CFD instructions | |
---|---|
Close after | 7 days (2 if WP:C2 applies) |
Top tag | {{subst:cfd top|'''result'''}} ~~~~ |
Bottom tag | {{subst:cfd bottom}} |
If merging, renaming, or deleting | |
Bot | List it at WP:CFD/W |
Manual follow-up |
|
If keeping | |
Bot | List it at WP:CFD/W#Retain |
If relisting | |
See | Template:Cfd relisted |
Administrator instructions for Categories for discussion:
Closing when
Normally, only close discussions if they have been open to participation for more than a week. However, if speedy criteria for categories apply and the nomination is unopposed, the discussion can be closed after 48 hours.
Closing a discussion
Consider adding {{closing}} just after the section header to indicate that a close is in progress if you expect it to take significant time.
Check that the nominated category pages were tagged. If a listed category was not tagged, your close (in respect of that category) should be "procedural close" as an invalid nomination, after which no action is required. Alternatively, tag the category pages and relist the discussion on the current day's CfD log.
Determine whether consensus to delete or rename has been reached. See: Deletion guidelines for administrators.
A nomination may result in any outcome, e.g. a proposed renaming may end in consensus to delete.
The decision to keep or delete a category is to be implemented only after the discussion for that category has been closed.
Executing the closure using XFDcloser
For discussions where the result is Keep or No consensus or Procedural close, you can just use XFDcloser, which should handle all required actions.
For discussions where the result is Delete, you can use XFDCloser to close the discussion, and then list the name of the category at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Working#Empty then delete in the format specified in HTML comments on that page. For some categories additional manual actions are necessary, but nothing will go wrong if the category sits there and you let one of the people who watch that page do the manual work.
Merge results follow the same procedure (with the same caveat), except the section to use is Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Working#Merge then delete
Rename results can be done following a similar procedure (using Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Working#Move).
The Merge or Rename options in XFDcloser prompt the closer to enter the target category in each case, but currently make no use of this information. It is therefore recommended to use the Custom option instead for merges and renames, followed by "No automated actions". The Custom option can also be used for splits and other outcomes.
Implementing the closure: manual steps
- Document the close:
- After the category's section header, add: {{subst:cfd top|'''result'''}} ~~~~ You may state a rationale after the result if desired.
- (result should usually be Delete, Merge, Rename, Keep or No consensus)
- Remove {{closing}} if you added it earlier.
- At the end of the category's section, but before the next category's section header, add: {{subst:cfd bottom}}
- After the category's section header, add: {{subst:cfd top|'''result'''}} ~~~~ You may state a rationale after the result if desired.
- If the decision is Keep (including any variant such as "No consensus"):
- WP:CFD/W#Retain may be used to automate this task for a long list.
- Add a link on the category's talk page to the discussion sub-page, preferably using {{Old CfD}}:
- {{old cfd | section heading | date = date of nomination | result = result | action = action proposed by nominator}}
- (the default section heading is the category name, so that parameter may be omitted)
- (the default result is "Keep", so that parameter may be omitted)
- (the default action is "delete", but it can also be "merge", "rename" or something else)
- Date should be added in the same format as on CfD daily subpages, i.e., Year Month Day
- If the discussion failed to reach consensus, the category is kept by default and the decision should state this.
- {{old cfd | section heading | date = date of nomination | result = result | action = action proposed by nominator}}
- Remove {{cfd}} or other Cfd template from the category (be sure the Cfd category is also removed).
- If the category page becomes a redirect, fix double redirects.
- If the decision is to Rename, Merge, or Delete:
- NOTE: If the decision or decisions affect a large number of articles (thousands), don't list the close in the normal sections. Instead, list them at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Working/Large. The bot will process these separately.
- If you are an administrator, list it under the appropriate section of Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Working. Include the link to the CFD day page above the listing.
- Go to the old category and check "what links here". If there are links or redirects to it, update them. Start with any navbox templates; where such templates need to be updated on all the pages that transclude them, either make null edits to those pages, or list the category in the relevant section at WP:CFDWM (automated processing of such cases is sometimes fast, but sometimes takes days). Also update category pages, articles, and manually-edited pages such as sub-pages of portals and active WikiProjects, but ignore "article alert" subpages, user pages and talk pages. (If you cannot see where the link comes from, it is probably from a template; some templates only produce a link to the category if the category exists, e.g. for year-related categories in ancient times; you can safely ignore these links.)
- To Rename:
- To rename a category manually: move the category page to the new name and enter a link to the discussion in the log, including brackets [[ ]]. The "move" command has a few options, one of which leaves a {{category redirect}} at the old name; un-tick this if the redirect will not be useful (most cases). The option to move the category talk page to the new name should usually be ticked. After moving the page, edit the new category page to remove the CFD template and make any other necessary changes including sort keys. Then go back to the old category name, and update each of the member pages or sub-categories.
- Renaming over an existing redirect: check the page history at the new name, and decide if it is significant. If the page history is not worth keeping, manually move the current category page to the new name and delete the existing redirect. Otherwise, manually update the pages, then update the Wikidata link (see below).
- Where the old name was ambiguous: check whether categories exist for other meanings, and if so use {{category disambiguation}} at the old page.
- To Merge:
- Merging to an existing category: if the new category page already exists, the bot will not transfer any info from the old category page to the new page, so if a category is to be merged to another existing category, relevant info must be copied. The most important part of this is the parent categories – do not simply copy these, but consider whether each one now applies. Other page content is usually also worth moving, e.g. explanations, portals and other navigation links. The old category page will have to be manually deleted after the contents have been moved.
- If a category is merged to its own sub-category, the bot transfers the parent categories incorrectly, so revise these manually after merger. If you list such a case on the Working page, check back later or leave a note at WP:CFDWM#Other for someone else to do so.
- Where the category page is moved, bots automatically update interwiki links to corresponding categories in Commons and other language Wikipedias via Wikidata. For merges, consider if this should apply. If "Wikidata item" appears in the "Tools" menu on the old category page, use it to update the enwiki link and English title at Wikidata. If both old and new pages have Wikidata items, consider merging them.
- To Delete:
- After links have been fixed, delete the category and/or remove it from the Working page.
- Some categories need to be manually deleted, e.g. eponymous or Works categories for musicians are automatically populated if they exist by Albums and Songs sub-categories.
- If there is a talk page associated with the category, it should be deleted or redirected like the category page. If merging the category, consider merging relevant content from the talk page. Consider using {{Old cfd}} on the new (or old) talk page to provide a link to a discussion that ended with merging or renaming.
- For more advice, ask at WT:CFD. For complex changes e.g. to Wikipedia maintenance categories, ask at WP:VPT.
- If the proposal includes an addition or change to Wikipedia:Naming conventions (categories) which has consensus, update that policy page.
This relies on the discretion and common sense of the user closing a debate. If you disagree with a decision, discuss it with that user.
Non-admin closures
Non-admins are not able to use the WP:CFD/W page which is regularly referred to above, because that page is protected. Therefore they cannot close discussions that require any actions unless they are prepared to manually implement those actions, or to get help from an admin e.g. by listing the close at WT:CFDW. Manual implementation requires recategorizing articles in the category in case of a rename, merge or delete closure; it is important to include a link to the CFD discussion in every edit summary.
To request deletion of a category manually emptied for a merge/delete result by a non-admin, tag the page with {{db-xfd|votepage=Log/year_month_day}}, e.g. {{db-xfd|votepage=Log/2022_July_10}}. Do not use this for renaming, as the page should generally be moved to preserve the page history.
Stub types
In general, a stub type consists of a stub template and a dedicated stub category. Before closing a discussion about a stub type:
- Read and understand guidance for creating stub types and stub type naming conventions.
- Review the list of existing stub types—be advised, this list may not be comprehensive.
When documenting the close, add:
{{subst:cfd top|stub=yes}}
'''result'''. ~~~~
- (where result is usually either Delete, Merge, Rename, Keep or No consensus)
- At the end of the discussion, but before the next section header, add:
{{subst:cfd bottom|stub=yes}}
If the decision affects:
- A stub category—follow the instructions in the 'Process' section above.
- A stub template, and the decision is:
- Keep or No consensus—remove the {{sfd-t}} or {{sfr-t}} notice from the template.
- Delete—replace all transclusions of the template with more appropriate stub types, and then delete the template.
- Rename—move the template to its new name and remove {{sfr-t}}, check incoming links and update them (except links from talk pages and discussions), and either delete the newly created redirect or tag it using {{r to stub template}}.
After closing the discussion, the section will look like this:
Category:Example category
- The following is an archived discussion concerning one or more categories. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on an appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.
- The result of the discussion was: RESULT. my name date
- DISCUSSION THREAD
- The above is preserved as an archive of the discussion. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.
Rarely, CFD discussions are arranged at multiple levels on the daily CFD log page. To avoid confusing AnomieBOT, which automatically updates the count of open discussions at WP:CFDAC, use {{cfd top}} at the top of a (4th-, 5th-, or 6th-level) section to close it and all its subsections, and {{cfd-bottom}} at the bottom of the section as a whole to wrap all the subsections. Alternatively, if a section will not be closed because its subsections will be closed individually, enter <!-- CFDClerk: This section heading isn't a discussion -->
at the top of that section.