead about editing articles. If everyone who cares about preserving important topics and removing unsuitable content reads one deletion discussion per day (or even one per week) the impact will benefit all our readers. Moreover, reading through an article nominated for deletion and adding sources and rewriting the text to remove or reword unsuitable content will help other editors decide if the article should be kept or deleted.
So ARS wants to keep everything?
No. The Article Rescue Squadron (ARS) is not about casting keep votes or making policy simply to ensure that nothing is deleted. The ARS ensures that articles about notable topics do not get deleted when they can be rescued through normal editing which per WP:AFD means that it was not a good candidate for deletion. The {{So fix it}} and {{Solookitup}} templates are sometimes all that's required for a rescue.
Instructions
What the Rescue template is for
Our main focus is on articles on notable subjects going through AfD that:
- Need references
- Are written poorly
- Lack information readily available
- Need cleaning up.
We also help rescue content in main namespace and other XfD processes such as MfD and TfD.
What the Rescue template is not for
- Articles that are not in the AfD process, including articles that have been deleted, even if you have archived the content. You might post {{findsourcesnotice}} to the article's talk page as a way to suggest where editors may find sourced material for the article.
- Articles that, no matter what improvements were made, would be considered inappropriate per WP:What Misplaced Pages is not. Use common sense and feel free to ask what other editors think on the project talk page.
- Userpages.
Usage
If an article has been tagged for deletion (Afd), and you feel it meets the above guidelines, then you can flag an article for rescuing by:
- clicking edit and
- adding the following line of text at the top of the page as shown in the example below:
{{Rescue}}
If you are the main editor of the article tagged for deletion, or are unsure if an article is a good candidate for the Article Rescue Squadron, then please post a message including the article's title on the Article Rescue Squadron talk page.
As part of this tag's use please comment at the deletion discussion on why this item should be rescued and how that could happen. Your input should constructively lead the way for other editors to understand how this item can be improved to meet Misplaced Pages's policies and likely benefits our readers.
You can also add the template {{subst:Afdrescue}} to the deletion discussion to let other editors know that this item was tagged for rescue. This produces output similar to the following:
- Note: This article has been nominated for rescue. YourUserName (talk) 12:51, 17 June 2009 (UTC)
Example
You can flag an article for Rescue by editing it to add the bolded text under the AfD tag, but within the two sets of <!-- --> tags, as in the below example using a Robin Sage AfD:
- <!-- Please do not remove or change this AfD message until the issue is settled -->
- {{AfDM|page=Robin Sage|date=2007 September 11|substed=yes}}
- {{Rescue}}
- <!-- End of AfD message, feel free to edit beyond this point -->
The article will then appear in this category along with all the others flagged for rescue. Adding it within the two sets of <!-- --> tags will also allow the closing admin to automatically remove the tag when they close the AfD.
Removing a rescue tag
It is unhelpful, and possibly disruptive, to remove the rescue tag before the AfD is completed. The AfD process usually takes a week and the tag is in place for less than that. Let the AfD closer remove it when the AfD tag is removed or the article is deleted. In all cases remain civil and assume good faith that other editors are working to improve articles.
Tips to help rescue articles
- Browse Misplaced Pages:Articles for Deletion periodically and consider tagging articles that you feel meet notability guidelines.
- Help improve articles flagged for rescue by adding sources and otherwise cleaning them up.
- In general, discuss issues concerning an individual article on that article's talk page, not on this project's talk page.
- Check Misplaced Pages:Guide to deletion for tips.
Source searches
- Google News
- Google Book Search
- Google Scholar
- NewsLibrary.com
- FindArticles.com
- World Cat
- Misplaced Pages Reference Search by the WRS project
Barnstars
There are four snazzy Rescue Barnstars for anyone who has made significant contributions to rescuing articles; it is up to those awarding them to choose which one to use:
| Image | What to type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
{{subst:The Rescue Barnstar|message ~~~~}} | The Rescue Barnstar - to be awarded to people who rescue articles from deletion or assist in identifying and rescuing articles. This can be independent of or in cooperation with the Article Rescue Squadron.
|
|
{{subst:The Rescue Barnstar 2|message ~~~~}} | The Rescue Barnstar 2 - to be awarded to people who rescue articles from deletion or assist in identifying and rescuing articles. This can be independent of or in cooperation with the Article Rescue Squadron.
|
|
{{subst:The Rescue Barnstar 3|message ~~~~}} | The Rescue Barnstar 3 - to be awarded to people who rescue articles from deletion or assist in identifying and rescuing articles. This can be independent of or in cooperation with the Article Rescue Squadron.
|
|
{{subst:The Barnstar of Recovery|message ~~~~}} | The Barnstar of Recovery
The Barnstar of Recovery is awarded to editors who make BOLD contributions to articles during their deletion reviews, thus saving the article from deletion. It has the international sign for "first aid" as its background. |
Other awards
How to become a member of Article Rescue Squadron
To join simply add your name to our membership list; feel free to add your ideas to the project discussion page as well.
Then place this tag
- {{User Article Rescue Squadron}}
on your user page:
 | This user rescues articles for the Article Rescue Squadron. |
- There is an automatically-created list of members using this banner here.
Once you've rescued an article or two, show your Rescue Squadron pride with
- {{User:Jclemens/Rescues|n}}
(where n is the number of articles you've helped rescue)
|
|
This user has rescued n articles by improving them in the face of pending deletion. |
- There is an automatically-created list of members using this banner here.
To invite someone
To invite someone to join ARS you can use our handy invite by pasting {{Article Rescue Squadron invite}} to their userpage.
Articles currently tagged for rescue
| Articles currently tagged for rescue |
|---|
| Category Articles tagged for deletion and rescue not found |
Selected previous rescues
See a selected list of previous rescues at Misplaced Pages:Article Rescue Squadron/Hall of Fame
Article alerts
Template:ArticleAlertbotSubscription
See also
- Alternative outlets for potentially useful/valuable content which is not appropriate for Misplaced Pages.
- Arguments to avoid in deletion discussions
- Articles for creation
- Contributing to Misplaced Pages
- Deletion policy
- Deletion precedents
- Deletion process
- Deletion review
- Deletion review guide
- Guide to deletion
- Introduction to deletion process
- Potential, not just current state
- There is no deadline
- The Heymann Standard
- Related projects
- Essays, etc.
- Deletionism and inclusionism in Misplaced Pages
- User:Fresheneesz: Don't Destroy
- Don't be an ostrich
- Give an article a chance
- Article rescue contest
External links
- The Charms of Misplaced Pages in NY Review of Books on article rescue by ARS veteran Nicholson Baker
- Andrew Lih: Unwanted: New articles in Misplaced Pages
- Deletionpedia
References
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| Editing (?) |
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| WMF (?) |
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