This is an
essay on the
deletion policy. 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. |
This page in a nutshell:
|
The popularity of essays and information pages on Wikipedia is growing. During articles for deletion discussions, editors may sometimes quote essays and information pages as supportive material for their arguments. From time to time, other enthusiastic editors may point out that the first editor is simply “referencing their own essay” and imply that it is not a valid argument.
Examples:
How do they know who wrote the essay, you might ask? It is not a difficult task to check the history of a page and learn who the primary contributors are to that page or article. There are very few "secrets" on Wikipedia!
So what are the reasons both for and against quoting your own essay in a discussion?
There are several good reasons to quote your own essay (or any other essay for that matter) in an AfD discussion.
Naturally, there are also reasons not to quote your own essay.
If all the above did not discourage you from self-quoting, make sure your message goes through without annoying your opposition colleagues:
Just to make sure: This essay discusses quoting your own essay for discussions and talk pages on Wikipedia. It in no way implies that it is good to quote yourself for article content.
Well-written essays are duly noted as essays. While an enthusiastic editor may quote an essay—even their own essay—in an AfD discussion, that does not in and of itself become a "bad" thing and there are several advantages to doing so. Just be sure that the community is clear on the communication—essays should be marked on the page as such, and should not be "cited" in a way that implies they are policies or guidelines.
This is an
essay on the
deletion policy. 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. |
This page in a nutshell:
|
The popularity of essays and information pages on Wikipedia is growing. During articles for deletion discussions, editors may sometimes quote essays and information pages as supportive material for their arguments. From time to time, other enthusiastic editors may point out that the first editor is simply “referencing their own essay” and imply that it is not a valid argument.
Examples:
How do they know who wrote the essay, you might ask? It is not a difficult task to check the history of a page and learn who the primary contributors are to that page or article. There are very few "secrets" on Wikipedia!
So what are the reasons both for and against quoting your own essay in a discussion?
There are several good reasons to quote your own essay (or any other essay for that matter) in an AfD discussion.
Naturally, there are also reasons not to quote your own essay.
If all the above did not discourage you from self-quoting, make sure your message goes through without annoying your opposition colleagues:
Just to make sure: This essay discusses quoting your own essay for discussions and talk pages on Wikipedia. It in no way implies that it is good to quote yourself for article content.
Well-written essays are duly noted as essays. While an enthusiastic editor may quote an essay—even their own essay—in an AfD discussion, that does not in and of itself become a "bad" thing and there are several advantages to doing so. Just be sure that the community is clear on the communication—essays should be marked on the page as such, and should not be "cited" in a way that implies they are policies or guidelines.