Wikipedia:Patent nonsense
On Wikipedia, we get lots of brilliant prose, but occasionally some patent nonsense. This falls into a couple of categories:
- Total nonsense, i.e., text that has no assignable meaning at all. This tends to be created after the consumption of too much alcohol.
- Stuff that, while apparently meaningful after a fashion, is so completely and irremediably confused that no intelligent person can be expected to try to make head or tail of it.
Not to be confused with...
The following, while often regrettable, is not patent nonsense:
- Really poorly written stuff. (See Why Aren't These Pages Copyedited)
- Partisan screed, or opinion masquerading as fact. (Rewrite it from a neutral point of view)
- Religious excogitations. (Make it factual. Yes, there are ways of doing this; e.g. add phrases like "Followers of X hold that...")
- Incompetent and/or immature stuff. (Well, it's not nonsense, but perhaps it does deserve to be greatly improved. So improve it.)
- Flame bait entries. (Don't take the bait; instead, replace it with something that actually adds to the quality of the Wikipedia.)
- Vandalism. (See dealing with vandalism)
- Text translated or written by someone who is not a native English speaker. (Complete the translation if you can. If the original text is available, running it through a translation web site (such as Google's) can give different results that might help you understand what was written).
Dealing with patent nonsense
There are various ways to deal with total nonsense - use your good judgment to decide which is most appropriate:
- Move it to the latest Bad jokes and other deleted nonsense page.
- Move it to the article's talk page.
- Move it to the user's talk page.
- Replace it with brilliant prose.
- Remove it from the article if there is anything left in the article after that.
However, if anybody objects, because they believe that the content is not total nonsense, then it's best to discuss the issue with them, and try to reach a consensus. In particular, if someone says that they think they can rework the "nonsense" into something worthwhile, then please give them some time and space to do so.
If an article contains nothing but patent nonsense, then use your good judgment to decide whether to:
- list it on votes for deletion
- replace it with a link to Wikipedia:Speedy deletions
- delete it straightaway (only if you are a sysop)