Wikipedia:AfD churn

{{Deletion essay|WP:AFDCHURN}}

AfD Churn occurs when an article for a future annual event is created too soon and is deleted at AfD only to be re-created soon after. This has been observed to happen year after year for the same event.

An example are the Formula One championships:

:* Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/2020 Formula One World Championship

:* Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/2019 Formula One World Championship

:* Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/2018 Formula One season

:* Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/2018 Formula One season (2nd nomination)

:...

:* Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/2014 Formula One season

Most of these were simply re-created a few months later using the same content. The problem became so comical there was an April Fool's AfD in 2019.

Solutions

AfD should consider previous cases as precedent and a form of consensus. If there is a history of articles being deleted and then quickly re-created, take this into account as a strong signal the same will happen in a future case. For example in Formula One, the record suggests a 2-year lead time is within the window when it will likely get churned. Avoid wasting time flipping articles during this window.

See also