Wikipedia:Replacement of CSD U5 FAQ

Speedy deletion criterion U5, "Non-contributor's misuse of Wikipedia as a web host", was repealed in October 2025. It was replaced with criteria U6 (which creates a procedural mechanism to delete most pages that were eligible under U5, and many that were not) and U7 (a much narrower reworked version of U5). This information page aims to answer a number of questions that have arisen for new page patrollers.

Why?

Why was U5 repealed?
There was near-unanimous consensus to repeal U5, on the basis that it tended to bite new users who hadn't had time to establish themselves as editors, that it was frequently misapplied (especially to delete plausible drafts), and that the content it covered (when not covered by other CSD) was neither urgent to delete nor something that needed to be kept admin-eyes-only.
Why default to deleting old subpages by non-contributors?
Historically, new page reviewers have not been able to triage the volume of subpages created by new users, causing many CSD candidates to be overlooked, sometimes leading to serious issues like defamation not being addressed for over a decade. Even when these pages are not problematic, they are still usually not useful to the encyclopedia, so there is more harm than good in retaining them.
Why does U6 only apply six months after the last human edit?
To follow the procedural logic of CSD G13, focusing on pages that are unmaintained rather than requiring admin review of the precise merits of the page. This also allows an editor a healthy window of time to establish themself as no longer a "non-contributor", rather than potentially deleting a page that might have been created an hour before what would have been someone's first content edit.
Why does U7 only apply six months after creation?
U7 is meant as a backstop for pages that might evade deletion under U6 because they are being actively maintained but are still problematic, and so by definition it cannot be applicable until six months after creation. It is not expected to be used with nearly the same frequency as U5.
Why are top-level userpages exempted?
If a page's content doesn't fall under a G-series criterion, there is generally no need for it to be admin-eyes-only. And since there's an expectation and encouragement that users will have a top-level userpage, unlike an arbitrary subpage, deleting that userpage is counterproductive.

What now?

What do I do if I see vandalism, spam, etc., in userspace?
All of the G-series (general) speedy deletion criteria still apply in userspace, except for G1 and G2. You may still tag, among other things, vandalism or hoaxing (G3), attack pages (G10), spam (G11), and copyright violations (G12) exactly as before, even for pages that are exempt from U6 or U7.
What do I do if I see a user subpage that would have been eligible for U5 (but isn't eligible under a G-series criterion)?
In most cases, nothing. CSD U6 Bot tags clear-cut U6 candidates—i.e., those where the creator has no non-userspace edits and the page has no non-bot-flagged edits in the past six months, plus a few more technical criteria. It is fine to manually U6-tag pages that the bot would miss (e.g. because the user has a couple of mainspace edits), or that it would eventually get to but that it seems prudent to prioritize; however, scripted mass-tagging of the latter category is discouraged.
If you see a user subpage that would have been U5-eligible, but is ineligible for U6 because it is being actively maintained, then assess whether U7 applies.
What do I do with top-level userpages?
As part of the same consensus that created U6 and U7, WP:USERPAGEDRAFT lets any editor move a draft off of a top-level userpage (replacing the redirect with {{draftified userpage}}), and WP:U7BLANK provides that any editor may blank a top-level userpage if it would qualify for U7 if it were a subpage.
More generally, the user page policy allows for blanking or editing other editors' userspace under a variety of circumstances. Some issues, like offensive images, are specifically called out as eligible to be blanked by any user, and there is a general catch-all clause recommending talking to a user about issues with their userpage, but also allowing unilateral removal in clear-cut cases. {{uw-userpage}} can be used to inform a user that there is an issue with their userpage, either after removing problematic content from it or in an attempt to get them to remove it themself.
What about pages containing personal information?
Non-public personally identifiable information may be eligible for suppression (oversight). Some personal information, even when not eligible for suppression, may be within an admin's discretion to delete under WP:BLPDELETE. Admins can also revision-delete personal information from old userpage revisions under WP:DELTALK.

U6 details

Is there a PROD-style delay on U6 taggings?
Only for bot-tagged pages. This is to allow humans a week to review a page and potentially untag or draftify it. If a human is the tagger, U6 works like most other CSDs, since human review has already occurred.
So pages from before U6 was adopted are still eligible?
Correct. The bot will on any given day tag all pages that are newly eligible, plus 150 older pages. Assuming no increase in tagging rate and minimal human tagging of bot-taggable pages, it is anticipated to conclude processing the backlog of old eligible pages circa 2031. The prioritization of which older pages to tag is left to the discretion of the bot operator and informal consensus.
Can I manually U6-tag a page?
Yes, absolutely, even if it's a page that the bot will get to eventually. However, scripted mass-tagging of pages that meet the bot's criteria is discouraged.
Can the bot's configuration be changed?
The bot's request for approval was approved with the understanding that "The definitions of 'unambiguously eligible' and the 150-per-day rate limit may be loosened by consensus at WT:CSD, WP:VPR, or WP:VPP."
What happens if someone wants a U6-deleted page back?
You may use Wikipedia:Requests for undeletion/Abandoned pages (shortcut WP:REFUND/U6), the same as with CSD G13. There is a presumption of undeletion, but an admin might decline if they think the page would fall under some other CSD, or if undeleting would obviously not be in the best interests of the encyclopedia.

U7 details

What counts as potentially a draft for the purposes of U7?
Anything that, if you squint at it really hard, could be interpreted as some kind of attempt to write an encyclopedia article, even by someone who has no idea how to write an encyclopedia article. Horrible writing, POV issues, verifiability issues, promotionality, broken formatting, and non-English writing do not keep something from being a draft. Note that the "could not be interpreted as draft articles" requirement is in addition to U7's four subcriteria; something that would otherwise meet one of them but could be interpreted as a draft (like a "Here's a thing I made" page that's written vaguely like an encyclopedia article) is still exempt from U7.
At the same time, note that something might be interpretable as a draft but still eligible for deletion under another CSD. For instance, "Moontrees are a kind of tree found on the moon" is written like a draft but is also a clear hoax and thus can be deleted under G3; "Acme Corp. is a produce company founded with the mission of bringing only the highest-quality, freshest ingredients to its customers" can be read as a (very bad) draft but is also clear spam and thus can be deleted under G11.

Finally

What if none of the above applies but I still think a page should be deleted?
You may use Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion.