Wiki143:Categories for discussion/How-to

How to nominate a category for discussion

Nomination procedure

Twinkle

You may use Twinkle to facilitate CfD nominations. To install Twinkle, go to Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-gadgets and check "Twinkle" in the "Browsing" section. Use the now-installed "XfD" (Start a deletion discussion) tab while viewing the page you want to nominate.

Twinkle only allows you to nominate a single category or stub template. For bundled nominations including multiple categories, see Template:Slink.

MassCFD

You can use the script User:Qwerfjkl/scripts/massXFD to automatically make mass nominations.

Manual nominations

Template:Serif	Preliminary steps. Before nominating a category: Read and understand the guidance for categorization, category names, and overcategorization. For categories containing biographical articles, read the guidance for categorizing articles about people. For categories containing the user pages of Wikipedians, read the guidance for user categories. In the following special cases: If a category is a red link, then it is already deleted (or was never created in the first place) and does not need to be nominated. If a category is unpopulated, use Template:Tlx to request it be speedily deleted in 7 days. If a category is populated solely by a template (other than a stub template, see #Stub types below) and you are proposing to delete both the category and template, follow the instructions at Wikipedia:Templates for discussion. For further information, see Wikipedia:Categorization and Wikipedia:Manual of Style.
Template:Serif	Edit the category. Add one of the following templates at the beginning of the category page (not the talk page) of every category to be discussed. For nominations involving large numbers of categories, help adding these templates can be requested here. Otherwise, if nominating a single category: For deleting, use Template:Tlxs For merging, use Template:Tlxs For merging to two categories, use Template:Tlxs For renaming, use Template:Tlxs For splitting, use Template:Tlxs For converting the category into a list, use Template:Tlxs For other options (containerization, etc.), use Template:Tlxs Template:Crossref If nominating a group of related categories, use a bundled nomination: For deleting, use Template:Tlxs For merging, use Template:Tlxs For merging to two categories, use Template:Tlxs For renaming, use Template:Tlxs For splitting, use Template:Tlxs For converting the category into a list, Template:Tlxs For other options (containerization, etc.), use Template:Tlxs Template:Crossref Include "CfD", "CfM", "CfR", "CfS" or "CfL" in the edit summary, and do not mark the edit as minor. Preview before saving. To add the template for previous nomination days, use the "full" version of the template by appending "full" to the template name, i.e. Template:Tl, Template:Tl, Template:Tl, Template:Tl and Template:Tl. Use the |day=, |month= and |year= parameters to make the banner link to the correct CfD page. Consider adding Template:Tlsp ~~~~ to the talk page of the category's creator. For details about these templates, see each template's documentation.
Template:Serif	Create the CFD section. Click THIS LINK to edit the section of CfD for today's entries. Follow the instructions (visible in edit mode) to copy and paste one of the templates below. When inserting category names into these template's parameters, except the text= parameter, omit the Category: prefix and do not use wikilinks, as the template takes care of this. If nominating a single category: For deleting, use Template:Tlxs For merging, use Template:Tlxs For merging to two categories, use Template:Tlxs For renaming, use Template:Tlxs For splitting, use Template:Tlxs For converting the category into a list, use Template:Tlxs For other options (containerization, etc.), use Template:Tlxs For a bundled nomination, use one of the standard templates to build the "Cfd section name" for the first nominated category. After saving that, the second and subsequent nominations must be inserted manually, as follows: ==== Template:Var ==== * Template:Var * Template:Var [Make clear whether you propose deletion, merging or renaming] * Template:Var If a bundled nomination is too long, consider using Template:Tl to hide some of the nominated categories. In your reason, use links if mentioning articles or categories. To link to a category, use the colon trick by adding a colon (:) to the beginning of the link, e.g. [[:Category:Template:Var]]. Preview before saving to check that your nomination is formatted correctly, and remember to include your signature at the end of the nomination.

Stub types

I	Preliminary steps. In general, a stub type consists of a stub template and a dedicated stub category. Before nominating a stub type for deletion, merging or renaming: 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. If you wish to: Create a new stub type—follow the procedure for proposing new stub types. Delete, merge or rename a stub category only, without deleting or renaming the associated stub template—follow the instructions above this section. Delete or rename a stub template—continue to section II.
II	Edit the template. Add one of the following tags at the beginning of the template to be discussed. For deletion, use Template:Tlxs For renaming, use Template:Tlxs Please include "SFD" or "SFR" in the edit summary, and don't mark the edit as minor. Preview before saving. Consider notifying the template's creator on their talk page. To find the contributor, check the page history of the stub template.
III	Create the CFD section. Click THIS LINK to edit the section of CfD for today's entries. Follow the instructions (visible in edit mode) and paste the following text (remember to update the default parameters): For deletion, use Template:Tlxs For renaming, use Template:Tlxs In your rationale, mention how many articles currently use the template to help other editors. When linking to a category in your rationale, always add a colon (:) to the beginning of the link, like [[:Category:Template:Var]]. This makes a category link that can be seen on the page, and avoids putting this page into the category you are nominating. Preview before saving to check that your nomination is formatted correctly, and remember to include your signature at the end of the nomination.

Notifying interested projects and editors

In addition to the steps listed above, you may choose to invite participation by editors who are likely to be informed about a nominated category. All such efforts must comply with Wikipedia's guideline against biased canvassing. In addition, to help make your messages about the CfD discussion clear, avoid Wikipedia-specific abbreviations, link to relevant policies or guidelines, and link to the discussion itself.

Notifying related WikiProjects

WikiProjects consist of groups of editors who are interested in a particular subject. If a nominated category is within the scope of one or more WikiProjects, consider adding a brief, neutral note on their talk page(s) about the nomination. You may use Template:Tlsp ~~~~ or write a personalized message.

Tagging the nominated category's talk page with a relevant WikiProject's banner will include the category in that WikiProject's Article Alerts if they subscribe to the system. For instance, tagging a nominated category with Template:Tl will add the discussion to Wikipedia:WikiProject Physics/Article alerts.

Notifying substantial contributors to the category

While not required, it is generally considered courteous to notify the good-faith creator and main contributors of the category that you are nominating for discussion. To find the creator and main contributors, check the category's page history or talk page. You may use Template:Tlx to inform the category's creator and all other editors.

Notifying other interested editors

It may be helpful to invite other subject-matter experts by posting a message on the talk page of the most closely related article, such as Protein family for Category:Protein families. You may use Template:Tlx for this.