GuildWiki:Builds wipe

On April 21, 2007, all articles in the GuildWiki build namespace will be deleted. This includes every build on the GuildWiki. Related categories (like Category:Unfavored builds), policy articles (like Builds), and editing guides (like Writing good builds) will also be removed.

Details
On March 24, 2007, a notice (via Template:builds wipe) will be added to Main Page, Build:Main Page, Builds, and Community Portal linking back to this article and summarizing this decision. Editors are free to include this template at the top of any article to be deleted by this decision, to help spread awareness of this policy change.

If you find a build you'd like to keep handy after the builds wipe, you can copy it into your userspace. If you do this, it's suggested that you add

to the top of the build article, so that other users can simply link to your archived copy without making one themselves. However, this step is not necessary, and multiple users are welcome to copy the same build into their respective userspaces if they wish.

Coordinated efforts to archive builds, like this one, are certainly allowed.

On April 21, 2007, as stated above, all builds and build-related articles will be deleted. Builds will be rewritten from scratch to state our new build policy, which, simply stated, is "don't post any." However, like all GuildWiki policies, this new builds policy can be modified, replaced, or scrapped by our editors per the guidelines in Policy. Thus, it is the hope of the administration that the GuildWiki users can pull together and have a fresh new builds policy worked out as soon as possible after the wipe to replace the interim post-no-builds policy. The new policy may be decided on before the deletion of articles in the build section, but it will only come in effect after the sweep. Currently No Original Builds is the strongest option for the new policy.

Reasoning
Like most of the GuildWiki, the builds section originated organically with little thought to maintainability, scope, or value. A few editors posted builds they found useful and it snowballed into the huge section we have today. Builds policy, like most GuildWiki policies, originated after the builds section came to exist. Unfortunately, our early policies, which worked well for a site with a couple thousand editors, doesn't expand particularly well to a site with several tens of thousands. Over the last year, the builds section, with its dysfunctional policies and procedures, has grown into a monstrosity.

In October of 2006, the GuildWiki administrative team first began considering a complete removal of the builds section. It was decided we'd try anything we could to fix the section and make it sustainable before such drastic steps were taken. The build policies and procedures were codified and clarified and additional administrative attention (for a short while) was given to build disputes. Certain editors were even offered sysop positions, in hopes they would act as impartial build section editors-in-chief, controlling what content was allowed and disallowed. None of these attempts were successful, and in March of 2007, the decision was finally made to wipe the section clean.

Why not allow editors to propose new builds policy, per the terms in Policy, instead of a wipe?
The administrative team has fervently hoped that a policy suggestion amenable to all would emerge. Indeed, people have been discussing alternate build policies since at least September 2006. However, no policy suggestion has been made that garners even majority support, let alone anything approaching consensus.

Why not simply fully protect the builds section and disallow new builds to be posted?
There are two reasons.


 * 1) We feel that, in general, the builds section isn't useful in its current form. There are many other better build resources on the Internet.
 * 2) Allowing the current, broken builds section to remain prevents a new build policy from being created from scratch. We feel that the status quo would infect any new idea. Starting fresh allows build policy suggestions that are unrelated to the current section to be created.