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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2018 April 18

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April 18[edit]

May I rewrite an article?[edit]

I found an article that is in deplorable state and I believe it needs to be entirely rewritten and addition of references, but I'm not sure if I can do that... Gidev the Dood(Talk) 15:57, 18 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

PLEASE DO! Wikipedia encourages good faith improvements to articles. If someone has questions, or raises objections, always be ready to discuss it with them, and don't fight about it. But yes, PLEASE improve Wikipedia articles. Not only does Wikipedia encourage it, we expect it. You're no different from anyone else, and your help is as appreciated as anyones! --Jayron32 16:26, 18 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! Gidev the Dood(Talk) 17:02, 18 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]
If it's a largish article, may I suggest that you rewrite the article as a draft and then ask the folks at the relevant WikiProject to have a look at it before you actually replace the old article in the mainspace. I think it always helps to get a consensus first. However, if it's a smallish article that hasn't been edited much recently, you will be fairly safe to be bold and just go ahead, as suggested above. Alansplodge (talk) 17:06, 19 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • There has been a lot of discussion of this: see for example WP:JUNK and WP:TNT. There is also a template you may place at the head of the article: {{rewrite}}. I think you should just do it. I recommend a note on the talk page, and if nobody responds, a note on any applicable project pages. -Arch dude (talk) 00:40, 20 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]