User:Friday/XD
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Update: I haven't actually been using XD lately. I use prod sometimes, or discuss deletion on the talk pages. Once in a while I use Afd. I still like XD in theory for the reasons below, but in practice it can confuse or upset people due to its obscurity. Sometimes I use {{deletedpage}} much the same way I used XD7, but since it's "official" it's less controversial.
I like using WP:XD when I do new page patrol, specifically XD7. It's a bit like WP:PROD, but if the article never gets any attention afterwards, the process is already "done". The simple answer to why I use WP:XD is for transparent deletion. By "transparent" I mean something that's visible to all users, not just admins.
Sometimes, things I XD might be speedied by someone else. But why don't I just speedy it? If there's a reasonable chance of disagreement, XD is less harsh and more transparent. I'm just one editor. Just because an article doesn't look valuable to me doesn't mean everyone else would agree.
It's friendlier to newbies, too. Some newbies recreate a deleted article, and it's unclear whether they understood that it was deleted on purpose. XD avoids this problem. Also, it encourages people to fix the article if possible, or at least discuss things on the talk page. A speedy does none of these things.
I believe a "hard delete" (what we current mean by a "delete") is really only neccessary in cases of copyvios, attacks, or posting of personal information. In other cases, it's often useful for people to be able to see the history or maybe even undo the deletion.
Transparent deletion is a Good Thing. Everyone should find a way to delete things transparently. XD7 is my way right now.
If you want to hard-delete some I've XD'd, I won't tend to object, even though it's not my preference. Something being in XD for a while and then eventually hard-deleted is still a step in the right direction. I hope that over time, most Wikipedians will realize the value of transparent deletion and start using it themselves.
