Nookipedia:Deletion policy

This page covers Nookipedia's deletion policy, including the process for both deletion and undeletion, as well as an overview of common rationale and norms for deletion.

Process
Before nominating content for deletion, editors are encouraged to read the rationale section below to become familiar with the rules and norms for deletion.

Editors may mark a page for deletion through the following steps:
 * 1) Place Template:Delete at the top of the page (reason is required):
 * 2) Inform original creator (unless an exception below is met)

When marking a page for deletion, editors must provide a reason. The reason field should be short (no more than a few words); if needed, additional details can be provided in the note parameter. Additional reasoning may be added on the talk page, and it is encouraged if the deletion is likely to be discussed and debated.

Users must also inform the original creator of the page of the deletion discussion, unless:
 * page is blatant vandalism or nonsense
 * creator is obviously retired or no longer active
 * page was created by an IP address more than a month ago
 * page was imported from another wiki

Nookipedia staff review and delete marked pages with discretion. In clear-cut cases where a deletion would be uncontroversial (vandalism, non-sense, non-encyclopedic, etc.), staff may delete a page immediately. Otherwise, they will leave the page as-is until either (a) no objections are brought up in a reasonable amount of time or (b) the talk page discussion has reached a consensus.

The removal of a deletion tag indicates that deletion has been rejected. Non-staff editors may not remove a deletion tag unless it was placed as an act of vandalism.

Rationale
Nookipedia staff may delete a page in any namespace on-sight if it is blatantly out of scope and/or nonconstructive (vandalism, spam, hoaxes, non-sense, etc.). Copyright violations with no non-violating content or history worth saving may also be deleted on-sight.

In addition, various namespaces have their own common deletion rationales.

Articles
Common deletion reasons for articles include:
 * Fandom / headcanon content, which is out of scope
 * Covers minor detail that is already covered by another article
 * Duplicate content (in which case a merge and/or redirect may be appropriate)

Nookipedia does not have a defined notability policy. However, articles that cover a very minor element, or a subject that otherwise does not have much to be written about, should usually be merged into a larger, broader article.

Typically, articles should not be deleted solely because they are short, need re-writing, or otherwise just need some help, unless they are in a completely unacceptable state with no improvement being done in the foreseeable future. Wikis are a work in progress and it's typically better to have an article that needs some work than no article at all.

Files
Files serve three main purposes on the wiki:
 * Illustrating pages
 * Archival
 * Meta use (layout, Main Page featured fanart, avatars, etc.)

Files should generally fulfill at least one of those purposes. Excess unused files (such as screenshots that do not illustrate something not covered by another screenshot) may be deleted to reduce clutter and better comply with fair use. Unused files may still be kept for the sake of archival and documentation, and/or if there is foreseeable use.

Files should have proper sourcing, authorship, and licensing attached. Files that are missing these details may be replaced and summarily deleted, especially if a copyright or license violation is suspected.

Users may upload up to 5 personal images / fanart for use in their userspace. Additional personal images after this threshold are at the discretion of Nookipedia staff. All personal files should be identified by including the Personal upload template in the file's Summary field.

User
Users are allowed a minimal number of pages in their userspace for personal use that is unrelated to the wiki, such as to document their in-game island/town.

Users that go above and beyond what is reasonable may be warned and/or have pages deleted per staff discretion. Leniency may be granted to active, constructive editors vs. users whose sole purpose on the wiki is to use it as a personal host.

Redirects
Redirects help users discover content through alternative names and common spelling errors. Redirects may be deleted when they are nonsensical or otherwise unlikely to aide anyone in the discovery of a page.

When moving a page, the redirect should typically be left intact, unless completely unrelated or unlikely to be useful. In the case of files, even if the file redirect is unused on-wiki, it should typically be kept in order to keep both page histories and external links intact—these redirects helps preserve discoverability and contribute towards search engine optimization. File redirects may be deleted if the name is likely to be used for another file in the future. Redirects of recently created files that are moved shortly after upload (such as to correct a spelling error) may be comfortably deleted.

Undeletion
If an editor believes a page was unfairly deleted, or deleted without proper discussion, they may request a second look at the staff noticeboard. A staff member who did not delete the article will review the case and, if they find it reasonable, restore the page for continued discussion.

If you would like personal access to deleted content, you may make a request at the staff noticeboard. Please state the reason you would like to access the content. Acceptable reasons include things like desiring to incubate the page; for research; or to transfer to another site. Deleted content will typically be placed in the requestor's sandbox, but may be provided through other mediums (email, Discord, etc.) on request.