Wikipedia:Navel-gazing

This is an essay.

It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

Shortcut

WP:NAVEL

This page in a nutshell: Accusations of navel-gazing in Wikipedia deletion discussions can become a distraction from discussions of the general notability guidelines.

"Navel-gazing" is a phrase used in a derogatory fashion within internal Wikipedia debates to mean excessive focus on the topic of Wikipedia itself; and self-indulgent introspection about Wikipedia within Wikipedia.

Users may cite navel-gazing to argue for the deletion of an article from Wikipedia because the article's topic deals with the subject of Wikipedia.

When the navel-gazing pejorative is invoked in articles for deletion debates, it may cause a distraction from actual focused discussion of the general notability guideline.

Definition of term in general society

"Navel-gazing" is generally a derogatory term referring to excessive focus on oneself, self-indulgent introspection.

Merriam Webster notes that navel-gazing refers to a form of "useless or excessive self-contemplation". Cambridge Dictionaries defines the term as a "humorous disapproving" noun. Macmillan Dictionary states it is an informal noun usage meaning: "the act of spending a lot of time thinking about your own problems, or one issue, but not doing anything about them".

Articles for deletion usage

Navel-gazing is used on Wikipedia discussion pages in articles for deletion debates to argue for the deletion of an article from Wikipedia because the article's topic deals with the subject of Wikipedia.
See also arguments to avoid in deletion discussions – specifically, Just does not belong, which advises: "On Wikipedia, inclusion is determined by a series of policies and guidelines set by consensus, not by people saying 'I think this belongs' or 'I do not think this belongs'."

In content discussions

The term is sometimes used in discussions on whether media mentions of Wikipedia, connected to an article subject, should be included in the Wikipedia article on that subject (see for example Clarice_Phelps#Wikipedia_article). Relevant policies and guidelines may include WP:NPOV, specifically WP:PROPORTION, WP:NOTNEWS and WP:RS.

Distraction from general notability guideline

When used as a tactic in debate, accusations of navel-gazing often tend to distract from the Wikipedia guideline on whether an article is notable – Wikipedia:Notability, and specifically the general notability guideline.
Once the accusation of navel-gazing has been raised, it becomes difficult to focus debate onto a substantive discussion of the general notability guideline, and the distraction may take hold in the discussion over and above a discussion of notability itself.
The general notability guideline states: "If a topic has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject, it is presumed to be suitable for a stand-alone article or list."

Advice on handling deletion debate when navel-gazing is introduced

Calling out a topic as navel-gazing should be an argument to avoid in such deletion discussions. Those participating in the discussion should judge the article as if it was an equivalent topic but without any connection to Wikipedia.

At the same time, participants in such discussions should avoid placing importance on a topic merely because it does involve Wikipedia. Topics that deal with Wikipedia should be handled at deletion discussions with the same relevancy and respect as a comparable topic that otherwise does not deal with Wikipedia.

Some topics dealing with Wikipedia may be better suited to be merged or summarized to one of several existing pages that broadly cover Wikipedia, which are listed in Category:Wikipedia. Such articles may include Wikipedia in culture, Academic studies about Wikipedia, Bibliography of Wikipedia, and Criticism of Wikipedia. Consider these potential merge targets instead of nominating a page for deletion.

Amount of usage in Wikipedia debates

As of December 2022, the navel-gazing pejorative had been used over 1 200 times in internal Wikipedia discussions, though this includes discussions about the Navel gazing article. The spelling naval-gazing was used less than 200 times.

Case study analysis usage of navel-gazing in past deletion debates

More results at search link for occurence of "navel-gazing"

References