Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Common outcomes

There have been many Wikipedia:Articles for deletion (AfD) debates over the years. This page summarizes how various types of articles, subjects, and issues have often been dealt with on AfD.

For an archive of this page, see Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Precedents/Archive.

Citing this page in AfD

This page summarizes what some editors believe are the typical outcomes of past AfD discussions for some commonly nominated subjects.

This page is not a policy or guideline, and previous outcomes do not bind future ones. The community's actual notability guidelines are listed in the template at the right. Notability always requires verifiable evidence, and all articles on all subjects are kept or deleted on the basis of sources showing their notability, not their subjective importance or relationship to something else. All articles should be evaluated individually on their merits and their ability to conform to standard content policies such as Verifiability and Neutral point of view.

As guidelines and actual practice change, this page should be updated to reflect current outcomes.

Avoid over-reliance on citing these "common outcomes" when stating one's case at Articles for Deletion. While precedents can be useful in helping to resolve notability challenges, editors are not necessarily bound to follow past practice. When push comes to shove, notability is demonstrated by the mustering of evidence that an article topic is the subject of multiple instances of non-trivial coverage in trustworthy independent sources.

This page simply attempts to summarize Wikipedia's common daily practice with respect to deletion debates. If you feel that an outcome common to articles like the one you are discussing does not apply, then give a common-sense or guidelines-based reason why it shouldn't apply. Avoid weak or illogical arguments, such as "Notability is only an optional guideline" or "We always keep these articles".

You can use the template {{Outcomes}} to link to this section.

General notability guideline

A topic is presumed to be notable if it has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject. However, there is still a lot of debate on notability.

Companies and organizations

Businesses

  • Companies are not kept on a basis of how much revenue or how many employees they have. See WP:BIG.
  • Blatant advertising pages have been subject to speedy deletion.
  • Products that have been planned, but not created yet, are generally deleted. See WP:CRYSTAL. However, exceptions have included "future-tech" items which already have substantial referencing behind the fundamental concept, such as fusion reactors, and prominent products in development (e.g. the next version of a computer operating system) for which well-sourced product updates are released on a relatively regular basis.
  • Companies reported as significant subjects of news coverage are usually sufficiently notable.
  • Generally, companies that are included in major stock indices such as S&P 500 Index or FTSE 100 Index will have sufficient in-depth independent coverage for notability.
  • Local retailers and service merchants (franchises or individually owned) are generally deleted, with exceptions, including businesses with particular historical significance (e.g. the first motel), those centered around a major historical event, or tourist attractions.
  • For businesses in particular fields, see also Broadcast media, Music and Transportation below.

Religious organizations

  • Religions, religious denominations and sects are almost always treated as presumptively notable and kept provided there is reliable source evidence of their existence and they represent more than a handful of affiliated congregations or places of worship.
  • Articles about middle judicatories (for example, dioceses) of churches in the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran traditions are usually kept, provided they are mentioned in reliable sources and they represent more than a handful of affiliated congregations or places of worship.
  • Individual parishes, congregations, temples and other places of worship are not generally kept unless they satisfy specific criteria in one or more of our guidelines pertaining to the establishment of encyclopedic notability. See also WP:NCHURCH.

Computing

Education

School districts

Schools

  1. Most elementary (primary) and middle schools that don't source a clear claim to notability usually get merged or redirected to the school district authority that operates them (generally the case in North America) or the lowest level locality (elsewhere or where there is no governing body).
  2. Most independently accredited degree-awarding institutions have enough coverage to be notable, although that coverage may not be readily available online.
  3. Before 2017, secondary schools were assumed notable unless sources could not be found to prove existence, but following a February 2017 RFC, secondary schools are not presumed to be notable simply because they exist, and are still subject both to the standards of notability, as well as those for organizations.

People

  • Becoming a professor (in the American sense of the word) may or may not confer notability. Becoming a prominent tenured professor often confers notability on this basis alone, while an academic appointment at the assistant professor level generally does not. The notability standard is Wikipedia:Notability (academics) (WP:PROF).
  • Becoming a schoolteacher or instructor below the level of professor does not confer any presumptive notability.
  • Becoming a student confers no notability. The notability standard for such persons is Wikipedia:Notability (people) (WP:BIO).
  • Becoming a school principal or superintendent generally does not confer notability, unless a superintendent of a sizable city/school district.
  • Classes, classrooms or lessons are almost invariably deleted.
  • Faculties, departments or degree programs within a university, college, or school are generally not considered notable unless they have made significant contributions to their field. Separate articles on law schools and medical schools are being kept.
  • The notability of student unions may vary between different countries and different universities. A case-by-case demonstration of notability for each student union should be the prime determining factor. See also WP:UNIGUIDE#Student life.
  • Clubs are generally deleted as not notable unless they are syndicated or coordinated on a national/international level.

Events

Broadcast media

The general notability guideline is the guideline of import for determining the notability of broadcast media outlets, per a 2021 RfC.

Television programs

  • Guidance for all television programs is provided at WP:NTV, though NTV is not a subject-specific notability guideline for television programs.
  • Television series, game shows, and talk shows broadcast nationally by a major network or produced by a major studio are usually kept. An exception is if a program was short-lived and/or aired in a market where reliable source coverage is scant.
  • Unaired programs and television pilots not picked up to series are usually deleted.
  • Individual episodes of television series are typically deleted or redirected to appropriate lists of episodes, if available, unless they are shown to meet notability due to having received significant and in-depth coverage.

Fiction

Geography and astronomy

Populated places

  • Populated place outcomes generally follow WP:GEOLAND, which means that they're usually kept if they either have legal recognition or can be shown to meet GNG through significant coverage.
  • Attractions and landmarks often survive AfD.
  • Bars, pubs, cafes, restaurants, and hotels tend not to survive AfD unless multiple independent sources have written about them in non-trivial detail.
  • Legally recognized cities and villages anywhere in the world are generally kept, regardless of size or length of existence, as long as that existence and legal recognition can be verified through a reliable source. This usually also applies to any other area that has a legally recognized government, such as counties, parishes and municipalities.
  • Larger neighborhoods are usually kept if they meet GNG.
  • Smaller suburbs are generally merged, being listed under the primary city article, except when they consist of legally separate municipalities or communes (e.g., having their own governments).

Lists

Literature

Music

People

Academics

  • As a very rough rule of thumb, full professors at research universities are usually notable, assistant professors usually not, and faculty at community colleges usually are not regardless of rank.
  • It is hard to predict the common outcomes for non-teaching researchers, faculty in the middle ranks, people at universities focused more on teaching and less on research, and academics in countries that use other academic ranks than in the United States.
  • In the humanities or social sciences, an academic who does not meet WP:PROF will sometimes still meet WP:AUTHOR, especially if they also write books for a more general audience.

Businesspeople and executives

  • Corporate presidents, chief executive officers and chairpersons of the boards of directors of companies listed in the Fortune 500 (US) or the FTSE 100 Index (UK) are generally kept as notable.
  • Biographical material on heads and key figures of smaller companies which are themselves the subject of Wikipedia articles are sometimes merged into those articles and the biographies redirected to the company.

Celebrities

  • Family members of celebrities are generally merged with the articles about celebrities themselves, unless the family member meets notability requirements themselves. Ashlee Simpson and Jessica Simpson each have their own article; Sheree Zampino redirects to Will Smith.

Clergy and religious persons

Competitors

  • Winners of contests, games of skill, and other competitions are subjects of some disagreement. Such articles are generally kept as notable only at the national level. For example, winners of well-known national spelling bees (like Scripps or CanSpell) may be kept as notable. The typical winner of a local spelling bee is almost always deleted. Other competitors are often redirected to the main article of the contest or show season.
  • Winning a lottery or other game of chance, even with a large payoff, does not by itself confer notability; articles on lottery winners as such are often deleted.
  • Athletes and other sportspersons are subject to the general notability guideline. Participants in sports at a national level are more likely to have received significant coverage than participants at a local level. Wikipedia:Notability (sports) helps determine whether or not an athlete is likely to meet WP:GNG.
  • There is consensus that footballers who play a minimal amount in a fully-professional league but comprehensively fail the general notability guideline are not notable.

Early settlers and colonists

  • Early settlers of a place are not presumptively notable or non-notable. Each case must be decided on its own merits. Generally, there has been a longstanding consensus to keep such articles about early colonists, if significant coverage in reliable sources can be demonstrated.

Oldest people

  • Articles about people known only for being the oldest person in a country, etc., at any given time are normally redirected or merged to a list of oldest people.

Politicians

In general

  • Elected and appointed political figures at the national cabinet level are generally regarded as notable, as are usually those at the major sub-national level (US state, Canadian province, etc.) in countries where executive and/or legislative power is devolved to bodies at that level. See WP:POLITICIAN and WP:NSUBPOL.
  • Engaging in educational activities such as student councils, youth parliaments, Model United Nations, etc. does not by itself confer any notability.

Local politicians

  • In general: Municipal and other local politicians are not presumptively notable just for being in politics, but neither are they presumptively non-notable just because they are in local politics. Each case is evaluated on its own individual merits.
  • Mayors: Mayors of cities of at least regional prominence have usually survived AFD, although the article should say more than just "Jane Doe is the mayor of Cityville". Mayors of smaller towns, however, are generally deemed not notable just for being mayors, although they may be notable for other reasons in addition to their mayoralty (e.g. having previously held a more notable office). This criterion has not generally been as restrictive as the criterion for city councillors.
  • Municipal officers: City councillors and other major municipal officers are not automatically notable. But precedent has tended to favor keeping members of the main citywide government of internationally famous metropolitan areas such as Toronto, Chicago, Tokyo, or London.
  • Local candidates: Losing candidates in municipal elections are not considered presumptively notable just for their candidacy and are generally deleted unless previous notability can be demonstrated. See also more on candidates below.
  • County legislators: Like municipal politicians, American county-level legislators are not considered presumptively notable.
  • Exceptions for non-local media coverage: Local politicians whose office would not ordinarily be considered notable may still clear the bar if they have received national or international press coverage, beyond the scope of what would ordinarily be expected for their role. For example, a small-town mayor or city councillor who was the first LGBT person ever elected to office in their country, or who emerged as a significant national spokesperson for a political issue, may be considered notable on that basis. Note that this distinction may not simply be asserted or sourced to exclusively local media; to claim notability on this basis, the coverage must be shown to have nationalized or internationalized well beyond their own local area alone.

Candidates

  • Candidates who are running or unsuccessfully ran for a national legislature or other national office are not viewed as having presumptive notability and are often deleted or merged into lists of campaign hopefuls, such as Ontario New Democratic Party candidates in the 1995 Ontario provincial election, or into articles detailing the specific race in question, such as 2010 United States Senate election in Nevada. Note that such articles are still subject to the same content policies as any other article, and may not contain any unsourced biographical information that would not be acceptable in a separate article.
  • Losing candidates for office below the national level who are otherwise non-notable are generally deleted. They are not moved to user space or draftspace for fear of establishing a precedent that any premature article about an as-yet-unelected candidate for office can be kept in draftspace pending election returns, effectively making draftspace a repository for campaign brochures (see Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Siân Gwenllian.)

Political figures not elected to public office

  • Sub-cabinet officials (assistant secretary, commissioner, etc.) are usually considered notable, especially if they have had otherwise notable careers.
  • The spouse of the head of state or government is usually regarded as notable.
  • Leaders of registered political parties at the national level are sometimes considered notable despite their party's lack of electoral success. Leaders of major sub-national (state, province, prefecture, etc.) parties are usually deleted unless notability can be demonstrated for other reasons.
  • Ambassadors are not considered presumptively notable.
  • Civil servants who assume a political office on an interim or caretaker basis are not considered notable just for having briefly held that office, even if holders of the office are normally considered notable.

Monarchs and nobility

There are no special notability guidelines about monarchs, nobility and their descendants. The guidelines for politicians are applied to those who have exercised political authority. As such, kings and queens regnant, as well as nobles who have ruled a territory or served as head of state are presumed to be notable. The notability of their spouses (kings and queens consort), as well as other nobility (dukes, counts, barons, knights, etc.) is decided on a case-by-case basis based on the general notability guideline, although kings and queens consort are generally found to be notable.

The descendants of monarchs or nobles, especially deposed ones, are not considered notable for this reason alone. The principle that Wikipedia articles are not genealogical entries is often mentioned in this context. But persons who are active in their capacity as a member of a royal house or as a holder of a title of nobility will often receive media coverage for it, which may help establish their notability according to the general notability guideline.

Species

Transportation

Aviation

Buses

  • A dedicated bus rapid transit line, such as Ottawa's Transitway, is also usually kept, but a regular bus line that travels along normal city streets is not usually considered notable. However, some articles about bus lines in major cities have survived AfD—articles that describe the line's history and social impact in depth are more likely to be acceptable.
  • Articles about individual bus routes are rarely notable; recommendations to merge into a suitable list article are common.
  • Bus stops are usually deleted as not notable, with the exception of certain hubs in major cities.

Rail transport

  • Train stations are not inherently notable.
  • Subway and railway lines often survive AfD.
  • Existing heavy rail stations on a main system (i.e. not a heritage railway) are generally kept at AfD.
  • Other stations are usually kept or merged and redirected to an article about the line or system they are on.

Roads

  • Most numbered roadways are acceptable if they can be described beyond the route itself.
    • In the US, state, U.S., and Interstate highways (aka: freeways, turnpikes, expressways and motorways) are usually kept.
    • In Canada, any highway that is part of a province's or territory's official highway system is usually kept.
    • In the UK, motorways are usually kept. 'A' roads are usually kept if all or part of the road is trunk or primary. 'B' roads are usually deleted or merged (see below).
    • Highway exits should be listed in an article on a highway, not as a separate article, except for some highly notable ones (e.g. the Springfield Interchange near Washington, D.C.).
    • County roads are disputed, but are kept if genuine notability is demonstrated. If the notability claim boils down to "it's notable because it exists," however, then redirection to a single merged list of that county's numbered roads is more common.
  • City streets are contested, but minor streets are generally deleted.
  • Major, unnumbered streets and roads beyond the level of a side street or neighborhood roadway have varied outcomes. An article that explains and provides valid relevant citations for the social, cultural, historical or political context of a road in depth is more likely to survive AfD than would one that merely describes the road's physical characteristics.

Ships

  • Named warships, cruise ships, ocean liners and other large commercial ocean going or deep water vessels are generally treated as presumptively notable. Any named ship which served in the capacity of a navy vessel (i.e., under the direction of a national navy) at any point in history is generally considered notable; personal named pleasure craft generally are not unless they have been the subject of multiple published independent reliable sources of information.

See also