Changes

{{Arguments}}

{{Arguments}}

[[File:Graham's Hierarchy of Disagreement.svg|thumb|300px|right|[[Graham's Hierarchy of Disagreement]]. Try to stay in the top three sections of this hierarchy.]]

[[File:Graham's Hierarchy of Disagreement.svg|thumb|300px|right|[[Graham's Hierarchy of Disagreement]]. Try to stay in the top three sections of this hierarchy.]]

This page details arguments that are commonly seen in [[WP:DP|deletion discussions]] that have been identified as generally unsound and unconvincing. These are arguments that should {{em|generally be avoided}} – or at the least supplemented with a better-grounded rationale for the position taken, whether that be "keep", "delete" or some other objective. Some of the infirm arguments covered are those that are irrelevant or at best side issues, do not address the merits of the reason to keep or delete, are based in anecdote rather than evidence, engage in classic logical fallacies and more—and almost all share the trait of not being based upon the issues listed at [[Wikipedia:Deletion policy]]. It is important when taking part in deletion discussions to anchor one's rationale in relevant Wikipedia policies and guidelines, such as [[WP:N|notability]], [[WP:V|verifiability]], [[WP:NOT|what Wikipedia is not]], [[WP:NPOV|neutral point of view]], [[WP:NOR|no original research]] and [[WP:BLP|biographies of living people]]. The arguments covered in this page are far from exhaustive. If an argument you were planning on using is listed here, you might want to reconsider using it. However, just because an argument appears in this list does not necessarily mean it is always invalid.

This page details arguments that are commonly seen in [[WP:DP|deletion discussions]] that have been identified as generally unsound and unconvincing. These are arguments that should {{em|generally be avoided}} – or at the least supplemented with a better-grounded rationale for the position taken, whether that be "keep", "delete" or some other objective. Some of the infirm arguments covered are those that are irrelevant or at best side issues, do not address the merits of the reason to keep or delete, are based in anecdote rather than evidence, engage in classic logical fallacies and more—and almost all share the trait of not being based upon the issues listed at [[Wikipedia:Deletion policy]]. It is important when taking part in deletion discussions to anchor one's rationale in relevant Wikipedia policies and guidelines, such as [[WP:N|notability]], [[WP:V|verifiability]], [[WP:NOT|what Wikipedia is not]], [[WP:NPOV|neutral point of view]], [[WP:NOR|no original research]] and [[WP:BLP|biographies of living people]]. The arguments covered in this page are far from exhaustive. If an argument you were planning on using is listed here, you might want to reconsider using it. However, just because an argument appears in this list does not necessarily mean it is always invalid.

Remember that a discussion rationale which arguably could be classified as an "argument to avoid", may still contain the germ of a valid point. For example, if a person argues that an article is [[WP:INTERESTING|interesting]], and in making that point, cites evidence that could also be used to support a determination of notability, it is wrong to summarily dismiss that argument just because WP:INTERESTING is a section in this essay. As this essay tries to stimulate people to use sound arguments in deletion discussions, it is important to realize that countering the ''keep'' or ''delete'' arguments of other people, or dismissing them outright, by simply referring them to this essay is not encouraged (see also the section ''[[#Just_pointing_at_a_policy_or_guideline|Just a policy or guideline]]'' below).

Remember that a discussion rationale which arguably could be classified as an "argument to avoid", may still contain the germ of a valid point. For example, if a person argues that an article is [[WP:INTERESTING|interesting]], and in making that point, cites evidence that could also be used to support a determination of notability, it is wrong to summarily dismiss that argument just because WP:INTERESTING is a section in this essay. As this essay tries to stimulate people to use sound arguments in deletion discussions, it is important to realize that countering the ''keep'' or ''delete'' arguments of other people, or dismissing them outright, by simply referring them to this essay is not encouraged (see also the section ''[[#Just_pointing_at_a_policy_or_guideline|Just a policy or guideline]]'' below).