 | 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: Overzealous deletion goes against Wikipedia's assume good faith principle. |
Overzealous deletion refers to an overwhelming desire to get articles or other materials on Wikipedia deleted.
This essay is not in total opposition to deletion. There are some materials that do need to be deleted. For example, anyone who has learned what Wikipedia is really about would believe that no one should be writing articles about themselves, their clubs or organizations, or their bands. Wikipedia is no place for spreading hatred, racist views or personal attacks, publicly distributing of private information about editors, or doing copyright violations. Most importantly, we want information contained in the encyclopedia to be accurate, neutral, and based on reliable sources. That is what the article deletion process is for.
But when meaningful contributions are made, it is important to assume good faith in the contributor and not to rush to "get rid" of someone else's new article. Even if the article does not follow your own interests, it was written by someone for a good reason. The main duty of each and every Wikipedia editor is to improve the encyclopedia by adding more useful information about the world and its contents and improving the quality of writing of existing information. Yes, deletion of articles may sometimes be necessary, but if you are so anxious to get an article deleted, before you do so, you should understand the real reason behind the deletion policy.