Wikipedia page repair

What does page repair cover?

Page repair covers any existing or recently deleted Wikipedia page that is in difficulty. The common cases are:

• a page that has been deleted, by discussion, by proposed deletion or under a speedy deletion criterion;
• a page currently nominated for deletion, with a discussion or a notice running;
• a page carrying maintenance tags, such as a conflict of interest, advert or notability notice;
• a page damaged by edits that added unsourced claims, removed sourced material or unbalanced it;
• a page that has been merged into another article or turned into a redirect.

Each has a different route back, and the first job is to work out which situation you are actually in. The deletion log, the talk page and any archived discussion normally make that clear.

How do we choose the right restoration route?

By how the page was removed. Wikipedia has separate processes for each kind of deletion, and they are not interchangeable.

Deletion Review is the most misunderstood of these. It considers whether the closer interpreted consensus correctly, whether a speedy deletion went beyond the criteria, and whether there was a serious procedural error. It can also hear significant new information, but only where an administrator has already declined to undelete. It is explicitly not a place to repeat the arguments made in the original discussion. Our guide on how to restore a deleted Wikipedia page walks through each route.

How do we take part in an Articles for Deletion discussion?

Briefly and from policy. Articles are normally discussed for at least seven days, and the closing administrator weighs the reasoning behind each comment, not the number of people saying keep or delete.

• We bring sources, not opinions. The useful contribution is a short list of independent, reliable coverage that addresses the reasons for the nomination.
• We prepare improvements. The article can be edited during the discussion, and we prepare the sourced changes that answer the nomination.
• We accept the other outcomes. Merging, redirecting or moving the article to draft space are all possible results, and a draft can be the better outcome for a thinly sourced page.

A discussion with too little participation can be relisted for more input, and one that ends without agreement is closed as no consensus, which keeps the article. Our explainer on Articles for Deletion covers the stages.

What about proposed and speedy deletion notices?

Both can be answered, but in different ways. A proposed deletion notice stays for at least seven days, and any editor, including the page's creator, may object by removing it. Once removed, it cannot be placed on that page again. Whatever form the objection takes, we set out the sourced reasons on the talk page, so the concern behind the nomination is actually answered.

A biography of a living person with no sources at all can be given a stricter version of the notice, which may not be removed until a reliable source is added. If none is added within seven days, the article may be deleted.

Speedy deletion notices are different. For most criteria, the page's creator must not remove the tag, and the proper response is the "Contest this speedy deletion" button, which opens the talk page for an explanation. An administrator then decides. See our guide to proposed and speedy deletion.

How are maintenance tags and damaged content resolved?

By fixing the problem the tag describes, then asking an uninvolved editor to check it. Wikipedia's guidance on removing maintenance templates says a tag should not come off until the issue is remedied, and lists having been paid to edit the article as a reason not to remove it yourself.

For a tagged page we identify what the tag is objecting to, propose the fix through edit requests (new independent sources, neutral rewording, removal of promotional passages), and once those are made, ask on the talk page for the tag to be reviewed. See maintenance tags explained for what each notice means.

Damaged content follows the same pattern, with one exception. Unsourced or poorly sourced contentious material about a living person must be removed immediately under the biographies of living persons policy, and removing an unambiguous violation of that policy is one of the few edits the conflict of interest guideline allows a connected editor to make. Anything less clear-cut goes to the talk page or the relevant noticeboard, handled under our dispute support service.

What will we not do?

• Recreate a deleted page in substantially the same form, which invites deletion under criterion G4.
• Ask colleagues, friends or other editors to join a deletion discussion. That is canvassing, and recruiting outside participants counts as meatpuppetry.
• Remove maintenance tags or deletion notices that policy says must be left in place.
• Take a case to Deletion Review simply because the outcome was unwelcome.
• Promise that a page will be restored or kept.

What outcome is realistic, and how long do the processes take?

It depends on the sources more than the process. A page deleted for thin coverage comes back when better coverage exists, and not before. A page deleted through a procedural error can come back faster.

Wikipedia's own timings give a sense of the pace. A deletion discussion normally runs at least seven days, and may be relisted. A proposed deletion notice runs at least seven days. A Deletion Review that needs a community decision stays open for at least seven days. A rebuilt draft goes into Articles for Creation, which has no fixed waiting time. Tag removal waits on edit requests, which Wikipedia says can take from a day to several months.

Why bring in experienced editors for a repair?

Because a repair is always the second attempt, and the people reviewing it can read the first. A deletion discussion, a decline notice or a conflict of interest tag is already on the record, and every move made in response is added to it.

The mistakes made under pressure are the costly ones. The subject's staff join a deletion discussion and their comments carry little weight. The page is recreated the day after deletion and removed again as a repost. A tag is deleted without the problem being fixed, then restored with a note about who removed it. Each of those makes the eventual repair harder, and repeated recreation can end with the title protected against creation.

A small repair can be done by anyone: a single unsourced claim about a living person can be raised on the talk page by the subject. Where a page is in a deletion process or carries several tags, the order of the steps and the wording of each contribution matter, and that is where experience pays for itself.

How do you start?

Ask for a free page health check. We read the deletion log, discussions, talk page and tags, and usually report back within two working days with what happened and which route fits. If a deletion discussion is open now, say so on the contact form. Someone will come back to you within a working day.