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WP:CFD

XFD backlog
V	Mar	Apr	Total
CfD	5	13	18
TfD	0	6	6
MfD	0	2	2
FfD	0	1	1
RfD	0	30	30
AfD	0	0	0

Categories for discussion (CfD) is the central venue for discussing specific proposals to delete, merge, rename or split categories and stub types in accordance with the guidelines for categorization, category naming and stub articles.

For detailed instructions about using CfD, see "How to use CfD" below. Briefly, nominations are handled through one of two processes:

Speedy renaming and merging, for uncontroversial proposals that meet specified criteria—see "Speedy renaming and merging" below.
Full discussion, for all other proposals. Discussions typically remain open for at least seven days and are closed once a rough consensus has formed or no objections to the nomination are raised.

Except in uncontroversial cases such as reverting vandalism, do not amend or depopulate a category once it has been nominated at CfD as this hampers other editors' efforts to evaluate a category and participate in the discussion.

When a category is renamed or merged with another category, in limited circumstances it may be helpful to leave an instance of the {{Category redirect|...}} template on the category's former page. See "Redirecting categories" below for more information.

Wikipedia:Move review can be used to contest the outcome of a CfD request that is limited in scope to renaming, as long as all steps are followed. If a discussion on the request closer's talk page does not resolve an issue, then a move review will evaluate the close of a CfD move discussion to determine whether or not the close was reasonable and consistent with the spirit and intent of common practice, policies, and guidelines. CfDs involving deletion should be reviewed at Wikipedia:Deletion review.

Scope edit

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WP:CFDSCOPE

CfD is intended only for specific proposals to delete, merge, rename or split categories or stub types. For general discussion about how to improve the category system, use other appropriate venues such as Wikipedia talk:Categorization, Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Categories, and any relevant WikiProjects' talk pages.

Current discussions edit

Add a new entry

All current discussions
- 19 April (Friday)
- 18 April (Thursday)
- 17 April (Wednesday)
- 16 April (Tuesday)
- 15 April (Monday)
- 14 April (Sunday)
- 13 April (Saturday)
- 12 April (Friday)
- Previous 8 to 21 days
Speedy renaming requests
Archive and indices

Discussions awaiting closure edit

Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2024 April 11 (8 open)
Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2024 April 10 (1 open)
Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2024 April 8 (2 open)
Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2024 April 5 (2 open)
Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2024 March 30 (1 open)
Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2024 March 8 (1 open)
Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2024 March 1 (3 open)

See also the list of individual discussions awaiting closure here and the list of full open discussions awaiting closure here.

How to use CfD edit

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WP:CFD#HOWTO

Nomination procedure edit

Twinkle edit

You may use Twinkle to facilitate CfD nominations. To install Twinkle, go to Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-gadgets and check "Twinkle" in the "Browsing" section. Use the now-installed "XfD" (Start a deletion discussion) tab while viewing the page you want to nominate.

Twinkle only allows you to nominate a single category or stub template. For bundled nominations including multiple categories, or if you prefer not to use Twinkle, follow the manual steps below.

MassCFD edit

You can use the script User:Qwerfjkl/scripts/massCFD to automatically make mass nominations.

Manual nominations edit

I

Preliminary steps.

Before nominating a category:

Read and understand the guidance for category names and overcategorization.
For categories containing biographical articles, read the guidance for categorization of people.
For categories containing the user pages of Wikipedians, read the guidance for user categories.

In the following special cases:

If a category is a red link, then it is already deleted (or was never created in the first place) and does not need to be nominated.
If a category is unpopulated, use {{db-catempty}} to request it be speedily deleted in 7 days.
If a category is populated solely by a template (other than a stub template, see #Stub types below) and you are proposing to delete both the category and template, follow the instructions at Wikipedia:Templates for discussion.

For further information, see Wikipedia:Categorization and Wikipedia:Manual of Style.

II

Edit the category.

Add one of the following templates at the beginning of the category page (not the talk page) of every category to be discussed. For nominations involving large numbers of categories, help adding these templates can be requested here.

Otherwise, if nominating a single category:

For deleting, use {{subst:Cfd}}
For merging, use {{subst:Cfm|Other category}}
- For merging to two categories, use {{subst:Cfm-double|Other category 1|Other category 2}}
For renaming, use {{subst:Cfr|Proposed name}}
For splitting, use {{subst:Cfs|Proposed name 1|Proposed name 2}}
For converting the category into a list, use {{subst:Cfl|Proposed name}}
For other options (containerization, etc.), use {{subst:Cfd|type=nature of proposed discussion}}

If nominating a group of related categories, use a bundled nomination:

For deleting, use {{subst:Cfd|CfD section name}}
For merging, use {{subst:Cfm|Other category|CfD section name}}
- For merging to two categories, use {{subst:Cfm-double|Other category 1|Other category 2|CfD section name}}
For renaming, use {{subst:Cfr|Proposed name|CfD section name}}
For splitting, use {{subst:Cfs|Proposed name 1|Proposed name 2|CfD section name}}
For converting the category into a list, {{subst:Cfl|Proposed name|CfD section name}}
For other options (containerization, etc.), use {{subst:Cfd|type=nature of proposed discussion|CfD section name}}

Include "CfD", "CfM", "CfR", "CfS" or "CfL" in the edit summary, and do not mark the edit as minor. Preview before saving.
To add the template for previous nomination days, use the "full" version of the template by appending "full" to the template name, i.e. {{cfd full}}, {{cfm full}}, {{cfr full}}, {{cfs full}} and {{cfl full}}. Use the |day=, |month= and |year= parameters to make the banner link to the correct CfD page.
Consider adding {{subst:cfd notice|Category name|2024 April 19|CfD section name}} ~~~~ to the talk page of the category's creator.
For details about these templates, see each template's documentation.

III

Create the CFD section.

Click THIS LINK to edit the section of CfD for today's entries.

Follow the instructions (visible in edit mode) to copy and paste one of the templates below. When inserting category names into these template's parameters, except the text= parameter, omit the Category: prefix and do not use wikilinks, as the template takes care of this.

If nominating a single category:

For deleting, use {{subst:Cfd2|Obsolete category|text=Your reason(s) for the proposed deletion. ~~~~}}
For merging, use {{subst:Cfm2|Origin category|Destination category|text=Your reason(s) for the proposed merge. ~~~~}}
- For merging to two categories, use {{subst:Cfm2|Origin category|Destination category 1|target2=Destination category 2|text=Your reason(s) for the proposed merge. ~~~~}}
For renaming, use {{subst:Cfr2|Current category|Proposed name|text=Your reason(s) for the proposed rename. ~~~~}}
For splitting, use {{subst:Cfs2|Current category|Proposed category 1|Proposed category 2|text=Your reason(s) for the proposed split. ~~~~}}
For converting the category into a list, use {{subst:Cfc2|Current category|Proposed article|text=Your reason(s) for the proposed conversion. ~~~~}}
For other options (containerization, etc.), use {{subst:Cfd2|Current category|type=other type|text=Your reason(s) for the proposed conversion. ~~~~}}

For a bundled nomination, use one of the standard templates to build the "Cfd section name" for the first nominated category. After saving that, the second and subsequent nominations must be inserted manually, as follows:

==== Cfd section name ====

* 1st category

* 2nd category [Make clear whether you propose deletion, merging or renaming]

* Your reason for nominating the categories, and signature.

If a bundled nomination is too long, consider using {{hidden}} to hide some of the nominated categories.
In your reason, use links if mentioning articles or categories. To link to a category, use the colon trick by adding a colon (:) to the beginning of the link, e.g. [[:Category:Foo]].
Preview before saving to check that your nomination is formatted correctly, and remember to include your signature at the end of the nomination.

Stub types edit

I

Preliminary steps.

In general, a stub type consists of a stub template and a dedicated stub category. Before nominating a stub type for deletion, merging or renaming:

Read and understand guidance for creating stub types and stub type naming conventions.
Review the list of existing stub types—be advised, this list may not be comprehensive.
If you wish to:
- Create a new stub type—follow the procedure for proposing new stub types.
- Delete, merge or rename a stub category only, without deleting or renaming the associated stub template—follow the instructions above this section.
- Delete or rename a stub template—continue to section II.

II

Edit the template.

Add one of the following tags at the beginning of the template to be discussed.

For deletion, use {{subst:Sfd-t|Section name}}
For renaming, use {{subst:Sfr-t|Proposed name|Section name}}

Please include "SFD" or "SFR" in the edit summary, and don't mark the edit as minor. Preview before saving.
Consider notifying the template's creator on their talk page. To find the contributor, check the page history of the stub template.

III

Create the CFD section.

Click THIS LINK to edit the section of CfD for today's entries.

Follow the instructions (visible in edit mode) and paste the following text (remember to update the default parameters):

For deletion, use {{subst:sfd-t2|TemplateName|text=Your reason(s) for the proposed deletion. ~~~~}}
For renaming, use {{subst:sfr-t2|TemplateOldName|TemplateNewName|text=Your reason(s) for the proposed deletion. ~~~~}}

In your rationale, mention how many articles currently use the template to help other editors. When linking to a category in your rationale, always add a colon (:) to the beginning of the link, like [[:Category:Foo]]. This makes a category link that can be seen on the page, and avoids putting this page into the category you are nominating.
Preview before saving to check that your nomination is formatted correctly, and remember to include your signature at the end of the nomination.

Notifying interested projects and editors edit

In addition to the steps listed above, you may choose to invite participation by editors who are likely to be informed about a nominated category. All such efforts must comply with Wikipedia's guideline against biased canvassing. In addition, to help make your messages about the CfD discussion clear, avoid Wikipedia-specific abbreviations, link to relevant policies or guidelines, and link to the discussion itself.

Notifying related WikiProjects

WikiProjects consist of groups of editors who are interested in a particular subject. If a nominated category is within the scope of one or more WikiProjects, consider adding a brief, neutral note on their talk page(s) about the nomination. You may use {{subst:cfd notice|Category name|2024 April 19|CfD section name}} ~~~~ or write a personalized message.

Tagging the nominated category's talk page with a relevant WikiProject's banner will include the category in that WikiProject's Article Alerts if they subscribe to the system. For instance, tagging a nominated category with {{WikiProject Physics}} will add the discussion to Wikipedia:WikiProject Physics/Article alerts.

Notifying substantial contributors to the category

While not required, it is generally considered courteous to notify the good-faith creator and main contributors of the category that you are nominating for discussion. To find the creator and main contributors, check the category's page history or talk page. You may use {{Cfd notice}} to inform the category's creator and all other editors.

Notifying other interested editors

It may be helpful to invite other subject-matter experts by posting a message on the talk page of the most closely related article, such as Protein family for Category:Protein families. You may use {{Cfdnotice}} for this.

Closing procedure edit

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WP:CfDClosings

After seven days, someone will close the discussion according to the consensus that formed or, if needed, relist it to allow more discussion. Editors closing discussions must follow the administrator instructions and, except in the case of a "keep" or "no consensus" outcome, implement the result or log it at the Working page to ensure it is implemented.

Redirecting categories edit

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WP:CATRED

In general, an unpopulated category should be deleted (see speedy deletion criterion C1) because it is not useful for navigation and sorting. In limited circumstances, and because categories cannot be redirected using "hard" redirects (i.e. #REDIRECT[[''target'']]), we use a form of "soft redirect" to solve the issue. You can create a category redirect by adding {{Category redirect|target}} to the category page. Bots patrol these categories and move articles into the "redirect" targets.

In particular, category redirects are used at the former category name when we convert hyphens into en dashes (e.g. Category:Canada-Russia relations → Category:Canada–Russia relations). It is also helpful to set up category redirects from titles with plain letters (i.e. characters on a standard keyboard) where the category names include diacritics.

A list of redirected categories is available at Category:Wikipedia soft redirected categories.

Speedy renaming and merging

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WP:CFDS

This page has a backlog that requires the attention of willing editors.
Please remove this notice when the backlog is cleared.

Speedy renaming or speedy merging of categories may be requested only if they meet a speedy criterion, for example WP:C2D (consistency with main article's name) or WP:C2C (consistency with established category tree names). Please see instructions below.

Determine which speedy criterion applies
Tag category page with {{subst:cfr-speedy|New name}} or {{subst:cfm-speedy|Merge target}}
List request along with speedy criteria reason under "Current requests" below on this page

Please note that a speedy request must state which of the narrowly defined criteria strictly applies. Hence, any other non-speedy criteria, even "common sense" or "obvious", may be suitable points, but only at a full discussion at WP:Categories for discussion.

Request may take 48 hours to process after listing if there are no objections. This delay allows other users to review the request to ensure that it meets the speedy criteria for speedy renaming or merging, and to raise objections to the proposed change.

Categories that qualify for speedy deletion (per Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion, e.g., "patent nonsense", "recreation") can be tagged with the regular speedy tags, such as {{db|reason}} with no required delay. Empty categories can be deleted if they remain empty 7 days after tagging with {{db-empty}}. Renaming under C2E may also be processed instantly (at the discretion of an administrator) as it is a variation on G7.

To oppose a speedy request you must record your objection within 48 hours of the nomination. Do this by inserting immediately under the nomination:

Oppose, (the reasons for your objection). ~~~~

You will not be able to do this by editing the page WP:Categories for discussion. Instead, you should edit the section WP:Categories for discussion#Add requests for speedy renaming and merging here or the page WP:Categories for discussion/Speedy#Add requests for speedy renaming and merging here (WP:CFDS). Be aware that in the course of any discussion, the nomination and its discussion may get moved further down the page purely for organizational convenience – you may need to search WP:CFDS to find the new location. Participate in any ongoing discussion, but unless you withdraw your opposition, a knowledgeable person may eventually bring forward the nomination and discussion to become a regular CFD discussion. At that stage you may add further comments, but your initial opposition will still be considered. However, if after seven days there has been no support for the request, and no response from the nominator, the request may be dropped from further consideration as a speedy.

Contested speedy requests become stale, and can be untagged and delisted after 7 days of inactivity. Optionally, if the discussion may be useful for future reference, it may be copied to the category talk page, with a section heading and {{moved discussion from|[[WP:CFDS]]|2=~~~~}}. If the nominator wants to revive the process, this may be requested at WP:Categories for discussion (CfD) in accordance with its instructions.

If you belatedly notice and want to oppose a speedy move that has already been processed, contact one of the admins who process the Speedy page. If your objection seems valid, they may reverse the move, or start a full CFD discussion.

Speedy criteria edit

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WP:C2

The category-specific criteria for speedy renaming, or merging are strictly limited to:

C2A: Typographic and spelling fixes edit

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WP:C2A

Correction of spelling errors and capitalization fixes. Differences between British and American spelling (e.g. Harbours → Harbors) are not considered errors; however if the convention of the relevant category tree is to use one form over the other then a rename may be appropriate under C2C. If both spellings exist as otherwise-identical category names, they should be merged.
Appropriate conversion of hyphens into en dashes or vice versa (e.g. Category:Canada-Russia relations → Category:Canada–Russia relations).
Correction of obvious grammatical errors, such as a missing conjunction (e.g. Individual frogs toads → Individual frogs and toads). This includes pluralizing a noun in the name of a set category, but not when disagreement might reasonably be anticipated as to whether the category is a topic or set category.

C2B: Consistency with established Wikipedia naming conventions and practices edit

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WP:C2B

Expanding abbreviated country names (e.g. U.S. → United States).
Disambiguation fixes from an unqualified name (e.g. Category:Washington → Category:Washington (state) or Category:Washington, D.C.).

C2C: Consistency with established category tree names edit

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WP:C2C

Bringing a category into line with established naming conventions for that category tree, or into line with the various "x by y", "x of y", or "x in y" categorization conventions specified at Wikipedia:Category names

This should be used only where there is no room for doubt that the category in question is being used for the standard purpose instead of being a potential subcategory.
This criterion should be applied only when there is no ambiguity or doubt over the existence of a category naming convention. Such a convention must be well defined and must be overwhelmingly used within the tree. If this is not the case then the category in question must be brought forward to a full Cfd nomination.
This criterion will not apply in cases where the category tree observes distinctions in local usage (e.g. Category:Transportation in the United States and Category:Transport in the United Kingdom).

C2D: Consistency with main article's name edit

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WP:C2D

Renaming a topic category to match its eponymous page (e.g. Category:The Beatles and The Beatles).
This applies only if the related page's current name (and by extension, the proposed name for the category) is:
- unambiguous (so it generally does not apply to proposals to remove a disambiguator from the category name, even when the main article is the primary topic of its name, i.e. it does not contain a disambiguator); and
- uncontroversial, either because of longstanding stability at that particular name, or because the page was just moved (i) after a page move discussion resulted in explicit consensus to rename, or (ii) unilaterally to reflect an official renaming which is verified by one or more citations (provided in the nomination). C2D does not apply if the result would be contrary to guidelines at WP:CATNAME, or there is any ongoing discussion about the name of the page or category, or there has been a recent discussion concerning any of the pages that resulted in a no consensus result, or it is controversial in some other way.
This criterion may also be used to rename a set category in the same circumstances, where the set is defined by a renamed topic; e.g. players for a sports team, or places in a district.
Before nominating a category to be renamed per WP:C2D, consider whether it makes more sense to move the article instead of the category.

C2E: Author request edit

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WP:C2E

This criterion applies only if the author of a category requests or agrees to renaming within six months of creating the category.
The criterion does not apply if other editors have populated or changed the category since it was created. "Other editors" includes bots that populated the category, but excludes an editor working with the author on the renaming.

C2F: One eponymous page edit

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WP:C2F

This criterion applies if the category contains only an eponymous article, list, template or media file, provided that the category has not otherwise been emptied shortly before the nomination. The default outcome is an upmerge to the parent categories, where applicable. Nominations should use {{subst:cfm-speedy}} (speedy merger) linking to a suitable parent category, or to another appropriate category (e.g. one that is currently on the article).

Admin instructions edit

When handling the listings:

Make sure that the listing meets one of the above criteria.
With the exception of C2E, make sure that it was both listed and tagged at least 48 hours previously.
Make sure that there is no opposition to the listing; if there is a discussion, check if the opposing user(s) ended up withdrawing their opposition.

If the listing meets these criteria, simply have the category renamed or merged – follow the instructions at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Administrator instructions, in the section "If the decision is to Rename, Merge, or Delete"; to list it for the bots, use the Speedy moves section.

Applying speedy criteria in full discussions edit

A nomination to merge or rename, brought forward as a full CfD, may be speedily closed if the closing administrator is satisfied that: The nomination clearly falls within the scope of one of the criteria listed here, and No objections have been made within 48 hours of the initial nomination. If both these conditions are satisfied, the closure will be regarded as having been a result of a speedy nomination. If any objections have been raised then the CfD nomination will remain in place for the usual 7-day discussion period, to be decided in accordance with expressed consensus. Add requests for speedy renaming and merging here edit

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Summary

Scope edit

Current discussions edit

Discussions awaiting closure edit

How to use CfD edit

Nomination procedure edit

Twinkle edit

MassCFD edit

Manual nominations edit

Stub types edit

Notifying interested projects and editors edit

Closing procedure edit

Redirecting categories edit

Speedy renaming and merging

Speedy criteria edit

C2A: Typographic and spelling fixes edit

C2B: Consistency with established Wikipedia naming conventions and practices edit

C2C: Consistency with established category tree names edit

C2D: Consistency with main article's name edit

C2E: Author request edit

C2F: One eponymous page edit

Admin instructions edit

Applying speedy criteria in full discussions edit

Current requests edit

Opposed requests edit

On hold pending other discussion edit

Moved to full discussion edit

Ready for deletion edit

Empty categories awaiting deletion edit