https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Wikipedia%3ANothingWikipedia:Nothing - Revision history2026-05-15T03:09:13ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.35.5https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Nothing&diff=5900&oldid=prevTachyony: Imported page2022-01-18T00:38:32Z<p>Imported page</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{deletion essay|WP:NOTHING}}<br />
{{nutshell|This page is a response to the [[WP:EVERYTHING]] argument. Wikipedia must have content.}}<br />
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[[Image:Nothing whitespace blank.png|thumb|right|'''Nothing:''' Note the complete absence of ''everything''.]]<br />
During [[WP:AFD]] discussions on topics that editors may view as relatively obscure and not notable, editors supporting deletion of those articles will often quote [[WP:EVERYTHING]], stating that "Wikipedia is not about everything." <br />
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''Examples:'' <br> <br />
* '''Keep''' I thought Wikipedia's purpose was to provide information on everything. <span style="color:red">KnowItAll</span> 7:04 am, 3 August 2006, Thursday (8 years, 17 days ago) (UTC−5)<br> <br />
* '''Delete''' [[WP:EVERYTHING]] states that "Wikipedia is not about everything" <span style="color:red">WhoNeedsIt</span> 8:14 pm, 3 August 2006, Thursday (8 years, 17 days ago) (UTC−5) <br />
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It is true that Wikipedia is not about everything, nor can it ever be about everything. To that end, the Wikipedia community has decided not to document every verifiable fact and has established notability guidelines on what should be kept.<br />
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On the other hand, '''Wikipedia is not about "nothing"''', either. The guidelines established by the community are far broader than those of any paper encyclopedia.<br />
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The [[WP:EVERYTHING]] essay noted above states that the purpose of the "everything" argument "is to prevent Wikipedia from becoming unmaintainable." This is a worthwhile goal. However, as more enthusiastic editors come to Wikipedia and as technology advances to ease support and maintenance tasks, this system is increasingly able to handle expansion and Wikipedia guidelines for notability should broaden concomitantly.<br />
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Editors who use the "everything" argument are urged to provide more detail of their argument. ''Why'' does a certain article not meet notability standards? ''Why'' should it be excluded? These kinds of questions lead to more details and can provide a more fruitful discussion.<br />
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The "everything" guideline states: "So think carefully and exercise judgment when determining what should be included in an encyclopedia." True—but also think carefully and exercise judgment when determining what should be deleted from an encyclopedia.<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[WP:EVERYTHING]] Wikipedia notability essay on "everything"<br />
* [[Nothing]] Wikipedia article<br />
* [[IEFBR14]] IBM mainframe program designed to do nothing<br />
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{{Wikipedia essays|building}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nothing}}<br />
[[Category:Wikipedia essays about deletion]]</div>Tachyony