This is a part of a series of articles on Wikipedia, where I offer an insider's view of the way Wikipedia functions.
This does not represent the views of Wikipedia as a whole, or other Wikipedians, but aims to give you an understanding of how the system generally functions.
Why do they keep deleting my stuff?
editGood question. Many reasons.
- You haven't the citations - This means that the other Wikipedians cannot verify what you have said and would delete it since you have not linked to any "proof" of the topic - You haven't linked to any URLs or books where the topic is mentioned directly, and unambiguously. (you cannot link to one URL that says "2", another that says "3" and claim that "2 + 3 = 5" in Wikipedia.) The easiest way out is having the topic published by a company that is related to the subject, and adding a link to that on Wikipedia, although this is generally bad policy since you are adding citations to self published sources, and in general only links to reliable sources are trustworthy. I mean you can't exactly trust a link to a YouTube video that says pigs are blue, can you?!
- The topic is not generally accepted, and is your own opinion or discovery - Original research is not permitted on Wikipedia, because otherwise any fringe theory or gossip could be added in, creating a large jumble of facts and half-lies. Therefore, only topics that are generally accepted, or notable enough, are permitted to be published on Wikipedia. If your topic/addition is important, discuss it on the talk page and why its relevant and not your own opinion, add citations from other parties other than yourself or your company, and maybe your addition will be accepted.
- They don't understand - Often other Wikipedians with less expertise on the subject might misunderstand or simply fail to understand what you've written. In this case take the argument to the talk page and try to explain, not fight. A lot of bad blood is caused by simple misunderstanding, so assume good faith, and explain your way out. Explanation is the best way to resolve disputes here on Wikipedia, and stay connected to the community.
- It isn't written "correctly" - If your writing is a mess (ambiguous, confusing) or if you haven't written it in a neutral tone, editors may delete your addition because it "doesn't fit". Try again. Look at other writing on the topic and try to frame your writing in a similar manner. The basic idea is that writing on Wikipedia must sound "neutral" and "unbiased", so if you are passionate about something you'll have to tone down that passion, and write in an almost boring and monotonous fashion. Surprising, this "boring" style of writing also makes for more believable reading, since people are more likely to believe "matter-of-fact" statements than passionate arguments.