User:Maverick Nate/candidates guidelines
Candidates for improvement Guidelines
{{nutshell|Bulbapedia is a community, and we like to have community input as much as possible when improving our content. Although {{bp|staff}} have historically taken charge of decisions on splits/merges/etc., any motivated individual can carry out these tasks after a decision has been met through discussion.}}
The nature of our work on an ever-growing encyclopedia will occasionally present opportunities for improvement on how we represent topics to our readers. Although the solutions to many common situations are detailed in our Manual of style, the wide range of coverage for the Pokémon brand frequently presents unforeseen circumstances that call for extra attention. As the answers to these issues are not always clear-cut and easily defined, the following guidelines are provided in order to assist editors with solving any disputes and discrepancies.
As a general rule, if there is any hesitation with how a topic should be improved, the following options are an excellent way to start a discussion that answers any questions. Although staff are usually the ones leading these discussions for improvements, any motivated user can carry out such improvements after a solution has been reached.
Candidates for deletion
Not to be confused with `Pages to be deleted`, the candidates for deletion are for pages that have questionable notability, among other reasons. Candidates for deletion use the {{DiscussDelete}} tag, and all discussion takes place in a "Deletion" section on the talk page, and may continue until the situation is resolved (meaning that the notice template can be removed from the page). Users are welcome to create subsections for this discussion as they see fit. As most information is notable in one way or another, outright deletion is typically a last resort. Discussion is encouraged in order to find a new home for this content in whatever form is best, even if that means improving and keeping the disputed page. Since deletion is an action limited to Staff, the final act of deleting the page cannot be finished by any user. However, the agreed upon changes can be done by any interested party, and {{delete}} can be placed instead. If a consensus is reached that the page should not be deleted, any interested party can remove the DiscussDelete template from the page.
Candidates for splitting
Candidates for splitting use the {{split}} tag, and all discussion takes place in a "Split" section on the talk page, and may continue until the situation is resolved (meaning that the notice template can be removed from the page). Users are welcome to create subsections for this discussion as they see fit. Typical reasons for splitting a page include page size, load times, or page content developing beyond the scope that one article should detail. As the specifics to how exactly an article should be broken up are not always obvious, it is usually expected that users first use the split tag in order to elicit the input and guidance from additional users and other experienced individuals. Once a split has been decided on, any motivated individual can carry out the actual work involved with splitting the article. If a consensus is reached that the page should not be split, any interested party can remove the Split template from the page.
Candidates for merging
Candidates for merging use the {{merge}} tag, and all discussion takes place in a "Merge with [x]" section on the talk page, and may continue until the situation is resolved (meaning that the notice template can be removed from the page). Users are welcome to create subsections for this discussion as they see fit. Common reasons to merge a page are to combine multiple pages that cover the same topic, to combine several minor pages to create a stronger article, etc. Since the final merged article frequently has a different scope as the original separate articles, discussion between all interested users in encouraged. Since merging pages involves the delete action, the final act of merging the pages is limited to staff; however, motivated individuals can create a draft of the combined article if the consensus agrees that it is the best option. If a consensus is reached that the page should not be merged, any interested party can remove the Merge template from the page.
Candidates for moving
Candidates for moving use the {{move}} tag, and all discussion takes place in a "Move to [x]" section on the talk page, and may continue until the situation is resolved (meaning that the notice template can be removed from the page). Users are welcome to create subsections for this discussion as they see fit. Although there are many valid reasons to move a page, this tag is usually reserved for nominations that require a larger discussion from multiple viewpoints. Circumstances requiring discussion include vague concepts that don’t have clear names, determining the priority of topics when they share the same name, longstanding articles that users don’t feel comfortable changing on their own, among others. Once the new title has been agreed upon via discussion (and unless the article is protected so only staff can move it), any user can perform the move action, as long as they take care of any re-linking involved after making the move. If a consensus is reached that the page should not be moved, any interested party can remove the Move template from the page.
Note: There are many common situations for moves that don't require discussion. These situations include, but are not limited to, articles about topics whose proper English names have just been revealed, articles that are part of a series that already have an established standard, fixing typos, creating disambiguation pages for two distinct minor topics, etc. However, if in doubt, it is never wrong to use the move tag and start a discussion regardless, or explicitly ask staff members for help!
Candidates for mainspacing
Candidates for mainspacing use the {{mainspace}} tag. These pages are usually drafts for topics with unknown notability, pages that contain important content that is difficult to incorporate into the mainspace, or pages that still require thorough effort before being ready for mainspace. Because they are still private userpages, it should be ensured that any changes made to these pages do not conflict with the original author's intentions.
Due to the differing circumstances involved with these articles, there are different solutions when users are ready to present their work. Pages with unknown notability (such as owned Pokémon from the Pokémon anime) and content that is difficult to incorporate (such as a new infobox template for a series of articles) are subject to staff approval before being moved to the mainspace. When the author believes the page is ready for review, status=complete should be added to the use of {{mainspace}} on the page. However, if the page is a draft for a potential wanted page, the user is free to move it into the mainspace at their own discretion.
Note: The practice of drafting articles in the userspace is useful for the users that prefer premiering their best work first. By no means do wanted articles require a draft in the userspace before debut. If a user feels motivated to create an article, they are welcome to do so normally without having to go through the “mainspacing” process first.
