Why Did you Delete my Bands Page and what is A7

If you are coming here because I, as an administrator, deleted an article you were writing on your band, and want to know why, please read this FAQ before asking me to undelete it.

Q - My band is notable, why did you delete the article I was creating, I had just started on it?
A - Your article most likley did not prove to us that your band is notable. Keep in mind that wikipedia is NOT a directory of bands, however may contain many encylopedic entries on bands that are already notable (such as Metallica or Killswitch Engage).

Q - Why was the article deleted so quickly? (When I went to the page I saw it was deleted with some criteria named A7, what is that?)
A - Wikipedia has a set of critiera called the criteria for speedy deletion. On Wikipedia, we very regularly get inundated with short articles, often created in good faith by new and inexperienced users. Regular articles that editors feel need to be deleted go through an articles for deletion discussion that can take a week or more. The community has agreed on a set of criteria that, when applied to newly created articles, may qualify for them for immediate deletion. It was felt that your article qualified under the A7 criteria in that your band is not notable enough for inclusion.

Q - But my band is notable. We are currently _____________________ [fill in the blank with all that apply](unsigned, signed to our own label, trying to get signed, the next big act in show business, one of the fastest growing bands in the genre, other), can my band have a wikipedia page?
A - Thats nice that your band is currently ______________________ [use same answer as above], however we cannot take your word for that. If you chose any of the above descriptions about your band, that further weakens your case for inclusion. If your band is really notable, you need to PROVE it to us.

Q - I still think my band is notable, how can I prove my band is notable
A - On wikipedia, your word is not good enough. It is not that we dont trust you (mabye it is, who knows), however we need Reliable Sources or something to prove notability. One common test is the Google Test. Perform a google search with your band name in quotes. As a benchmark, google searches for super famous bands such as Metallica ((5.9 million hits). A lesser known (still popular band), Killswitch Engage (2.6 million hits). In general (and not a hard and fast rule), anything with over 500,000 hits may be notable enough for inclusion.

Q - My band passes the google test, what now?
A - We need reliable sources. Any coverage of your band from a reliable source will greatly help. If you can find a news article covering your band (and not just a gig lineup), then you are well on the way to creating this article. If you can find these sources, copy the web pages you found them on because I am going to ask for them. NOTE: - Myspace, facebook, blogs and links to your own bands website are NOT RELIABLE SOURCES AND WILL MOST LIKLEY RESULT IN YOUR ARTICLE BEING QUICKLY DELETED AGAIN.

Q - Ok, my band has passed the google test and I have found reliable sources! What do I do to get my article back
A - First off, congratulations on your success. If everything checks out, I will most likley be glad to undelete your article. Again, I cannot take your word for it and will do the research myself. You can help me out by providing links to your Google search and the sources you found on my user talk page. Be sure to give me a day or so to review things and I will get back to you.

Q - OK, I have failed the google test, I cannot find any sources other than myspace but I am CONVINCED that my band is notable outside of the local music scene (high school band, college bands, bands that play at bars/weddings every now and then) and feel that my article was deleted innapropriatley, what can I do.
A - You have SEVERAL options here
1. Convince me on my user talk page
2. Convince another administrator (note, admin shopping is frowned upon, and any administrator you contact will perform as much if not more research that I will do and will most likley come back to me with questions on your request)
3. Request a deletion review
4. Pursue other forms of dispute resolution.

Whatever you choose to do, good luck and if I can help you in anyway or you still have unanswered questions, please contact me on my user talk page. Thanks and good luck. Chrislk02 ^{Chris Kreider} 15:49, 6 January 2009 (UTC)