WikiEducator:Policy for page deletions

Introduction
WikiEducator is a community of educators collaborating online on the creation of Open Education Resources (OER). As a general rule, the deletion of content on the WikiEducator site is based on a consensus model with rare exceptions as listed in the respective sections below.

The deletion of pages in the wiki is a technical activity performed by volunteer Sysop Administrators, Bureaucrats which removes the page from public view. Blanking or removing text from a page does not remove the page from public access by WikiEducator users. This is a protection for WikiEducators who can revert or restore text that has inadvertently been removed (unless the page is deleted by one of WikiEducator's administrators in accordance with this policy). The Mediawiki software provides a public log of all pages deleted by Administrators to ensure transparency and accountability of deletions in the wiki.

This policy provides the framework and corresponding guidelines to assist volunteer Administrators with the important task of deleting pages in WikiEducator.

The general process for deleting pages in WikiEducator invloves:


 * 1) Inserting a deletion template and stated reason for the deletion on the page concerned
 * 2) In the case of a page qualifying for immediate deletion, the volunteer Administrators will delete the page
 * 3) In cases requiring further discussion, the active editors should discuss the proposal for deletion before inserting the deletion template. In the absence of a consensus decision by the active editors of the page, the Administrator will not be permitted to delete the page unless it qualifies for immediate deletion.

Ideally, where appropriate, deletion proposals should first be prepared on the corresponding talk pages with the active editors of the page concerned. When proposing a deletion, the reasons and outcomes of the consensus discussions should be referenced in the deletion request.

User-driven criteria for deletion

 * 1) Single-author pages requested by the author. Requests will be either through the placement of a Deletion Request template/Category or via direct email communication with Sysops. However, in the case of content that is in existence for long, placing of deletion request template on the content page and valid reasons for that on the talk page will be the preferred model, if the reason for the deletion request is not grave like serious copyright violation etc that demand immediate deletion to avoid legal complications. Placing of the deletion request openly will provide opportunity for a rethinking to others who have already linked the deletion-proposed-content with their content or planning to do so.
 * 2) Multi-author pages where all authors agree, or where the content is largely blank following the same procedure as above.
 * 3) Duplicate pages being created by accident can be proposed for immediate deletion.
 * 4) Wrong selection of images being uploaded by accident can be proposed for immediate deletion.
 * 5) When copyright violations are clearly identified after uploading an image/ or copying a content immediate deletion can be proposed.

Administrator-driven criteria for deletion
Administrators should always adhere to the General Policy stated in the beginning of this document. Where possible administrators should propose to delete the page components that violate established policies and copyright rules rather than whole pages.

Violations

 * 1) copyright violations
 * 2) violations of established policies
 * 3) offensive material
 * 4) Mis-Categorisation - This can easily be "fixed" by giving the un-categorised page(s) a category or providing new and relevant categories to the page after appropriate discussion with author(s) or peers

Items for immediate deletion
Administrators can carry out immediate deletion of the content or media in the following circumstances. However, in the case of any doubt, the Administrators may delete the content temporarily without deleting the connected talk page and initiate a discussion on the talk page to clear the doubts. If it is proved after discussions that there is no substantial reason for permanent deletion, the Administrator should restore the deleted page.


 * 1) When the single author proposes immediate deletion of items as listed under User-driven criteria.
 * 2) Offensive materials.
 * 3) Copyright violations those are likely to attract legal action.

Reference Area
Please also see the deletion policy from Wikipedia.

 Admin Workgroup Meeting (Asynchronous), Second Session, from 0001 UTC on 5 August 2009 to 2400 UTC on 7 September 2009 Venue : TALK PAGE