AASL Essential Links policy statement

Editing policy

This page documents an official Essential Links policy.

This page in a nutshell: Improve pages wherever you can. When possible, please add a complete, well-written, final draft to Essential Links.

Preserve information
Whatever you do, endeavour to preserve information. Instead of removing, try to:

• rephrase
• correct the inaccuracy while keeping the content
• move text within an article or to another article (existing or new)
• add more of what you think is important to make an article more balanced
• request a citation by adding the fact tag

Exceptions include:

• original research
• duplication or redundancy
• irrelevancy
• patent nonsense
• copyright violations
• inaccuracy (attempt to correct the misinformation or discuss the problems first before deletion)
• blatant advertising

Major changes
With large proposed deletions or replacements, it may be best to suggest changes in a discussion. If you make deletions, you should try to explain why you delete their contributions in the article talk page.

If, in your considered judgment, a page simply needs to be rewritten or changed substantially, go ahead and do that. But preserve any old contents you think might have some discussion value on the talk page, along with a comment about why you made the change. Even if you delete something that's irrelevant, odds are that it got there because someone believed it was relevant, so preserve a comment to inform later editors that it is in fact false.

Essential Links is not a discussion forum In any event, whether you decide to edit boldly or to make inquiries on the talk page first, please bear in mind that Essential Links is not a discussion forum. It is best for the project as a whole if energy is concentrated on improving articles.