Our content is being deleted by Wikipedia for purposes of 'self advertising.' Why is this?

answered 2017-07-23 01:05:02 -0500

Shalor (Wiki Ed)

• My edits got deleted. What do I do?
• How do I address my students' questions regarding why the content that they're adding is deleted when all they're doing is translating articles from original language to English?
• Can you make sure my students' work doesn't get deleted?
• My picture got deleted. What do I do?
• My article is up for deletion!

answered 2017-03-03 11:36:58 -0500

Ryan (Wiki Ed)

Wikipedia has strict rules about using the site for promotional/advertising purposes. People very frequently do advertise themselves, their companies, etc. on Wikipedia, and for that reason there are tools developed that allow other editors to find and remove that advertising. Sometimes those tools or the editors using them make mistakes. Other times the content wasn't intended to be promotional, and just needs to be rewritten. It also helps to make sure you're including references to independent, high-quality sources, even in the early stages of writing.

Though it can be frustrating, resist the impulse to simply recreate the content before determining what issues may exist and how they can be resolved. Communication is very important. Reach out to the user who raised the objection or deleted the content to ask for more information or advice. It's also a good idea to send a message to your instructor and Wiki Ed Content Expert to let them know. You can send a message to your Content Expert by clicking the "Get Help" button from the Dashboard, and selecting "Question about editing Wikipedia".