Wikipedia:Amendment to deletion policy
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This article will outline a proposal for an amendment to the deletion policies. In nutshell, don't delete an article based on what it is! This may sound a bit crazy, so let me explain.
Explanation
[edit]A deletion should be applied only to the TOPIC of an article and not its content. In AfD one often sees criterias such as POV or unreferenced, even when it is possible to write an enclopaedic article on the topic itself. Say A is a notable website worthy of an article, but currently it's an advertisement for the website. Under this proposed amendment, the article can not be deleted because the problem is only with the content and not with the topic. Put a NPOV tag or cleanup tag, deletion is not the way to go here. If an article has a potential of being good, then don't delete it just because it is not good NOW.
Why is this needed?
[edit]This is the same reason as keeping a stub: when a new editor sees an article already created and some very basic structure provided he will be more likely to create a good article than when he is faced with a white page. We just remove all POV content but keep the page as a stub.
Exceptions
[edit]Exceptions should be made, such as for patent nonsense or complete copyright violations. Deletion should be an avenue only when there is not a single line of salvagable encyclopaedic content, otherwise cleanup takes a lot less time and energy than bickering at AfD and produces better results.
Please discuss this proposed change at the talk page. Do not make any major changes to the existing text as it may confuse people who are discussing it, instead add a new section below outlining your own proposal.