Wikipedia:No big loss

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.

Shortcuts WP:NOLOSS WP:NOBIGLOSS

This page in a nutshell: Deletion of any good article is a loss for the wider community and the encyclopedia in the long term, as that is knowledge lost.

The deletion of any good article, long or short, on Wikipedia is a loss to the wider community and the encyclopedia, because in the end the information lost could have improved the understanding and knowledge of someone else. Wikipedia is, after all, an interactive learning experience and as luck may have it, however, not all articles go down the gurgler. Some survive because of zealous editors in the community who improve the quality of articles needing serious maintenance.

However, many good articles are deleted because one person forgot to add references; because one person tagged the article for proposed deletion - which was uncontested or because one person sent it to AfD.