Wikipedia:Template index/Cleanup
(Redirected from Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup)
 | This is an information page. It is not an encyclopedic article, nor one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Wikipedia's norms, customs, technicalities, or practices. It may reflect differing levels of consensus and vetting. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Add template messages to inform readers and editors of specific problems with articles or sections, but do not use them as a badge of shame. |
Template messages (maintenance tags, cleanup tags, cleanup messages) may be added to articles needing cleanup. Their purposes are to foster improvement of the encyclopedia by alerting editors to changes that need to be made. Cleanup tags are meant to be temporary notices that lead to an effort to fix the problem, not a permanent badge of shame to show that you disagree with an article, or a method of warning readers about an article.
Unless otherwise noted, cleanup messages should be placed at the top of the page, before other templates, images, or infoboxes, but after hatnotes (see Wikipedia:Hatnote § Placement). Cleanup messages should be placed directly on the article or file, not on its talk page. Certain tags can be placed at the beginning of an individual section, and others can be placed within the text itself (inline).
A date parameter is added by a bot, or you can add it yourself with |date=October 2025.
What to remember
Before you tag an article, please remember the following:
- Don't tag an article if you can easily and confidently fix the problem.
- The goal is an improved article, not a tagged article.
- Do some research to attempt to solve the problem before tagging.
- Don't put the burden of doing so on another editor if you are capable of fixing the problem yourself with a simple search or consulting a reference work.
- Don't perform "drive-by" tagging.
- Tags must be accompanied by either a comment on the article's talk page explaining the problem and beginning a discussion on how to fix it or, for simpler and more obvious problems, a remark using the reason parameter (available in all templates, regardless of whether it appears in the documentation) as shown below. At the very least, tagging editors must be willing to follow through with substantive discussion.
- Don't perform "drive-by" de-tagging.
- Likewise, please provide a similar rationale for removing a template, unless your preceding edits have clearly fixed the announced problem. See also when not to remove a template.
- Don't insert tags that are similar or redundant.
- For example, most articles that read like essays have an inappropriate tone, and in fact they end up being automatically grouped in the same category, so it is unnecessary to tag with both {{tone}} and {{essay-like}}.
- If an article has many problems, tag only the highest priority issues.
- A lengthy list is often less helpful than a shorter one.
- If multiple tags are necessary, consider using the {{multiple issues}} template.
- This will help to avoid cluttering the article with tags and eclipsing the article's content.
- Don't add tags for trivial or minor problems, especially if an article needs a lot of work.
- For example, there is little point in noting grammatical problems for a section that needs to be completely re-written to comply with content policies. Focus on the biggest one, two, or three problems.
Does the article meet inclusion requirements?
Before placing templates on a page it is worthwhile to cast a critical eye over the page to determine whether indeed it should be included in Wikipedia. Some articles can be tagged for speedy deletion or nominated for a deletion discussion at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion.
Best practices
In obscure or unpopular articles
On pages that have received little attention from editors or readers, cleanup templates can be used as a way to call attention to problems that need to be addressed by editors. Editors who want to help address these problems should look through the various cleanup categories such as maintenance and articles with content issues and try to address the problems so that the templates can be removed. Editors who frequently tag articles should also address the backlogs.
In heavily monitored articles
On pages that are being edited by a number of users, cleanup templates are used to inform readers and editors of ongoing discussions and attempts to fix the problems on the page. Such templates can be used to attract uninvolved users to discussions and cleanup efforts, and they can also serve as a warning to casual readers that the article may have problems and be subject to noticeable changes. In general, an editor who places a template message to indicate a problem like this should explain their rationale fully on the talk page of the article. If the consensus of the other editors is that there is a problem or an editorial dispute that deserves such a clean-up template, then the editors should work to fix the problem as quickly and cleanly as possible so the template message can be removed. If the consensus is that there is no problem, then the message can be removed immediately. For heavily monitored articles, please do not add or remove template messages of this sort without using the talk page.
Use in sections
Many of these cleanup tags require you to place |article as the first parameter when you use the tag at the top of an article. When you want the template to refer to just one section, however, you replace |article with |section (where the | is a pipe key | found on most keyboards as a shift-backslash ⇧ Shift+\. See the specific template below to determine if such "section use" is supported and appropriate.
Overarching copyright issues
Templates in this section identify possible violations of Wikipedia's licensing requirements, as defined in the Wikimedia Terms of use.
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{close paraphrasing}} category |
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| {{Copying within Wikipedia}} category |
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| {{copypaste}} category |
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| {{non-free}} category |
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| {{unattributed translation}} category |
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Combined message boxes
Do not use this as the only message box on the article or section; it should be used with at least two other message boxes sandwiched inside it.
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{multiple issues}}
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| {{multiple issues| section=yes}}
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Cleanup
Use one of these general tags when none of the more specific tags fits.
General
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{cleanup}} category |
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| {{cleanup AfD}} category |
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| {{cleanup MOS}} category |
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| {{cleanup rewrite}} category |
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Following a merge or split
| {{cleanup merge}} |
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| {{cleanup split}} |
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Copy editing
Some articles just need someone with a good grasp of editing technique to give them a once-over.
| {{copy edit}} category |
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Inline with article text
| {{copy edit inline}} category |
[needs copy edit]
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| {{verify spelling}} category |
[spelling?] |
Specific subjects
These templates are all "general cleanup" templates, but tie into a specific subject matter or WikiProjects.
Semi-general
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{animals cleanup}} |
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| {{cleanup biography}} category |
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| {{cleanup higher education}} category |
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| {{cleanup school}} category |
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| {{game guide}} category |
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| {{localist}} category |
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Imported from elsewhere
| {{CIA World Factbook only}} category |
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| {{cleanup Congress bio}} category |
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Based on external content
| {{Update-EB}} category |
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| {{USgovtPOV}} category |
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Plot summaries
| {{all plot}} category |
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| {{long plot}} category |
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| {{more plot}} category |
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| {{no plot}} category |
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Fiction
| {{fiction}} category |
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| {{fiction trivia}} category |
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| {{in-universe}} category |
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| {{in popular culture}} category |
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Other
| {{cleanup taxon}} |
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| {{cleanup TLS}} |
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| {{further reading cleanup}} category |
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| {{kayfabe}} category |
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| {{USRD-wrongdir}} category |
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Inline with article text
| {{needs IPA}} category |
[needs IPA] |
Style of writing
Overall article or section
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{cleanup press release}} category |
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| {{debate}} category |
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| {{dicdef}} category |
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| {{directory}} category |
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| {{essay-like}} category |
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| {{obituary}} category |
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| {{research paper}} category |
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| {{resume-like}} category |
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| {{review}} category |
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| {{science review}} category |
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| {{story}} category |
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| {{term paper}} category |
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| {{textbook}} category |
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| {{travel guide}} category |
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Specific content
| {{abbreviations}} category |
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| {{academic booster}} category |
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| {{anachronism}} category |
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| {{buzzword}} category |
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| {{colloquial}} |
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| {{how-to}} category |
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| {{neologism}} category |
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| {{peacock}} category |
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| {{pro and con list}} category |
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| {{schedule}} |
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| {{self-reference cleanup}} |
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| {{weasel}} category |
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Grammar
| {{cleanup tense}} category |
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| {{inappropriate person}} category |
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| {{you}} category |
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Neutrality, readability, and tone
| {{fan POV}} category |
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| {{technical}} category |
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| {{tone}} category |
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Inline with article text
| {{peacock inline}} category |
[peacock prose]
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| {{weasel inline}} category |
[weasel words] |
Structure, formatting, and sections
Organisation
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{cleanup reorganize}} category |
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| {{sections}} category |
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| {{too many sections}} category |
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| {{trivia}} category |
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Naming
| {{rename section}} category |
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| {{television incorrect naming style}} category |
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Lead section
| {{lead extra info}} category |
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| {{lead missing}} category |
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| {{lead rewrite}} category |
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| {{lead too long}} category |
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| {{lead too short}} category |
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Length
| {{summarize section}} category |
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| {{very long}} category |
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Duplication
| {{duplication}} category |
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| {{overview section}} category |
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Summarisation
| {{bad summary}} category |
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| {{summarize}} category |
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| {{summary style}} category |
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Colour
| {{cleanup colors}} category |
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| {{dark mode problems}} category |
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| {{overcoloured}} category |
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Potentially unwanted content
Message boxes
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{AI-generated}} category |
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| {{spam-request}} category |
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Inline with article text
| {{spam link}} category |
[spam link?]
Remove all and change |
Context, statistics, and detail
Excessive content
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{excessive citations}} category |
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| {{excessive examples}} category |
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| {{game trivia}} category |
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| {{overly detailed}} category |
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| {{over-quotation}} category |
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| {{too many charts}} category |
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| {{too many see alsos}} category |
Over-focus
| {{almanac}} category |
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| {{generalize}} category |
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| {{human-centric}} category |
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| {{specific}} category |
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Context
| {{cleanup book}} category |
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| {{context}} category |
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| {{cleanup film}} category |
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| {{time-context}} category |
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Off-topic
Articles occasionally contain content which is otherwise valid, but appears unrelated to the nominal topic of the article.
| {{off topic}} category |
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Expand and add
Missing content
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{cleanup ICHD}} category |
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| {{exit list}} category |
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| {{kmposts}} category |
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| {{lacking ISBN}} category |
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| {{lacking overview}} category |
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| {{metricate}} category |
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| {{mileposts}} category |
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| {{missing information}} |
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Expansion
| {{AthAbbr needed}} category |
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| {{cleanup lang}} category |
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| {{expand language}} category |
{{Expand Italian|date=October 2025}} | ||
| {{expand section}} category |
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| {{formula missing descriptions}} category |
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| {{legend needed section}} category |
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| {{no alt text}} category |
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Expert needed
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{expert needed}} category |
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Time-sensitive
Message boxes
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{time-context}} category |
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| {{update}} category |
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{{update|inaccurate=y}}category |
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Inline with article text
| {{as of}} category |
As of {{{1}}}[update]
|
| {{clarify timeframe}} category |
[timeframe?]
|
| {{update after}} category |
[needs update]
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| {{update inline}} category |
[needs update]
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Major edits
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{in use}} category |
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| {{recently revised}} category |
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| {{under construction}} category |
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| {{recent death}} category |
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Contradiction and confusion
Note: Templates relevant for when articles are confusing or hard to understand due specifically to translation issues can be found at Wikipedia:Template index/Translation.
Message boxes
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{confusing}} category |
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| {{contradicts other}} category |
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| {{contradicts others}} category |
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| {{misleading}} category |
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| {{self-contradictory}} category |
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| {{unclear date}} category |
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| {{unfocused}} category |
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Inline with article text
| {{contradictory inline}} category |
[contradictory]
|
| {{expand acronym}} |
[expand acronym]
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| {{inconsistent}} category |
[inconsistent]
|
| {{vague}} category |
[vague]
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Importance, relevance, and notability
Message boxes
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{content}} category |
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| {{importance section}} |
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| {{notability}} category |
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Inline with article text
| {{importance inline}} |
[importance?]
|
Accuracy, weighting, and neutrality
Truthfulness and factual accuracy
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{dispute about}} category |
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| {{disputed}} category |
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| {{disputed chem}} category |
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| {{disputed map}} category |
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| {{disputed section}} category |
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| {{hoax}} category |
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| {{speculation}} category |
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Focus and weighting
| {{coatrack}} category |
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| {{cleanup weighted}} category |
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| {{fringe theories}} category |
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| {{geographical imbalance}} category |
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| {{globalize}} category |
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| {{recentism}} category |
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| {{too few opinions}} category |
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| {{unbalanced}} category |
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| {{undue weight}} category |
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Neutrality
| {{autobiography}} category |
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| {{cherry-picked}} category |
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| {{COI}} category |
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| {{criticism section}} category |
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| {{political POV}} category |
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| {{POV}} category |
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| {{promotional}} category |
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| {{undisclosed paid}} category |
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Inline with article text
| {{according to whom}} category |
For weasel words ("It was said..." It was thought...") [according to whom?] |
| {{clarify}} category |
Do not use without first taking some steps to research the apparent problem [clarification needed] |
| {{contentious label inline}} category |
[contentious label] |
| {{dubious}} category |
[dubious – discuss] |
| {{editorialising}} category |
[editorialising] |
| {{editorializing}} category |
[editorializing] |
| {{excessive citations inline}} category |
For abuse of citations, per Wikipedia:Citation overkill. [excessive citations] |
| {{original research inline}} category |
[original research?] |
| {{POV statement}} category |
[neutrality is disputed] |
| {{unbalanced opinion}} category |
[unbalanced opinion?] |
| {{undue weight inline}} category |
[undue weight? – discuss] |
| {{when}} category |
For ambiguous or vague time references of various kinds. [when?] |
| {{who}} category |
For weasel words ("Many say..." Some people think...") [who?] |
Sources, references, and citations
Biographies of living persons
Add, improve, remove
General
| {{circular}} category |
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| {{cite check}} category |
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| {{more citations needed}} category |
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| {{no reliable sources}} category |
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| {{no significant coverage}} category |
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| {{old news}} category |
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| {{one source}} category |
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| {{only primary sources}} category |
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| {{original research}} category |
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| {{primary sources}} category |
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| {{religious text primary}} category |
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| {{self-published}} category |
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| {{self-sourcing examples}} category |
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| {{sources exist}} category |
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| {{spam references}} category |
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| {{synthesis}} category |
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| {{tertiary sources}} category |
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| {{third-party}} category |
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| {{unreferenced}} category |
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| {{unreliable sources}} category |
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| {{user-generated}} category |
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| {{verifiability}} category |
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| {{verify sources}} category |
|
Specific
| {{media IMDb refimprove}} category |
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| {{more medical citations needed}} category |
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| {{more science citations needed}} category |
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| {{no significant coverage (sports)}} category |
|||
| {{NRIS only}} category |
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| {{unreferenced law}} category |
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| {{unreferenced medical section}} category |
|
Expansion and cleanup
| {{biblio}} category |
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| {{citation style}} category |
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| {{citations broken}} category |
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| {{cleanup bare URLs}} category |
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| {{duplicated citations}} category |
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| {{format footnotes}} category |
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| {{full citations needed}} category |
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| {{ibid}} category |
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| {{more footnotes needed}} category |
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| {{no footnotes}} category |
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| {{page numbers improve}} category |
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| {{page numbers needed}} category |
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| {{parenthetical referencing}} category |
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| {{shallow references}} category |
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| {{text-source}} category |
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| {{Wrong ISBN}} category |
|
Inline with article text
| {{according to whom}} |
[according to whom?] |
| {{additional citation needed}} |
[additional citation(s) needed] |
| {{attribution needed}} |
[attribution needed] |
| {{better source needed}} |
[better source needed] |
| {{better source needed example}} |
[better source needed]
|
| {{by whom}} |
[by whom?] |
| {{chronology citation needed}} |
[chronology citation needed] |
| {{circular reference}} |
[circular reference]
|
| {{circular reporting}} |
[circular reporting?]
|
| {{citation needed}} |
[citation needed] |
| {{citation needed span}} |
The sun is hot.[citation needed] |
| {{clarify}} |
[clarification needed] |
| {{copyvio link}} |
[infringing link?] |
| {{dead link}} |
[dead link] |
| {{disambiguation needed}} |
[disambiguation needed] |
| {{disputed inline}} |
[disputed – discuss] |
| {{dubious}} |
[dubious – discuss] |
| {{episode needed}} |
[episode needed] |
| {{example needed}} |
[example needed] |
| {{example needed span}} |
This is a claim that needs one or more examples.[example needed] |
| {{excessive citations inline}} category |
[excessive citations]
|
| {{explain}} |
[further explanation needed] |
| {{failed verification}} |
[failed verification] |
| {{full citation needed}} |
[full citation needed] |
| {{how}} |
[how?] |
| {{medical citation needed}} |
[medical citation needed] |
| {{medical citation needed span}} |
This is an uncited biomedical claim.[medical citation needed] |
| {{nonspecific}} |
[not specific enough to verify] |
| {{not verified in body}} |
[not verified in body] |
| {{original research inline}} |
[original research?] |
| {{page needed}} |
[page needed] |
| {{primary source inline}} |
[non-primary source needed] |
| {{quantify}} |
[quantify] |
| {{quote without source}} |
[This quote needs a citation] |
| {{registration required}} category |
(registration required) |
| {{request quotation}} |
[need quotation to verify] |
| {{season needed}} |
[season and episode needed] |
| {{self-published inline}} category |
[self-published source?] |
| {{self-published source}} category |
[self-published source] |
| {{specify}} category |
[specify] |
| {{synthesis inline}} |
[improper synthesis?] |
| {{third-party inline}} |
[independent source needed] |
| {{unreliable medical source}} |
[unreliable medical source?] |
| {{unreliable source?}} |
[unreliable source?] |
| {{update after}} |
[needs update] |
| {{user-generated inline}} category |
[user-generated source?] |
| {{user-generated source}} category |
[user-generated source] |
| {{vague}} |
[vague] |
| {{verify quote}} |
[verify] |
| {{verify source}} |
[verification needed] |
| {{volume needed}} |
[volume & issue needed] |
| {{when}} |
[when?] |
| {{where}} |
[where?] |
| {{which}} |
[which?] |
| {{who}} |
[who?] |
| {{whose quote}} |
[who said this?] |
| {{why}} |
[why?] |
| {{year missing}} |
[year missing]
|
| {{year needed}} |
[year needed]
|
Links for search
| {{find sources}} |
Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
| {{search}} |
() |
Categories
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{disputed category}} category |
| ||
| {{improve categories}} category |
| ||
| {{recategorize}} category |
| ||
| {{uncategorized}} category |
| ||
| {{unreferenced category}} category |
|
Images and other media
For tips on requesting images see: Wikipedia:Requested pictures.
- For template messages related to the clean up of images, see: Wikipedia:Template index/File namespace#Format and quality.
Expand and add
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{improve images}} category |
|
Cleanup
| {{cleanup image}} category |
| ||
| {{cleanup image captions}} category |
| ||
| {{cleanup images}} category |
Excess
| {{cleanup gallery}} |
| ||
| {{cleanup gallery anatomy}} category |
| ||
| {{too many photos}} category |
|
Factual accuracy
| {{image hoax}} category |
|
AI
| {{upscaled images}} category |
|
Talk pages
| {{audio requested}} category |
| |||
| {{diagram requested}} category |
Wikipedia requested diagram images | |||
| {{image requested}} category |
| |||
| {{map requested}} category |
|
Lists
Create
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{create list}} category |
|
Add and expand
| {{list years}} category |
|
Cleanup
| {{cleanup list}} category |
| ||
| {{convert to Episode list}} |
| ||
| {{list scope}} category |
| ||
| {{unsorted list}} category |
|
Inclusion and exclusion criteria
| {{famous}} category |
| ||
| {{list missing criteria}} category |
|
Transform
| {{list to table}} category |
| ||
| {{prose}} category |
| ||
| {{proseline section}} category |
|||
| {{too many list sections}} category |
Disputes
| {{disputed list}} category |
| ||
| {{list dispute}} |
|
Specific lists
| {{alumni}} category |
|
Inline with article text
| {{list entry too long}} category |
[List entry too long]
|
Tables
Create
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{needs table}} |
|
Cleanup
| {{convert to Episode table}} |
| ||
| {{convert to Series overview}} |
| ||
| {{rank order}} |
|
Wiki tech
Most of these issues are covered in the main Manual of Style.
Links
| Tag | Text that will be shown (and usage notes) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{cleanup red links}} category |
| ||
| {{dead end}} category |
| ||
| {{external links}} category |
| ||
| {{overlinked}} category |
| ||
| {{underlinked}} category |
|
Disambiguation pages
| {{dablinks}} category |
| ||
| {{disambiguation cleanup}} category |
| ||
| {{incoming links}} category |
|
Infoboxes
General
| {{cleanup infobox}} category |
| ||
| {{infobox requested}} category |
| ||
| {{missing fields}} |
| ||
| {{new infobox}} category |
| ||
| {{single infobox request}} category |
|
Specific
| {{missing taxobox}} |
| ||
| {{mycomorphbox missing}} |
|
Templates
| {{citations broken from PEIS limit}} category |
| ||
| {{malformed template}} |
|
Bottom of page
| {{orphan}} category |
| ||
| {{uncategorized}} category |
|
Other
| {{cleanup HTML}} category |
|
Other article tags
There are also tags available for:
- merging articles;
- moving articles;
- splitting articles; and
- translation of articles.
Open tasks
Wikipedia backlog by category
Wikipedia:Backlog lists tasks that should be done to improve Wikipedia (assuming the cleanup templates were placed correctly). Helping reduce backlogs is an important issue, so please feel free to help out.
Click any linked number for that category's articles prioritized by their number of incoming links.
|
Backlog categories Lacking references
Accuracy |
Content
Links Layout Style |
File description
File quality
Non-free file use File licensing |
Meta Quality content
Other
New articles () |
See also
- Wikipedia:Responsible tagging
- Wikipedia:Tagging pages for problems
- Wikipedia:Twinkle
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types
Template:Inline cleanup tags Template:Wikipedia template messages